Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk

We manage our exposure to foreign exchange and interest rate risk through various strategies, including the use of derivative financial instruments. We use forward foreign exchange contracts as economic hedges to manage the cash flow volatility arising from foreign exchange rate fluctuations. We use interest rate swaps to manage our interest expense and structure our long-term debt portfolio to achieve a mix of fixed rate and floating rate debt. We do not use derivatives for trading or speculative purposes. Using derivatives exposes us to the risk that counterparties to the derivative contracts will fail to meet their contractual obligations. We manage that risk through careful selection and ongoing evaluation of the counterparty financial institutions based on specific minimum credit standards and other factors.

We evaluate the effects of changes in foreign currency exchange rates, interest rates and other relevant market risks on our derivatives. We periodically determine the potential loss from market risk on our derivatives by performing a value-at-risk, or VaR, analysis. VaR is a statistical model that uses historical currency exchange and interest rate data to measure the potential impact on future earnings of our derivative financial instruments assuming normal market conditions. The VaR model is not intended to represent actual losses but is used as a risk estimation and management tool. Based on the results of the model, we estimate with 95% confidence a maximum one-day change in the net fair value of our derivative financial instruments at December 31, 2017 was not significant.

Foreign Exchange Risk

Our international operations represent approximately 46% of our revenue. Changes in the value of foreign currencies against the U.S. Dollar affect our results of operations and financial position. For the most part, because the revenue and expense of our foreign operations are both denominated in the same local currency, the economic impact on operating margin is minimized. The effects of currency exchange transactions on our results of operations are discussed in Note 2 to the consolidated financial statements.

While our major international markets include the Euro Zone, the United Kingdom, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China and Japan, our agencies transact business in more than 50 different currencies. As an integral part of our global treasury operations, we centralize our cash and use multicurrency pools to manage the foreign exchange risk that arises from imbalances between subsidiaries and their respective treasury centers from which they borrow or invest funds. However, in certain circumstances, subsidiaries borrowing or investing with a treasury center operating in a different currency creates foreign exchange exposure. To manage that risk, we had outstanding forward foreign exchange contracts with an aggregate notional amount of $92.8 million and $99.0 million at December 31, 2017 and 2016, respectively. Additionally, there are circumstances where revenue and expense transactions are not denominated in the same currency. In these instances, amounts are either promptly settled or hedged with forward foreign exchange contracts. To manage that risk, we had outstanding forward foreign exchange contracts with an aggregate notional amount of $136.3 million and $94.0 million at December 31, 2017 and 2016, respectively. The net fair value of the forward foreign contracts at December 31, 2017 and 2016 was a current asset of $0.9 million and a current liability of $1.1 million, respectively.

Foreign currency derivatives are designated as economic hedges; therefore, any gain or loss in fair value incurred on those instruments is generally offset by decreases or increases in the fair value of the underlying exposures. By using these financial instruments, we reduced financial risk of adverse foreign exchange changes by foregoing any gain which might have occurred if the markets moved favorably. The terms of our forward foreign exchange contracts are generally less than 90 days.

Interest Rate Risk

We use interest rate swaps to manage our interest cost and structure our long-term debt portfolio to achieve a mix of fixed rate and floating rate debt. Based on market conditions, we may terminate the swaps to reduce our exposure to rising interest rates or to monetize any gain and lock in a reduction in interest expense over the term of the underlying debt. At December 31, 2017, the total notional amount of the outstanding fixed-to-floating interest rate swaps was $1.25 billion. The interest rate swaps have the economic effect of converting our long-term debt portfolio to approximately 75% fixed rate obligations and 25% floating rate obligations. A discussion of our interest rate swaps is included in Note 6 to the consolidated financial statements.

Credit Risk

We provide advertising, marketing and corporate communications services to several thousand clients that operate in nearly every sector of the global economy and we grant credit to qualified clients in the normal course of business. Due to the diversified nature of our client base, we do not believe that we are exposed to a concentration of credit risk as our largest client represented 3.0% of revenue in 2017. However, during periods of economic downturn, the credit profiles of our clients could change.

In the normal course of business, our agencies enter into contractual commitments with media providers and production companies on behalf of our clients at levels that can substantially exceed the revenue from our services. These commitments are included in accounts payable when the services are delivered by the media providers or production companies. If permitted by local law and the client agreement, many of our agencies purchase media and production services for our clients as an agent for a disclosed principal. In addition, while operating practices vary by country, media type and media vendor, in the United States and certain foreign markets, many of our agencies’ contracts with media and production providers specify that our agencies are not liable to the media and production providers under the theory of sequential liability until and to the extent we have been paid by our client for the media or production services.

Where purchases of media and production services are made by our agencies as a principal or are not subject to the theory of sequential liability, the risk of a material loss as a result of payment default by our clients could increase significantly and such a loss could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial position.

In addition, our methods of managing the risk of payment default, including obtaining credit insurance, requiring payment in advance, mitigating the potential loss in the marketplace or negotiating with media providers, may be less available or unavailable during a severe economic downturn.