Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk

3K characters. Original on sec.gov · Markdown

Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk

| --- | --- |

Our primary exposure to market risk relates to unfavorable changes in concentration of credit risk, interest rates and currency exchange rates.

Credit Risk. We are subject to concentrations of credit risk related to our cash and cash equivalents and our accounts receivable, including amounts related to unbilled accounts receivable and costs and estimated earnings in excess of billings on uncompleted contracts. Substantially all of our cash investments are managed by what we believe to be high credit quality financial institutions. In accordance with our investment policies, these institutions are authorized to invest this cash in a diversified portfolio of what we believe to be high-quality investments, which primarily include interest-bearing demand deposits and money market mutual funds with original maturities of three months or less. Although we do not currently believe the principal amounts of these investments are subject to any material risk of loss, changes in economic conditions could impact the interest income we receive from these investments. In addition, as we grant credit under normal payment terms, generally without collateral, we are subject to potential credit risk related to our customers’ ability to pay for services provided. This risk may be heightened as a result of the depressed economic and financial market conditions that have existed in recent years. However, we believe the concentration of credit risk related to trade accounts receivable and costs and estimated earnings in excess of billings on uncompleted contracts is limited because of the diversity of our customers. We perform ongoing credit risk assessments of our customers and financial institutions and in some cases we obtain collateral or other security from our customers.

Interest Rate and Market Risk. Currently, we do not have any significant assets or obligations with exposure to significant interest rate and market risk. Although we had credit facility borrowings outstanding at various times in 2013 and 2012 which exposed us to interest rate risk, there were no credit facility borrowings outstanding at December 31, 2013.

Currency Risk. We conduct operations primarily in the U.S., Canada and Australia. Future earnings are subject to change due to fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates when transactions are denominated in currencies other than our functional currencies. To minimize the need for foreign currency forward contracts to hedge this exposure, our objective is to manage foreign currency exposure by maintaining a minimal consolidated net asset or net liability position in a currency other than the functional currency.

We may enter into foreign currency derivative contracts to manage some of our foreign currency exposures. These exposures may include revenues generated in foreign jurisdictions and anticipated purchase transactions, including foreign currency capital expenditures and lease commitments. There were no open foreign currency derivative contracts at December 31, 2013.

Table of Contents

Previous: Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations · Next: Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data