Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

6 Months Ended

Jun. 30, 2024

Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

A complete listing of the Company’s significant accounting policies is discussed in Note 2, Summary of Significant Accounting Policies, in the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements included in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023.

Revenue Recognition

See Note 3, Revenue.

Cost of Services

Cost of services consists of third-party contractor costs related to the delivery of various services in the Company's On-Demand Talent and Heidrick Consulting operating segments.

Research and Development

Research and development expense consists of payroll, employee benefits, stock-based compensation, other employee expenses and third-party professional fees associated with new product development.

Marketable Securities

The Company’s marketable securities consist of available-for-sale debt securities with original maturities exceeding three months.

Restricted Cash

The following table provides a reconciliation of the cash and cash equivalents between the Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets and the Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows as of June 30, 2024, and 2023, and December 31, 2023, and 2022:


	June 30,				December 31,
	2024		2023		2023		2022
Cash and cash equivalents	$	189,922	$	217,776	$	412,618	$	355,447

Restricted cash included within other non-current assets	—		41		—		42
Total cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash	$	189,922	$	217,817	$	412,618	$	355,489

Earnings (Loss) per Common Share

Basic earnings (loss) per common share are computed by dividing net income (loss) by weighted average common shares outstanding for the period. Diluted earnings (loss) per share reflect the potential dilution that could occur if securities or other contracts to issue common stock were exercised or converted. Common equivalent shares are excluded from the determination of diluted earnings (loss) per share in periods in which they have an anti-dilutive effect.

The following table sets forth the computation of basic and diluted earnings (loss) per share:


	Three Months Ended June 30,				Six Months Ended June 30,
	2024		2023		2024		2023
Net income (loss)	$	(5,157)	$	8,982	$	8,875	$	24,568
Weighted average shares outstanding:
Basic	20,259		20,010		20,202		19,958
Effect of dilutive securities:
Restricted stock units	—		516		615		584
Performance stock units	—		111		244		159
Diluted	20,259		20,637		21,061		20,701
Basic earnings (loss) per share	$	(0.25)	$	0.45	$	0.44	$	1.23
Diluted earnings (loss) per share	$	(0.25)	$	0.44	$	0.42	$	1.19

Weighted average restricted stock units and performance stock units outstanding that could be converted into approximately 474,000 and 132,000 common shares, respectively, for the three months ended June 30, 2024, were not included in the computation of diluted earnings (loss) per share because the effects would be anti-dilutive.

Leases

The Company determines if an arrangement is a lease at inception. Operating leases are included in Operating lease right-of-use assets, Current liabilities - Operating lease liabilities and Non-current liabilities - Operating lease liabilities in the Company's Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets. The Company does not have any leases that meet the finance lease criteria.

Right-of-use assets represent the Company's right to use an underlying asset for the lease term and lease liabilities represent the Company's obligation to make lease payments arising from the lease. Operating lease right-of-use assets and liabilities are recognized on the commencement date based on the present value of lease payments over the lease term. As most of the Company's leases do not provide an implicit rate, an incremental borrowing rate based on the information available at the commencement date is used in determining the present value of lease payments. The operating lease right-of-use asset also includes any lease payments made in advance and any accrued rent expense balances. Lease terms may include options to extend or terminate the lease when it is reasonably certain that the option will be exercised. Lease expense for lease payments is recognized on a straight-line basis over the lease term.

The Company has lease agreements with lease and non-lease components. For office leases, the Company accounts for the lease and non-lease components as a single lease component. For equipment leases, such as vehicles and office equipment, the Company accounts for the lease and non-lease components separately.

Goodwill

Goodwill represents the difference between the purchase price of acquired businesses and the related fair value of the net assets acquired, which is accounted for by the acquisition method of accounting. The Company performs assessments of the carrying value of its goodwill at least annually and whenever events occur or circumstances indicate that a carrying amount of goodwill may not be recoverable. These circumstances include a significant change in business climate, attrition of key personnel, changes in financial condition or results of operations, prolonged decline in the Company’s stock price and market capitalization, competition, and other factors.

The goodwill impairment test compares the fair value of a reporting unit to its carrying amount, including goodwill. The Company operates five reporting units: Americas, Europe (which includes Africa), Asia Pacific (which includes the Middle East), On-Demand Talent and Heidrick Consulting. The fair value of each of the Company’s reporting units is determined using a discounted cash flow methodology. An impairment charge is recognized for the amount by which the carrying value of the reporting unit exceeds its fair value; however, the loss recognized is not to exceed the total amount of goodwill allocated to that reporting unit.

As a result of triggering events, the Company performed interim goodwill impairment evaluations during the three months ended June 30, 2024, and 2023, when the Company determined that it was more likely than not that the fair value of at least one of its reporting units was less than its respective carrying amount.

Determining the fair value of a reporting unit is judgmental in nature and involves the use of significant estimates and assumptions to evaluate the impact of operating and macroeconomic changes on each reporting unit. During the impairment evaluation process, the Company used a discounted cash flow methodology to estimate the fair value of each of its reporting units. The discounted cash flow approach is dependent on a number of factors, including estimates of future market growth and trends, forecasted revenue and costs, capital investments, appropriate discount rates, certain assumptions to allocate shared costs, assets and liabilities, historical and projected performance of the reporting unit, and the macroeconomic conditions affecting each of the Company’s reporting units. The assumptions used in the determination of fair value were (1) a forecast of growth in the near and long term; (2) the discount rate; (3) working capital investments; (4) macroeconomic conditions; and (5) other factors. As part of the goodwill impairment evaluation, the Company performed a reconciliation of its market capitalization to the aggregated estimated fair value of all reporting units, including consideration of a control premium.

Based on the results of the 2024 impairment evaluation, the Company determined that the goodwill within the On-Demand Talent and Europe reporting units were impaired, which resulted in impairment charges of $14.8 million and $1.5 million, respectively. Based on the results of the 2023 impairment evaluation, the Company determined that the goodwill within the Heidrick Consulting reporting unit was impaired, which resulted in an impairment charge of $7.2 million. The impairment charges are recorded within Impairment charges in the Condensed Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income (Loss) for the three and six months ended June 30, 2024, and 2023 and the Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows for the six months ended June 30, 2024, and 2023. The impairments were non-cash in nature and did not affect the Company's current liquidity, cash flows, borrowing capability or operations; nor did they impact the debt covenants under the Company's credit agreement.

Recently Issued Financial Accounting Standards

In December 2023, the Financial Accounting Standards Board ("FASB") issued Accounting Standards Update ("ASU") No. 2023-09, "Income Taxes (Topic 740): Improvements to Income Tax Disclosures." The standard is intended to expand the disclosure requirements for income taxes, specifically related to the rate reconciliation and income taxes paid. The guidance is effective for annual periods beginning after December 15, 2024, with early adoption permitted. The Company is currently evaluating the impact of this guidance on its financial statements.

In November 2023, the FASB issued ASU No. 2023-07, “Segment Reporting (Topic 280): Improvements to Reportable Segment Disclosures.” The standard is intended to improve reportable segment disclosure requirements for public business entities primarily through enhanced disclosures about significant segment expenses that are regularly provided to the chief operating decision maker and included within each reported measure of segment profit (referred to as the “significant expense principle”). This guidance is effective for annual periods beginning after December 15, 2023, and for interim periods beginning after December 15, 2024. The Company is currently evaluating the impact of this guidance on its financial statements.

In March 2020, the Financial Accounting Standards Board issued Accounting Standards Update No. 2020-04, Facilitation of the Effects of Reference Rate Reform on Financial Reporting. The guidance was intended to provide temporary optional expedients and exceptions to the guidance on contract modifications and hedge accounting to ease the financial reporting burdens related to the expected market transition from the London Interbank Offered Rate ("LIBOR") and other interbank offered rates to alternative reference rates. This guidance is effective March 12, 2020, and the Company may elect to apply the amendments prospectively through December 31, 2024. The new guidance is not expected to have a material effect on the Company's financial statements.