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Summary of Significant Accounting Policies (Policies) | 9 Months Ended
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Sep. 30, 2024
Accounting Policies [Abstract] |
Cost of Services | Cost of Services Cost of services consists of 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 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 | Marketable Securities The Company’s marketable securities consist of available-for-sale debt securities with original maturities exceeding three months.
Earnings per Common Share | Earnings per Common Share Basic earnings per common share are computed by dividing net income by weighted average common shares outstanding for the period. Diluted earnings 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 per share in periods in which they have an anti-dilutive effect.
Leases | 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 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 certain triggering events, including reduced forecasted results and the inclusion of goodwill in a reporting unit with a preexisting fair value shortfall, the Company performed interim goodwill impairment evaluations during the three months ended June 30, 2024, and 2023, respecitively, 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 for the nine months ended September 30, 2024, and 2023 and the Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows for the nine months ended September 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 | 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.
Revenue Recognition | Executive Search Revenue is recognized as performance obligations are satisfied by transferring a good or service to a client. Generally, each executive search contract contains one performance obligation which is the process of identifying potentially qualified candidates for a specific client position. In most contracts, the transaction price includes both fixed and variable consideration. Fixed consideration is comprised of a retainer, equal to approximately one-third of the estimated first year compensation for the position to be filled, and indirect expenses, equal to a specified percentage of the retainer, as defined in the contract. The Company generally bills clients for the retainer and indirect expenses in one-third increments over a three-month period commencing in the month of a client’s acceptance of the contract. If actual compensation of a placed candidate exceeds the original compensation estimate, the Company is often authorized to bill the client for one-third of the excess compensation. The Company refers to this additional billing as uptick revenue. In most contracts, variable consideration is comprised of uptick revenue and direct expenses. The Company bills its clients for uptick revenue upon completion of the executive search, and direct expenses are billed as incurred. The Company estimates uptick revenue at contract inception, based on a portfolio approach, utilizing the expected value method based on a historical analysis of uptick revenue realized in the Company’s geographic regions and industry practices, and initially records a contract’s uptick revenue in an amount that is probable not to result in a significant reversal of cumulative revenue recognized when the actual amount of uptick revenue for the contract is known. Differences between the estimated and actual amounts of variable consideration are recorded when known. The Company does not estimate revenue for direct expenses as it is not materially different than recognizing revenue as direct expenses are incurred. Revenue from executive search engagement performance obligations is recognized over time as clients simultaneously receive and consume the benefits provided by the Company's performance. Revenue from executive search engagements is recognized over the expected average period of performance, in proportion to the estimated personnel time incurred to fulfill the obligations under the executive search contract. Revenue is generally recognized over a period of approximately six months. The Company's executive search contracts contain a replacement guarantee which provides for an additional search to be completed, free of charge except for expense reimbursements, should the candidate presented by the Company be hired by the client and subsequently terminated by the client for performance reasons within a specified period of time. The replacement guarantee is an assurance warranty, which is not a performance obligation under the terms of the executive search contract, as the Company does not provide any services under the terms of the guarantee that transfer benefits to the client in excess of assuring that the identified candidate complies with the agreed-upon specifications. The Company accounts for the replacement guarantee under the relevant warranty guidance in Accounting Standards Codification 460 - Guarantees. On-Demand Talent The Company enters into contracts with clients that outline the general terms and conditions of the assignment to provide on-demand consultants for various types of consulting projects, which consultants may be independent contractors or temporary employees. The consideration the Company expects to receive under each contract is dependent on the time-based fees specified in the contract. Revenue from on-demand engagement performance obligations is recognized over time as clients simultaneously receive and consume the benefits provided by the Company's performance. The Company has applied the practical expedient to recognize revenue for these services in the amount to which the Company has a right to invoice the client, as this amount corresponds directly with the value provided to the client for the performance completed to date. For transactions where a third-party contractor is involved in providing the services to the client, the Company reports the revenue and the related direct costs on a gross basis as it has determined that it is the principal in the transaction. The Company is primarily responsible for fulfilling the promise to provide consulting services to its clients and the Company has discretion in establishing the prices charged to clients for the consulting services and is able to contractually obligate the independent service provider to deliver services and deliverables that the Company has agreed to provide to its clients. Heidrick Consulting Revenue is recognized as performance obligations are satisfied by transferring a good or service to a client. Heidrick Consulting enters into contracts with clients that outline the general terms and conditions of the assignment to provide succession planning, executive assessment, top team and board effectiveness and culture shaping programs. The consideration the Company expects to receive under each contract is generally fixed. Most of the Company's consulting contracts contain one performance obligation, which is the overall process of providing the consulting service requested by the client. The majority of the Company's consulting revenue is recognized over time utilizing input methods. Revenue recognition over time for the majority of the Company's consulting engagements is measured by total cost or time incurred as a percentage of the total estimated cost or time on the consulting engagement. Contract Balances Contract assets and liabilities are reported in a net position on a contract-by-contract basis at the end of each reporting period. Contract assets and liabilities are classified as current due to the nature of the Company's contracts, which are completed within one year. Contract assets are included within Other current assets on the Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets. Unbilled receivables: Unbilled receivables represents contract assets from revenue recognized over time in excess of the amount billed to the client and the amount billed to the client is solely dependent upon the passage of time. This amount includes revenue recognized in excess of billed Executive Search retainers, Heidrick Consulting fees, and On-Demand Talent fees. Contract assets: Contract assets represent revenue recognized over time in excess of the amount billed to the client, and the amount billed to the client is not solely subject to the passage of time. This amount primarily includes revenue recognized for upticks and contingent placement fees in executive search contracts. Deferred revenue: Contract liabilities consist of deferred revenue, which is equal to billings in excess of revenue recognized.

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- Definition Disclosure of accounting policy for costs it has incurred (1) in a planned search or critical investigation aimed at discovery of new knowledge with the hope that such knowledge will be useful in developing a new product or service, a new process or technique, or in bringing about a significant improvement to an existing product or process; or (2) to translate research findings or other knowledge into a plan or design for a new product or process or for a significant improvement to an existing product or process. + References Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/disclosureRef -Topic 730 -SubTopic 10 -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Section 05 -Paragraph 1 -Subparagraph (c) -Publisher FASB -URI https://asc.fasb.org/1943274/2147483044/730-10-05-1 + Details
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