Accounts Receivable – Net and Revenue Recognition

Net accounts receivable and billings in excess of costs on uncompleted contracts consisted of the following at October 1, 2017 and October 2, 2016:



	October 1, 2017			October 2, 2016
	(in thousands)
Billed	$	376,287		$	364,287
Unbilled	404,899			356,147
Contract retentions	39,840			29,135
Total accounts receivable – gross	821,026			749,569
Allowance for doubtful accounts	(32,259		)	(35,233		)
Total accounts receivable – net	$	788,767		$	714,336

Billings in excess of costs on uncompleted contracts	$	117,499		$	88,223

Billed accounts receivable represent amounts billed to clients that have not been collected. Unbilled accounts receivable represent revenue recognized but not yet billed pursuant to contract terms or billed after the period end date. Except for amounts related to claims as discussed below, most of our unbilled receivables at October 1, 2017 are expected to be billed and collected within 12 months. Contract retentions represent amounts withheld by clients until certain conditions are met or the project is completed, which may be several months or years. The allowance for doubtful accounts represents amounts that are expected to become uncollectible or unrealizable in the future. We determine an estimated allowance for uncollectible accounts based on management's consideration of trends in the actual and forecasted credit quality of our clients, including delinquency and payment history; type of client, such as a government agency or a commercial sector client; and general economic and particular industry conditions that may affect a client's ability to pay. Billings in excess of costs on uncompleted contracts represent the amount of cash collected from clients and billings to clients on contracts in advance of revenue recognized. The majority of billings in excess of costs on uncompleted contracts will be earned within 12 months.

Once contract performance is underway, we may experience changes in conditions, client requirements, specifications, designs, materials and expectations regarding the period of performance. Such changes result in "change orders" and may be initiated by us or by our clients. In many cases, agreement with the client as to the terms of change orders is reached prior to work commencing; however, sometimes circumstances require that work progress without a definitive client agreement. Unapproved change orders constitute claims in excess of agreed contract prices that we seek to collect from our clients for delays, errors in specifications and designs, contract terminations, or other causes of unanticipated additional costs. Revenue on claims is recognized when contract costs related to claims have been incurred and when their addition to contract value can be reliably estimated. This can lead to a situation in which costs are recognized in one period and revenue is recognized in a subsequent period, such as when client agreement is obtained or a claims resolution occurs.

Total accounts receivable at October 1, 2017 and October 2, 2016 included $59 million and $45 million, respectively, related to claims, including requests for equitable adjustment, on contracts that provide for price redetermination. We regularly evaluate all unsettled claim amounts and record appropriate adjustments to operating earnings when it is probable that the claim will result in a different contract value than the amount previously estimated. As a result of this assessment, in fiscal 2017, we recognized a reduction of revenue of $4.9 million and related losses in operating income of $3.6 million in our RCM segment. In fiscal 2016, we collected $13.4 million to settle claims of $8.8 million, which resulted in gains in operating income of $4.6 million in the RCM segment. In fiscal 2016, we also recognized reductions in operating income in our RCM segment and a related increase in the allowance for doubtful accounts of $7.9 million as a result of our updated assessment of the collectability of certain accounts receivable, of which $4.6 million related to unsettled claims. Related to these same projects, we have claims and potential claims against us from both our subcontractors and customers for back charges. We believe these claims are without merit and thus any liability is considered remote at this time. However, changes in these estimates could result in the recognition of additional project costs and losses in the period when changes to estimate are made.

Billed accounts receivable related to U.S. federal government contracts were $45.4 million and $47.4 million at October 1, 2017 and October 2, 2016, respectively. U.S. federal government contracts unbilled receivables were $109.7 million and $92.2 million at October 1, 2017 and October 2, 2016, respectively. Other than the U.S. federal government, no single client accounted for more than 10% of our accounts receivable at October 1, 2017 and October 2, 2016.

We recognize revenue for most of our contracts using the percentage-of-completion method, primarily utilizing the cost-to-cost approach, to estimate the progress towards completion in order to determine the amount of revenue and profit to recognize. Changes in those estimates could result in the recognition of cumulative catch-up adjustments to the contract’s inception-to-date revenue, costs and profit in the period in which such changes are made. As a result, we recognized net unfavorable operating income adjustments of $8.0 million ($2.3 million in the RME segment and $5.7 million in the RCM segment) during fiscal 2017. We recognized net unfavorable operating income adjustments during fiscal 2016 of $2.3 million (all in the RCM segment) and during fiscal 2015 of $8.9 million. Changes in revenue and cost estimates could also result in a projected loss that would be recorded immediately in earnings. As of October 1, 2017 and October 2, 2016, our consolidated balance sheets included liabilities for anticipated losses of $8.1 million and $6.7 million, respectively. The estimated cost to complete the related contracts as of October 1, 2017 was $5.0 million.