OVERVIEW AND BASIS OF PRESENTATION (Policies)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2018

OVERVIEW AND BASIS OF PRESENTATION [Abstract]

TTEC Holdings, Inc. (“TTEC”, “the Company”) is a leading global customer experience technology and services company focused on the design, implementation and delivery of transformative solutions for many of the world’s most iconic and disruptive brands. The Company helps large global companies increase revenue and reduce costs by delivering personalized customer experiences across every interactional channel and phase of the customer lifecycle as an end-to-end provider of customer engagement services, technologies, insights and innovations. TTEC’s 52,400 employees serve clients in the automotive, communication, financial services, government, healthcare, logistics, media and entertainment, retail, technology, transportation and travel industries via operations in the U.S., Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, China, Costa Rica, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Ireland, Lebanon, Mexico, New Zealand, the Philippines, Poland, Singapore, South Africa, Thailand, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, and the United Kingdom.

We are organized into two centers of excellence: TTEC Digital and TTEC Engage.

TTEC Digital designs and builds human centric, tech-enabled, insight-driven customer experience solutions.

TTEC Engage is the Company’s global delivery center of excellence that provides turnkey customer acquisition, care, revenue growth, digital fraud prevention and detection, and content moderation services.

TTEC Digital and TTEC Engage come together under our unified offering, HumanifyTM Customer Engagement as a Service, which drives measurable results for clients through delivery of personalized omnichannel interactions that are seamless and relevant. This unified offering is value-oriented, outcome-based, and delivered on a global scale across four business segments: two of which comprise TTEC Digital - Customer Strategy Services (“CSS”) and Customer Technology Services (“CTS”); and two of which comprise TTEC Engage – Customer Growth Services (“CGS”) and Customer Management Services (“CMS”).

Basis Of Presentation

Basis of Presentation

The Consolidated Financial Statements are comprised of the accounts of TTEC, its wholly owned subsidiaries, its 55% equity owned subsidiary Percepta, LLC, and its 100% interest in Motif, Inc. (see Note 2). All intercompany balances and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation.

As of December 31, 2018, one business unit in the CSS segment classified as assets and liabilities held for sale as of September 30, 2016, was reclassified as held and used as of December 31, 2018 and 2017. The assets and liabilities of the business unit are no longer separately identified as held for sale as of December 31, 2018 and 2017 (see Note 2).

During the three months ended March 31, 2016, the Company recorded an additional tax expense of $1.1 million that should have been recorded in prior periods related to operations by an entity outside its country of incorporation. The total amount of $1.1 million should have been recorded as additional expense in the amount of $180 thousand in 2011, $123 thousand in 2012, $137 thousand in 2013, $358 thousand in 2014 and $301 thousand in 2015.

The Company has evaluated the impact of this adjustment and concluded that it was not material to the previously issued or current period Consolidated Financial Statements.

Use of Estimates

The preparation of the Consolidated Financial Statements in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the U.S. (“GAAP”) requires management to make estimates and assumptions in determining the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, disclosure of contingent liabilities at the date of the Consolidated Financial Statements and the reported amounts of revenue and expenses during the reporting period. On an on-going basis, the Company evaluates its estimates including those related to derivatives and hedging activities, income taxes including the valuation allowance for deferred tax assets, self-insurance reserves, litigation reserves, restructuring reserves, allowance for doubtful accounts, contingent consideration, and valuation of goodwill, long-lived and intangible assets. The Company bases its estimates on historical experience and on various other assumptions that are believed to be reasonable, the results of which form the basis for making judgments about the carrying values of assets and liabilities. Actual results may differ materially from these estimates under different assumptions or conditions.

Concentration of Credit Risk

The Company is exposed to credit risk in the normal course of business, primarily related to accounts receivable and derivative instruments. Historically, the losses related to credit risk have been immaterial. The Company regularly monitors its credit risk to mitigate the possibility of current and future exposures resulting in a loss. The Company evaluates the creditworthiness of its clients prior to entering into an agreement to provide services and as necessary through the life of the client relationship. The Company does not believe it is exposed to more than a nominal amount of credit risk in its derivative hedging activities, as the Company diversifies its activities across seven investment-grade financial institutions.

Fair Value of Financial Instruments

Fair values of cash equivalents, accounts receivable and payable and debt approximate the carrying amounts because of their short-term nature.

Cash and Cash Equivalents, Policy

Cash and Cash Equivalents

The Company considers all cash and highly liquid short-term investments with an original maturity of 90 days or less to be cash equivalents. The Company manages a centralized global treasury function in the United States with a focus on concentrating and safeguarding its global cash and cash equivalents. While the majority of the Company’s cash is held outside the U.S., the Company prefers to hold U.S. Dollars in addition to the local currencies of the foreign subsidiaries. The Company believes that it has effectively mitigated and managed its risk relating to its global cash through its cash management practices, banking partners, and utilization of diversified, high quality investments. However, the Company can provide no assurances that it will not sustain losses.

Accounts Receivable

An allowance for doubtful accounts is determined based on the aging of the Company’s accounts receivable, historical experience, client financial condition, and management judgment. The Company writes off accounts receivable against the allowance when the Company determines a balance is uncollectible.

Derivatives.

Derivatives

The Company enters into foreign exchange forward and option contracts to reduce its exposure to foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations that are associated with forecasted revenue earned in foreign locations. The Company also enters into interest rate derivatives which consist of interest rate swaps to reduce the Company’s exposure to interest rate fluctuations associated with its variable rate debt. Upon proper qualification, these contracts are designated as cash flow hedges. The Company formally documents at the inception of the hedge all relationships between hedging instruments and hedged items as well as its risk management objective and strategy for undertaking various hedging activities.

All derivative financial instruments are reported at fair value and recorded in Prepaids and other current assets, Other long-term assets, Other current liabilities, and Other long-term liabilities in the accompanying Consolidated Balance Sheets as applicable for each period end. Changes in fair value of derivative instruments designated as cash flow hedges are recorded in Accumulated other comprehensive income (loss), a component of Stockholders’ Equity, to the extent they are deemed effective. Ineffectiveness is measured based on the change in fair value of the forward contracts and the fair value of the hypothetical derivatives with terms that match the critical terms of the risk being hedged. Based on the criteria established by current accounting standards, the Company’s cash flow hedge contracts are deemed to be highly effective. Any realized gains or losses resulting from the foreign currency cash flow hedges are recognized together with the hedged transaction within Revenue. Any realized gains or losses from the interest rate swaps are recognized in Interest expense. Gains and losses from the settlements of the Company’s net investment hedges remain in Accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) until partial or complete liquidation of the applicable net investment.

The Company also enters into fair value derivative contracts that hedge against foreign currency exchange gains and losses primarily associated with short-term payables and receivables. Changes in the fair value of derivative instruments designated as fair value hedges affect the carrying value of the asset or liability hedged, with changes in both the derivative instrument and the hedged asset or liability being recognized in Other income (expense), net in the accompanying Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income (Loss).

Property, Plant and Equipment, Policy

Property, Plant and Equipment

Property, plant and equipment are stated at historical cost less accumulated depreciation and amortization. Maintenance, repairs and minor renewals are expensed as incurred.

Depreciation and amortization are computed on the straight-line method based on the following estimated useful lives:


Building		30 years
Computer equipment and software		3 to 7 years
Telephone equipment		4 to 7 years
Furniture and fixtures		5 years
Leasehold improvements		Lesser of economic useful life (typically 10 years) or original lease term
Other		3 to 7 years

The Company evaluates the carrying value of property, plant and equipment for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amounts may not be recoverable. An asset is considered to be impaired when the forecasted undiscounted cash flows of an asset group are estimated to be less than its carrying value. The amount of impairment recognized is the difference between the carrying value of the asset group and its fair value. Fair value estimates are based on assumptions concerning the amount and timing of forecasted future cash flows.

Software Development Costs

The Company capitalizes costs incurred to acquire or develop software for internal use. Capitalized software development costs are amortized using the straight-line method over the estimated useful life equal to the lesser of the license term or 4 or 7 years depending on the software type. The amortization expense is recorded in Depreciation and amortization in the accompanying Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income (Loss).

Goodwill Policy

Goodwill

The Company evaluates goodwill for possible impairment at least annually on December 1, and whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of such assets may not be recoverable. The Company uses a two step process to assess the realizability of goodwill. The first step, Step 0, is a qualitative assessment that analyzes current economic indicators associated with a particular reporting unit. For example, the Company analyzes changes in economic, market and industry conditions, business strategy, cost factors, and financial performance, among others, to determine if there would be a significant decline to the fair value of a particular reporting unit. A qualitative assessment also includes analyzing the excess fair value of a reporting unit over its carrying value from impairment assessments performed in previous years. If the qualitative assessment indicates a stable or improved fair value, no further testing is required.

If a qualitative assessment indicates that a significant decline to fair value of a reporting unit is more likely than not, or if a reporting unit’s fair value has historically been closer to its carrying value, the Company will proceed to Step 1 testing where the Company calculates the fair value of a reporting unit. If Step 1 indicates that the carrying value of a reporting unit is in excess of its fair value, the Company will record an impairment equal to the amount by which a reporting unit’s carrying value exceeds its fair value.

Other Intangible Assets

The Company has other intangible assets that include customer relationships (definite-lived), trade names (definite-lived) and non-compete agreements (definite-lived). Definite-lived intangible assets are amortized on a straight-line basis over their estimated useful lives, which range from 3 to 12 years. The Company evaluates the carrying value of its definite-lived intangible assets whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount may not be recoverable. A definite-lived intangible asset is considered to be impaired when the forecasted undiscounted cash flows of its asset group are estimated to be less than its carrying value.

The Company evaluates indefinite-lived intangible assets for possible impairment at least annually or whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of such assets may not be recoverable. Similar to goodwill, the Company may first use a qualitative analysis to assess the realizability of its indefinite-lived intangible assets. The qualitative analysis will include a review of changes in economic, market and industry conditions, business strategy, cost factors, and financial performance, among others, to determine if there would be a significant decline to the fair value of an indefinite-lived intangible asset. If a quantitative analysis is completed, an indefinite-lived intangible asset (i.e. trade name) is evaluated for possible impairment by comparing the fair value of the asset with its carrying value. Fair value is estimated as the discounted value of future revenues arising from a trade name using a royalty rate that a market participant would pay for use of that trade name. An impairment charge is recorded if the trade name’s carrying value exceeds its estimated fair value.

Self Insurance Liabilities

The Company self-insures for certain levels of workers’ compensation, employee health, property, cyber risks, and general liability insurance. The Company records estimated liabilities for these insurance lines based upon analyses of historical claims experience. The most significant assumption the Company makes in estimating these liabilities is that future claims experience will emerge in a similar pattern with historical claims experience. The liabilities related to workers’ compensation and employee health insurance are included in Accrued employee compensation and benefits in the accompanying Consolidated Balance Sheets. The liability for other general liability insurance is included in Other accrued expenses in the accompanying Consolidated Balance Sheets.

Restructuring Liabilities

The Company routinely assesses the profitability and utilization of its customer engagement centers and existing markets. In some cases, the Company has chosen to close under-performing customer engagement centers and complete reductions in workforce to enhance future profitability. Severance payments that occur from reductions in workforce are in accordance with the Company’s postemployment plans and/or statutory requirements that are communicated to all employees upon hire date; therefore, severance liabilities are recognized when they are determined to be probable and reasonably estimable. Other liabilities for costs associated with an exit or disposal activity are recognized when the liability is incurred, rather than upon commitment to a plan.

Asset Retirement Obligations

Asset retirement obligations relate to legal obligations associated with the retirement of long-lived assets resulting from the acquisition, construction, development and/or normal use of the underlying assets.

The Company records all asset retirement obligations at estimated fair value. The Company’s asset retirement obligations primarily relate to clauses in its customer engagement center operating leases which require the Company to return the leased premises to its original condition. The associated asset retirement obligations are capitalized as part of the carrying amount of the underlying asset and depreciated over the estimated useful life of the asset. The liability, reported within Other long-term liabilities, is accreted through charges to operating expenses. If the asset retirement obligation is settled for an amount other than the carrying amount of the liability, the Company recognizes a gain or loss on settlement in operating expenses.

Income Taxes.

Income Taxes

Accounting for income taxes requires recognition of deferred tax assets and liabilities for the expected future income tax consequences of transactions that have been included in the Consolidated Financial Statements or tax returns. Under this method, deferred tax assets and liabilities are determined based on the difference between the financial statement and tax basis of assets and liabilities using enacted tax rates in effect for the year in which the differences are expected to reverse. Gross deferred tax assets may then be reduced by a valuation allowance for amounts that do not satisfy the realization criteria established by current accounting standards.

The Company accounts for uncertain tax positions using a two-step approach to recognizing and measuring uncertain tax positions. The first step is to determine if the weight of available evidence indicates that it is more likely than not that the tax position will be sustained on audit. The second step is to estimate and measure the tax benefit as the amount that has a greater than 50% likelihood of being realized upon ultimate settlement with the tax authority. The Company evaluates these uncertain tax positions on a quarterly basis. This evaluation is based on the consideration of several factors including changes in facts or circumstances, changes in applicable tax law, and settlement of issues under audit. The Company recognizes interest and penalties related to uncertain tax positions as a part of the Provision for income taxes in the accompanying Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income (Loss).

No changes in indefinite reinvestment assertion were made during 2018. The Company has completed its analysis in regard to the full tax impact related to prior changes in indefinite reinvestment reassertion and any related taxes have been recorded. No additional income taxes have been provided for any remaining outside basis difference inherent in our foreign subsidiaries as these amounts continue to be indefinitely reinvested in foreign operations. Determination of any unrecognized deferred tax liability related to the outside basis difference in investments in foreign subsidiaries is not practicable due to the inherent complexity of the multi-national tax environment in which we operate.

Tax Reform

The United States recently enacted comprehensive tax reform legislation known as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (the "2017 Tax Act") that, among other things, reduces the U.S. federal corporate income tax rate from 35% to 21% and implements a territorial tax system, but imposes an alternative “base erosion and anti-abuse tax” (“BEAT”), and an incremental tax on global intangible low taxed foreign income (“GILTI”) effective January 1, 2018. In addition, the law imposes a one-time mandatory repatriation tax on accumulated post-1986 foreign earnings on domestic corporations effective for the 2017 tax year. As of December 31, 2018, the Company has completed the accounting for the tax effects of the 2017 Tax Act and no material adjustment was recorded to the 2017 estimate.

While the Company’s accounting for the recorded impact of the 2017 Tax Act is deemed to be complete, these amounts are based on prevailing regulations and current information, and any additional guidance issued by the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) could impact the Company’s recorded amounts in future periods.

The Company’s selection of an accounting policy with respect to both the new GILTI and BEAT rules is to compute the related taxes in the period the entity becomes subject to either. A reasonable estimate of the effects of these provisions has been included in the 2018 annual financial statements.

Revenue Recognition

2018 Revenue

The Company recognizes revenue from contracts and programs when control of the promised goods or services is transferred to the customers, in an amount that reflects the consideration it expects to be entitled to in exchange for those goods or services. Revenue is recognized when or as performance obligations are satisfied by transferring control of a promised good or service to a customer. A performance obligation is a promise in a contract to transfer a distinct good or service to the customer. Performance obligation is the unit of accounting for revenue recognition under the provisions of ASC Topic 606, “Revenue from Contracts with Customers” and all related amendments (“ASC 606”). A contract’s transaction price is allocated to each distinct performance obligation in recognizing revenue.

The Business Process Outsourcing (“BPO”) inbound and outbound service fees are based on either a per minute, per hour, per FTE, per transaction or per call basis, which represents the majority of our contracts. These contracts have a single performance obligation as the promise to transfer the individual goods or services is not separately identifiable from other promises in the contracts and, therefore, not distinct. For example, services for the training of the Company’s agents (which are separately billable to the customer) are a separate promise in the BPO contracts, but they are not distinct from the primary service obligations to transfer services to the customers. The performance of the customer service by the agents is highly dependent on the initial, growth, and seasonal training services provided to the agents during the life of a program. The training itself is not considered to have value to the customer on a standalone basis, and therefore, training on a standalone basis cannot be considered a separate unit of accounting. The Company therefore defers revenue from certain training services that are rendered mainly upon commencement of a new client contract or program, including seasonal programs. Revenue is also deferred when there is significant growth training in an existing program. Accordingly, recognition of initial, growth, and seasonal training revenues and associated costs (consisting primarily of labor and related expenses) are deferred and amortized over the period of economic benefit. With the exception of training which is typically billed upfront and deferred, the remainder of revenue is invoiced on a monthly or quarterly basis as services are performed and does not create a contract asset or liability.

In addition to revenue from BPO services, revenue also consists of fees from services for program launch, professional consulting, fully-hosted or managed technology and learning innovation services. The contracts containing these service offerings may contain multiple performance obligations. For contracts with multiple performance obligations, the Company allocates the contract’s transaction price to each performance obligation using the best estimate of the standalone selling price of each distinct good or service in the contract. The primary method used to estimate standalone selling price is the expected cost plus a margin approach, under which the Company forecasts its expected costs of satisfying a performance obligation and then adds an appropriate margin for that distinct good or service. The Company forecasts its expected cost based on historical data, current prevailing wages, other direct and indirect costs incurred in recently completed contracts, market conditions, and client specific other cost considerations. For these services, the point at which the transfer of control occurs determines when revenue is recognized in a specific reporting period. Where there are product sales, the attribution of revenue is made when FOB-destination delivery occurs (control transfers), which is the standard shipment terms, and therefore at a point in time. Where services are rendered to a customer, the attribution is aligned with the progress of work and is recognized over time (i.e. based on measuring the progress toward complete satisfaction of a performance obligation using an output method or an input method). Where output method is used, revenue is recognized on the basis of direct measurements of the value to the customer of the goods or services transferred relative to the remaining goods or services promised under the contract. The majority of the Company’s services are recognized over time using the input method in which revenue is recognized on the basis of efforts or inputs toward satisfying a performance obligation (for example, resources consumed, labor hours expended, costs incurred, or time elapsed) relative to the total expected inputs to satisfy the performance obligation. The measures used provide faithful depiction of the transfer of goods or services to the customers. For example, revenue is recognized on certain consulting contracts based on labor hours expended as a measurement of progress where the consulting work involves input of consultants’ time. The progress is measured based on the hours expended over total number of estimated hours included in the contract multiplied by the total contract consideration. The contract consideration can be a fixed price or an hourly rate, and in either case, the use of labor hours expended as an input measure provides a faithful depiction of the transfer of services to the customers. Deferred revenues for these services represent amounts collected from, or invoiced to, customers in excess of revenues recognized. This results primarily from i) receipt of license fees that are deferred due to one or more of the revenue recognition criteria not being met, and ii) the billing of annual customer support agreements, annual managed service agreements, and billings for other professional services that have not yet been performed by the Company. The Company records amounts billed and received, but not earned, as deferred revenue. These amounts are recorded in either Deferred revenue or Other long-term liabilities, as applicable, in the accompanying Consolidated Balance Sheets based on the period over which the Company expects to render services. Costs directly associated with revenue deferred, consisting primarily of labor and related expenses, are also deferred and recognized in proportion to the expected future revenue from the contract.

Variable consideration exists in contracts for certain client programs that provide for adjustments to monthly billings based upon whether the Company achieves, exceeds or fails certain performance criteria. Adjustments to monthly billings consist of contractual bonuses/penalties, holdbacks and other performance based conditions. Variable consideration is estimated at contract inception at its most likely value and updated at the end of each reporting period as additional performance data becomes available. Revenue related to such variable consideration is recognized only to the extent that a significant reversal of any incremental revenue is not considered probable.

Contract modifications are routine in the performance of the customer contracts. Contracts are often modified to account for customer mandated changes in the contract specifications or requirements, including service level changes. In most instances, contract modifications relate to goods or services that are incremental and distinctly identifiable, and, therefore, are accounted for prospectively.

Incremental Costs to Obtain a Contract

Direct and incremental costs to obtain or fulfill a contract are capitalized, and the capitalized costs are amortized over the corresponding period of benefit, determined on a contract by contract basis. The Company recognizes an asset for the incremental costs of obtaining a contract with a customer if it expects to recover those costs. The incremental costs of obtaining a contract are those costs that the Company incurs to obtain a customer contract that it would not have incurred if the contract had not been obtained. Contract acquisition costs consist primarily of payment of commissions to sales personnel and are incurred when customer contracts are signed. The deferred sales commission amounts are amortized based on the expected period of economic benefit and are classified as current or non-current based on the timing of when they are expected to be recognized as an expense. Costs to obtain a contract that would have been incurred regardless of whether the contract was obtained are recognized as an expense when incurred, unless those costs are explicitly chargeable to the customer regardless of whether the contract is obtained. Sales commissions are paid for obtaining new clients only and are not paid for contract renewals or contract modifications. Capitalized costs of obtaining contracts are periodically reviewed for impairment. As of December 31, 2018, the Company has a deferred asset of $8.2 million related to the sales commissions.

In certain cases, the Company negotiates an upfront payment to a customer in conjunction with the execution of a contract. Such upfront payments are critical to acquisition of new business and are often used as an incentive to negotiate favorable rates from the clients and are accounted for as upfront discounts for future services. Such payments are either made in cash at the time of execution of a contract or are netted against the Company’s service invoices. Payments to customers are capitalized as contract acquisition costs and are amortized in proportion to the expected future revenue from the contract, which in most cases results in straight-line amortization over the life of the contract. Such payments are considered a reduction of the selling prices of the Company’s products or services, and therefore, are accounted for as a reduction of revenue when amortized. Such capitalized contract acquisition costs are periodically reviewed for impairment taking into consideration ongoing future cash flows expected from the contract and estimated remaining useful life of the contract.

Practical Expedients and Exemptions

Some of the Company’s service contracts are short-term in nature with a contract term of one year or less. For those contracts, the Company has utilized the practical expedient in ASC 606-10-50-14 exempting the Company from disclosure of the transaction price allocated to remaining performance obligations if the performance obligation is part of a contract that has an original expected duration of one year or less. Also in alignment with ASC 606-10-50-14, the Company does not disclose the value of unsatisfied performance obligations for contracts for which it recognizes revenue at the amount to which it has the right to invoice for services performed. Additionally, the Company’s standard payment terms are less than one year. Given the foregoing, the Company has elected the practical expedient under ASC 606-10-32-18 to not assess whether a contract has a significant financing component. Pursuant to the Company’s election of the practical expedient under ASC 606-10-32-2A, sales, value add, and other taxes that are collected from customers concurrent with revenue-producing activities, which the Company has an obligation to remit to the governmental authorities, are excluded from revenue.

2017 and Prior Revenue

The Company recognizes revenue when evidence of an arrangement exists, the delivery of service has occurred, the fee is fixed or determinable and collection is reasonably assured. The BPO inbound and outbound service fees are based on either a per minute, per hour, per full-time employee, per transaction or per call basis. Certain client programs provide for adjustments to monthly billings based upon whether the Company achieves, exceeds or fails certain performance criteria. Adjustments to monthly billings consist of contractual bonuses/penalties, holdbacks and other performance based contingencies. Revenue recognition is limited to the amount that is not contingent upon delivery of future services or meeting other specified performance conditions.

Revenue also consists of services for agent training, program launch, professional consulting, fully-hosted or managed technology and learning innovation. These service offerings may contain multiple element arrangements whereby the Company determines if those service offerings represent separate units of accounting. A deliverable constitutes a separate unit of accounting when it has standalone value and delivery or performance of the undelivered items is considered probable and substantially within the Company’s control. If those deliverables are determined to be separate units of accounting, revenue is recognized as services are provided. If those deliverables are not determined to be separate units of accounting, revenue for the delivered services are bundled into one unit of accounting and recognized over the life of the arrangement or at the time all services and deliverables have been delivered and satisfied. The Company allocates revenue to each of the deliverables based on a selling price hierarchy of vendor specific objective evidence (“VSOE”), third-party evidence, and then estimated selling price. VSOE is based on the price charged when the deliverable is sold separately. Third-party evidence is based on largely interchangeable competitor services in standalone sales to similarly situated customers. Estimated selling price is based on its best estimate of what the selling prices of deliverables would be if they were sold regularly on a standalone basis. Estimated selling price is established considering multiple factors including, but not limited to, pricing practices in different geographies, service offerings, and customer classifications. Once the Company allocates revenue to each deliverable, it recognizes revenue when all revenue recognition criteria are met.

Periodically, the Company will make certain expenditures related to acquiring contracts or provide up-front discounts for future services. These expenditures are capitalized as contract acquisition costs and amortized in proportion to the expected future revenue from the contract, which in most cases results in straight-line amortization over the life of the contract. Amortization of these contract acquisition costs is recorded as a reduction to revenue.

Rent Expense

The Company has negotiated certain rent holidays, landlord/tenant incentives and escalations in the base price of rent payments over the initial term of its operating leases. The initial term could include the “build-out” period of leases, where no rent payments are typically due. The Company recognizes rent holidays and rent escalations on a straight-line basis to rent expense over the lease term. The landlord/tenant incentives are recorded as an increase to deferred rent liabilities and amortized on a straight line basis to rent expense over the initial lease term.

Equity-Based Compensation Expense

Equity-based compensation expense for all share-based payment awards granted is determined based on the grant-date fair value net of an estimated forfeiture rate on a straight-line basis over the requisite service period of the award, which is typically the vesting term of the share-based payment award. The Company estimates the forfeiture rate annually based on its historical experience of forfeited awards.

Foreign Currency Translation

The assets and liabilities of the Company’s foreign subsidiaries, whose functional currency is not the U.S. Dollar, are translated at the exchange rates in effect on the last day of the period and income and expenses are translated using the monthly average exchange rates in effect for the period in which the items occur. Foreign currency translation gains and losses are recorded in Accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) within Stockholders’ Equity. Foreign currency transaction gains and losses are included in Other income (expense), net in the accompanying Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income (Loss).

Recently Issued Accounting Pronouncements

Recently Adopted Accounting Pronouncements

On January 1, 2018, the Company adopted ASC 606, using the modified retrospective method. The adoption of ASC 606 resulted in the deferral of certain fees that had already been recognized in prior periods. The Company recorded a net reduction to opening retained earnings of $10.0 million, net of tax, as of January 1, 2018 due to the cumulative impact of adopting ASC 606, summarized as follows (in thousands):


	December 31,		Adjustments Due to		January 1,
	2017		ASU 2014-09		2018
Balance Sheet
Assets
Prepaids and other current assets	$	63,971	$	10,797	$	74,768
Deferred tax assets		12,012		4,006		16,018

Liabilities
Deferred revenue	$	21,650	$	24,785	$	46,435

Equity
Retained earnings	$	721,664	$	(9,982)	$	711,682

The ASC 606 adjustments pertain to the timing of revenue recognition associated with upfront training fees on certain contracts. Revenues and associated costs for reporting periods beginning after January 1, 2018 are recognized and presented in compliance with the provisions of ASC 606. Consistent with the modified retrospective method of adoption, the Company has not adjusted prior period amounts which continue to be reported in accordance with the Company’s historic revenue accounting policy and principles.

In accordance with the new revenue standard requirements, the disclosure of the impact of adoption on the Company’s consolidated income statement and balance sheet was as follows (in thousands):


	Year Ended December 31, 2018
			Balances
			Without
			Adoption of		Effect of Change
	As reported		ASC 606		Higher/(Lower)
Statements of Comprehensive Income
Revenue	$	1,509,171	$	1,500,171	$	9,000
Cost of services		1,157,927		1,153,299		4,628
Provision for income taxes		16,483		15,215		1,268
Net income	$	39,755	$	36,651	$	3,104


	As of December 31, 2018
			Balances
			Without
			Adoption of		Effect of Change
	As reported		ASC 606		Higher/(Lower)
Balance Sheet
Assets
Prepaids and other current assets	$	88,487	$	82,319	$	6,168
Deferred tax assets		15,523		12,708		2,815

Liabilities
Deferred revenue	$	44,926	$	29,140	$	15,786

Equity
Retained earnings	$	725,551	$	732,354	$	(6,803)

Other Recently Issued Accounting Pronouncements

In February 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-02, “Leases”, which amends the existing accounting standards for lease accounting, including requiring lessees to recognize most leases on their balance sheets related to the rights and obligations created by those leases and making targeted changes to lessor accounting. The ASU also requires new disclosures regarding the amounts, timing, and uncertainty of cash flows arising from leases. The ASU is effective for interim and annual periods beginning on or after December 15, 2018 and early adoption is permitted. The Company assigned a project manager, completed the assessment phase, has selected a software solution and other tracking methods, loaded and validated all data into the tool, and has finalized its implementation approach.

The Company has evaluated the adoption impact of the accounting guidance on its Consolidated Financial Statements. The new guidance will primarily impact the balance sheet by establishing a right to use asset and corresponding lease liability in our consolidated balance sheet for those leases that were previously classified as operating leases.

The new leasing standard requires a modified retrospective transition approach for all leases existing at, or entered into after, the date of initial application, with an option to use certain transition relief. The Company has elected the following in its transition and implementation approach:

As a result of the targeted improvements issued in July 2018, the Company has elected the effective date as the date of initial application (i.e. January 1, 2019). The election allows the Company to recognize the effects of the implementation of ASC 842 as a cumulative effect adjustment to the opening balance of retained earnings (or other components of equity or net assets, as appropriate), in the period of adoption. There is no restatement of comparative periods under this approach.

The Company has elected the package of practical expedients that allows the Company not to reassess (a) whether any expired or existing contracts are leases or contain leases, (b) the lease classification for any expired or existing leases, and (c) initial direct costs.

The Company will not use hindsight during transition in determining the lease term and assessing impairment of the entity’s right-of-use assets.

The Company will elect to not separate non-lease components from the lease components for certain asset classes, while separating in other asset classes.

The Company will not apply the recognition requirements in ASC 842 for leases with a term of 12 months or less.

The Company is in the process of implementing procedures with our new lease accounting system and finalizing related internal controls to meet the requirements of ASU 2016-02. The Company does expect ASU 2016-02 to have a material impact on our consolidated balance sheet, as we expect to record significant right-of-use assets and corresponding lease liabilities. However, the Company does not expect the adoption of ASU 2016-02 to have a material impact on our consolidated statement of comprehensive income or cash flows. The Company will be in a position to report under this new standard in the first quarter of 2019.

In August 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-15, “Statement of Cash Flows”. ASU 2016-15 is intended to reduce diversity in practice regarding how certain cash transactions are presented and classified in the Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows by providing guidance on eight specific cash flow issues. The ASU is effective for interim and annual periods beginning on or after December 15, 2017. The Company has adopted the new guidance effective January 1, 2018 and this adoption did not have a material impact on its cash flow or related disclosures.

In August 2017, the FASB issued ASU 2017-12, “Derivatives and Hedging (Topic 815): Targeted Improvements to Accounting for Hedging Activities”. ASU 2017-12 amends and simplifies existing guidance for derivatives and hedges including aligning accounting with companies’ risk management strategies and increasing disclosure transparency regarding both the scope and results of hedging programs. The changes include designation and measurement guidance for qualifying hedging relationships and the presentation of hedge results. The ASU is effective for interim and annual periods beginning after December 15, 2018 and early adoption is permitted. The Company has assessed the impact on the consolidated statements and related disclosures and notes there will be no material impacts when adopted on January 1, 2019.

In February 2018, the FASB issued ASU 2018-02, “Income Statement - Reporting Comprehensive Income (Topic 220), Reclassification of Certain Tax Effects from Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income”. ASU 2018-02 allows companies the option to reclassify stranded tax effects from Accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) (AOCI) to retained earnings resulting from the newly enacted corporate tax rate in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. If adopted, the ASU is effective in years beginning after December 15, 2018, and early adoption is permitted. The Company early adopted the new standard effective January 1, 2018 and the adoption did not have a material impact on its financial position.