Fixed Assets

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2019

Property, Plant and Equipment Disclosure [Text Block]

Fixed Assets

As of December 31, 2019 and 2018, fixed assets consisted of the following:


	As of December 31,
	2019		2018
	(dollars in thousands)
Telecommunication and computer equipment	$	7,556	$	3,301
Computer software	8,952		4,214
Furniture and fixtures	3,526		2,829
Leasehold improvements	40,301		37,652
Finance lease right-of-use asset (See Note 22)	6,172		10,077


	66,507		58,073
Less: Accumulated depreciation and amortization	(32,846)		(31,630)
	$	33,661	$	26,443

Depreciation and amortization expense related to fixed assets was $7.3 million, $7.4 million and $7.0 million for the years ended December 31, 2019, 2018, and 2017, respectively, and are included in depreciation and amortization expense in the accompanying consolidated statements of operations.

Assets acquired under finance leases were $6.2 million and $10.1 million as of December 31, 2019 and 2018, respectively. If the assets acquired under finance leases transfer title at the end of the lease term or contain a bargain purchase option, the assets are amortized over their estimated useful lives; otherwise, the assets are amortized over the respective lease term. The depreciation of assets capitalized under finance leases is included in depreciation and amortization expenses and was $1.3 million, $1.6 million, and $1.0 million for the years ended December 31, 2019, 2018, and 2017, respectively. As of December 31, 2019 and 2018, accumulated depreciation related to assets acquired under finance leases was $2.2 million and $5.0 million, respectively.