CRA INTERNATIONAL, INC. - Quarter Report: 2009 September (Form 10-Q)

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UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-Q

Commission file number: 000-24049

CRA International, Inc.
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

(617) 425-3000
(Registrant's telephone number, including area code)

        Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes ý    No o

        Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically and posted on its corporate Web site, if any, every Interactive Data File required to be submitted and posted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§ 232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit and post such files). Yes o    No o

        Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, or a smaller reporting company. See definitions of "large accelerated filer", "accelerated filer" and "smaller reporting company" in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

        Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act). Yes o    No ý

        Indicate the number of shares outstanding of each of the issuer's classes of common stock, as of the latest practicable date.

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CRA International, Inc.

INDEX

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PART I. FINANCIAL INFORMATION

ITEM 1.    Financial Statements

CRA International, Inc.

Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations (unaudited)

(In thousands, except per share data)

See accompanying notes to the condensed consolidated financial statements.

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CRA International, Inc.

Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets (unaudited)

(In thousands, except share data)

See accompanying notes to the condensed consolidated financial statements.

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CRA International, Inc.

Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows (unaudited)

(In thousands)

See accompanying notes to the condensed consolidated financial statements.

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CRA International, Inc.

Condensed Consolidated Statement of Shareholders' Equity (unaudited)

(In thousands, except share data)

See accompanying notes to the condensed consolidated financial statements.

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CRA International, Inc.

Notes to Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements

(Unaudited)

1.     Description of Business

        CRA International, Inc. (the "Company," or "CRA") is a worldwide leading economic, financial, and management consulting services firm that applies advanced analytic techniques and in-depth industry knowledge to complex engagements for a broad range of clients. CRA offers its services in two broad areas: litigation, regulatory and financial consulting and business consulting. CRA operates in one business segment, which is consulting services. As of September 1, 2009, CRA operates its business under its registered trade name, Charles River Associates.

2.     Correction of Immaterial Error

        During the third quarter of fiscal 2009, the Company discovered errors related to its accounting for acquisition-related earnout payments that were made in connection with the acquisition of a business in fiscal 2006. An error occurred as a result of a $5 million earnout payment made by the Company to the seller of the business it acquired which was subsequently re-distributed by the seller to certain continuing employees of the acquired business. This payment was initially accounted for as additional purchase price and included in goodwill. In the third quarter of 2009, the Company determined that the $5 million had not been distributed by the seller in accordance with its initial ownership percentage interests and that this amount should be re-characterized as compensation expense and should be charged to income over the period the earnout payment was earned pursuant to the terms of the acquisition agreement. The $5 million earnout payment was earned over the two-year period beginning in May 2006 or the eight consecutive quarters beginning in the third quarter of fiscal 2006. The $5 million was paid to the seller in July 2007, as agreed to in the purchase agreement with the seller, however, the retention of the $5 million by the seller was based on the financial performance of the acquired business over the two-year period beginning in May 2006. Accordingly, the $5 million should have been charged to compensation expense over that two-year period on a level basis. Furthermore, in May 2009, a payment of $10.3 million was placed in escrow as a progress payment related to a possible future earnout amount that the seller of the acquired business referenced above could earn. The $10.3 million progress payment was calculated and paid pursuant to the terms of the purchase agreement with the seller into an escrow account. At the time it was calculated, the $10.3 million was recorded as goodwill but should have been recorded as an "other asset" in the accompanying condensed consolidated balance sheets. This amount was not earned by the seller, as the performance targets that need to be achieved are not expected to be met, and the Company expects the entire $10.3 million placed in escrow to be returned to the Company.

        The Company assessed the materiality of these errors in accordance with Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") Staff Accounting Bulletin No. 108, "Considering the Effects of Prior Year Misstatements when Quantifying Misstatements in Current Year Financial Statements," and determined that the errors were immaterial to the previously reported amounts contained in its periodic reports and the Company will correct the errors through subsequent periodic filings. The immaterial corrections have no effect on fiscal 2009 results of operations, cash, or cash flows from operations. The effect of recording these immaterial corrections in the consolidated statement of operations for fiscal

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CRA International, Inc.

Notes to Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements (Continued)

(Unaudited)

2.     Correction of Immaterial Error (Continued)

2008 and fiscal 2007, and the fiscal 2008 quarterly periods to be reported in subsequent periodic filings, is included in the following table:

        The effect of the error on net income for the forty weeks ended August 29, 2008 was a reduction of $679,000.

        The effect of recording these immaterial corrections in the consolidated balance sheet at November 29, 2008 is included in the following table (in thousands):

3.     Unaudited Interim Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements and Estimates

        The condensed consolidated statements of operations for the sixteen and forty weeks ended September 4, 2009 and August 29, 2008, the condensed consolidated balance sheet as of September 4, 2009, the condensed consolidated statements of cash flows for the forty weeks ended September 4, 2009, and August 29, 2008, and the condensed consolidated statement of shareholders' equity for the forty weeks ended September 4, 2009, are unaudited. The November 29, 2008 consolidated balance sheet is derived from CRA's audited consolidated financial statements included in its Annual Report on Form 10-K as of that date and has been updated pursuant to Note 2. In the opinion of management, these statements include all adjustments necessary for a fair presentation of CRA's consolidated financial position, results of operations, and cash flows.

        The preparation of consolidated financial statements in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the U.S. requires management to make significant estimates and judgments that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities, at the date of the financial statements, and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. Estimates in these consolidated financial statements include, but are not limited to, accounts receivable allowances, revenue recognition on fixed price contracts, depreciation of property and equipment, share-based compensation, valuation of acquired intangible assets, impairment of long

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CRA International, Inc.

Notes to Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements (Continued)

(Unaudited)

3.     Unaudited Interim Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements and Estimates (Continued)

lived assets, including goodwill, accrued and deferred income taxes, valuation allowances on deferred tax assets, accrued bonuses, accrued exit costs, and other accrued expenses. These items are monitored and analyzed by the Company for changes in facts and circumstances, and material changes in these estimates could occur in the future. Changes in estimates are recorded in the period in which they become known. CRA bases its estimates on historical experience and various other assumptions that CRA believes to be reasonable under the circumstances. Actual results may differ from those estimates if CRA's assumptions based on past experience or other assumptions do not turn out to be substantially accurate.

4.     Principles of Consolidation

        The consolidated financial statements include the accounts of the Company and its wholly owned subsidiaries. All significant intercompany accounts have been eliminated.

        In addition, the consolidated financial statements include the Company's interest in NeuCo, Inc. ("NeuCo"). For fiscal 2008 through October 2008, the Company's interest in NeuCo was 36.4%, and the Company accounted for its investment in NeuCo under the equity method of accounting. Under that method, the Company recorded its equity in the income or losses of NeuCo and reported such amounts in "equity method investment gain (loss), net of tax" in the accompanying condensed consolidated statements of operations.

        During the fourth quarter of fiscal 2008, NeuCo acquired 100% of Rio Tinto America Services Company's investment in NeuCo. As a result of this transaction, the Company's ownership interest in NeuCo increased to approximately 50% and CRA's ownership represented control. As a result, NeuCo's financial results since this transaction have been consolidated with CRA and the portion of NeuCo's results allocable to its other owners is shown as "minority interest".

        NeuCo's interim reporting schedule is based on calendar month-ends, but its fiscal year end is the last Saturday of November. The first three quarters of CRA's fiscal year could include up to a three-week reporting lag between CRA's quarter end and the most recent financial statements available from NeuCo. CRA does not believe the reporting lag will have a significant impact on CRA's consolidated statements of income or financial condition.

5.     Fiscal Year

        CRA's fiscal year ends on the last Saturday in November, and accordingly, its fiscal year will periodically contain 53 weeks rather than 52 weeks. Fiscal 2009 is a 52-week year. Fiscal 2008 was a 53-week year. In a 52-week year, each of CRA's first, second, and fourth quarters includes twelve weeks, and its third quarter includes sixteen weeks. In a 53-week year, the fourth quarter includes thirteen weeks.

6.     Revenue Recognition

        CRA derives substantially all of its revenues from the performance of professional services. The contracts that CRA enters into and operates under specify whether the engagement will be billed on a time-and-materials or a fixed-price basis. These engagements generally last three to six months,

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CRA International, Inc.

Notes to Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements (Continued)

(Unaudited)

6.     Revenue Recognition (Continued)

although some of CRA's engagements can be much longer in duration. Each contract must be approved by one of CRA's vice presidents.

        CRA recognizes substantially all of its revenues under written service contracts with its clients where the fee is fixed or determinable, as the services are provided, and only in those situations where collection from the client is reasonably assured and sufficient contractual documentation has been obtained. In certain cases CRA provides services to its clients without sufficient contractual documentation, or fees are tied to performance-based criteria, which require the Company to defer revenue in accordance with U.S. GAAP. In these cases, these amounts are fully reserved until all criteria for recognizing revenue are met.

        Most of CRA's revenue is derived from time-and-materials service contracts. Revenues from time-and-materials service contracts are recognized as services are provided based upon hours worked and contractually agreed-upon hourly rates, as well as a computer services fee based upon hours worked.

        Revenues from the majority of the Company's fixed-price engagements are recognized on a proportional performance method based on the ratio of costs incurred, substantially all of which are labor-related, to the total estimated project costs. CRA derived 7.3% and 9.5% of revenues from fixed-price engagements in the sixteen and forty weeks ended September 4, 2009, respectively. CRA derived 8.5% and 7.8% of revenues from fixed-price engagements in the sixteen and forty weeks ended August 29, 2008, respectively. Project costs are based on the direct salary of the consultants on the engagement plus all direct expenses incurred to complete the engagement that are not reimbursed by the client. The proportional performance method is used since reasonably dependable estimates of the revenues and costs applicable to various stages of a contract can be made, based on historical experience and terms set forth in the contract, and are indicative of the level of benefit provided to CRA's clients. The fixed-price contracts generally include a termination provision that converts the agreement to a time-and-materials contract in the event of termination of the contract. CRA's management maintains contact with project managers to discuss the status of the projects and, for fixed-price engagements, management is updated on the budgeted costs and resources required to complete the project. These budgets are then used to calculate revenue recognition and to estimate the anticipated income or loss on the project. In the past, CRA has occasionally been required to commit unanticipated additional resources to complete projects, which have resulted in lower than anticipated income or losses on those contracts. CRA may experience similar situations in the future. Provisions for estimated losses on contracts are made during the period in which such losses become probable and can be reasonably estimated. To date, such losses have not been significant.

        Revenues also include reimbursable expenses, which include travel and other out-of-pocket expenses, outside consultants, and other reimbursable expenses. These reimbursable expenses are as follows (in thousands):

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CRA International, Inc.

Notes to Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements (Continued)

(Unaudited)

6.     Revenue Recognition (Continued)

        CRA maintains accounts receivable allowances for estimated losses resulting from clients' failure to make required payments. The Company bases its estimates on historical collection experience, current trends, and credit policy. In determining these estimates, CRA examines historical write-offs of its receivables and reviews client accounts to identify any specific customer collection issues. If the financial condition of CRA's customers were to deteriorate, resulting in an impairment of their ability to make payment, additional allowances may be required.

        Unbilled services represent revenue recognized by CRA for services performed but not yet billed to the client. Deferred revenue represents amounts billed or collected in advance of services rendered.

        CRA collects goods and services and value added taxes from customers and records these amounts on a net basis, which is within the scope of Emerging Issues Task Force ("EITF") of the Financial Accounting Standards Board Issue No. 06-3, "How Taxes Collected from Customers and Remitted to Governmental Authorities Should Be Presented in the Income Statement".

7.     Business Acquisition

        On June 9, 2009, the Company acquired substantially all of the assets of Marakon Associates, a leading strategy consulting firm known for pioneering value-based management. Under the terms of the transaction, CRA acquired substantially all of the assets of Marakon Associates, including certain intangible assets, accounts receivable, and all client projects currently underway. As a result of this acquisition, CRA added 48 employee consultants, who are based in CRA's London, Chicago, and New York offices. The acquisition was not material. The acquisition has been accounted for under the purchase method of accounting, and the results of operations have been included in the accompanying statements of income from the date of acquisition. The allocation of the purchase price for the acquisition will be finalized as CRA receives other information relevant to the acquisition and completes its analysis of other transaction-related costs.

        In June 2009, the Company granted inducement stock options to purchase an aggregate of 175,000 shares of CRA's common stock to 7 former key individuals at Marakon Associates who joined CRA as Vice Presidents as a result of the acquisition. Each option has a term of 7 years and an exercise price equal to $50.00 per share. The grants were made under CRA's 2009 Nonqualified Inducement Stock Option Plan as an inducement to these individuals pursuant to NASDAQ Listing Rule 5635(c)(4). The 2009 Nonqualified Inducement Stock Option Plan was adopted by the board of directors on May 18, 2009 and became effective upon the closing of the Marakon Associates acquisition on June 9, 2009.

8.     Goodwill

        Goodwill represents the purchase price of acquired businesses in excess of the fair market value of net assets acquired. In accordance with the Financial Accounting Standards Board's ("FASB") Statement of Financial Accounting Standards ("SFAS") No. 142, "Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets" ("SFAS 142"), goodwill and intangible assets with indefinite lives are not subject to amortization, but are monitored at least annually for impairment, or more frequently, as necessary, if there are other indications of impairment. Any impairment would be measured based upon the fair value of the related asset based on the provisions of SFAS 142. Under SFAS 142, in performing the first step of the goodwill impairment testing and measurement process the Company compares its

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CRA International, Inc.

Notes to Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements (Continued)

(Unaudited)

8.     Goodwill (Continued)

entity-wide estimated fair value to its net book value to identify potential impairment. Management estimates its entity-wide fair value utilizing the Company's market capitalization, plus an appropriate control premium. The Company has utilized a control premium which considers appropriate industry, market, and other pertinent factors, including indications of such premiums from data on recent acquisition transactions. The Company completed the annual impairment test required under SFAS 142 as of November 29, 2008 and determined that there was no impairment.

        The changes in the carrying amount of goodwill during the forty weeks ended September 4, 2009, are as follows (in thousands):

        As discussed in Note 2, the goodwill balance at November 29, 2008 has been revised by $15.3 million as a result of a $5 million earnout payment made by the Company to the seller of the business it acquired which was subsequently re-distributed by the seller to certain continuing employees of the acquired business. This payment was initially accounted for as additional purchase price and included in goodwill. In the third quarter of 2009, the Company determined that the $5 million earnout payment should be re-characterized as compensation expense. Furthermore, in May 2009, a payment of $10.3 million was placed in escrow as a progress payment related to a possible future earnout amount that the seller of the acquired business referenced above could earn. The $10.3 million progress payment was calculated and paid pursuant to the terms of the purchase agreement with the seller into an escrow account. At the time it was calculated, the $10.3 million was recorded as goodwill but should have been recorded as an "other asset" in the accompanying condensed consolidated balance sheets.

        The purchase agreements for the acquisitions completed in fiscal 2006 and fiscal 2005 provide for additional purchase consideration for up to five years following the transactions if specific performance targets are met. These earnouts are payable in cash and/or CRA common stock. During the forty weeks ended September 4, 2009, CRA recorded $1.3 million in estimated additional consideration related to these acquisitions, of which $0.3 million in CRA common stock was paid during the third quarter of fiscal 2009 and $1.0 million in promissory notes will be paid during the first quarter of 2010. During fiscal 2008, CRA recorded $2.1 million in additional purchase consideration related to these acquisitions, of which $0.5 million in cash and $0.5 million in CRA common stock was paid during fiscal 2008, and the remaining $1.1 million in promissory notes was paid during the first quarter of fiscal 2009.

9.     Private Placement of Convertible Debt

        In 2004, CRA completed a private placement of $90.0 million of 2.875% convertible senior subordinated debentures due in 2034. During the fourth quarter of fiscal 2008 and second quarter of fiscal 2009, the Company repurchased convertible debentures in the principal amount of approximately $10.2 million and $7.0 million respectively, on the open market. As of September 4, 2009, the principal amount of the convertible debentures totaled $72.8 million. The debentures are CRA's direct,

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CRA International, Inc.

Notes to Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements (Continued)

(Unaudited)

9.     Private Placement of Convertible Debt (Continued)

unsecured senior subordinated obligations and rank junior in right of payment to CRA's existing bank revolving line of credit and any future secured indebtedness that CRA may designate as senior indebtedness. Pursuant to the terms of the indenture governing the debentures, since the closing stock price did not equal or exceed the $50 per share contingent conversion trigger price for 20 out of the 30 consecutive trading days ended on September 4, 2009, the market price conversion trigger was not satisfied and holders of the debentures are not able to exercise their right to convert the bonds during the fourth quarter of fiscal 2009. This test is repeated each fiscal quarter. To date, no conversions have occurred.

        The Company has a revolving line of credit, to mitigate the potential liquidity risk, and to provide funding if required, in the event of conversion by the debenture holders. The amounts available under the bank revolving line of credit are constrained by various financial covenants and reduced by certain outstanding letters of credit. CRA believes that in the event the contingent conversion trigger price is met, it is unlikely that a significant percentage of bondholders will exercise their right to convert because the debentures have traded at a premium over their conversion value. On August 18, 2009, the Company amended its loan agreement dated as of January 14, 2004 with RBS Citizens, N.A. The amendment reduced the revolving line of credit from $90.0 million to $60.0 million, extended the termination date of the loan agreement from April 30, 2010 to April 30, 2012, and raised the commitment fee payable on the unused portion of the credit facility from 0.165% to 0.25%. In addition, under the amended credit facility, interest on borrowings is based upon LIBOR, instead of LIBOR or the prime rate at our option, and is calculated using a margin over LIBOR ranging from 2.0% to 3.5%, an increase from the prior range of 0.75% to 1.5%.

        Since holders of the debentures are not able to exercise their right to convert the bonds as of September 4, 2009, CRA has classified the $72.8 million convertible debt as long-term debt as of September 4, 2009 in the accompanying condensed consolidated balance sheet.

        The contingent interest feature included in the debenture represents an embedded derivative under SFAS No. 133, "Accounting for Derivative Instruments and Hedging Activities" ("SFAS 133") that must be recorded at fair value as of September 4, 2009. The Company has determined that the fair value of the contingent interest feature is de minimis as of September 4, 2009, based upon economic, market and other conditions in effect as of that date. There are no other embedded derivatives associated with the Company's convertible debentures that are accounted for separately in accordance with SFAS 133.

        The Company has agreed with the debenture holders to reserve the maximum number of shares of common stock that may be issued upon conversion of the debentures.

10.   Net Income per Share

        Basic net income per share represents net income divided by the weighted average number of shares of common stock outstanding during the period. Diluted net income per share represents net income divided by the weighted average shares of common stock and common stock equivalents outstanding during the period. Common stock equivalents arise from stock options, unvested restricted shares, and shares underlying CRA's debentures using the treasury stock method. Under the treasury stock method, the amount the Company will receive for the share awards, the amount of compensation

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CRA International, Inc.

Notes to Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements (Continued)

(Unaudited)

10.   Net Income per Share (Continued)

cost for future service that the Company has not yet recognized, and the amount of tax benefits that would be recorded in additional paid-in capital when the award becomes deductible are assumed to be used to repurchase shares at the average share price for each fiscal period. A reconciliation of basic to diluted weighted average shares of common stock outstanding is as follows (in thousands):

        For the sixteen and forty weeks ended September 4, 2009 the anti-dilutive share based awards were 992,859 and 973,352, respectively. For the sixteen and forty weeks ended August 29, 2008 the anti-dilutive share based awards were 513,065 and 511,849, respectively.

        During the sixteen and forty weeks ended September 4, 2009, CRA granted restricted share and restricted share unit awards representing 2,982 and 71,557 shares, respectively, of its common stock that were not vested as of September 4, 2009. During the sixteen and forty weeks ended September 4, 2009, CRA granted 175,000 stock options that were not vested as of September 4, 2009.

        Since CRA is obligated to settle the par value of the convertible debentures in cash, the Company is not required to include any shares underlying the convertible debentures in its diluted weighted average shares outstanding until the average stock price per share for the quarter exceeds the $40 conversion price and only to the extent of the additional shares CRA may be required to issue in the event CRA's conversion obligation exceeds the principal amount of the debentures converted. At such time, only the number of shares that would be issuable (under the "treasury" method of accounting for share dilution) are included, which is based upon the amount by which the average stock price exceeds the conversion price. Since the average stock price was $26.99 and $24.48 for the sixteen and forty weeks ended September 4, 2009, respectively, no common stock equivalents for shares underlying the debentures were included in the diluted weighted average shares outstanding for the sixteen and forty weeks ended September 4, 2009. Since the average stock price was $37.42 for the sixteen weeks ended August 29, 2008, no common stock equivalents for shares underlying the debentures were included in the diluted weighted average shares outstanding for the sixteen weeks ended August 29, 2008. The average stock price for the forty weeks ended August 29, 2008 was $38.48. Included in the diluted weighted average shares outstanding for the forty weeks ended August 29, 2008 were 76,000 shares underlying the debentures because the average stock price for the twelve weeks ended February 15, 2008 was $45.17.

        As part of the earnout provisions included in the acquisition agreements for acquisitions CRA completed in fiscal 2006 and fiscal 2005, CRA may settle a portion of its obligations through the issuance of its common stock. Issuance of these shares is contingent upon certain provisions of the acquisition agreements. All shares for which the necessary conditions underlying the earnout provisions

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CRA International, Inc.

Notes to Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements (Continued)

(Unaudited)

10.   Net Income per Share (Continued)

have been met as of September 4, 2009 are included in basic and diluted weighted average shares outstanding as of the point in time that the shares were issued.

11.     Comprehensive Income

        Comprehensive income represents net income reported in the accompanying condensed consolidated statements of operations adjusted for changes in CRA's foreign currency translation account. A reconciliation of comprehensive income is as follows (in thousands):

12.   Income Taxes

        The Company's effective income tax rate was 51.8% and 59.7% for the sixteen and forty weeks ended September 4, 2009, respectively. The effective tax rate was 60.9% and 63.2% for the sixteen and forty weeks ended August 29, 2008, respectively. The effective rate for the third quarter of fiscal 2009 was lower than the effective rate for the third quarter of fiscal 2008 because the third quarter of fiscal 2009 reflects a smaller amount of foreign losses for which no tax benefit has been provided. The effective rate for the third quarter of fiscal 2009 also includes a tax charge incurred by NeuCo related to a true-up of taxes for prior periods.

        The effective tax rate for the forty weeks ended September 4, 2009 reflects a lower amount of foreign losses for which no tax benefit has been provided, compared to the same period in fiscal 2008. The effective rate for the forty weeks ended September 4, 2009, also includes a tax charge in the third quarter of fiscal 2009 incurred by NeuCo related to a true-up of taxes for prior periods.

13.   Accounting Pronouncements

        In July 2009, the FASB Accounting Standards Codification (the "Codification") officially became the single source of authoritative nongovernmental U.S. GAAP, superseding existing FASB, American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, EITF, and related accounting literature. Going forward, only one level of authoritative GAAP will exist. All other accounting literature will be considered non-authoritative. The Codification reorganizes the thousands of GAAP pronouncements into roughly 90 accounting topics and displays them using a consistent structure. Also included in the Codification is relevant SEC guidance organized using the same topical structure in separate sections within the Codification. The Codification is effective for interim and annual periods ending after September 15, 2009, which is CRA's fourth quarter of fiscal 2009. This will have an impact to the Company's financial statement disclosures since all future references to authoritative accounting literature will be references in accordance with the Codification.

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CRA International, Inc.

Notes to Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements (Continued)

(Unaudited)

13.   Accounting Pronouncements (Continued)

        In May 2009, the FASB issued SFAS No. 165, "Subsequent Events" ("SFAS 165"). SFAS 165 establishes general accounting for and disclosure of events that occur after the balance sheet date but before financial statements are issued or available to be issued. This statement also outlines the circumstances under which an entity would need to record transactions occurring after the balance sheet date in the financial statements. These new disclosures will identify the date through which the entity has evaluated subsequent events. The Company adopted SFAS 165 in the fiscal quarter ended September 4, 2009 and it did not have a material impact on the Company's consolidated statement of operations and financial condition. The Company has evaluated subsequent events for recognition or disclosure through the date the Company filed this Form 10-Q with the SEC.

        In May 2008, the FASB issued Staff Position Accounting Principles Board Opinion 14-1, "Accounting for Convertible Debt Instruments That May Be Settled in Cash upon Conversion (Including Partial Cash Settlement)" ("FSP No. APB 14-1"), which changes the accounting treatment for convertible debt instruments that allow for either mandatory or optional cash settlements. FSP No. APB 14-1 will require the Company to recognize non-cash interest expense on its convertible senior subordinated debentures based on the market rate for similar debt instruments without the conversion feature. FSP No. APB 14-1 is effective for fiscal years beginning on or after December 15, 2008, which is CRA's fiscal 2010, and must be applied on a retrospective basis. The Company is currently evaluating the impact that FSP No. APB 14-1 will have on its consolidated statements of operations and financial condition.

        In December 2007, the FASB issued SFAS No. 141R, "Business Combinations" ("SFAS 141R"). SFAS 141R requires the acquiring entity in a business combination to record all assets acquired and liabilities assumed at their respective acquisition-date fair values, changes the recognition of assets acquired and liabilities assumed arising from contingencies, changes the recognition and measurement of contingent consideration, and requires the expensing of acquisition-related costs as incurred. SFAS 141R also requires additional disclosure of information surrounding a business combination, such that users of the entity's financial statements can fully understand the nature and financial impact of the business combination. SFAS 141R applies prospectively to business combinations for which the acquisition date is on or after the beginning of the first annual reporting period beginning on or after December 15, 2008, which is CRA's fiscal 2010. An entity may not apply SFAS 141R before that date. The Company will adopt the provisions of SFAS 141R in fiscal 2010. For business combinations completed on or subsequent to the adoption date, the application of this statement could have a significant impact on the Company's consolidated statement of operations and financial condition, the magnitude of which will depend on the specific terms and conditions of the transactions.

        In December 2007, the FASB issued SFAS No. 160, "Noncontrolling Interests in Consolidated Financial Statements—an Amendment of ARB No. 51" ("SFAS 160"). SFAS 160 establishes accounting and reporting standards for noncontrolling interests (previously referred to as "minority interests") in a subsidiary and for the deconsolidation of a subsidiary, to ensure consistency with the requirements of SFAS 141R. SFAS 160 states that noncontrolling interests should be classified as a separate component of equity, and establishes reporting requirements that provide sufficient disclosures that clearly identify and distinguish between the interests of the parent and the interests of the noncontrolling owners. SFAS 160 is effective for financial statements issued for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2008, which is CRA's fiscal 2010. Early adoption is prohibited and the provisions will be applied prospectively

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CRA International, Inc.

Notes to Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements (Continued)

(Unaudited)

13.   Accounting Pronouncements (Continued)

except for the presentation and disclosure requirements, which will be applied retrospectively for all periods presented. SFAS 160 is not expected to have a material impact on the Company's consolidated statement of operations and financial condition.

14.   Accrued Expenses

        Accrued expenses consist of the following (in thousands):

15.   Commitments & Contingencies

        In connection with an acquisition completed in fiscal 2009, CRA agreed to pay incentive performance awards, if specific performance targets are met in fiscal 2010 through fiscal 2012. In addition, in connection with an acquisition completed during fiscal 2006, CRA agreed to pay additional consideration, contingent upon the achievement of specific performance targets. CRA believes that it will have sufficient funds to satisfy any obligations related to the incentive performance awards and contingent consideration. CRA expects to fund these payments, if any, from existing cash resources, cash generated from operations, or financing transactions.

16.   Restructuring Charges

        During the first and second quarters of fiscal 2009 and fiscal 2008, the Company recorded restructuring charges associated principally with the divesture of its Australian and New Zealand-based operations and capital projects practice, office vacancies, and employee workforce reductions. The restructuring expenses and reserve balance are as follows (in thousands):

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ITEM 2.    Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations

Forward-Looking Statements

        Except for historical facts, the statements in this quarterly report are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are merely our current predictions of future events. These statements are inherently uncertain, and actual events could differ materially from our predictions. Important factors that could cause actual events to vary from our predictions include those discussed below under the heading "Risk Factors". We assume no obligation to update our forward-looking statements to reflect new information or developments. We urge readers to review carefully the risk factors described in this quarterly report and in the other documents that we file with the Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC. You can read these documents at www.sec.gov.

        Our principal internet address is www.crai.com. Our website provides a link to a third-party website through which our annual, quarterly, and current reports, and amendments to those reports, are available free of charge. We believe these reports are made available as soon as reasonably practicable after we file them electronically with, or furnish them to, the SEC. We do not maintain or provide any information directly to the third-party website, nor do we check the accuracy of this website.

        Our website also includes information about our corporate governance practices. The Investor Relations page of our website provides a link to a web page where you can obtain a copy of our code of ethics applicable to our principal executive officer, principal financial officer, and principal accounting officer.

Critical Accounting Policies

        The discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations are based upon our condensed consolidated financial statements, which have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the U.S. The preparation of these financial statements requires us to make significant estimates and judgments that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities, at the date of the financial statements, and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. Estimates in these condensed consolidated financial statements include, but are not limited to, accounts receivable allowances, revenue recognition on fixed price contracts, depreciation of property and equipment, share-based compensation, valuation of acquired intangible assets, impairment of long lived assets, including goodwill, accrued and deferred income taxes, valuation allowances on deferred tax assets, accrued bonuses, accrued exit costs, and other accrued expenses. These items are monitored and analyzed by management for changes in facts and circumstances, and material changes in these estimates could occur in the future. Changes in estimates are recorded in the period in which they become known. We base our estimates on historical experience and various other assumptions that we believe to be reasonable under the circumstances. Actual results may differ from our estimates if our assumptions based on past experience or our other assumptions do not turn out to be substantially accurate.

        A summary of the accounting policies that we believe are most critical to understanding and evaluating our financial results is set forth below. This summary should be read in conjunction with our condensed consolidated financial statements and the related notes included in Item 1 of this quarterly report, as well as in our most recently filed annual report on Form 10-K.

        Revenue Recognition and Accounts Receivable Allowances.    We derive substantially all of our revenues from the performance of professional services. The contracts that we enter into and operate under specify whether the engagement will be billed on a time-and-materials or fixed-price basis. These engagements generally last three to six months, although some of our engagements can be much longer in duration. Each contract must be approved by one of our vice presidents.

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        We recognize substantially all of our revenues under written service contracts with our clients where the fee is fixed or determinable, as the services are provided, and only in those situations where collection from the client is reasonably assured and sufficient contractual documentation has been obtained. In certain cases we provide services to our clients without sufficient contractual documentation, or fees are tied to performance-based criteria, which require us to defer revenue in accordance with U.S. GAAP. In these cases, where we invoice clients, these amounts are fully reserved until all criteria for recognizing revenue are met.

        Most of our revenue is derived from time-and-materials service contracts. Revenues from time-and-materials service contracts are recognized as the services are provided based upon hours worked and contractually agreed-upon hourly rates, as well as a computer services fee based upon hours worked.

        Revenues from the majority of our fixed-price engagements are recognized on a proportional performance method based on the ratio of costs incurred, substantially all of which are labor-related, to the total estimated project costs. Project costs are based on the direct salary of the consultants on the engagement plus all direct expenses incurred to complete the engagement that are not reimbursed by the client. The proportional performance method is used since reasonably dependable estimates of the revenues and costs applicable to various stages of a contract can be made, based on historical experience and terms set forth in the contract, and are indicative of the level of benefit provided to our clients. Our fixed-price contracts generally include a termination provision that reduces the agreement to a time-and-materials contract in the event of termination of the contract. Our management maintains contact with project managers to discuss the status of the projects and, for fixed-price engagements, management is updated on the budgeted costs and resources required to complete the project. These budgets are then used to calculate revenue recognition and to estimate the anticipated income or loss on the project. In the past, we have occasionally been required to commit unanticipated additional resources to complete projects, which have resulted in lower than anticipated income or losses on those contracts. We may experience similar situations in the future. Provisions for estimated losses on contracts are made during the period in which such losses become probable and can be reasonably estimated. To date, such losses have not been significant.

        Revenues also include reimbursable expenses, which include travel and other out-of-pocket expenses, outside consultants, and other reimbursable expenses. These reimbursable expenses are as follows (in thousands):

        Our normal payment terms are 30 days from the invoice date. For the sixteen weeks ended September 4, 2009, and August 29, 2008 our average days sales outstanding, or DSOs, were 96 days and 100 days. We calculate DSOs by dividing the sum of our accounts receivable and unbilled services balance, net of deferred revenue, at the end of the quarter by average daily revenues. Average daily revenues are calculated by dividing quarter revenues by the number of days in a quarter. Our project managers and finance personnel monitor payments from our clients and assess any collection issues. We maintain accounts receivable allowances for estimated losses resulting from clients' failure to make required payments. We base our estimates on our historical collection experience, current trends, and credit policy. In determining these estimates, we examine historical write-offs of our receivables and review client accounts to identify any specific customer collection issues. If the financial condition of our customers were to deteriorate, resulting in an impairment of their ability to make payment, additional allowances may be required. A failure to estimate accurately the accounts receivable allowances and ensure that payments are received on a timely basis could have a material adverse

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effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations. As of September 4, 2009, and November 29, 2008, $9.1 million and $10.7 million were provided for accounts receivable allowances, respectively.

        Share-Based Compensation Expense.    We adopted Statement of Financial Accounting Standards ("SFAS") No. 123R, "Share-Based Payments" ("SFAS 123R") in fiscal 2006 using the modified prospective application method and began accounting for our equity-based compensation using a fair value based recognition method. Under the fair value recognition requirements of SFAS 123R, share-based compensation cost is estimated at the grant date based on the fair value of the award and is recognized as expense over the requisite service period of the award.

        We recognize share-based compensation expense using the straight-line attribution method under SFAS 123R. We use the Black-Scholes option-pricing model to estimate the fair value of share-based awards. Option valuation models require the input of assumptions, including the expected life of share-based awards, the expected stock price volatility, the risk-free interest rate, and the expected dividend yield. The expected volatility and expected life are based on our historical experience. The risk-free interest rate is based on U.S. Treasury interest rates whose term is consistent with the expected life of the stock options. Expected dividend yield was not considered in the option pricing formula since we do not pay dividends and have no current plans to do so in the future. We update these assumptions if changes are warranted. The forfeiture rate used was based upon historical experience. As required by SFAS 123R, we will adjust the estimated forfeiture rate based upon our actual experience.

        Valuation of Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets.    We account for our acquisitions under the purchase method of accounting pursuant to SFAS 141, "Business Combinations". Goodwill represents the purchase price of acquired businesses in excess of the fair market value of net assets acquired. Intangible assets consist principally of non-competition agreements, which are amortized on a straight-line basis over the related estimated lives of the agreements (eight to ten years), as well as customer relationships, customer lists, trademarks, backlog, and developed technology, which are amortized on a straight-line basis over their remaining useful lives (two to fifteen years).

        In accordance with SFAS No. 142, "Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets" ("SFAS 142"), goodwill and intangible assets with indefinite lives are not subject to amortization, but are monitored annually for impairment, or more frequently, if there are indicators of impairment. Any impairment would be measured based upon the fair value of the related asset based on the provisions of SFAS 142. Under SFAS 142, in performing the first step of the goodwill impairment testing and measurement process, we compare our entity-wide estimated fair value to net book value to identify potential impairment. We estimate the entity-wide fair value utilizing our market capitalization, plus an appropriate control premium. We have utilized a control premium which considers appropriate industry, market and other pertinent factors, including indications of such premiums from data on recent acquisition transactions. If we determine through the impairment evaluation process that goodwill has been impaired, we would record the impairment charge in our consolidated statement of operations.

        The goodwill amount for acquisitions is initially recorded based upon a preliminary estimated purchase price allocation and is subject to change. Any preliminary purchase price allocation is based upon our estimate of fair value, and is finalized as we receive other information relevant to the acquisition, such as exit costs related to lease obligations.

        We assess the impairment of amortizable intangible assets whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying value may not be recoverable. Factors we consider important that could trigger an impairment review include the following:

•

a significant underperformance relative to expected historical or projected future operating results;

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•

a significant change in the manner of our use of the acquired asset or the strategy for our overall business;



•

a significant negative industry or economic trend; and



•

our entity-wide fair value relative to net book value.

        If we were to determine that an impairment evaluation is required, we would review the expected future undiscounted cash flows to be generated by the assets. If we determine that the carrying value of intangible assets may not be recoverable, we measure any impairment based on a projected discounted cash flow method using a discount rate determined by our management to be commensurate with the risk inherent in our current business model.

        There were no impairment losses related to goodwill or intangible assets during the forty weeks ended September 4, 2009.

        Accounting for Income Taxes.    We record income taxes using the asset and liability method. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are recognized based upon anticipated future tax consequences attributable to differences between the financial statement carrying amounts of existing assets and liabilities and their respective income tax bases, and operating loss and tax credit carryforwards. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are measured using enacted tax rates expected to apply to taxable income in the years in which those temporary differences are expected to be recovered or settled. The effect on deferred tax assets and liabilities of a change in tax rates is recognized in income in the period that includes the enactment date.

        Our financial statements contain certain deferred tax assets and liabilities that result from temporary differences between book and tax accounting, as well as net operating loss carryforwards. SFAS No. 109, "Accounting for Income Taxes," requires the establishment of a valuation allowance to reflect the likelihood of realization of deferred tax assets. Significant management judgment is required in determining our provision for income taxes, our deferred tax assets and liabilities, and any valuation allowance recorded against our net deferred tax assets. We evaluate the weight of all available evidence to determine whether it is more likely than not that some portion or all of the deferred income tax assets will not be realized. The decision to record a valuation allowance requires varying degrees of judgment based upon the nature of the item giving rise to the deferred tax asset. As a result of operating losses incurred in certain of our foreign subsidiaries, and uncertainty as to the extent and timing of profitability in future periods, we recorded valuation allowances in certain of these foreign subsidiaries based on the facts and circumstances affecting each subsidiary. Furthermore, during the third quarter of fiscal 2009, we recorded a deferred tax asset for foreign tax credit carryforwards resulting from the election to credit foreign taxes on our fiscal 2008 tax return. This carryforward was substantially offset by a valuation allowance, since the future utilization of these credits is uncertain. Had we not recorded these allowances, we would have reported a lower effective tax rate than was recognized in our statements of operations in fiscal 2008 and during the first forty weeks of fiscal 2009. If the realization of deferred tax assets is considered more likely than not, an adjustment to the net deferred tax assets would increase net income in the period such determination was made. The amount of the deferred tax asset considered realizable is based on significant estimates, and it is possible that changes in these estimates could materially affect our financial condition and results of operations.

        Our effective tax rate may vary from period to period based on changes in estimated taxable income or loss, changes to the valuation allowance, changes to federal, state, or foreign tax laws, future expansion into areas with varying country, state, and local income tax rates, deductibility of certain costs, uncertain tax positions, and expenses by jurisdiction, and as a result of acquisitions.

        The calculation of our tax liabilities involves dealing with uncertainties in the application of complex tax regulations in several different tax jurisdictions. We are periodically reviewed by domestic and foreign tax authorities regarding the amount of taxes due. These reviews include questions

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regarding the timing and amount of deductions and the allocation of income among various tax jurisdictions. In evaluating the exposure associated with various filing positions, we record estimated reserves for probable exposures. Based on our evaluation of current tax positions, we believe we have appropriately accrued for probable exposures.

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

        In July 2009, the FASB Accounting Standards Codification (the "Codification") officially became the single source of authoritative nongovernmental U.S. GAAP, superseding existing FASB, American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, EITF, and related accounting literature. Going forward, only one level of authoritative GAAP will exist. All other accounting literature will be considered non-authoritative. The Codification reorganizes the thousands of GAAP pronouncements into roughly 90 accounting topics and displays them using a consistent structure. Also included in the Codification is relevant SEC guidance organized using the same topical structure in separate sections within the Codification. The Codification is effective for interim and annual periods ending after September 15, 2009, which is our fourth quarter of fiscal 2009. This will have an impact to our financial statement disclosures since all future references to authoritative accounting literature will be references in accordance with the Codification.

        In May 2009, the FASB issued SFAS No. 165, "Subsequent Events" ("SFAS 165"). SFAS 165 establishes general accounting for and disclosure of events that occur after the balance sheet date but before financial statements are issued or available to be issued. This statement also outlines the circumstances under which an entity would need to record transactions occurring after the balance sheet date in the financial statements. These new disclosures will identify the date through which the entity has evaluated subsequent events. We adopted SFAS 165 in the fiscal quarter ended September 4, 2009 and it did not have a material impact on our consolidated statement of operations and financial condition. We have evaluated subsequent events for recognition or disclosure through the date we filed this Form 10-Q with the SEC.

        In May 2008, the FASB issued Staff Position Accounting Principles Board Opinion 14-1, "Accounting for Convertible Debt Instruments That May Be Settled in Cash upon Conversion (Including Partial Cash Settlement)" ("FSP No. APB 14-1"), which changes the accounting treatment for convertible debt instruments that allow for either mandatory or optional cash settlements. FSP No. APB 14-1 will require us to recognize non-cash interest expense on our convertible senior subordinated debentures based on the market rate for similar debt instruments without the conversion feature. FSP No. APB 14-1 is effective for fiscal years beginning on or after December 15, 2008, which is our fiscal 2010, and must be applied on a retrospective basis. We are currently evaluating the impact that FSP No. APB 14-1 will have on our consolidated statements of operations and financial condition.

        In December 2007, the FASB issued SFAS No. 141R, "Business Combinations" ("SFAS 141R"). SFAS 141R requires the acquiring entity in a business combination to record all assets acquired and liabilities assumed at their respective acquisition-date fair values, changes the recognition of assets acquired and liabilities assumed arising from contingencies, changes the recognition and measurement of contingent consideration, and requires the expensing of acquisition-related costs as incurred. SFAS 141R also requires additional disclosure of information surrounding a business combination, such that users of the entity's financial statements can fully understand the nature and financial impact of the business combination. SFAS 141R applies prospectively to business combinations for which the acquisition date is on or after the beginning of the first annual reporting period beginning on or after December 15, 2008, which is our fiscal 2010. An entity may not apply SFAS 141R before that date. We will adopt the provisions of SFAS 141R in fiscal 2010. For business combinations completed on or subsequent to the adoption date, the application of this statement could have a significant impact on our consolidated statement of operations and financial condition, the magnitude of which will depend on the specific terms and conditions of the transactions.

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        In December 2007, the FASB issued SFAS No. 160, "Noncontrolling Interests in Consolidated Financial Statements—an Amendment of ARB No. 51" ("SFAS 160"). SFAS 160 establishes accounting and reporting standards for noncontrolling interests (previously referred to as "minority interests") in a subsidiary and for the deconsolidation of a subsidiary, to ensure consistency with the requirements of SFAS 141R. SFAS 160 states that noncontrolling interests should be classified as a separate component of equity, and establishes reporting requirements that provide sufficient disclosures that clearly identify and distinguish between the interests of the parent and the interests of the noncontrolling owners. SFAS 160 is effective for financial statements issued for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2008, which is our fiscal 2010. Early adoption is prohibited and the provisions will be applied prospectively except for the presentation and disclosure requirements, which will be applied retrospectively for all periods presented. We do not expect SFAS 160 to have a material impact on our consolidated statement of operations and financial condition.

Business Acquisition

        On June 9, 2009, we acquired substantially all of the assets of Marakon Associates, a leading strategy consulting firm known for pioneering value-based management. Under the terms of the transaction, we acquired substantially all of the assets of Marakon Associates, including intellectual property, accounts receivable, and all client projects currently underway. As a result of this acquisition, we added 48 employee consultants, who are based in the London, Chicago, and New York offices. The acquisition was not material.

Revised Financial Statements

        During the third quarter of fiscal 2009, we discovered errors related to our accounting for acquisition-related earnout payments that were made in connection with the acquisition of a business in fiscal 2006. An error occurred as a result of a $5 million earnout payment made by us to the seller of the business we acquired which was subsequently re-distributed by the seller to certain continuing employees of the acquired business. This payment was initially accounted for as additional purchase price and included in goodwill. In the third quarter of 2009, we determined that the $5 million had not been distributed by the seller in accordance with its initial ownership percentage interests and that this amount should be re-characterized as compensation expense and should be charged to income over the period the earnout payment was earned pursuant to the terms of the acquisition agreement. The $5 million earnout payment was earned over the two-year period beginning in May 2006 or the eight consecutive quarters beginning in the third quarter of fiscal 2006. The $5 million was paid to the seller in July 2007, as agreed to in the purchase agreement with the seller, however, the retention of the $5 million by the seller was based on the financial performance of the acquired business over the two-year period beginning in May 2006. Accordingly, the $5 million should have been charged to compensation expense over that two-year period on a level basis. Furthermore, in May 2009, a payment of $10.3 million was placed in escrow as a progress payment related to a possible future earnout amount that the seller of the acquired business referenced above could earn. The $10.3 million progress payment was calculated and paid pursuant to the terms of the purchase agreement with the seller into an escrow account. This amount was not earned by the seller, as the performance targets that need to be achieved are not expected to be met, and we expect the entire $10.3 million placed in escrow to be returned to us.

        We assessed the materiality of these errors in accordance with SEC Staff Accounting Bulletin No. 108, "Considering the Effects of Prior Year Misstatements when Quantifying Misstatements in Current Year Financial Statements," and determined that the errors were immaterial to the previously reported amounts contained in its periodic reports and we will correct the errors through subsequent periodic filings. The immaterial corrections have no effect on fiscal 2009 or the sixteen weeks ended August 29, 2008 results of operations, cash, or cash flows from operations. For purposes of the forty week period ended August 29, 2008, we have adjusted our costs of services and provision for income

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taxes to reflect the adjusted amounts. See Note 2 to the Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements for further discussions related to the revision of the immaterial prior period errors.

Results of Operations—For the Sixteen and Forty Weeks Ended September 4, 2009, Compared to the Sixteen and Forty Weeks Ended August 29, 2008

        The following table provides operating information as a percentage of revenues for the periods indicated:

Results of Operations—Sixteen Weeks Ended September 4, 2009, Compared to Sixteen Weeks Ended August 29, 2008

        Revenues.    Revenues decreased $21.9 million, or 19.7%, to $89.3 million for the third quarter of fiscal 2009 from $111.2 million for the third quarter of fiscal 2008. Our revenue decline was primarily the result of a decrease in market demand and the global economic crisis. In addition, our revenue decline was due in part to the divestiture of our Australian-based operations and the divestiture of our capital projects, legal business consulting, and other small practices during fiscal 2008. The divested operations generated approximately $3.4 million of revenue during the sixteen weeks ended August 29, 2008. In addition, the reported amount of our foreign currency denominated revenue declined in the third quarter of fiscal 2009 because of the strengthening of the U.S. dollar relative to the British pound and other foreign currencies. These decreases in revenue were partially offset by an increase in revenue of $2.9 million due to the consolidation of NeuCo, Inc., a subsidiary that we have an approximately 50% interest in, and increased billing rates for our employee consultants, which were in effect at the beginning of the first quarter of fiscal 2009. In addition, revenue generated by our new value management practice, which was formed from our acquisition of Marakon Associates, partially offset our overall revenue decline.

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        Revenues for our competition practice decreased by approximately 15% compared to the third quarter of fiscal 2008 reflecting the strengthening of the U.S. dollar relative to the British pound and other foreign currencies in the third quarter of fiscal 2009, a decrease in the demand for our services, and the closure of our Dallas office in fiscal 2008. Our competition practice continues to be our largest practice in terms of revenue. Revenues for our global industrial consulting practice declined approximately 50% in the third quarter of fiscal 2009 compared to the third quarter of fiscal 2008 because the demand for our services in this practice has declined due to the impact of the economic crisis on the chemicals industry, as well as the economic impact on oil companies facing low oil prices and high uncertainty, particularly in the U.S. In addition, revenues for this practice declined in part because of the strengthening of the U.S. dollar relative to the British pound and other foreign currencies in the third quarter of fiscal 2009. In our finance practice, revenues decreased approximately 30% compared to the third quarter of fiscal 2008. The decrease is primarily due to the conclusion or reduction in scale of some major projects that have not yet been fully replaced by projects of comparable scale because many of our clients in the financial services industry are carefully managing their cash and are postponing discretionary expenditures. Revenues from our Life Sciences practice decreased approximately 70% compared to the third quarter of fiscal 2008 due to the conclusion of a major litigation case and transitioning of those personnel to new accounts has been slow.

        Revenues from our forensics and labor and employment practices increased during the third quarter of fiscal 2009. While these practices are currently a relatively small portion of our overall revenues, they are an important part of our long term revenue growth. Revenues for our forensics practice increased nearly 45% compared to the third quarter of fiscal 2008 due to an increase in the demand for our services. Our labor and employment practice generated revenue growth of nearly 80% compared to the third quarter of fiscal 2008. This practice continues to be actively engaged in a wide variety of matters including Equal Employment Opportunity investigations, affirmative action program review, and wage and hour litigation projects.

        Overall, revenues outside of the U.S. represented approximately 25% of total revenues for the third quarter of fiscal 2009, compared with 21% of total revenues for the third quarter of fiscal 2008. The increase in international revenues is due primarily to the acquisition of Marakon Associates and an increase in the demand for our services in forensics practices in the United Kingdom and competition practice in Canada.

        The total number of employee consultants decreased to 585 as of the end of the third quarter of fiscal 2009 from 692 as of the end of the third quarter of fiscal 2008, which is primarily due to workforce reductions, and the divestiture of our capital projects, legal business consulting, and other small practices, completed during fiscal 2008, offset by an increase in employee consultants due to the Marakon Associates acquisition. Utilization was 69% for the third quarter of fiscal 2009 compared with 71% for the third quarter of fiscal 2008. Revenues derived from fixed-price engagements decreased to 7.3% of total revenues for the third quarter of fiscal 2009 compared with 8.5% for the third quarter of fiscal 2008.

        Costs of Services.    Costs of services decreased $14.6 million, or 19.8%, to $59.0 million for the third quarter of fiscal 2009 from $73.6 million for the third quarter of fiscal 2008. Included in costs of services are $1.1 million in costs of services due to the consolidation of NeuCo. The decrease in costs of services is mainly due to a decrease in compensation expense for our employee consultants of $15.6 million, or 26.0%. The decrease is due to a decrease in the average number of employee consultants, $4.2 million in additional retention incentive bonus for key officers that was accrued for in the third quarter of fiscal 2008, and a decrease in the reported amount of costs of services due to the strengthening of the U.S. dollar relative to the British pound and other foreign currencies. Partially offsetting these decreases is an increase in costs of services as a result of the Marakon Associates acquisition. As a percentage of revenues, costs of services decreased to 66.1% for the third quarter of fiscal 2009 from 66.2% for the third quarter of fiscal 2008. Included in costs of services for the third

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quarter of fiscal 2009 are NeuCo's costs of services, which represent 1.3% of revenue. The decrease in costs of services as a percentage of revenue is due to a decrease in compensation expense of 4.3%, offset by an increase in client reimbursable expenses of 3.0%. Client reimbursable expenses are pass-through expenses that carry little to no margin.

        Selling, General, and Administrative Expenses.    Selling, general, and administrative expenses decreased by $3.1 million, or 12.5%, to $21.7 million for the third quarter of fiscal 2009 from $24.9 million for the third quarter of fiscal 2008. Included in selling, general, and administrative expenses are $1.8 million related to the consolidation of NeuCo. The decrease in selling, general, and administrative expenses is largely due to a decrease in compensation expense due to a reduction in support staff, reductions in travel expenses due to a company-wide effort to reduce expenses, and a decrease in the reported amount of selling, general, and administrative expense due to the strengthening of the U.S. dollar relative to the British pound and other foreign currencies. As a percentage of revenues, selling, general, and administrative expenses increased to 24.4% for the third quarter of fiscal 2009 from 22.4% for the third quarter of fiscal 2008. The 2.0% increase in selling, general, and administrative expenses as a percentage of revenues was primarily due to the consolidation of NeuCo.

        Depreciation and Amortization.    Depreciation and amortization decreased by $0.1 million, or 4.0%, to $2.4 million for the third quarter of fiscal 2009 from $2.5 million for the third quarter of fiscal 2008. The decrease is largely due to a decrease in leasehold improvements and computer equipment due to office closures and reduced headcount. This decrease is partially offset by an increase in depreciation and amortization of $0.2 million related to the consolidation of NeuCo.

        Interest Income.    Interest income decreased by $0.7 million to $0.1 million for the third quarter of fiscal 2009 from $0.8 million for the third quarter of fiscal 2008. This decrease was due primarily to lower interest rates and more conservative investment holdings.

        Interest Expense.    Interest expense decreased by $0.1 million to $0.9 million for the third quarter of fiscal 2009 from $1.0 million for the third quarter of fiscal 2008. Interest expense primarily represents interest incurred on our 2.875% convertible debt, and the amortization of debt issuance costs.

        Other Income (Expense).    Other income (expense) decreased by $0.9 million to expense of $0.2 million for the third quarter of fiscal 2009 from income of $0.7 million for the third quarter of fiscal 2008. Other income (expense) consists primarily of foreign currency exchange transaction gains and losses. The gain in the third quarter of fiscal 2008 was principally the result of recording a cumulative foreign currency exchange gain of $0.7 million related to the substantial liquidation of our New Zealand based- operations. We continue to manage our foreign currency exchange exposure through frequent settling of intercompany account balances and by self-hedging movements in exchange rates between the value of the dollar and foreign currencies and the Euro and the British pound.

        Provision for Income Taxes.    The provision for income taxes was $2.6 million for the third quarter of fiscal 2009, a decrease of $3.9 million from the third quarter of fiscal 2008. Our effective income tax rate decreased to 51.8% for the third quarter of fiscal 2009 from 60.9% for the third quarter of fiscal 2008. The effective rate for the third quarter of fiscal 2009 was lower than the effective rate for the third quarter of fiscal 2008 because the third quarter of fiscal 2009 reflects a smaller amount of foreign losses for which no tax benefit has been provided. The effective rate for the third quarter of fiscal 2009 also includes a tax charge incurred by NeuCo related to a true-up of taxes for prior periods.

        Minority Interest.    In October of fiscal 2008, our ownership interest in NeuCo increased to approximately 50%, which represents control. As a result, NeuCo's financial results since that time have been consolidated with ours and allocations of the minority share of NeuCo's net income result in deductions to our net income, while allocations of the minority share of NeuCo's net loss result in

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additions to our net income, as more fully described in Note 4 to our Notes to Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements. Minority interest in the results of operations of NeuCo allocable to its other owners was a net loss of $0.4 million for the third quarter of fiscal 2009.

        Net Income.    Net income decreased by $1.3 million to $2.9 million for the third quarter of fiscal 2009 from $4.2 million for the third quarter of fiscal 2008. The decrease in net income is due primarily to a decrease in revenue and utilization. Diluted net income per share decreased to $0.27 per share for the third quarter of fiscal 2009 from $0.39 per share for the third quarter of fiscal 2008. Diluted weighted average shares outstanding decreased by approximately 14,000 shares to approximately 10,751,000 shares for the third quarter of fiscal 2009 from approximately 10,764,000 shares for the third quarter of fiscal 2008.

Results of Operations—Forty Weeks Ended September 4, 2009 Compared to Forty Weeks Ended August 29, 2008

        Revenues.    Revenues decreased $64.1 million, or 22.0%, to $227.1 million for the forty weeks ended September 4, 2009 from $291.1 million for the forty weeks ended August 29, 2008. Our revenue decline was primarily the result of a decrease in market demand and the global economic crisis. In addition, our revenue decline was due in part to the divestiture of our Australian-based operations and the divestiture of our capital projects, legal business consulting, forensic computing and investigations, and other small practices during fiscal 2008. The divested operations generated approximately $14.2 million of revenue during the forty weeks ended August 29, 2008. In addition, the reported amount of our foreign currency denominated revenue declined in the forty weeks ended September 4, 2009 because of the strengthening of the U.S. dollar relative to the British pound and other foreign currencies. Another factor contributing to our revenue decline was the decrease in client reimbursable expenses. Client reimbursable expenses are pass-through expenses that carry little to no margin. These decreases in revenue were partially offset by an increase in revenue of $7.1 million due to the consolidation of NeuCo, Inc., a subsidiary that we have an approximately 50% interest in, and increased billing rates for our employee consultants, which were in effect at the beginning of the first quarter of fiscal 2009. In addition, revenue generated by our new value management practice, which was formed from our acquisition of Marakon Associates, partially offset our overall revenue decline.

        Revenues for our competition practice decreased by approximately 20% compared to the forty weeks ended August 29, 2008 due to a decrease in demand for our services, the divestiture of our Australian-based operations and the closure of our Dallas office in fiscal 2008, and the strengthening of the U.S. dollar relative to the British pound and other foreign currencies in the forty weeks ended September 4, 2009. Our competition practice continues to be our largest practice in terms of revenue. Revenues from our global industrial consulting practice declined approximately 40% in the forty weeks ended September 4, 2009 compared to the forty weeks ended August 29, 2008 due primarily to a decrease in demand for our services in this practice due to the impact of the economic crisis on the chemicals industry, as well as the economic impact on oil companies facing low oil prices and high uncertainty, particularly in the U.S. The decrease in our global industrial consulting practice revenue is also partially attributed to the strengthening of the U.S. dollar relative to the British pound and other foreign currencies in the forty weeks ended September 4, 2009. These declines were partially offset by an increase in activity related to large global industrial consulting projects in the Middle East region. In our finance practice, revenues decreased nearly 35% in the forty weeks ended September 4, 2009 compared to the forty weeks ended August 29, 2008. The decrease is primarily due to the conclusion or reduction in scale of some major projects that have not yet been fully replaced by projects of comparable scale because many of our clients in the financial services industry are carefully managing their cash and are postponing discretionary expenditures. Our intellectual property practice revenues decreased approximately 25% in the forty weeks ended September 4, 2009 compared to the forty weeks ended August 29, 2008 due to a decrease in market demand.

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        Revenues from our labor and employment practice increased approximately 75% during the forty weeks ended September 4, 2009 compared to the forty weeks ended August 29, 2008. While this practice is currently a relatively small portion of our overall revenues, it is an important part of our long term revenue growth. This practice continues to be actively engaged in a wide variety of matters including Equal Employment Opportunity investigations, affirmative action program review, and wage and hour litigation projects.

        Overall, revenues outside of the U.S. represented approximately 24% of total revenues for the forty weeks ended September 4, 2009, compared with 22% of total revenues for the forty weeks ended August 29, 2008. The increase in international revenues is due primarily to an increase in activity related to large global industrial consulting projects in the Middle East region, an area where we have been focusing our business development efforts for several quarters, and the acquisition of Marakon Associates.

        Utilization was 70% for the forty weeks ended September 4, 2009 compared with 72% for the forty weeks ended August 29, 2008. Revenues derived from fixed-price engagements increased to 9.5% of total revenues for the forty weeks ended September 4, 2009 compared with 7.8% for the forty weeks ended August 29, 2008.

        Costs of Services.    Costs of services decreased $45.4 million, or 23.2%, to $149.9 million for the forty weeks ended September 4, 2009 from $195.2 million for the forty weeks ended August 29, 2008. Included in costs of services are $3.5 million in total costs of services due to the consolidation of NeuCo for the forty weeks ended September 4, 2009, including $0.1 million of client reimbursable expenses for NeuCo. The decrease in costs of services is mainly due to a decrease in compensation expense for our employee consultants of $42.7 million, or 27.2%. The decrease in compensation expense is due to a decrease in the average number of employee consultants, $5.5 million in additional retention incentive bonus for key officers that was accrued for during the forty weeks ended August 29, 2008, and a decrease in the reported amount of costs of services due to the strengthening of the U.S. dollar relative to the British pound and other foreign currencies. In addition, client reimbursable expenses decreased $6.0 million, or 15.8%, to $32.2 million for the forty weeks ended September 4, 2009 from $38.2 million for the forty weeks ended August 29, 2008. Included in costs of services are $1.9 million and $2.9 million in restructuring charges recognized during the forty weeks ended September 4, 2009 and August 29, 2008, respectively. The restructuring charges for the forty weeks ended September 4, 2009 are principally associated with an employee workforce reduction. The restructuring charges for the forty weeks ended August 29, 2008 are associated with an employee workforce reduction and the divestiture or shutting down of the majority of our Australian and New Zealand-based operations. As a percentage of revenues, costs of services decreased to 66.0% for the forty weeks ended September 4, 2009 from 67.1% for the forty weeks ended August 29, 2008. Included in costs of services for the forty weeks ended September 4, 2009 are NeuCo's costs of services, which represent 1.5% of revenue. The decrease in costs of services as a percentage of revenue is due to a decrease in compensation expense of 3.6%, offset by an increase in client reimbursable expenses of 1.1%.

        Selling, General, and Administrative Expenses.    Selling, general, and administrative expenses decreased by $13.0 million, or 18.5%, to $57.5 million for the forty weeks ended September 4, 2009 from $70.5 million for the forty weeks ended August 29, 2008. Included in selling, general, and administrative expenses are $3.9 million related to the consolidation of NeuCo. The decrease in selling, general, and administrative expenses is largely due to a decrease in compensation expense due to a reduction in support staff, reductions in travel, recruiting, and rent expenses due to a company-wide effort to reduce expenses, commissions to non-employee experts, and a decrease in the reported amount of selling, general, and administrative expense due to the strengthening of the U.S. dollar relative to the British pound and other foreign currencies. Included in selling, general, and administrative expenses are $1.3 million and $3.8 million in restructuring charges recognized during the

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forty weeks ended September 4, 2009 and August 29, 2008, respectively. The restructuring charges for the forty weeks ended September 4, 2009 are principally associated with an employee workforce reduction and also includes a revision to an estimate for a previously recorded office closure liability. The restructuring charges for the forty weeks ended August 29, 2008 are associated with an employee workforce reduction, office closures, and the divestiture or shutting down of the majority of our Australian and New Zealand-based operations. As a percentage of revenues, selling, general, and administrative expenses increased to 25.3% for the forty weeks ended September 4, 2009 from 24.2% for the forty weeks ended August 29, 2008. The 1.1% increase in selling, general, and administrative expenses as a percentage of revenues was primarily due to a 1.7% increase due to the consolidation of NeuCo and an increase in rent expenses as a percentage of revenues, offset in part by a decrease in compensation and travel expenses as a percentage of revenues.

        Depreciation and Amortization.    Depreciation and amortization decreased by $3.5 million, or 36.2%, to $6.1 million for the forty weeks ended September 4, 2009 from $9.6 million for the forty weeks ended August 29, 2008. Included in depreciation and amortization are $2.7 million in restructuring charges recognized during the forty weeks ended August 29, 2008 associated with office closures and the divestiture or shutting down of the majority of our Australian and New Zealand-based operations. In addition, the decrease is attributable to a decrease in leasehold improvements and computer equipment due to office closures and reduced headcount.

        Interest Income.    Interest income decreased by $2.3 million to $0.4 million for the forty weeks ended September 4, 2009 from $2.6 million for the forty weeks ended August 29, 2008. This decrease was mainly due to lower interest rates and more conservative investment holdings.

        Interest Expense.    Interest expense decreased by $0.2 million to $2.3 million for the forty weeks ended September 4, 2009 from $2.5 million for the forty weeks ended August 29, 2008. Interest expense primarily represents interest incurred on our 2.875% convertible debt, the amortization of debt issuance costs, and $0.1 million related to the consolidation of NeuCo.

        Gain on Extinguishment of Convertible Debentures.    During the forty weeks ended September 4, 2009, the Company repurchased convertible debentures in the principal amount of approximately $7.0 million, on the open market, for approximately $6.6 million, resulting in a $0.3 million gain on a pre-tax basis.

        Other Income (Expense).    Other expense was $0.2 million for the forty weeks ended September 4, 2009 versus other income of $0.9 million for the forty weeks ended August 29, 2008. Other income (expense) consists primarily of foreign currency exchange transaction gains and losses. The loss in the forty weeks ended September 4, 2009 was largely attributable to recording a cumulative foreign currency exchange loss of $0.4 million due to the liquidation of our Australian-based operations. The gain in the forty weeks ended August 29, 2008 was principally the result of recording a cumulative foreign currency exchange gain of $0.7 million related to the substantial liquidation of our New Zealand based-operations. We continue to manage our foreign currency exchange exposure through frequent settling of intercompany account balances and by self-hedging movements in exchange rates between the value of the dollar and foreign currencies and the Euro and the British pound.

        Provision for Income Taxes.    The provision for income taxes was $7.0 million for the forty weeks ended September 4, 2009, a decrease of $3.7 million from the forty weeks ended August 29, 2008. Our effective income tax rate decreased to 59.7% for the first forty weeks of fiscal 2009 from 63.2% for the first forty weeks of fiscal 2008. The effective tax rate for the forty weeks ended September 4, 2009 reflects a lower amount of foreign losses for which no tax benefit has been provided, compared to the same period in fiscal 2008. The effective rate for the forty weeks ended September 4, 2009, also includes a tax charge in the third quarter of fiscal 2009 incurred by NeuCo related to a true-up of taxes for prior periods.

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        Minority Interest.    In October of fiscal 2008, our ownership interest in NeuCo increased to approximately 50%, which represents control. As a result, NeuCo's financial results since that time have been consolidated with ours and allocations of the minority share of NeuCo's net income result in deductions to our net income, while allocations of the minority share of NeuCo's net loss result in additions to our net income, as more fully described in Note 4 to our Notes to Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements. Minority interest in the results of operations of NeuCo allocable to its other owners was a net loss of $0.6 million for the first forty weeks of fiscal 2009.

        Net Income (Loss).    Net income decreased by $0.8 million, or 13.1%, to $5.3 million for the forty weeks ended September 4, 2009 from $6.1 million for the forty weeks ended August 29, 2008. Diluted net income per share decreased 10.7% to $0.50 per share for the forty weeks ended September 4, 2009 from $0.56 per share for the forty weeks ended August 29, 2008. Net income decreased at a greater rate than diluted net income per share because diluted weighted average shares outstanding decreased 275,000 shares, or 2.5%, to approximately 10,703,000 shares for the forty weeks ended September 4, 2009 from approximately 10,978,000 shares for the forty weeks ended August 29, 2008. The decrease in diluted weighted average shares outstanding is primarily due to decreases in common stock equivalents from employee stock option and restricted share awards and shares underlying our convertible debt due to the decline in our stock price.

Liquidity and Capital Resources

        General.    In the forty weeks ended September 4, 2009, cash and cash equivalents decreased by $14.5 million. We completed the quarter with cash and cash equivalents of $104.8 million, and working capital (defined as current assets less current liabilities) of $147.8 million.

        We believe that current cash balances, cash generated from operations, and amounts available under our bank line of credit will be sufficient to meet our anticipated working capital, capital expenditure, and contingent consideration payment requirements for at least the next 12 months.

        Sources and Uses of Cash in the forty weeks ended September 4, 2009.    During the first forty weeks of fiscal 2009, net cash provided by operations was $9.2 million. The sources of cash in operations included net income of $5.3 million, which included depreciation and amortization expense of $6.2 million and share- based compensation expense of $4.8 million. Other sources of cash were a result of a decrease in accounts receivable of $16.7 million and unbilled services of $10.0 million. Accounts receivable and unbilled services decreased primarily due to a decrease in revenue, offset partially by an increase in accounts receivable due to the acquisition of Marakon Associates. The sources of cash in operations were offset by uses of cash including a decrease in accounts payable, accrued expenses, and other liabilities of $32.4 million. The payment of fiscal 2008 bonuses totaling approximately $45.7 million are included in the decrease in accounts payable, accrued expenses, and other liabilities during the forty weeks ending September 4, 2009.

        We used $17.1 million of net cash from investing activities for the first forty weeks of fiscal 2009, which included $15.7 million of net acquisition consideration payments and an escrowed deposit and $1.5 million for capital expenditures.

        We used $7.5 million of net cash from financing activities for the first forty weeks of fiscal 2009. Cash used in financing activities was primarily used for the repurchase of convertible debentures in the principal amount of approximately $7.0 million for a repurchase price of approximately $6.6 million and to redeem $0.7 million in vested employee restricted shares for tax withholdings.

        Private Placement of Convertible Debt.    In 2004, we completed a private placement of $90.0 million of 2.875% convertible senior subordinated debentures due in 2034. The debentures are our direct, unsecured senior subordinated obligations and rank junior in right of payment to our existing bank revolving line of credit and any future secured indebtedness that we may designate as senior

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indebtedness. Interest of approximately $1.0 million, is payable semi-annually on June 15 and December 15.

        As a result of our election on December 14, 2004, we must settle the conversion of the debentures, as follows: (i) $1,000 in cash per $1,000 principal amount of debentures converted; and (ii) in cash or shares of our common stock (at our further election, except for cash in lieu of fractional shares), any conversion obligation that exceeds the principal amount of the debentures converted.

        Pursuant to the terms of the indenture governing the debentures, since the closing stock price did not equal or exceed the $50 per share contingent conversion trigger price for 20 out of the 30 consecutive trading days ended on September 4, 2009, the market price conversion trigger was not satisfied and holders of the debentures are not able to exercise their right to convert the bonds as of the first trading day of the fourth quarter of fiscal 2009. This test is repeated each fiscal quarter. To date, no conversions have occurred. During the second quarter of fiscal 2009 and the fourth quarter of fiscal 2008, we repurchased $7.0 million and $10.2 million of our convertible bonds, respectively, on the open market, at a discount. We believe that in the event the contingent conversion trigger price is met, it is unlikely that a significant percentage of bondholders will exercise their right to convert because the debentures have traded at a premium over their conversion value. Since the holders of the debentures are not able to exercise their right to convert the bonds as of September 4, 2009, we have classified the $72.8 million convertible debt as long-term debt as of September 4, 2009, in the accompanying condensed consolidated balance sheet. Our revolving line of credit to borrow up to $60.0 million expires on April 30, 2012 and it is our intention to renew or replace the revolving line of credit, as desirable and available, which would allow us to continue to classify a portion of our convertible debentures as long-term debt, rather than short-term in future periods. In addition, the revolving line of credit gives us additional flexibility to meet any unforeseen financial requirements.

        As early as June 15, 2011 or upon certain specified fundamental changes, we may be required to repurchase all or any portion of the debentures, at the option of each holder, which, in the event of a fundamental change involving a change of control of our firm, may include the payment of a make-whole premium.

        Borrowings under the Revolving Line of Credit.    We are party to a senior loan agreement with our bank for a $60.0 million revolving line of credit with a maturity date of April 30, 2012. Subject to the terms of the agreement, we may use borrowings under this revolving line of credit for acquisition financing, working capital, general corporate purposes, letters of credit, and foreign exchanges contracts. The available revolving line of credit is reduced, as necessary, to account for certain outstanding letters of credit. The $60.0 million credit facility allows us to mitigate the potential liquidity risk, and to provide funding if required, in the event of conversion by the debenture holders. Funds available under the facility currently allow us to continue to classify a portion of our convertible debentures as long-term debt, rather than short-term, even if the convertible debentures have a right to convert in the short-term because the conversion trigger price discussed above is met, so long as the revolving line of credit is, at that time, classified as long-term debt. The revolving line of credit also gives us additional flexibility to meet any unforeseen financial requirements. The amounts available under our bank revolving line of credit are constrained by various financial covenants and reduced by certain outstanding letters of credit. As of September 4, 2009, there were no amounts outstanding under this revolving line of credit and $5.1 million in letters of credit were outstanding.

        Borrowings under our credit facility bear interest, at LIBOR plus an applicable margin. Applicable margins range from 2.0% to 3.5%, depending on the ratio of our consolidated total debt to consolidated earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, or EBITDA, for the preceding four fiscal quarters, subject to various adjustments stated in the senior loan agreement. These margins are adjusted both quarterly and each time we borrow under the credit facility. Interest is payable monthly. A commitment fee of 0.25% is payable on the unused portion of the credit facility.

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Borrowings under the credit facility are secured by 100% of the stock of certain of our U.S. subsidiaries and 65% of the stock of certain of our foreign subsidiaries, which represents approximately $70.7 million in net assets as of September 4, 2009.

        Debt Restrictions.    Under our senior loan agreement, we must comply with various financial and non-financial covenants. The financial covenants require us to maintain a minimum consolidated working capital of $25.0 million and require us to comply with a consolidated total debt to EBITDA ratio of not more than 3.5 to 1.0 and a consolidated senior debt to EBITDA ratio of not more than 2.0 to 1.0. Compliance with these financial covenants is tested on a fiscal quarterly basis. In March 2005, we amended the definition of "current liabilities" included in the working capital covenant of the senior credit agreement to exclude any convertible subordinated debt for which we have not been notified of the intention to convert. The non-financial covenants of the senior credit agreement place certain restrictions on our ability to incur additional indebtedness, engage in acquisitions or dispositions, and enter into business combinations. Any indebtedness outstanding under the senior credit facility may become immediately due and payable upon the occurrence of stated events of default, including our failure to pay principal, interest or fees or a violation of any financial covenant. As of September 4, 2009, we were in compliance with our covenants under the senior credit agreement.

        Other Matters.    As part of our business, we regularly evaluate opportunities to acquire other consulting firms, practices or groups or other businesses. In recent years, we have typically paid for acquisitions with cash, or a combination of cash and our common stock, and we may continue to do so in the future. To pay for an acquisition, we may use cash on hand, cash generated from our operations, or borrowings under our revolving credit facility, or we may pursue other forms of financing. Our ability to secure short-term and long-term debt or equity financing in the future, including our ability to refinance our current senior loan agreement, will depend on several factors, including our future profitability, the levels of our debt and equity, restrictions under our existing revolving line of credit with our bank, and the overall credit and equity market environments.

        In June 2007, we announced that our Board of Directors authorized a share repurchase program of up to a total of 1,500,000 shares of our common stock. We will finance the repurchase program with available cash and cash from future operations. We may repurchase shares in open market purchases or in privately negotiated transactions in accordance with applicable insider trading and other securities laws and regulations. To date, we have repurchased 1,284,282 shares under this plan for approximately $55.3 million. We expect to continue to repurchase shares under the share repurchase program.

        In addition, we may from time to time seek to retire or repurchase portions of our 2.875% convertible debentures through cash purchases and/or exchanges for equity securities, in open market purchases, privately negotiated transactions or otherwise. Such repurchases or exchanges, if any, will depend on prevailing market conditions, our liquidity requirements, contractual restrictions and other factors. The amounts involved may be material.

        Contingencies.    In connection with an acquisition we completed in fiscal 2009, we agreed to pay incentive performance awards, if specific performance targets are met in fiscal 2010 through fiscal 2012. In addition, in connection with an acquisition completed during fiscal 2006, we agreed to pay additional consideration, contingent upon the achievement of specific performance targets. We believe that we will have sufficient funds to satisfy any obligations related to the incentive performance awards and contingent consideration. We expect to fund these payments, if any, from existing cash resources, cash generated from operations, or financing transactions.

        Impact of Inflation.    To date, inflation has not had a material impact on our financial results. There can be no assurance, however, that inflation will not adversely affect our financial results in the future.

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Factors Affecting Future Performance

        Part II, Item 1A of this quarterly report sets forth risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the results contemplated by the forward-looking statements contained in this quarterly report. If any of these risks, or any risks not presently known to us or that we currently believe are not significant, develops into an actual event, then our business, financial condition, and results of operations could be adversely affected.

ITEM 3.    Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk

Foreign Exchange Risk

        The majority of our operations are based in the U.S., and accordingly, the majority of our transactions are denominated in U.S. dollars. However, we have foreign-based operations where transactions are denominated in foreign currencies and are subject to market risk with respect to fluctuations in the relative value of foreign currencies. Our primary foreign currency exposures relate to our short-term intercompany balances with our foreign subsidiaries and accounts receivable and cash valued in the United Kingdom in U.S. dollars. Our primary foreign subsidiaries have functional currencies denominated in the British pound and Euro, and foreign denominated assets and liabilities are remeasured each reporting period with any exchange gains and losses recorded in our consolidated statements of operations. We continue to manage our foreign currency exchange exposure through frequent settling of intercompany account balances and by self-hedging movements in exchange rates between the value of the dollar and foreign currencies and the Euro and the British pound. Although fluctuations in foreign exchange rates may impact reported revenues and expenses significantly, based on currency exposures at September 4, 2009, a hypothetical 10% movement in foreign exchange rates would not expose us to significant gains or losses in earnings or cash flows.

        From time to time, we may use derivative instruments to manage the risk of exchange rate fluctuations. However, at September 4, 2009, we had no outstanding derivative instruments. We do not use derivative instruments for trading or speculative purposes.

Interest Rate Risk

        We maintain an investment portfolio consisting mainly of U.S. government obligations, funds holding only U.S. government obligations, and corporate obligations with a weighted average maturity of less than 60 days. These held-to-maturity securities are subject to interest rate risk. However, a hypothetical change in the interest rate of 10% would not have a material impact to the fair values of these securities at September 4, 2009 primarily due to their short maturity.

ITEM 4.    Controls and Procedures

Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures

        Under the supervision and with the participation of our management, including our President and Chief Executive Officer and our Chief Financial Officer, we evaluated the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures as of the end of the period covered by this report. Based upon that evaluation, our President and Chief Executive Officer and our Chief Financial Officer concluded that our disclosure controls and procedures were effective to provide reasonable assurance that we record, process, summarize and report the information we must disclose in reports that we file or submit under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, within the time periods specified in the SEC's rules and forms.

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Evaluation of Changes in Internal Control over Financial Reporting

        Under the supervision and with the participation of our management, including our President and Chief Executive Officer and our Chief Financial Officer, we have determined that, during the third quarter of fiscal 2009, there were no changes in our internal control over financial reporting that have affected, or are reasonably likely to affect, materially our internal control over financial reporting.

Important Considerations

        The effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures and our internal control over financial reporting is subject to various inherent limitations, including cost limitations, judgments used in decision making, assumptions about the likelihood of future events, the soundness of our systems, the possibility of human error, and the risk of fraud. Moreover, projections of any evaluation of effectiveness of future periods are subject to the risk that controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions and the risk that the degree of compliance with policies or procedures may deteriorate over time. Because of these limitations, there can be no assurance that any system of disclosure controls and procedures or internal control over financial reporting will be successful in preventing all errors or fraud or in making all material information known in a timely manner to the appropriate levels of management.

PART II. OTHER INFORMATION

ITEM 1.    Legal Proceedings

        None.

ITEM 1A.    Risk Factors

        Our operations are subject to a number of risks. You should carefully read and consider the following risk factors, together with all other information in this report, in evaluating our business. If any of these risks, or any risks not presently known to us or that we currently believe are not significant, develops into an actual event, then our business, financial condition, and results of operations could be adversely affected. If that happens, the market price of our common stock could decline, and you may lose all or part of your investment.

Continuing deterioration of global economic conditions, global market and credit conditions, and regulatory and legislative changes affecting our clients, practice areas, competitors, or staff could have an impact on our business

        Overall global economic conditions and global market and credit conditions in the industries we service could impact the market for our services. A number of factors outside of our control include the availability of credit, the costs and terms of borrowing, merger and acquisition activity, and general economic factors and business conditions. For example, the current global economic crisis and credit crunch have resulted in, and may continue to result in, reduced merger and acquisition activity levels.

        Similarly, many of our clients are in highly regulated industries. Regulatory and legislative changes in these industries could also impact the market for our service offerings and could render our current service offerings obsolete, reduce the demand for our services, or impact the competition for consulting and expert services. For example, potential changes in the patent laws could have a significant impact on our intellectual property practice. We are not able to predict the positive or negative effects that future events or changes to the U.S. or international business environment could have on our operations.

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Our international operations create special risks

        Our international operations carry special financial and business risks, including:

•

greater difficulties in managing and staffing foreign operations;



•

difficulties in maintaining world-wide utilization levels;



•

lower margins;



•

currency fluctuations that adversely affect our financial position and operating results;



•

unexpected changes in trading policies, regulatory requirements, tariffs, and other barriers;



•

different practices in collecting accounts receivable;



•

increased selling, general, and administrative expenses associated with managing a larger and more global organization;



•

longer sales cycles;



•

restrictions on the repatriation of earnings;



•

potentially adverse tax consequences, such as trapped foreign losses;



•

the impact of differences in the legal and regulatory environment in foreign jurisdictions, as well as U.S. laws and regulations related to our foreign operations;



•

less stable political and economic environments; and



•

civil disturbances or other catastrophic events that reduce business activity.

        We conduct a portion of our business in the Middle East. At times, the ongoing terrorist activity and military and other conflicts in the region have significantly interrupted our business operations in that region and have slowed the flow of new opportunities and proposals, which can ultimately affect our revenues and results of operations.

        If our international revenues increase relative to our total revenues, these factors could have a more pronounced affect on our operating results.

We depend upon key employees to generate revenue

        Our business consists primarily of the delivery of professional services, and accordingly, our success depends heavily on the efforts, abilities, business generation capabilities, and project execution capabilities of our employee consultants. In particular, our employee consultants' personal relationships with our clients are a critical element in obtaining and maintaining client engagements. If we lose the services of any employee consultant or group of employee consultants, or if our employee consultants fail to generate business or otherwise fail to perform effectively, that loss or failure could adversely affect our revenues and results of operations. Our employee consultants generated engagements that accounted for approximately 83% of our revenues in fiscal 2008 and approximately 86% in fiscal 2007, excluding reimbursable expenses. Our top five employee consultants generated approximately 11% of our revenues in fiscal 2008 and fiscal 2007, respectively, excluding reimbursable expenses.

        We do not have non-compete agreements with the majority of our employee consultants, and they can terminate their relationships with us at will and without notice. The non-competition and non-solicitation agreements that we have with some of our employee consultants offer us only limited protection and may not be enforceable in every jurisdiction. In the event that employees leave, such clients may decide that they prefer to continue working with the employee rather than with us. In the event an employee departs and acts in a way that we believe violates their non-competition or non-solicitation agreement, we will consider any legal remedies we may have against such person on a

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case-by-case basis. We may decide that preserving cooperation and a professional relationship with the former employee or client, or other concerns, outweigh the benefits of any possible legal recovery.

Acquisitions may disrupt our operations or adversely affect our results

        We regularly evaluate opportunities to acquire other businesses. The expenses we incur evaluating and pursuing acquisitions could adversely affect our results of operations. If we acquire a business, we may be unable to manage it profitably or successfully integrate its operations with our own. Moreover, we may be unable to realize the financial, operational, and other benefits we anticipate from these acquisitions or any other acquisition. Many potential acquisition targets do not meet our criteria, and for those that do, we face significant competition for these acquisitions from our direct competitors, private equity funds, and other enterprises. Competition for future acquisition opportunities in our markets could increase the price we pay for businesses we acquire and could reduce the number of potential acquisition targets. Further, acquisitions may involve a number of special financial and business risks, such as:

•

charges related to any potential acquisition from which we may withdraw;



•

diversion of our management's time, attention, and resources;



•

decreased utilization during the integration process;



•

loss of key acquired personnel;



•

increased costs to improve or coordinate managerial, operational, financial, and administrative systems including compliance with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002;



•

dilutive issuances of equity securities, including convertible debt securities;



•

the assumption of legal liabilities;



•

amortization of acquired intangible assets;



•

potential write-offs related to the impairment of goodwill, including if our enterprise value declines below certain levels;



•

difficulties in integrating diverse corporate cultures; and



•

additional conflicts of interests.

We may need to take material write-offs for the impairment of goodwill and other intangible assets if our market capitalization declines

        As further described in Note 8 of our Notes to Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements, goodwill and intangible assets with indefinite lives are monitored annually for impairment, or more frequently, if there are indicators of impairment. In performing the first step of the goodwill impairment testing and measurement process, we compare our entity-wide estimated fair value to net book value to identify potential impairment. We estimate the entity-wide fair value utilizing our market capitalization, plus an appropriate control premium. We have utilized a control premium which considers appropriate industry, market and other pertinent factors, including indications of such premiums from data on recent acquisition transactions. If we determine through the impairment evaluation process that goodwill has been impaired, we would record the impairment charge in our consolidated statement of operations.

        There were no impairment losses related to goodwill or intangible assets during the first forty weeks of fiscal 2009. Our entity-wide fair value currently exceeds net book value, and therefore, there has not been an indication of impairment. However, at various points during fiscal 2009, our stock price has declined from previous levels. We will continue to closely monitor our market capitalization

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and in the event that our average stock price subsequently declines and our market capitalization plus control premium declines below net book value and remains below book value for a period we consider to be other-than-temporary, we will perform an evaluation of the carrying value of goodwill and other intangibles.

Competition from other economic, litigation support, and business consulting firms could hurt our business

        The market for economic, litigation support, and business consulting services is intensely competitive, highly fragmented, and subject to rapid change. We may be unable to compete successfully with our existing competitors or with any new competitors. In general, there are few barriers to entry into our markets, and we expect to face additional competition from new entrants into the economic and business consulting industries. In the litigation, regulatory, and financial consulting markets, we compete primarily with other economic and financial consulting firms and individual academics. In the business consulting market, we compete primarily with other business and management consulting firms, specialized or industry-specific consulting firms, the consulting practices of large accounting firms, and the internal professional resources of existing and potential clients. Many of our competitors have national or international reputations as well as significantly greater personnel, financial, managerial, technical, and marketing resources than we do, which could enhance their ability to respond more quickly to technological changes, finance acquisitions, and fund internal growth. Some of our competitors also have a significantly broader geographic presence than we do.

We depend on our antitrust and mergers and acquisitions consulting business

        We derived approximately 27% of our revenues in fiscal 2008, 26% of our revenues in fiscal 2007, and 27% of our revenues in fiscal 2006 from engagements in our antitrust and mergers and acquisitions practice areas. Any substantial reduction in the number or size of our engagements in these practice areas could adversely affect our revenues and results of operations. Adverse changes in general economic conditions, particularly conditions influencing the merger and acquisition activity of larger companies, could adversely affect engagements in which we assist clients in proceedings before the U.S. Department of Justice, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, and various foreign antitrust authorities. For example, the current global economic crisis has resulted in, and may continue to result in, reduced merger and acquisition activity levels. These reductions in activity level would adversely affect our revenues and results of operations.

Maintaining our professional reputation is crucial to our future success

        Our ability to secure new engagements and hire qualified consultants as employees depends heavily on our overall reputation as well as the individual reputations of our employee consultants and principal non-employee experts. Because we obtain a majority of our new engagements from existing clients or from referrals by those clients, any client that is dissatisfied with our performance on a single matter could seriously impair our ability to secure new engagements. Given the frequently high-profile nature of the matters on which we work, including work before and on behalf of government agencies, any factor that diminishes our reputation or the reputations of any of our employee consultants or non-employee experts could make it substantially more difficult for us to compete successfully for both new engagements and qualified consultants.

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Our failure to manage growth or execute our business strategy successfully could adversely affect our revenues and results of operations

        Any failure on our part to manage growth or execute our business strategy successfully could adversely affect our revenues and results of operations. In the future, we could open offices in new geographic areas, including foreign locations, and expand our employee base as a result of internal growth and acquisitions. Opening and managing new offices often requires extensive management supervision and increases our overall selling, general, and administrative expenses. Expansion creates new and increased management, consulting, and training responsibilities for our employee consultants. Expansion also increases the demands on our internal systems, procedures, and controls, and on our managerial, administrative, financial, marketing, and other resources. We depend heavily upon the managerial, operational, and administrative skills of our executive officers, to manage our expansion and business strategy. New responsibilities and demands may adversely affect the overall quality of our work.

Our business could suffer if we are unable to hire and retain additional qualified consultants as employees

        Our business continually requires us to hire highly qualified, highly educated consultants as employees. Our failure to recruit and retain a significant number of qualified employee consultants could limit our ability to accept or complete engagements and adversely affect our revenues and results of operations. Relatively few potential employees meet our hiring criteria, and we face significant competition for these employees from our direct competitors, academic institutions, government agencies, research firms, investment banking firms, and other enterprises. Many of these competing employers are able to offer potential employees significantly greater compensation and benefits or more attractive lifestyle choices, career paths, or geographic locations than we can. Competition for these employee consultants has increased our labor costs, and a continuation of this trend could adversely affect our margins and results of operations.

        In addition, we utilize loans with some of our employees and consultants, other than our executive officers, as a way to attract and retain them. A portion of these loans are collateralized. Defaults under these loans could have a material adverse affect on our consolidated statements of operations, financial condition and liquidity.

Clients can terminate engagements with us at any time

        Many of our engagements depend upon disputes, proceedings, or transactions that involve our clients. Our clients may decide at any time to seek to resolve the dispute or proceeding, abandon the transaction, or file for bankruptcy. Our engagements can therefore terminate suddenly and without advance notice to us. If an engagement is terminated unexpectedly, our employee consultants working on the engagement could be underutilized until we assign them to other projects. In addition, because much of our work is project-based rather than recurring in nature, our consultants' utilization depends on our ability to secure additional engagements on a continual basis. Accordingly, the termination or significant reduction in the scope of a single large engagement could reduce our utilization and have an immediate adverse impact on our revenues and results of operations.

We depend on our non-employee experts

        We depend on our relationships with our exclusive non-employee experts. In fiscal 2008 and fiscal 2007, six of our exclusive non-employee experts generated engagements that accounted for approximately 12% and 11% of our revenues in those years, respectively, excluding fees charged to the engagement by the non-employee expert and reimbursable expenses. We believe that these experts are highly regarded in their fields and that each offers a combination of knowledge, experience, and expertise that would be very difficult to replace. We also believe that we have been able to secure some

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engagements and attract consultants in part because we could offer the services of these experts. Most of these experts can limit their relationships with us at any time for any reason. These reasons could include affiliations with universities with policies that prohibit accepting specified engagements, the pursuit of other interests, and retirement.

        As of November 29, 2008, we had restrictive covenant contracts, which in some cases include non-competition agreements, with 44 of our non-employee experts. The limitation or termination of any of their relationships with us, or competition from any of them after these agreements expire, could harm our reputation, reduce our business opportunities and adversely affect our revenues and results of operations. The non-competition agreements that we have with some of our non-employee experts offer us only limited protection and may not be enforceable in every jurisdiction. In the event that non-employee experts leave, such clients may decide that they prefer to continue working with the non-employee expert rather than with us. In the event a non-employee expert departs and acts in a way that we believe violates their non-competition agreement, we will consider any legal remedies we may have against such person on a case-by-case basis. We may decide that preserving cooperation and a professional relationship with the former non-employee expert or client, or other concerns, outweigh the benefits of any possible legal recovery.

        To meet our long-term growth targets, we need to establish ongoing relationships with additional non-employee experts who have reputations as leading experts in their fields. We may be unable to establish relationships with any additional non-employee experts. In addition, any relationship that we do establish may not help us meet our objectives or generate the revenues or earnings that we anticipate.

We derive our revenues from a limited number of large engagements

        We derive a portion of our revenues from a limited number of large engagements. If we do not obtain a significant number of new large engagements each year, our business, financial condition, and results of operations could suffer. Our ten largest engagements accounted for approximately 12% of our revenues in fiscal 2008, 11% in fiscal 2007, and 14% in fiscal 2006. Our ten largest clients accounted for approximately 18% of our revenues in fiscal 2008, and 19% in fiscal 2007 and fiscal 2006. In general, the volume of work we perform for any particular client varies from year to year, and due to the specific engagement nature of our practice, a major client in one year may not hire us in the following year.

Our entry into new lines of business could adversely affect our results of operations

        If we attempt to develop new practice areas or lines of business outside our core economic, financial, and management consulting services, those efforts could harm our results of operations. Our efforts in new practice areas or new lines of business involve inherent risks, including risks associated with inexperience and competition from mature participants in the markets we enter. Our inexperience in these new practice areas or lines of business may result in costly decisions that could harm our business.

Our clients may be unable to pay us for our services

        Our clients include some companies that may from time to time encounter financial difficulties, particularly during a downward trend in the economy. If a client's financial difficulties become severe, the client may be unwilling or unable to pay our invoices in the ordinary course of business, which could adversely affect collections of both our accounts receivable and unbilled services. On occasion, some of our clients have entered bankruptcy, which has prevented us from collecting amounts owed to us. The bankruptcy of a client with a substantial account receivable could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations. A small number of clients who have paid sizable

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invoices later declared bankruptcy, and a court determination that we were not properly entitled to that payment may require repayment of some or all of the amount we received, which could adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations.

Our engagements may result in professional liability

        Our services typically involve difficult analytical assignments and carry risks of professional and other liability. Many of our engagements involve matters that could have a severe impact on the client's business, cause the client to lose significant amounts of money, or prevent the client from pursuing desirable business opportunities. Accordingly, if a client is dissatisfied with our performance, the client could threaten or bring litigation in order to recover damages or to contest its obligation to pay our fees. Litigation alleging that we performed negligently, disclosed client confidential information, or otherwise breached our obligations to the client could expose us to significant liabilities to our clients and other third parties and tarnish our reputation.

Our debt obligations may adversely impact our financial performance

        In 2004, we issued a total of $90.0 million of 2.875% convertible senior subordinated debentures due 2034. We had previously operated with little or no debt, and our previous payments of interest had not been material. The interest we are required to pay on these debentures reduces our net income each year and will continue to do so until the debentures are no longer outstanding. The terms of the debentures also include provisions that could accelerate our obligation to repay all amounts outstanding under the debentures if certain events happen, such as our failure to pay interest in a timely manner, failure to pay principal upon redemption or repurchase, failure to deliver cash, shares of common stock, or other property upon conversion and other specified events of default. In addition, on June 15, 2011, June 15, 2014, June 15, 2019, June 15, 2024 and June 15, 2029, or following specified fundamental changes, holders of the debentures may require us to repurchase their debentures for cash. On December 14, 2004, we irrevocably elected to settle with cash 100% of the principal amount of the debentures upon conversion thereof, and holders of the debentures may convert them if our stock price exceeds $50 per share for at least 20 out of the 30 consecutive trading days ending on the last trading day of the preceding fiscal quarter. The market price conversion trigger was not met during the third quarter of fiscal 2009. Therefore, holders of the debentures are not able to exercise their right to convert the bonds during the fourth quarter of fiscal 2009. This test is repeated each fiscal quarter. To date, no holders have exercised their right to convert the bonds. However, during the second quarter of fiscal 2009 and the fourth quarter of fiscal 2008, we repurchased convertible debentures in the principal amount of $7.0 million and $10.2 million, respectively, on the open market.

        We have a revolving line of credit for $60.0 million, to mitigate the potential liquidity risk, and to provide funding if required, in the event of conversion by the debenture holders. We intend to use the amounts available under our bank revolving line of credit, current cash balances, and cash generated from operations in the event debenture holders exercise their rights to convert. The amounts available under our bank revolving line of credit are constrained by various financial covenants and reduced by certain letters of credit outstanding. Our loan agreement will mature on April 30, 2012. The degree to which we are leveraged could adversely affect our ability to obtain further financing for working capital, acquisitions or other purposes and could make us more vulnerable to industry downturns and competitive pressures. Our ability to secure short-term and long-term debt or equity financing in the future, will depend on several factors, including our future profitability, the levels of our debt and equity, restrictions under our existing revolving line of credit and the overall credit and equity market environments.

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Potential conflicts of interests may preclude us from accepting some engagements

        We provide our services primarily in connection with significant or complex transactions, disputes, or other matters that are usually adversarial or that involve sensitive client information. Our engagement by a client may preclude us from accepting engagements with the client's competitors or adversaries because of conflicts between their business interests or positions on disputed issues or other reasons. Accordingly, the nature of our business limits the number of both potential clients and potential engagements. Moreover, in many industries in which we provide consulting services, such as in the telecommunications industry, there has been a continuing trend toward business consolidations and strategic alliances. These consolidations and alliances reduce the number of potential clients for our services and increase the chances that we will be unable to continue some of our ongoing engagements or accept new engagements as a result of conflicts of interests.

Fluctuations in our quarterly revenues and results of operations could depress the market price of our common stock

        We may experience significant fluctuations in our revenues and results of operations from one quarter to the next. If our revenues or net income in a quarter or our guidance for future periods fall below the expectations of securities analysts or investors, the market price of our common stock could fall significantly. Our results of operations in any quarter can fluctuate for many reasons, including:

•

our ability to implement rate increases;



•

the number of weeks in our fiscal quarter;



•

the number, scope, and timing of ongoing client engagements;



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the extent to which we can reassign our employee consultants efficiently from one engagement to the next;



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the extent to which our employee consultants take holiday, vacation, and sick time, including traditional seasonality related to summer vacation and winter holiday schedules;



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employee hiring;



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the extent of revenue realization or cost overruns;



•

fluctuations in the results of our software subsidiary, NeuCo;



•

fluctuations in our provision for income taxes due to changes in income arising in various tax jurisdictions, valuation allowances, non-deductible expenses, and changes in estimates of our uncertain tax positions;



•

fluctuations in interest rates;



•

severe weather conditions and other factors affecting employee productivity; and



•

collectibility of receivables and unbilled work in process.

        Because we generate the majority of our revenues from consulting services that we provide on an hourly fee basis, our revenues in any period are directly related to the number of our employee consultants, their billing rates, and the number of billable hours they work in that period. We have a limited ability to increase any of these factors in the short term. Accordingly, if we underutilize our consultants during one part of a fiscal period, we may be unable to compensate by augmenting revenues during another part of that period. In addition, we are occasionally unable to utilize fully any additional consultants that we hire, particularly in the quarter in which we hire them. Moreover, a significant majority of our operating expenses, primarily office rent and salaries, are fixed in the short term. As a result, if our revenues fail to meet our projections in any quarter, that could have a

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disproportionate adverse effect on our net income. For these reasons, we believe our historical results of operations are not necessarily indicative of our future performance.

Fluctuations in the types of service contracts we enter into may adversely impact revenue and results of operations

        We derive a portion of our revenues from fixed-price contracts. In fiscal 2008 and fiscal 2007, we derived 8.3% and 6.6% of our revenues from fixed-price engagements, respectively. These contracts are more common in our business consulting practice, and would likely grow in number with any expansion of that practice. Fluctuations in our mix between time-and-material or fixed- price contracts or arrangements with fees tied to performance-based criteria, may result in fluctuations of revenue and results of operations. In addition, if we fail to estimate accurately the resources required for a fixed- price project or fail to satisfy our contractual obligations in a manner consistent with the project budget, we might generate a smaller profit or incur a loss on the project. On occasion, we have had to commit unanticipated additional resources to complete projects, and we may have to take similar action in the future, which could adversely affect our revenues and results of operations.

The market price of our common stock may be volatile

        The market price of our common stock has fluctuated widely and may continue to do so. For example, from August 30, 2008, to September 4, 2009, the trading price of our common stock ranged from a high of $44.95 per share to a low of $16.77 per share. Many factors could cause the market price of our common stock to rise and fall. Some of these factors are:

•

variations in our quarterly results of operations;



•

the hiring or departure of key personnel or non-employee experts;



•

changes in our professional reputation;



•

the introduction of new services by us or our competitors;



•

acquisitions or strategic alliances involving us or our competitors;



•

changes in accounting principles or methods, such as FSP APB 14-1;



•

changes in estimates of our performance or recommendations by securities analysts;



•

future sales of shares of common stock in the public market; and



•

market conditions in the industry and the economy as a whole.

        In addition, the stock market often experiences significant price and volume fluctuations. These fluctuations are often unrelated to the operating performance of particular companies. These broad market fluctuations may adversely affect the market price of our common stock. When the market price of a company's stock drops significantly, shareholders often institute securities class action litigation against that company. Any litigation against us could cause us to incur substantial costs, divert the time and attention of our management and other resources, or otherwise harm our business.

We could incur substantial costs protecting our proprietary rights from infringement or defending against a claim of infringement

        As a professional services organization, we rely on non-competition and non-solicitation agreements with many of our employees and non-employee experts to protect our proprietary business interests. These agreements, however, may offer us only limited protection and may not be enforceable in every jurisdiction. In addition, we may incur substantial costs trying to enforce these agreements.

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        Our services may involve the development of custom business processes or solutions for specific clients. In some cases, the clients retain ownership or impose restrictions on our ability to use the business processes or solutions developed from these projects. Issues relating to the ownership of business processes or solutions can be complicated, and disputes could arise that affect our ability to resell or reuse business processes or solutions we develop for clients.

        In recent years, there has been significant litigation in the U.S. involving patents and other intellectual property rights. We could incur substantial costs in prosecuting or defending any intellectual property litigation, which could adversely affect our operating results and financial condition.

        Despite our efforts to protect our proprietary rights, unauthorized parties may attempt to obtain and use information that we regard as proprietary. Litigation may be necessary in the future to enforce our proprietary rights, to protect our trade secrets, to determine the validity and scope of the proprietary rights of others or to defend against claims of infringement or invalidity. Any such resulting litigation could result in substantial costs and diversion of resources and could adversely affect our business, operating results and financial condition. Any failure by us to protect our proprietary rights could adversely affect our business, operating results and financial condition.

Our reported earnings per share may be more volatile because of the accounting standards, rules, and regulations as they relate to our convertible senior subordinated debentures

        Holders of our 2.875% convertible senior subordinated debentures due 2034 may convert the debentures only under certain circumstances, including certain stock price-related conversion contingencies. As further described in Note 10 of our Notes to Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements, we determine the effect of the debentures on earnings per share under the treasury stock method of accounting. The treasury stock method of accounting allows us to report dilution only when our average stock price per share for the reporting period exceeds the $40 conversion price and only to the extent of the additional shares we may be required to issue in the event our conversion obligation exceeds the principal amount of the debentures converted. Accordingly, volatility in our stock price could cause volatility in our reported diluted earnings per share.

        In May 2008, the FASB issued FSP APB 14-1, which would apply to any convertible debt instrument that may be settled in whole or in part with cash upon conversion, including our 2.875% debentures. Under FSP APB 14-1, we will be required to recognize non-cash interest expense on our $72.8 million convertible senior subordinated debentures based on the market rate for similar debt instruments without the conversion feature. FSP APB 14-1 is effective for fiscal years beginning on or after December 15, 2008, which is our fiscal 2010, and must be applied on a retrospective basis. We are currently evaluating the impact that FSP APB 14-1 will have on our consolidated statements of operations and financial condition.