UNITED STATES 

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION 

Washington, D.C. 20549 

__________________

Form 10-K

__________________

         Franklin Covey Co.          

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter) 

2200 West Parkway Boulevard

Salt Lake City, Utah 84119-2331  

(Address of principal executive offices, including zip code) 

Registrant's telephone number, including area code: (801) 817-1776  

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: 

None

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. Yes No  

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act. Yes  No  

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  No 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted 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  No 

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

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. £

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has filed a report on and attestation to its management’s assessment of the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (15 U.S.C. 7262(b)) by the registered public accounting firm that prepared or issued its audit report. 

If securities are registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act, indicate by check mark whether the financial statements of the registrant included in the filing reflect the correction of an error to previously issued financial statements. £

Indicate by check mark whether any of those error corrections are restatements that required a recovery analysis of incentive-based compensation received by any of the registrant’s executive officers during the relevant recovery period pursuant to §240.10D-1(b). £

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

As of February 28, 2023, the aggregate market value of the Registrant's Common Stock held by non-affiliates of the Registrant was approximately $564.4 million, which was based upon the closing price of $46.87 per share as reported by the New York Stock Exchange.

As of October 31, 2023, the Registrant had 13,433,388 shares of Common Stock outstanding.

DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

Parts of the Registrant's Definitive Proxy Statement for the Annual Meeting of Shareholders, which is scheduled to be held on January 19, 2024, are incorporated by reference in Part III of this Form 10-K.
‎

Franklin Covey Co.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

PART I

Disclosure Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This Annual Report on Form 10-K contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the Securities Act), and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the Exchange Act), and such forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties. Statements about future sales, costs, margins, cost savings, foreign currency exchange rates, earnings, earnings per share, cash flows, plans, objectives, expectations, growth, or profitability are forward-looking statements based on management’s estimates, assumptions, and projections. Words such as “could,” “may,” “will,” “should,” “likely,” “anticipates,” “expects,” “intends,” “plans,” “projects,” “believes,” “estimates,” and variations on such words, including similar expressions, are used to identify these forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are only predictions, subject to risks and uncertainties, and actual results could differ materially from those discussed in this, and other reports, filed by us with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and elsewhere. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks, uncertainties, and assumptions that are difficult to predict. Risks, uncertainties, and other factors that might cause such differences, some of which could be material, include, but are not limited to, the factors discussed under the section of this report entitled “Risk Factors.”

Forward-looking statements in this report are based on management’s current views and assumptions regarding future events and speak only as of the date when made. Franklin Covey Co. undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise, except as required by federal securities laws.

In this Annual Report on Form 10-K, unless the context requires otherwise, the terms “the Company,” “Franklin Covey,” “FranklinCovey,” “us,” “we,” and “our” refer to Franklin Covey Co. and its subsidiaries.

ITEM 1.  BUSINESS

General Information

Franklin Covey is a global company focused on organizational performance improvement. Our mission is to “enable greatness in people and organizations everywhere,” and our global structure is designed to help individuals and organizations achieve results that require collective behavior change. From the foundational work of Dr. Stephen R. Covey in leadership and personal effectiveness, and Hyrum W. Smith in productivity and time management, we have developed deep expertise that extends to helping organizations and individuals achieve desired results through lasting behavioral change. We believe that our clients are able to utilize our content and offerings to create cultures which include high-performing, collaborative individuals, led by effective, trust building leaders who execute with excellence and deliver measurably improved results for all of their key stakeholders.

The Company was incorporated in 1983 under the laws of the state of Utah, and we merged with the Covey Leadership Center in 1997 to form Franklin Covey Co. Our consolidated net sales for the fiscal year ended August 31, 2023 totaled $280.5 million and our shares of common stock are traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) under the ticker symbol “FC.”

Our fiscal year ends on August 31 of each year. Unless otherwise noted, references to fiscal years apply to the 12 months ended August 31 of the specified year.

The Company’s principal executive offices are located at 2200 West Parkway Boulevard, Salt Lake City, Utah 84119-2331, and our telephone number is (801) 817-1776. Our website is www.franklincovey.com.

‎

Franklin Covey Services and Offerings

Our mission is to “enable greatness in people and organizations everywhere,” and we believe that we are experts at solving certain pervasive, intractable problems, each of which requires a change in human behavior. Our services and products are designed to help our clients succeed in four key areas:

1.Develop exceptional leaders at every level.

2.Instill habits of effectiveness in every individual.

3.Build an inclusive, high-trust culture.

4.Use a common execution framework to pursue their most important goals.

We believe that when organizations partner with us, their people change behavior—both individually and collectively—in ways that help solve an organization’s most pressing problems and achieve breakthrough results. Lasting behavioral change begins with individuals from the inside out, with how people see themselves and the world around them. These insights translate into how individuals engage and lead others. Our content, which is based on timeless principles of human effectiveness, is designed to help people change both their mindset and behavior.

We seek to combine the best content, delivery and coaching experts, and technology to help our clients achieve results at scale—which may extend across an entire organization. We believe the combination of powerful content, teams of experts, a dynamic behavior change platform, and key metrics can guide leaders and teams through solutions that will deliver exceptional results again and again.

Our services and products are primarily delivered through our subscription offerings, which are comprised of the All Access Pass (AAP), which is primarily sold through our Enterprise Division, and the Leader in Me membership, which is designed specifically for our Education Division. We believe the AAP is a revolutionary and innovative way to deliver our content to clients of various sizes, including large, multinational organizations, in a flexible and cost-effective manner. Clients may utilize complete offerings such as The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, The Four Disciplines of Execution, The Speed of Trust, and Multipliers, or use individual concepts from any of our well-known offerings to create a custom solution to fit their organizational or individual training needs. Since the introduction of the All Access Pass, we have developed the role of the Implementation Strategist to provide our clients with the direction necessary to create meaningful impact journeys using our tools and content. An impact journey is a customized plan to utilize our content and offerings on the AAP to drive sustained behavioral change in a manner that achieves a client’s specific goals and provides them with the keys to obtain maximum value from the pass. We have also translated AAP materials into numerous additional languages, which allows the AAP to be used effectively by multinational entities and provides for greater international sales opportunities.

In our Education Division, we offer the Leader in Me membership, which provides access to the Leader in Me online service, and authorizes use of Franklin Covey’s proprietary intellectual property. The Leader in Me online service provides access to digital versions of student leadership guides, leadership lessons, illustrated leadership stories, and a variety of other resources to enable an educational institution to effectively implement and utilize the Leader in Me program. We believe that the tools and resources available through the Leader in Me membership will provide measurable results that are designed to develop student leadership, improve school culture, and increase academic proficiency.

To deliver these services and products, we operate globally with one common brand and a business model designed to enable us to provide clients around the world with the same high level of service. To achieve this high level of service we have sales and support associates in various locations around the United States and Canada, and operate wholly owned subsidiaries that serve clients in Austria, Australia, China, Germany, Ireland, Japan, New Zealand, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. In foreign locations where we do not have a directly owned office, we may contract with independent licensee partners who deliver our content and provide services in approximately 150 other countries and territories around the world.

Further information about our content and services can be found on our website at www.franklincovey.com. However, the information contained in, or that can be accessed through, our website does not constitute any part of this Annual Report.

Business Development

Our business is currently structured around two divisions, the Enterprise Division and the Education Division. The Enterprise Division consists of our Direct Office and International Licensee segments and is focused on selling our offerings to corporations, governments, not-for-profits, and other related organizations. Franklin Covey offerings delivered through the Enterprise Division are designed to help organizations and individuals achieve their own great purposes through behavior changing content and coaching. Our Education Division is centered around the principles found in the Leader in Me and is dedicated to helping educational institutions build cultures that will produce great results, including increased student performance, improved school culture, and increased parental and teacher involvement.

Following the launch of our AAP subscription service and Leader in Me membership, we have consistently sought to improve the technology, content, and overall client experience with these offerings. Bob Whitman, our former Chief Executive Officer and current Chairman of our Board of Directors described our commitment to continued development as, “We don’t want to fall in love with our current solutions, we want to ‘fall in love with problems’ and keep working to find solutions that help people make real progress.” We believe that continued investments in technology, content, and personnel are key to subscription service renewals and the future growth of our offerings.

In addition to the internal development of our offerings, we have on occasion sought to grow our sales through acquisitions of businesses and content licenses, and opening new international offices. Over the past few years, our growth investment efforts have included the following:

Acquisition of Strive Talent, Inc. – In April 2021 we purchased Strive Talent, Inc. (Strive), a San Francisco-based technology company which has developed and markets an innovative learning deployment platform. The Strive platform enables the seamless integration and deployment of our content, services, technology, and metrics to deliver behavioral impact at scale, primarily through the Company’s AAP subscription. During fiscal 2023 we launched the Impact Platform, which integrates our content into the Strive platform and is the new driver of the AAP delivery system. We believe the new Impact Platform will drive sales growth in future periods through an improved client learning experience.

Increased Investment in Content and Delivery Platforms – During fiscal 2023 we significantly increased our investments in content and delivery platforms. In fiscal 2023 we released significant new content related to sales effectiveness and the Leader in Me, and launched the new Impact Platform. In fiscal 2024 we expect to launch new and refreshed 7 Habits of Highly Effective People and Speed of Trust offerings and continue to add new content in our Leader in Me membership offering. We believe these continuing investments are critical to our growth and ability to attract and retain clients.

Integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) – With the rapid rise of AI, we believe there will be an increasing premium on human leadership and interaction to leverage AI in the workplace. We believe these skills will include the ability to set vision, focus teams, serve customers, and communicate effectively with human co-workers and AI interfaces. We are working to leverage the capabilities of AI in our offerings and platforms to improve and customize the learning experience for our clients.

Investment in New Client Partners – On August 31, 2018, we had 214 client partners. Despite the recent employment turmoil, we have increased the number of client partners to 303 at August 31, 2023. We expect to hire additional sales professionals and other client-facing personnel in fiscal 2024 and future periods to provide additional growth opportunities.

We seek to consistently deliver world-class content with the broadest and deepest distribution capabilities through the most flexible content delivery modalities and expect to make additional investments in technology, content, and personnel in fiscal 2024 and in future periods as market conditions allow. These investments may include business acquisitions, the acquisition of license rights, and hiring additional personnel.

Our Associates

We have approximately 1,160 associates worldwide, who are mostly full-time employees. We also utilize independent contractors and temporary personnel to supplement our workforce. None of our associates are represented by a union or collective bargaining agreement, and we have never experienced a material labor interruption due to labor disagreements. For more information regarding our associates refer to the Human Capital Resources disclosures found later in this section.

Our Industry and Clients

According to the Training magazine 2023 U.S. Training Industry Survey, the total size of the U.S. training industry is expected to increase slightly over the prior year and is estimated to be $101.8 billion. As such, we believe that there is ample room for growth and increased market share within our industry. Overall, the training industry is highly fragmented and includes a wide variety of training and service providers of varying sizes. We believe our competitive advantages in this industry stem from our fully integrated principle-centered training offerings, our wide variety of delivery options, and various implementation tools to help organizations and individuals measurably improve their effectiveness.

The training industry is a highly competitive and rapidly changing global marketplace and we compete with a variety of organizations of assorted sizes that offer services comparable with ours. Based upon our annual sales, we believe that we are a significant competitor in the performance skills and education market. Other significant comparative companies that compete with our Enterprise Division include: Development Dimension International, Crucial Learning, Korn Ferry, Udemy Business, GP Strategies, Cornerstone, and LinkedIn Learning, among others. Our Education Division competes with entities such as: 7 Mindsets, Capturing Kids Hearts, Second Step, Responsive Classroom, and Character Strong.

We believe that the principal competitive factors in the industry in which we compete include the following:

Quality of offerings, services, and solutions

Skills and capabilities of people who develop and deliver our content

Innovative training and consulting services combined with effective technology and products

Ability to add value to client operations

Reputation and client references

Pricing

Global reach and scale

Branding and name recognition in our marketplace

Given the relative ease of entry into the training market, the number of our competitors could increase, many of whom may imitate existing methods of distribution, or could offer similar content and programs at lower prices. However, we believe that we have several areas of competitive differentiation in our industry. We believe that our competitive advantages include: (1) the quality of our content; (2) the breadth of our delivery options, including the AAP and Leader in Me membership; (3) our global reach, which allows truly multinational clients to scale our content uniformly across the globe; and (4) the significant impact which our offerings can have on our clients’ organization and results.

We have a relatively broad base of clients, which includes thousands of organizational, governmental, educational, and individual clients in both the United States and in other countries that are served through our directly owned operations. We have thousands of additional organizational clients throughout the world which are served through our global licensee partner network, and we believe that our content, in all its forms, delivers results that encourage strong client loyalty. Our clients are in a broad array of industries and we are not dependent on a single client or industry group. During the periods presented in this report, none of our clients were responsible for more than ten percent of our consolidated revenues.

‎

Our Intellectual Property

Our success has resulted in part from our proprietary content, methodologies, and other intellectual property rights. We seek to protect our intellectual property through a combination of trademarks, copyrights, and confidentiality agreements. We claim rights for nearly 670 trademarks in the United States and foreign countries, and we have obtained registration in the United States and numerous foreign countries for many of our trademarks including FranklinCovey, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, The 4 Disciplines of Execution, and The 7 Habits. We consider our trademarks and other proprietary rights to be important and material to our business and we regularly review the status of our trademarks and renew them to prevent the trademark protection from lapsing.

We claim over 265 registered copyrights, and own sole or joint copyrights on our books, manuals, text and other printed information provided in our training programs, and other electronic media products, including audio and video media. We may license, rather than sell, facilitator workbooks and other seminar and training materials in order to protect our intellectual property rights therein. We place trademark and copyright notices on our instructional, marketing, and advertising materials. In order to maintain the proprietary nature of our product information, we enter into written confidentiality agreements with certain executives, product developers, sales professionals, training consultants, other employees, and licensees.

Our Products and Sustainability

We offer training materials and related accessories in either digital or paper formats. Our printed training materials are primarily comprised of paper, which we believe is a renewable and sustainable resource. Our training materials are printed on paper which contains at least 30 percent post-consumer (recycled) material and all of our primary printers’ paper suppliers are Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified. We purchase our training materials and related products from vendors and suppliers located both domestically and internationally, and we are not dependent upon any one vendor for the production of our training and related materials as the raw materials for these products are readily available. Our training materials are primarily warehoused and distributed from an independent warehouse facility located in Des Moines, Iowa.

Seasonality

Our fourth quarter of each fiscal year typically has higher sales and operating income than other fiscal quarters primarily due to increased revenues in our Education Division (when school administrators and faculty have professional development days) and to increased sales that typically occur during that quarter from year-end incentive programs. Overall, training sales are moderately seasonal because of the timing of corporate training, which is not typically scheduled as heavily during holiday and certain vacation periods.

Human Capital Resources

A Culture of Belonging at Franklin Covey

Our mission is to "enable greatness in people and organizations everywhere," which is also the cornerstone of our culture. We aim to “win” with our associates by realizing the greatness within our FranklinCovey team members through two key strategies: First, strengthening our winning culture by building a brand to attract and retain achievers with heart and creating a more robust and intentional plan to engage our employees in the new world of work. Second, enhance our talent management and build an even higher-performing organization through recruitment and development of associates’ current and future skills and refine our leadership pipeline.

To fulfill that mission and the goal of winning with associates, we must attract, develop, and retain highly qualified associates for each role in the organization. We currently have approximately 1,160 associates worldwide dedicated to providing the best service possible for our clients and each other. Our goal is to have every associate feel they are a valued member of a winning team doing meaningful work in an environment of trust. To accomplish this ideal outcome, we continuously focus on attracting, developing, and retaining talent while looking through the lens of diversity, equity, and inclusion in each area.

Providing Focus and Accountability

The first step in accountability for our people strategy comes from the Organization and Compensation Committee of our Board of Directors, which determined to make talent stewardship a standing agenda item at Board committee meetings. The Organization and Compensation Committee is actively involved in helping to determine best practices and implement new and innovative ways to help us continually improve in attracting, developing, and retaining top talent for Franklin Covey.

We have historically attracted “mission-driven” people who care deeply about making a difference in the world. Our approach is designed to ensure accountability for each associate to take responsibility for our mission and culture. Accountability and responsibility are also reinforced through the roles of the Chief People Officer, the Director of Learning, Development, and Inclusion, and our Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Core Council.

In welcoming a new Chief Human Resource Officer, whom we refer to as the Chief People Officer (CPO), we look to strengthen the connection between our strategic intent and tactical systems and processes needed to continue to grow our talent and our organization globally. The CPO oversees our human resource operations, talent management, and learning, development, and inclusion functions.

The purpose of our DEI Core Council is to provide input, insight, feedback, and guidance on our DEI initiatives as we strive to enhance our intent of being the workplace of choice for achievers with heart. This multi-disciplinary council is comprised of approximately 35 associates from across our organization. During fiscal 2023, the DEI Core Council focused on building cultural competence through multiple initiatives, including structured learning circles, a method of action learning, a company-wide book study to create a shared and safe learning environment, and panel discussions led by internal subject matter experts. These experiences allow associates to step out as leaders in topics they are interested in or care about, furthering our culture of belonging and reinforcing our talent pipeline.

The DEI Core Council houses our Mentorship program and a growing number of Employee Resource Groups (ERGs), which are employee-led networks serving historically underinvested and underrepresented associates and allies. They offer safe spaces for people to come together based on a shared interest in a specific dimension of equity and inclusion while actively working to enhance career opportunities, build cultural competence, and foster community within the organization. We believe our ERGs represent and support our diverse workforce, facilitate networking, and foster connections and engagement within the organization.

We currently have eight ERGs, consisting of: Veterans and First Responders, BOLD (Black Originators, Leaders, and Doers), WIN (Women's International Network), Global Wellness, FC Ability, and LGBTQ+. Our AsPIRE and HOLA! ERGs came online in August of 2023. AsPIRE supports our Asian and Pacific Islander employees and allies while HOLA! creates a safe place for members of the Hispanic diaspora within our organization. The eight ERGs have welcomed more than 100 new member-allies across them during fiscal 2023.

In fiscal 2023, the Mentorship program experienced a 109 percent year-over-year increase in the number of mentees participating in the program. The Mentorship Program is company-wide and is available to all associates. Mentees and mentors are paired based on self-selected areas of interest and ability, giving the partners a great deal of flexibility for how they can best engage with each other for mutual benefit and professional development.

Attracting Talent

Our recruiting and hiring efforts cast a wide net when looking for candidates by partnering with many groups and agencies, including alumni organizations, multiple diversity job boards, diversity career fairs, conferences, the Utah Governor's Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities, and Business Relations, and ElevatHER – an organization designed to promote women in leadership.

This year, our FC Ability ERG, supporting employees and allies living with disabilities, partnered with our Talent Acquisition team to provide resources for employees and managers to further educate them about the need for and availability of the reasonable accommodation resources we can provide. This partnership created an opportunity for the FC Ability ERG to be sought out for their expertise as well as lived experience as members of a protected class.

We remain steadfast in our commitment to recruiting and developing underinvested and underrepresented groups of employees. Women currently constitute 68 percent of our workforce, while the number of women in leadership grew to 54 percent at August 31, 2023 compared with 44 percent at August 31, 2022. Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) associates currently comprise 19 percent of our workforce, which is consistent with the prior year. We continue to make efforts to increase the representation of BIPOC, veterans, women, and individuals with disabilities in our workforce while ensuring that our associate promotions are fair and equitable.

Developing Talent

We believe that building an environment which encourages lifelong learning and development is essential for us to maintain a high level of service and to achieve our goal of having every associate feel they can bring their whole selves to work. We believe Franklin Covey is one of the world’s premier training and consulting organizations. We develop and deliver various offerings, including leadership and individual effectiveness, to clients around the globe, and we provide these same world-class offerings to our associates. During an associate's first year, they complete a three-part Company culture orientation, including our 7 Habits of Highly Effective People offering, which is the cultural operating system for our organization. Our associates have unlimited access to our content and training through the All-Access Pass, where they can experience the exact high-quality solutions available to our clients.

If an associate struggles with reaching their goals or producing the results required of the role, a thoughtful and thorough performance plan is created and implemented by the associate's manager and our CPO. The performance plan is designed to help the associate recalibrate and bring performance up to expectations. Through this transparent coaching process, struggling associates can learn how to improve their performance and become engaged, successful contributors in their roles. We believe this process strengthens our associate base while reducing the cost of finding and training new associates.

Retaining Talent

Talented people are always in high demand, and even more so in an environment where associates are reconsidering if an employer suits their values, and not just their financial concerns. From June 1, 2022, through May 31, 2023, our associate turnover rate in the United States and Canada was 13 percent. As a remote-first employer, we do not face the challenges of the return-to-work debate currently impacting many companies. However, the challenge with remote work comes in terms of relationship-building and engagement. To engage and retain our associates, we believe it is crucial to continually focus on making sure our associates are highly engaged and feel valued. Our leaders highlight, acknowledge, and celebrate associate accomplishments–both personal and professional–while making sure that employees understand that they have easy access to each of their leaders.

Our employee retention practices include holding consistent, compelling one-on-one interviews, where leaders regularly take time to connect with their associates and to understand what is working well for them and what is not. In our 2023 Culture Survey, 82 percent of associates said they had at least one meaningful conversation with their manager in the past year. Though one conversation seems like a low benchmark, these conversations are essential because they are not performance reviews. Based on having meaningful 1:1 discussions, leaders are encouraged to "clear the path" of those things that may hold the associate back from achieving their full potential. We aim to establish a culture of feedback where feedback for both leaders and associates is a normal and worthwhile part of how work gets done.

Professional and personal development is an essential need for employees, so Learning Development & Inclusion ensures multiple ways for individual contributors and managers to engage with our content, just as our clients do. Our AAP content is organized high-value asynchronous On Demand Microcourses, and facilitator-led courses across six

competencies—Leading a Team, Leading Yourself, Communication, Collaboration, Winning Culture, and Achieving Results.

Our compensation plans are reviewed periodically to confirm ongoing pay equity. We provide a generous personal time off benefit as well as a flexible and inclusive holiday schedule, reflecting the diversity of our workforce and the celebration of various cultural and religious affiliations. We also offer 100 percent salary continuance for up to 12 weeks in a rolling 12-month period for qualifying medical leave and provide many other employee-minded benefits.

Our focus on people, not just as human capital but as whole persons, has been a hallmark of FranklinCovey for decades, understanding that people are a company's most valuable asset and that culture is an organization's ultimate competitive advantage.

Information About Our Executive Officers

Effective September 1, 2023, Robert A. Whitman transitioned from his roles as both Executive Chairman and Chairman of the Board to serve solely as our Chairman of the Board of Directors. Mr. Whitman held the role of Executive Chairman from September 1, 2021 through August 31, 2023. On September 1, 2021, Paul S. Walker was appointed President and Chief Executive Officer of Franklin Covey as Robert A. Whitman transitioned from his role as Chief Executive Officer to Executive Chairman and Chairman of the Board of Directors as described above. Unless noted in the biographical information, the remaining executives served in their described roles throughout the fiscal year ended August 31, 2023.

M. Sean Covey, 59, currently serves as President of the Franklin Covey Education Division, and has led the growth of this Division from its infancy to its status today. The Education Division works with thousands of education entities throughout the world in the K-12 and Higher Education markets. Mr. Covey previously ran the Franklin Covey international licensee network and has been an executive officer since September 2008. Sean also served as the Executive Vice President of Innovations from 2003 to 2018, where he led the development of many of our offerings, including the The 4 Disciplines of Execution and The Leader in Me. Prior to 2006, Sean ran the Franklin Covey retail chain of stores. Previous to Franklin Covey, Sean worked for the Walt Disney Company, Trammel Crow Ventures, and Deloitte & Touche Consulting. Mr. Covey is also a New York Times best-selling author and has authored or coauthored several books, including The 4 Disciplines of Execution, The Leader in Me, and the international bestseller The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens. Sean graduated from Brigham Young University with a Bachelor’s degree in English and later earned an MBA from Harvard Business School. While at BYU, Sean was the quarterback for the football team where he earned several honors and led his team to two bowl games. Sean is also the founder and Chairman of “Bridle Up Hope,” a global non-profit organization with a mission to inspire hope, confidence, and resilience in young women through equestrian training, life skills development, and service.

Jennifer C. Colosimo, 54, has served as the President of the Enterprise Division since September 2020 and was appointed an executive officer in January 2021. Ms. Colosimo began her career with Andersen Consulting (now Accenture) in 1991 and joined Franklin Covey in 1996 and served in various roles including Client Partner, Delivery Consultant, Chief Operations Officer, and head of the Leadership Practice until 2011. During this time, Jennifer coauthored the book, Great Work, Great Career with Dr. Stephen R. Covey. From May 2011 through April 2016, Ms. Colosimo led teams responsible for culture, learning, and corporate social responsibility with DaVita and several private equity-backed organizations. Ms. Colosimo returned to Franklin Covey in April 2016 as the Senior Vice President of Sales and Operations in the United States and Canada. Jennifer sits on the Audit and Finance Committee of the Women’s Foundation of Colorado and was a board member of the Girl Scouts of Colorado for 10 years. Ms. Colosimo completed her Bachelor of Science at the University of Utah and received a Master of Science from Purdue University. Jennifer has also completed post-graduate work on Authentic Leadership and Executive Coaching through the Harvard Business School and Columbia University, respectively.

Colleen Dom, 61, was appointed the Executive Vice-President of Operations in September 2013. Ms. Dom began her career with the Company in 1985 and served as the first Client Service Coordinator, providing service and seminar support for some of the Company’s very first clients. Prior to her appointment as an Executive Vice President, Ms. Dom

served as Vice President of Domestic Operations since 1997 where she had responsibility for the Company’s North American operations, including client support, supply chain, and feedback operations. During her time at Franklin Covey Co., Colleen has been instrumental in creating and implementing systems and processes that have supported the Company’s strategic objectives and has more than 35 years of experience in client services, sales support, operations, management, and supply chain. Due to her valuable understanding of the Company’s global operations, Ms. Dom has been responsible for numerous key assignments that have enhanced client support, optimized operations, and built capabilities for future growth. Prior to joining the Company, Colleen worked in retail management and in the financial investment industry.

C. Todd Davis, 66, formerly served as our Executive Vice President and Chief People Officer and was an executive officer from September 2008 through February 2023. Mr. Davis is continuing his association with Franklin Covey as a content delivery consultant, where he brings over 35 years of experience in training, training development, sales and marketing, human resources, coaching, and content development expertise. Mr. Davis has been with Franklin Covey for the past 27 years. Previously, Mr. Davis was a Director of our Innovations Group where he led the development of core offerings including The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People – Signature Program. Todd also worked for several years as our Director of Recruitment and was responsible for attracting, hiring, and retaining top talent for the organization. Prior to joining Franklin Covey, Mr. Davis worked in the medical industry for nine years where he recruited physicians and medical executives along with marketing physician services to hospitals and clinics throughout the country. Todd is the author of The Wall Street Journal’s best-selling book, Get Better: 15 Proven Practices to Build Effective Relationships at Work and a co-author of the books Talent Unleashed and Everyone Deserves A Great Manager – The 6 Critical Practices for Leading A Team.

Meisha R. Sherman, 53, was appointed as an Executive Vice President and our Chief People Officer on February 14, 2023. Ms. Sherman has over 30 years in human resources with a focus on creating high-trust, high-performing cultures. Her career spans many industries, including wellness, dental, technology, government aerospace defense, consulting, and banking and finance. Meisha has led in Fortune 10 to Fortune 1000 companies including Mindbody, Envista Corporation, Danaher Corporation, Hewlett Packard, Raytheon Technologies, Alert Staffing, Remedy, and Bank of America. During her career, Ms. Sherman has held executive leadership roles such as Chief People Officer; Vice President, Global Human Resources; and Global Director, Executive Leadership and Organizational Development. Meisha served in the United States Army for six years and was responsible for the recruitment, development, and retention of soldiers. Today, she continues to serve those in military service and veterans in partnership with the USO, San Diego. She also serves as immediate past Board Chair of California Coast Credit Union and is Chairwoman of the Board of Neighborhood House Association (NHA). Ms. Sherman earned an MBA from Pepperdine University Graziadio School of Business and Management and a bachelor's degree in interdisciplinary studies from California State University Dominguez Hills, graduating magna cum laude.

Paul S. Walker, 48, currently serves as the Company’s President and Chief Executive Officer, and was appointed to our Board of Directors effective July 1, 2023. Mr. Walker began his career with the Company in 2000 in the role of business developer, and quickly moved to become a Client Partner and then an Area Director. In 2007, Mr. Walker became General Manager of the North America Central Region. In 2014, Paul assumed responsibility for the Company’s United Kingdom operations in addition to his role as General Manager of the Central Region. In 2016, Mr. Walker relocated to the Company’s Salt Lake City, Utah headquarters where he served as Executive Vice President of Global Sales and Delivery and as President of the Company’s Enterprise Division until November 2019 when Paul was appointed President and Chief Operating Officer. During his time at Franklin Covey, Paul has led many digital transformation projects, including the transition to the All Access Pass. Mr. Walker graduated from Brigham Young University with a Bachelor of Arts in Communications.

Robert A. Whitman, 70, has served as Chairman of the Board of Directors since June 1999 and served as Chief Executive Officer of the Company from January 2000 through August 2021. From September 1, 2021 through August 31, 2023, Mr. Whitman served as both Executive Chairman and Chairman of the Board of Directors as described above. Mr. Whitman now serves solely as our Chairman of the Board of Directors. Bob previously served as a director of the Covey Leadership Center from 1994 to 1997. Prior to joining Franklin Covey, Mr. Whitman served as President and Co-Chief Executive Officer of The Hampstead Group from 1992 to 2000 and is a founding partner at Whitman Peterson. Bob received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Finance from the University of Utah and his MBA from the Harvard Business School.

Stephen D. Young, 70, joined Franklin Covey as Executive Vice President of Finance, was appointed Chief Accounting Officer and Controller in January 2001, Chief Financial Officer in November 2002, and Corporate Secretary in March 2005. Prior to joining us, he served as Senior Vice-President of Finance, Chief Financial Officer, and director of international operations for Weider Nutrition for seven years; as Vice-President of Finance at First Health for ten years; and as an auditor at Fox and Company, a public accounting firm, for four years. Mr. Young has more than 40 years of accounting and management experience and is a Certified Public Accountant. Mr. Young was awarded a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from Brigham Young University.

Available Information

We regularly file reports with the SEC. These reports include, but are not limited to, Annual Reports on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K, and security transaction reports on Forms 3, 4, or 5. The SEC also maintains electronic versions of the Company’s reports, proxy and information statements, and other information that the Company files with the SEC on its website at www.sec.gov.

The Company makes our Annual Report on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K, and other reports filed or furnished with the SEC available to the public, free of charge, through our website at www.franklincovey.com. These reports are provided through our website as soon as is reasonably practicable after we file or furnish these reports with the SEC.

ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS

Our industry and business environment, domestic and international economic conditions, geopolitical circumstances, changing social standards, lingering COVID-19 issues, and other specific risks may affect our future business decisions and financial performance. The matters discussed below may cause our future results to differ from past results or those described in forward-looking statements and could have a material effect on our business, financial condition, liquidity, results of operations, and stock price, and should be considered in evaluating our Company.

The risks included here are not exhaustive. Other sections of this report may include additional risk factors which could adversely affect our business and financial performance. Moreover, we operate in a very competitive and rapidly changing global environment. New risk factors emerge from time to time and it is not possible for management to predict all such risk factors, nor can we assess the impact of all such risk factors on our business or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statements. Given these risks and uncertainties, investors should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements as a prediction of actual results. Further, the disclosure of risks identified below does not imply that the risk has already materialized.

Training Industry and Related Risks

We operate in an intensely competitive industry and our competitors may develop programs, services, or courses that adversely affect our ability to sell our offerings.

The training and consulting services industry is intensely competitive with relatively easy entry. Competitors continually introduce new programs, services, and delivery methods that may compete directly with our offerings, or that may make our offerings uncompetitive or obsolete. Larger competitors may have superior abilities to compete for clients and skilled professionals, reducing our ability to deliver quality work to our clients. Some of our competitors may have greater financial and other resources than we do. In addition, one or more of our competitors may develop and implement training courses or methodologies that may adversely affect our ability to sell our offerings and products to new clients. Any one of these circumstances could have an adverse effect on our ability to obtain new business and successfully deliver our services.

Our results of operations could be adversely affected by economic and political conditions and the effects of these conditions on our clients’ businesses and their levels of business activity.

Global economic and political conditions affect our clients’ businesses and the markets in which they operate. Instability in global credit markets; uncertainty regarding global central bank monetary policy; instability in the geopolitical environment in many parts of the world, including international hostilities; inflation; energy shortages and pricing; the current economic challenges in China, including the global economic ramifications of Chinese economic difficulties; and other disruptions may continue to put pressure on the global economy. If global economic, political, and market conditions, or conditions in key markets, remain uncertain or deteriorate further, we may experience material adverse impacts on our business, operating results, and financial condition.

Our financial results are somewhat dependent on the amount that current and prospective clients budget for training. A serious and/or prolonged economic downturn combined with a negative or uncertain political climate could adversely affect our clients’ financial condition and the amount budgeted for training by our clients. These conditions may reduce the demand for our services or depress the pricing of those services and have an adverse impact on our results of operations. Changes in global economic conditions may also shift demand to services for which we do not have competitive advantages, and this could negatively affect the amount of business that we are able to obtain. Such economic, political, and client spending conditions are influenced by a wide range of factors that are beyond our control and that we have no comparative advantage in forecasting. If we are unable to successfully anticipate these changing conditions, we may be unable to effectively plan for and respond to those changes, and our business could be adversely affected.

Our business success also depends in part upon continued growth in the use of training and consulting services and the renewal of existing contracts by our clients. In challenging economic environments, our clients may reduce or defer their spending on new services and consulting solutions in order to focus on other priorities. At the same time, many companies have already invested substantial resources in their current means of conducting their business and they may be reluctant or slow to adopt new approaches that could disrupt existing personnel and/or processes. If growth in the general use of training and consulting services in business or our clients’ spending on these items declines, or if we cannot convince our clients or potential clients to embrace new services and solutions, our results of operations could be adversely affected.

In addition, our business tends to lag behind economic cycles and, consequently, the benefits of an economic recovery following a period of economic downturn may take longer for us to realize than other segments of the economy.

Failure to maintain our reputation, brand image, and culture could negatively impact our business.

Our success depends on our ability to maintain and enhance our brand image and reputation. Maintaining, promoting, and growing our brands will depend on our design and marketing efforts, including advertising and consumer campaigns, content and platform innovation and quality, and our efforts in these respects may not have the desired impact on our brand image and reputation. In addition, our success in maintaining, extending, and expanding our brand image depends on our ability to adapt to a rapidly changing media environment, including our increasing reliance on social media and digital dissemination of advertising campaigns on our digital platforms and through our digital experiences. We could be adversely impacted if we fail to achieve any of these objectives.

Our brand value also depends on our ability to maintain a positive consumer perception of our corporate integrity, purpose, and brand culture. Negative claims or publicity involving us, our culture and values, our products, services and experiences, consumer data, or any of our affiliates could seriously damage our reputation and brand image, regardless of whether such claims are accurate. Further, our reputation and brand image could be damaged as a result of our support of, association with or lack of support or disapproval of certain social causes, as well as any decisions we make to continue to conduct, or change, certain of our activities in response to such considerations. Social media, which accelerates and potentially amplifies the scope of negative publicity, can increase the challenges of responding to negative claims. Adverse publicity about regulatory or legal action against us, or by us, could also damage our reputation and brand image, undermine consumer confidence in us and reduce long-term demand for our products, even if the regulatory or legal action is unfounded or not material to our operations. If the reputation, perception, or image of any of our brands is

tarnished or if we receive negative publicity, our financial condition and results of operations could be materially and adversely affected.

Some terminology, language, or content in our offerings may be deemed offensive by certain individuals due to rapidly changing societal norms, which may cause damage to our brand or reputation.

Our mission is to enable greatness in individuals and organizations everywhere regardless of race, religion, gender, or other individual characteristics. We write and design our content and materials to accomplish this mission and believe that the principles we teach improve lives. Through our directly owned offices and international licensees, our content is delivered in numerous countries around the world in different languages and in different cultures. The language, graphics, and examples used in our content and materials may be understood and interpreted differently by individuals based on culture, experience, societal norms, and other factors. As a result, some individuals may find some of the content in our materials offensive. While we have developed an ongoing review process to remove potentially offensive terms or images from our materials, a rapidly changing cultural and social environment may create unfavorable interpretations of language or images faster than we can identify and remediate them. Although our intent is to educate and improve individual lives and organizational cultures without offense, an unfavorable interpretation by an individual or organization of the language, concepts, or images used in our content or materials may harm our reputation and brand, cause us to lose business, and adversely affect our results of operations.

We have only a limited ability to protect our intellectual property rights, which are important to our success.

Our financial success is partially dependent on our ability to protect our proprietary offerings and other intellectual property. The existing laws of some countries in which we provide services might offer only limited protection of our intellectual property rights. To protect our intellectual property, we rely upon a combination of confidentiality policies, nondisclosure and other contractual arrangements, as well as copyright and trademark laws. The steps we take in this regard may not be adequate to prevent or deter infringement or other misappropriation of our intellectual property, and we might not be able to detect unauthorized use of, or take appropriate and timely steps to enforce, our intellectual property rights, especially in foreign jurisdictions.

The loss of proprietary content or the unauthorized use of our intellectual property may create greater competition, loss of revenue, and adverse publicity, and may also limit our ability to reuse that intellectual property with other clients. Any limitation on our ability to provide a service or solution could cause us to lose revenue-generating opportunities and require us to incur additional expenses to develop new or modified solutions for future engagements.

We depend on key personnel, the loss of whom could harm our business.

Our future success will depend, in part, on the continued service of key executive officers and personnel. The loss of the services of any key individuals could harm our business. Our future success also depends on our ability to identify, attract, and retain additional qualified senior personnel. Competition for such individuals in the current labor market and in our industry is intense, and we may not be successful in attracting and retaining such personnel.

If we are unable to attract, retain, and motivate high-quality employees, including sales personnel and training consultants, we may not be able to grow our business as projected or may not be able to compete effectively.

Our success and ability to grow are partially dependent on our ability to hire, retain, and motivate sufficient numbers of talented people with the increasingly diverse skills needed to serve our clients and grow our business. Competition for skilled personnel is intense at all levels of experience and seniority. There is a risk that we will be unable to hire and retain a sufficient number of employees with the skills or backgrounds we require, or that it will prove difficult to retain them in a competitive and inflationary labor market. If we are unable to hire and retain talented sales and delivery employees with the skills, and in the locations, we require, we might not be able to grow our business at projected levels or may not be able to effectively deliver our content and services. If we need to hire additional personnel to maintain a specified number of sales personnel or are required to re-assign personnel from other geographic areas, it could increase

our costs and adversely affect our profit margins. In addition, the inability of newly hired sales personnel to achieve increased sales metrics as they progress may inhibit our ability to attain anticipated sales growth.

Our work with governmental clients exposes us to additional risks that are inherent in the government contracting process.

Our clients include national, state, provincial, and local governmental entities, and our work with these governmental entities has various risks inherent in the governmental contracting process. These risks include, but are not limited to, the following:

Governmental entities typically fund projects through appropriated monies. While these projects are often planned and executed as multi-year projects, the governmental entities usually reserve the right to change the scope of, or terminate, these projects for lack of approved funding, budgetary changes, and other discretionary reasons. Changes in governmental priorities or other political developments, including disruptions in governmental operations, could result in reductions in the scope of, or in termination of, our existing contracts.

Governmental entities often reserve the right to audit our contract costs, including allocated indirect costs, and conduct inquiries and investigations of our business practices with respect to our government contracts. Findings from an audit may result in our being required to prospectively adjust previously agreed upon rates for our work, which may adversely affect our future margins.

If a governmental client discovers improper activities in the course of audits or investigations, we may become subject to various civil and criminal penalties and administrative sanctions, which may include termination of contracts, forfeiture of profits, suspension of payments, fines and suspensions, or debarment from doing business with other agencies of that government.

Political and economic factors such as pending elections, the outcome of elections, revisions to governmental tax policies, sequestration, debt ceiling negotiations, and reduced tax revenues can affect the number and terms of new governmental contracts signed.

The occurrences or conditions described above could affect not only our business with the particular governmental agency involved, but also our business with other agencies of the same or other governmental entities. Additionally, because of their visibility and political nature, governmental contracts may present a heightened risk to our reputation. Any of these factors could have an adverse effect on our business or our results of operations.

Cybersecurity and Information Technology Risks

The All Access Pass and Leader in Me subscription services are internet-based platforms, and as such we are subject to increased risks of cyber-attacks and other security breaches that could have a material adverse effect on our business.

As part of selling subscription-based services, we collect, process, and retain a limited amount of sensitive and confidential information regarding our customers. Because our subscription services are internet-based platforms, our facilities and systems may be vulnerable to external or internal security breaches, acts of vandalism, computer viruses, misplaced or lost data, stolen intellectual property, programming or human errors, or other similar events.

The access by unauthorized persons to, or the improper disclosure by us of, confidential information regarding our customers or our own proprietary information, software, methodologies, and business secrets could result in significant legal and financial exposure, damage to our reputation, or a loss of confidence in the security of our systems, products, and services, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, or results of operations. To the extent we are involved in any future cyber-attacks or other breaches, our brand and reputation could be affected, and these conditions could also have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, or results of operations.

‎

We could incur additional liabilities or our reputation could be damaged if we do not protect client data or if our information systems are breached.

We are dependent on information technology networks and systems to process, transmit, and store electronic information and to communicate between our locations around the world and with our clients. Security breaches of this infrastructure could lead to shutdowns or disruptions of our systems and potential unauthorized disclosure of personal or confidential information. We are also required at times to manage, utilize, and store personal data, including sensitive or confidential client or employee data. As a result, we are subject to numerous U.S. and foreign jurisdiction laws and regulations designed to protect this information, such as the various U.S. federal and state laws governing the protection of personal data. If we, our associates, business partners, or our service providers negligently disregard or intentionally breach our established controls with respect to such data or otherwise mismanages or misappropriates that data, we could be subject to monetary damages, fines, and/or criminal prosecution, as well as litigation from parties impacted by a breach of their data or harm to their systems as a result of malware or other security incidents within our own networks or systems. Unauthorized disclosure, loss or alteration of personal, sensitive, or confidential client or employee data or client or end-user systems, whether through systems failure, employee negligence, fraud, or misappropriation could damage our reputation and cause us to lose clients.

Legal requirements relating to the collection, storage, handling, and transfer of personal data continue to evolve. For example, in May 2018 the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) became effective in the European Union (EU) and other countries within the European Economic Area. The GDPR imposes strict requirements on the collection, use, security, and transfer of personal information in and from applicable countries. Under GDPR, fines of up to 20 million Euros or up to four percent of the annual global revenues of the infringer, whichever is greater, could be imposed. Although GDPR applies across the European Economic Area, local data protection authorities still have the ability to interpret GDPR, and in some areas to legislate requirements even more stringent than those in the GDPR, which occasionally creates inconsistencies in application on a country-by-country basis. Furthermore, with the United Kingdom’s (UK) transition out of the EU as of January 1, 2021, we may encounter additional complexity with respect to data privacy and data transfers to and from the UK under the UK GDPR. Other countries, such as Brazil, Australia, Canada, Japan, and South Africa, have also enacted data protection laws, some of which are analogous to GDPR and others which have different and additional requirements, which may include data localization. We have implemented policies, controls, and procedures, including a team dedicated to data protection, to comply with the requirements of GDPR/UK GDPR and analogous laws. However, these new procedures and controls may not be completely effective in preventing unauthorized breaches of personal data. In addition, as the laws in certain countries are fairly new, there may not always be sufficient guidance from the applicable regulators, or case law interpreting the laws. Accordingly, we will need to continue evolving our compliance measures over time, and there is some risk that common interpretations of the requirements in such laws may not necessarily align with opinions of applicable regulators or potential litigants, such that the risk of fines and litigation may be increased in countries with newer laws.

In addition, on July 16, 2020, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) invalidated the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield, a framework that had enabled companies to transfer data from EU member states to the U.S. On September 8, 2020, the Swiss Federal Data Protection and Information Commissioner followed suit, and announced that the Swiss-U.S. Privacy Shield Framework was inadequate for personal information transfers from Switzerland to the U.S.

The Privacy Shield Framework has now been replaced by the new Data Privacy Framework (DPF) together with a UK Extension to the EU-U.S. DPF and the Swiss-U.S. DPF. The DPF was developed by the U.S. Department of Commerce and the European Commission, UK Government, and Swiss Federal Administration, to provide U.S. organizations with reliable mechanisms for personal data transfers to the U.S. from the EU, UK and Switzerland. The European Commission adopted an adequacy decision for the EU-U.S. DPF on July 10, 2023. We are in the process of becoming certified under the DPF, however, several parties have indicated that they will be filing legal challenges to the DPF, so the continued viability of this transfer mechanism may soon be in doubt.

Due to the invalidation of the Privacy Shield and the current and likely future additional challenges to the DPF, we will continue to utilize the newer Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs), adopted by the European Commission on June 4, 2021, as a GDPR-compliant mechanism for the transfer of personal data from the EU, UK and Switzerland to the U.S., in

addition to the DPF. The new SCCs imposed on companies additional obligations relating to data transfers, including the obligation to conduct a transfer impact assessment and, depending on a party’s role in the transfer and the laws and practices of the destination country, to implement additional security measures, and to update internal privacy practices. Regulatory guidance suggests that certain transfers of personal data to the U.S. could be compliant only if the recipient is able to implement specific technical and procedural security controls to protect that personal data, and such controls may not be practical for certain service delivery models, in particular those reliant on cloud services. To the extent we rely on the SCCs for data transfers, we may be required to incur significant time and resources to update our contractual arrangements and implement the supplementary security measures necessary to comply with new requirements. Compliance may also require changes in services, business practices, or internal systems that may result in increased costs, lower revenue, reduced efficiency, or greater difficulty in competing with foreign-based firms. Failure to comply with existing or new rules may result in significant penalties or orders to stop the alleged noncompliant activity. The inability to import personal information from Europe to the United States or other countries may decrease demand for our products and services as our customers that are subject to such laws may seek alternatives that do not involve personal information transfers out of Europe. Our inability to import personal information to the United States and other countries may decrease the functionality or effectiveness of our products and services, increase costs, and adversely impact our marketing efforts, plans, and activities.

Further, in 2021, China adopted the PRC Personal Information Protection Law, or PIPL, and the Data Security Law, or DSL. The PIPL took effect on November 1, 2021 and the DSL took effect on September 1, 2021. The PIPL and DSL in combination establish comprehensive requirements relating to the collection, use, transfer, security, and other processing of personal information in or from China. The PIPL and DSL together incorporate many requirements common to international privacy and security laws, such as GDPR, and adds unique regulatory requirements relating to data localization, international data transfers, consumer consent, the processing of “sensitive personal information,” and the operations of certain “internet platform services.” Fines and penalties under the PIPL range from fines up to RMB 50,000,000 or five percent of global annual turnover, and fines under the DSL related to data transfer violations may range up to RMB 10,000,000 and data transfers may be suspended as a result of violations. Violations of these laws may also result in the cancellation of business authorizations, personal liability or professional restrictions for responsible company officers, as well as criminal and civil liability. Early enforcement actions under PIPL have included civil actions against companies that fail to obtain proper consent for processing sensitive personal information or other unlawful data collection. Recent regulatory actions have centered on ineffective channels for data subjects to exercise rights, the over-collection of personal information, and deceptive practices. As we observe China’s enforcement of the PIPL, DSL and associated laws and regulations over time, we may need to adjust our compliance activities, and we may experience increased costs, business inefficiencies, lost sales, decreased demand, and decreased competitiveness, as we may be unable to provide our services or certain features, or provide them in an efficient or centralized manner. Additionally, local companies may be favored by customers who will not consent to or accept transfer of their data out of China. Fines, corrective actions, or other penalties asserted due to alleged noncompliance may impose additional financial or operational costs, limit our ability to attract and retain local talent, or limit our ability to do business in China. These risks may be magnified due to regulatory uncertainty. Additionally, under the PIPL or DSL, we may be subject to additional liabilities, claims, penalties, or causes of action in the event of a breach or various security violations of customer personal information.

Other governmental authorities throughout the U.S. and around the world are considering or have adopted similar types of legislative and regulatory proposals concerning data protection. For example, in June 2018, the State of California enacted the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018 (the CCPA), which took effect on January 1, 2020, and which has subsequently been amended to add new requirements. The CCPA requires companies that process information on California residents to make new disclosures to consumers about their data collection, use and sharing practices, and allows consumers to opt out of data sales, as well as certain data sharing with third parties and provides a new private cause of action for data breaches. Additionally, the California Privacy Rights Act (the CPRA) amendments to the CCPA created additional obligations relating to consumer data beginning on January 1, 2022, with enforcement beginning on July 1, 2023. The CPRA amendments expand consumer rights related to sharing of personal information, grant additional rights to consumers, remove the exceptions for business-to-business and employment data, and remove the 30-day window to cure alleged noncompliance before being subject to administrative enforcement. Other states, including Colorado, Connecticut, Virginia, and Utah have also passed comprehensive privacy laws that are now in effect or will

come into effect by the end of this year. At the present time, six other states have enacted similar comprehensive privacy laws, which will become effective in the next several years, and numerous other states have proposed or enacted laws relating to more narrow privacy or security requirements. Furthermore, various drafts of a comprehensive federal privacy bill have been introduced to congress, and more will likely be introduced in the coming months. Some of the proposed bills, including the proposed American Data Privacy and Protection Act would largely preempt state privacy legislation; however, the scope of preemption and enforcement-related matters remain uncertain. The Federal Trade Commission and many state attorneys general are interpreting federal and state consumer protection laws to impose standards for the online collection, use, dissemination, and security of data. These privacy, security, and data protection laws and regulations continue to evolve and enforcement in the U.S. and internationally continues to increase. These developments could impose significant limitations on or require changes to our business, restrict our use or storage of personal information, and increase risks of legal liability, which may in turn increase our compliance risk and expenses, and make our business more costly or less efficient to conduct. To the extent any of these laws include a private right of action, we may also face increased risk of litigation.

We strive to employ global best practices in securing and monitoring code, applications, systems, processes, and data, and our data protection practices are regularly reviewed and validated by an external auditing firm. However, these efforts may be insufficient to protect sensitive information against illegal activities and we may be exposed to additional liabilities from the various data protection laws enacted within the jurisdictions where we operate, as well as a risk of litigation in jurisdictions where there is a private right of action related to violations.

Our business is becoming increasingly dependent on information technology and will require additional cash investments in order to grow and meet the demands of our clients.

Since the introduction of our online subscription services, our dependence on the use of sophisticated technologies and information systems has increased. Moreover, our technology platforms will require continuing cash investments (including business acquisitions such as the acquisition of Strive in fiscal 2021) by us to expand existing offerings, improve the client experience, and develop complementary offerings. Our future success depends in part on our ability to adapt our services and infrastructure while continuing to improve the performance, features, and reliability of our services in response to the evolving demands of the marketplace. Failure to adapt and improve these areas could have an adverse effect on our business, including our results of operations, financial position, and cash flows.

Our use of artificial intelligence technologies may not be successful and may present business, compliance, and reputational risks.

We are working to develop our use of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies in some of our products and processes. If we fail to keep pace with rapidly evolving AI technological developments, our competitive position and business results may be negatively impacted. Our use of AI technologies will require resources to develop, test and maintain such products, which could be costly. Third parties may be able to use AI to create technology that could reduce demand for our products. In addition, the introduction of AI technologies, particularly generative AI, into new or existing offerings may result in new or expanded risks and liabilities, due to enhanced governmental or regulatory scrutiny, litigation, compliance issues, ethical concerns, confidentiality, data privacy or security risks, as well as other factors that could adversely affect our business, reputation, and financial results. For example, the use of AI technologies could lead to unintended consequences, such as accuracy issues, cybersecurity risks, unintended biases, and discriminatory outputs, which could impact our ability to protect our data, intellectual property, and client information, or could expose us to intellectual property claims by third parties.

‎

Liquidity and Capital Resource Risks

Adverse developments affecting the financial services industry, including events or concerns involving liquidity, defaults, or non-performance by financial institutions, could adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations, or our prospects.

The funds in our accounts are primarily held in banks, including cash held in foreign banks by our foreign subsidiaries. Our cash held in non-interest bearing and interest-bearing accounts would exceed any applicable Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) insurance limits. Should events, including limited liquidity, defaults, non-performance or other adverse developments occur with respect to the banks or other financial institutions that hold our funds, or that affect financial institutions or the financial services industry generally, or concerns or rumors about any events of these kinds or other similar risks, our liquidity may be adversely affected. For example, on March 10, 2023, the FDIC announced that Silicon Valley Bank had been closed by the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation. Although we did not have any funds in Silicon Valley Bank or other institutions that have been closed, we cannot guarantee that the banks or other financial institutions that hold our funds will not experience similar issues.

In addition, investor concerns regarding the U.S. or international financial systems could result in less favorable commercial financing terms, including higher interest rates or costs and tighter financial and operating covenants, or systemic limitations on access to credit and liquidity sources, thereby making it more difficult for us to acquire financing on terms favorable to us in connection with a potential business combination, or at all, and could have material adverse impacts on our liquidity, our business, financial condition or results of operations, and our prospects.

Failure to comply with the terms and conditions of our credit facility may have an adverse effect upon our business and operations.

Our secured credit agreement obtained in fiscal 2023 requires us to comply with customary non-financial terms and conditions as well as specified financial ratios. Failure to comply with these terms and conditions or maintain adequate financial performance to comply with specific financial ratios entitles the lender to certain remedies, including the right to immediately call due any amounts owed on the credit agreement. Such events would have an adverse effect upon our business and operations as there can be no assurance that we may be able to obtain other forms of financing or raise additional capital on terms that would be acceptable to us.

We may need additional capital in the future, and this capital may not be available to us on favorable terms or at all.

We may need to raise additional funds through public or private debt offerings or equity financings in order to:

Develop new services, programs, or offerings

Take advantage of opportunities, including business acquisitions

Respond to competitive pressures

Going forward, we will continue to incur costs necessary for the day-to-day operation and potential growth of the business and may use our available revolving line of credit facility and other financing alternatives, if necessary, for these expenditures. We obtained a new credit agreement in March 2023 (the 2023 Credit Agreement) with a new lender that expires in March 2028. We expect to regularly renew or amend our lending agreement in the future to maintain the availability of this credit facility. Additional potential sources of liquidity available to us include factoring receivables, issuance of additional equity, or issuance of debt from public or private sources. If necessary, we will evaluate all of these options and select one or more of them depending on overall capital needs and the associated cost of capital.

Any additional capital raised through the sale of equity could dilute current shareholders’ ownership percentage in us. Furthermore, we may be unable to obtain the necessary capital on terms or conditions that are favorable to us, or at all.

We may not be able to generate sufficient cash to service our indebtedness, and we may be forced to take other actions to satisfy our payment obligations under our indebtedness, which may not be successful.

Our ability to make scheduled payments on or to refinance our indebtedness depends on our future performance, including the performance of our subsidiaries, which will be affected by financial, business and economic conditions, competition, and other factors. We are unable to control many of these factors, such as the general economy, economic conditions in the industries in which we operate, and competitive pressures. Our cash flows may be insufficient to allow us to pay principal and interest on our indebtedness and to meet our other obligations. If our cash flows and capital resources are insufficient to fund our debt service obligations, we may be forced to reduce or delay investments and capital expenditures or to sell assets, seek additional capital, or restructure or refinance our indebtedness. These alternative measures may be unsuccessful and we may not meet our scheduled debt service obligations. In addition, the terms of existing or future debt agreements, including our 2023 Credit Agreement and subsequent modifications, may restrict us from pursuing any of these alternatives.

In the event that we need to refinance all or a portion of our outstanding indebtedness before maturity or as it matures, we may not be able to obtain terms as favorable as the terms of our existing indebtedness or refinance our existing indebtedness at all. If interest rates or other factors existing at the time of refinancing result in higher interest rates upon refinancing, we will incur higher interest expense. Furthermore, if any rating agency changes our credit rating or outlook, our debt and equity securities could be negatively affected, which could adversely affect our financial condition and financial results.

Public Company Risks

We may fail to meet analyst expectations, which could cause the price of our stock to decline.

Our common stock is publicly traded on the NYSE, and at any given time various securities analysts follow our financial results and issue reports on us. These periodic reports include information about our historical financial results as well as the analysts’ estimates of our future performance. The analysts’ estimates are based on their own opinions and are often different from our estimates or expectations. The price of our common stock could, however, decline if an analyst downgrades our common stock or if those analysts issue other unfavorable commentary or cease publishing reports about us or our business. If analysts do not continue to follow us or if our operating results are below the estimates or expectations of public market analysts and investors, our stock price could decline. If our stock price is volatile, we may become involved in securities litigation following a decline in price. Any litigation could result in substantial costs and a diversion of management’s attention and resources that are needed to successfully run our business.

Our business performance may not be sufficient for us to meet the financial guidance that we provide publicly.

We may provide financial guidance to the public based upon expectations regarding our financial performance. While we believe that our annual financial guidance provides investors and analysts with insight into our view of the Company’s future performance, such financial guidance is based on assumptions that may not always prove to be accurate and may vary from actual results. If we fail to meet the financial guidance that we provide, or if we find it necessary to revise such guidance during the year, the market value of our common stock could be adversely affected.

Our future quarterly operating results are subject to factors that can cause fluctuations in our stock price.

Historically, our stock price has experienced significant volatility. We expect that our stock price may continue to experience volatility in the future due to a variety of potential factors that may include the following:

Fluctuations in our quarterly results of operations and cash flows

Overall market volatility

Variations between our actual financial results and market expectations

Changes in key balances, such as cash and deferred revenues

Currency exchange rate fluctuations

Unexpected asset impairment charges

These factors, among others, may have an adverse effect upon our stock price in the future.

General Business Risks

Unstable market and economic conditions may have serious adverse consequences on our business, financial condition, and operations.

The global credit and financial markets have from time to time experienced extreme volatility and disruptions, including severely diminished liquidity and credit availability, declines in consumer confidence, declines in economic growth, increases in unemployment rates, and uncertainty about economic stability. The financial markets and the global economy may also be adversely affected by the current or anticipated impact of military conflict, including the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, terrorism, or other geopolitical events. Sanctions imposed by the United States and other countries in response to such conflicts, including the one in Ukraine, may also adversely impact the financial markets and the global economy, and any economic countermeasures by the affected countries or others could exacerbate market and economic instability. There can be no assurance that further deterioration in markets and confidence in economic conditions will not occur. Our general business strategy may be adversely affected by any such economic downturn, volatile business environment, or continued unpredictable and unstable market conditions.

Our results of operations may be adversely impacted by the costs of persistent and rising inflation if we are unable to pass these costs on to our clients.

In recent years, inflation has increased significantly in the United States and in many of the countries where we conduct business. Inflation increases the cost of many aspects of our business, including the cost of our products sold, benefit costs, travel expenses, and associate salaries since we must increase our compensation to retain key personnel. If we are unable to increase our prices to sufficiently offset the increased costs of doing business, our results of operations and profitability may be adversely impacted.

Our results of operations have been adversely affected and could be materially impacted in the future by lingering coronavirus (COVID-19) issues and additional public safety concerns.

The recent COVID-19 pandemic created significant volatility, uncertainty, and economic disruption in the United States and elsewhere in the world over the past few years. While most regions of the world have recovered from the pandemic and are functioning relatively normally, lingering COVID-19 issues and concerns may impact our business, operations, and financial results in future periods if further governmental, business, and individual actions are taken, including additional lockdowns or other restrictive mandates are enacted to combat COVID-19 variants. Such events and circumstances may adversely impact client demand for our services; our ability to conduct in-person programs; our ability to sell and provide our services and solutions, and the ability of our clients to pay for our services on a timely basis or at all. Any of these events, or related conditions, could cause or contribute to the risks and uncertainties described in this Annual Report and could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations, cash flows, and stock price.

Our global operations pose complex management, foreign currency, legal, tax, and economic risks, which we may not adequately address.

We have directly owned offices that serve clients in Austria, Australia, China, Germany, Ireland, Japan, New Zealand, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. We also have licensed operations in numerous other foreign countries. As a result of these foreign operations and their impact upon our financial statements, we are subject to a number of risks, including, but not limited to:

Restrictions on the movement of cash

The absence in some jurisdictions of effective laws to protect our intellectual property rights

Political instability

Currency exchange rate fluctuations

These and other related risks could adversely affect our ability to access sources of liquidity, increase costs related to regulatory compliance, and adversely affect our results of operations.

Our global operations expose us to numerous and sometimes conflicting legal and regulatory requirements, and violation of these regulations could harm our business.

Because we provide services to clients in many countries, we are subject to numerous, and sometimes conflicting, regulations on matters as diverse as import/export controls, content requirements, trade restrictions, tariffs, taxation, sanctions, government affairs, internal and disclosure control obligations, data privacy, and labor relations. Violations of these regulations in the conduct of our business could result in fines, criminal sanctions against us or our officers, prohibitions on doing business, and damage to our reputation. Violations of these regulations in connection with the performance of our obligations to our clients also could result in liability for monetary damages, fines, unfavorable publicity, and allegations by our clients that we have not performed our contractual obligations. Due to the varying degrees of development of the legal systems of the countries in which we operate, local laws may be insufficient to protect our rights.

In many parts of the world, including countries in which we operate, practices in the local business community might not conform to international business standards and could violate anticorruption regulations, including the United States Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, which prohibits giving anything of value intended to influence the awarding of government contracts. Although we have policies and procedures to ensure legal and regulatory compliance, our employees, licensee operators, and agents could take actions that violate these requirements. Violations of these regulations could subject us to criminal or civil enforcement actions, including fines and suspension or disqualification from United States federal procurement contracting, any of which could have an adverse effect on our business.

The Company’s use of accounting estimates involves judgment and could impact our financial results.

Our most critical accounting estimates are described in Management’s Discussion and Analysis found in Item 7 of this report under the section entitled “Use of Estimates and Critical Accounting Policies.” In addition, as discussed in various footnotes to our financial statements as found in Item 8, we make certain estimates for loss contingencies, including decisions related to legal proceedings and reserves. Because, by definition, these estimates and assumptions involve the use of judgment, our actual financial results may differ from these estimates. If our estimates or assumptions underlying such contingencies and reserves prove incorrect, we may be required to record additional adjustments or losses relating to such matters, which would negatively affect our financial results.

Ineffective internal controls could impact our business and operating results.

Our internal control over financial reporting may not prevent or detect misstatements because of its inherent limitations, including the possibility of human error, the circumvention or overriding of controls, or fraud. Even effective internal controls can provide only reasonable assurance with respect to the preparation and fair presentation of financial statements. If we fail to maintain the adequacy of our internal controls, including any failure to implement required new or improved controls, or if we experience difficulties in their implementation, our business and operating results may be harmed and we could fail to meet our financial reporting obligations.

‎

Extreme weather conditions and natural disasters could negatively impact our operating results and financial condition.

Extreme weather conditions in the areas in which our suppliers, customers, distribution facilities, offices, and headquarters are located could adversely affect our operating results and financial condition. Moreover, natural disasters such as earthquakes, hurricanes, wildfires, and tsunamis, whether occurring in the United States or abroad, and their related consequences and effects, including energy shortages and public health issues, have in the past temporarily disrupted, and could in the future disrupt, our operations, the operations of our customers, vendors and suppliers or have in the past resulted in, and in the future could result in, economic instability that may negatively impact our operating results and financial condition. In particular, if a natural disaster or severe weather event were to occur in an area in which we or our suppliers, customers, distribution facilities and vendors are located, our continued success would depend, in part, on the safety and availability of the relevant personnel and facilities and proper functioning of our or third parties’ computer, network, telecommunication and other systems and operations. If we were to experience a local or regional disaster or other business continuity event or concurrent events, we could experience operational challenges, in particular depending upon how a local or regional event may affect our human capital across our operations or with regard to particular aspects of our operations, such as key executive officers or personnel. Further, if we are unable to find alternative suppliers, replace capacity at key distribution locations or quickly repair damage to our information technology systems, our ability to serve our customers could be adversely affected. These events could result in reputational damage, lost sales, cancellation charges or markdowns, all of which could have an adverse effect on our business, results of operations, and financial condition.

The impacts of climate change and related regulatory responses could adversely affect our business.

Sustainability and protecting our natural environment are significant priorities at Franklin Covey and we strive to implement practices and policies that support this concern. We recognize that there are inherent climate-related risks wherever business is conducted; however, we cannot predict the long-term impacts on us from climate change or related regulatory responses. We expect to face increasing regulations relating to climate change, including, for example, disclosure of the impacts of climate change on our business. A failure to uphold or make strides toward achieving publicly stated climate goals may harm the Company’s reputation with customers, suppliers, and employees. This increased scrutiny will likely require us to expend significant resources and could adversely affect our results of operations and financial condition. Additionally, we expect that the complexity of compliance with climate disclosure regulations will increase as various countries take different approaches to such regulation. We will continue to monitor the impacts of these issues on our business and consider responsive action as needed.

Further, climate change may increase both the frequency and severity of extreme weather conditions and natural disasters, which may affect our business operations, either in a particular region or globally, as well as the activities of our vendors, suppliers, and customers. For example, the delivery of our services is dependent on reliable and relatively inexpensive electricity. If electricity is not readily available or affordable, we may not be able to deliver our products and services and our operating results may be adversely impacted. In addition, the physical changes prompted by climate change could result in changes in regulations or consumer preferences, which could in turn affect our business, operating results, and financial condition.

ITEM 1B.  UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS

None.

‎

ITEM 2. PROPERTIES

As of August 31, 2023, our principal executive offices in Salt Lake City, Utah occupy approximately 54,000 square feet of leased office space that is accounted for as a financing obligation, which expires in June 2025. This facility accommodates our executive team and corporate administration, as well as other professionals. The corporate headquarters is utilized by personnel in both our Enterprise and Education Divisions. The master lease agreement on our principal executive offices contains six five-year renewal options that may be exercised at our discretion. Additionally, we occupy leased sales and administrative offices both in the United States and various countries around the world as shown below. These additional facilities are accounted for as operating leases.

We consider our existing facilities to be in good condition and suitable for our current and expected level of operations in the upcoming fiscal year and in future periods. Our international sales offices are in the following locations:

Banbury, England

Tokyo, Japan

China: Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen

ITEM 3. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS

From time to time, we are the subject of certain legal actions, which we consider routine to our business activities. At August 31, 2023, we were not party to any litigation or legal proceeding that, in the current opinion of management, could have a material adverse effect on our financial position, liquidity, or results of operations. However, due to the risks and uncertainties inherent in legal proceedings, actual results could differ from current expectations.

ITEM 4. MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURES

Not applicable.

PART II

ITEM 5. MARKET FOR REGISTRANT’S COMMON EQUITY, RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS AND ISSUER PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES

Our common stock is listed and traded on the NYSE under the symbol “FC.”

We did not pay or declare dividends on our common stock during the fiscal years ended August 31, 2023 or 2022. Any determination to pay cash dividends will be at the discretion of our board of directors and will be dependent upon our results of operations, financial condition, terms of our financing arrangements, and such other factors as the board deems relevant. We currently anticipate that we will retain all available funds to finance future growth and business opportunities, repay our debt obligations, and to repurchase outstanding shares of our common stock.

As of October 31, 2023, we had 13,433,388 shares of common stock outstanding, which were held by 454 shareholders of record. A number of our shareholders hold their shares in street name; therefore, we believe that there are substantially more beneficial owners of our common stock.

‎

Purchases of Common Stock by the Issuer

The following table summarizes the purchases of our common stock during our fourth fiscal quarter, which ended August 31, 2023:

⁽¹⁾On February 14, 2023, our Board of Directors approved a new plan to purchase up to $50.0 million of our outstanding common stock. The previously existing common stock purchase plan was canceled, and the new common share purchase plan does not have an expiration date. The actual timing, number, and value of common shares purchased under our board-approved plan will be determined at our discretion and will depend on a number of factors, including, among others, general market and business conditions, the trading price of common shares, and applicable legal requirements. We have no obligation to purchase any common shares under the authorization, and the purchase plan may be suspended, discontinued, or modified at any time for any reason. Amounts shown in the table include the applicable one percent excise tax on our purchases of common stock for treasury.

Performance Graph

The following graph demonstrates a five-year comparison of cumulative total returns for Franklin Covey Co. common stock, the S&P SmallCap 600 Index, and the S&P 600 Commercial & Professional Services Index. The graph assumes an investment of $100 on August 31, 2018 in each of our common stock, the stocks comprising the S&P SmallCap 600 Index, and the stocks comprising the S&P 600 Commercial & Professional Services Index. Each of the indices assumes that all dividends were reinvested.

The stock performance shown on the performance graph above is not necessarily indicative of future performance. The Company will not make or endorse any predictions as to our future stock performance.

The performance graph above is being furnished solely to accompany this Annual Report on Form 10-K pursuant to Item 201(e) of Regulation S-K, and is not being filed for purposes of Section 18 of the Exchange Act, as amended, and is not to be incorporated by reference into any filing of the Company, whether made before or after the date hereof, regardless of any general incorporation language in such filing.

ITEM 6.

Reserved.

ITEM 7. MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

The following Management’s Discussion and Analysis is intended to provide a summary of the principal factors affecting the results of operations, liquidity and capital resources, and the critical accounting estimates of Franklin Covey Co. (also referred to as we, us, our, the Company, FranklinCovey, and Franklin Covey) and subsidiaries. This discussion and analysis should be read together with the accompanying consolidated financial statements and related notes contained in Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K (Form 10-K) and the Risk Factors discussed in Item 1A of this Form 10-K. Forward-looking statements in this discussion are qualified by the cautionary statement under the heading “Safe Harbor Statement Under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act Of 1995” contained later in Item 7 of this Form 10-K.

Non-GAAP Measures

This Management’s Discussion and Analysis includes the concepts of adjusted earnings before interest, income taxes, depreciation, and amortization (Adjusted EBITDA) and “constant currency,” which are non-GAAP measures. We define Adjusted EBITDA as net income or loss excluding the impact of interest, income taxes, intangible asset amortization, depreciation, stock-based compensation expense, and certain other items such as adjustments to the fair value of expected contingent consideration liabilities arising from business acquisitions. Constant currency is a non-GAAP financial

measure that removes the impact of fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates and is calculated by translating the current period’s financial results at the same average exchange rates in effect during the prior year and then comparing this amount to the prior year.

We reference these non-GAAP financial measures in our decision making because they provide supplemental information that facilitates consistent internal comparisons to the historical operating performance of prior periods and we believe it provides investors with greater transparency to evaluate operational activities and financial results. For a reconciliation of our segment Adjusted EBITDA to net income or loss, a related GAAP measure, please refer to Note 17 Segment Information to our consolidated financial statements as presented in Item 8 of this Form 10-K.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

General Overview

Franklin Covey Co. is a global company focused on individual and organizational performance improvement. Our mission is to “enable greatness in people and organizations everywhere,” and our worldwide resources are organized to help individuals and organizations achieve sustained superior performance at scale through changes in human behavior. We believe that our content and services create the connection between capabilities and results. In the training and consulting marketplace, we believe there are three important characteristics that distinguish us from our competitors.

1.World Class Content – Our content is based on timeless principles of human effectiveness and is designed to help people change both their mindset and behavior. When our content is applied consistently in an organization, we believe the culture of that organization will change to enable the organization to get desired results and achieve its own great purposes.

2.Breadth and Scalability of Delivery Options – We have a wide range of content delivery options, including: the All Access Pass, the Leader in Me membership subscriptions, intellectual property licenses, digital online learning, on-site training, training led through certified facilitators, blended learning, and organization-wide transformational processes, including consulting and coaching. We believe our investments in digital delivery modalities over the past few years have enabled us to deliver our content to clients in a high-quality learning environment whether those clients are working remotely or in a centralized location.

3.Global Capability – We have sales professionals in the United States and Canada who serve clients in the private sector, in government, and in educational institutions; wholly owned subsidiaries that serve clients in Australia, New Zealand, China, Japan, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Germany, Switzerland, and Austria; and we contract with independent licensee partners who deliver our content and provide services in 150 countries and territories around the world.

We have some of the best-known offerings in the training industry, including a suite of individual-effectiveness and leadership-development training content based on the best-selling books, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, The Speed of Trust, Multipliers, and The 4 Disciplines of Execution, and proprietary content in the areas of Execution, Sales Performance, Productivity, Customer Loyalty, Leadership, and Education. We believe that our offerings help individuals, teams, and entire organizations transform their results through achieving systematic, sustainable, and measurable changes in human behavior. Our offerings are described in further detail at www.franklincovey.com. The information contained in, or that can be accessed through, our website does not constitute a part of this Annual Report on Form 10-K, and the descriptions found therein should not be viewed as a warranty or guarantee of results.

Our fiscal year ends on August 31, and unless otherwise indicated, fiscal 2023, fiscal 2022, and fiscal 2021 refer to the twelve-month periods ended August 31, 2023, 2022, 2021, and so forth.

‎

Fiscal 2023 Financial Overview

We were very pleased with our results for fiscal 2023 and the continued strength, durability, and growth of the business and our subscription business model. Fiscal 2023’s financial results were strong when viewed in the context that we were able to improve over a period of unprecedented growth in fiscal 2022, a period which benefited from strong sales performance and comparison with pandemic-impacted results in fiscal 2021. We believe the continued strength and durability of our subscription model is driven by 1) our clients’ mission critical challenges, which are typically more intense during periods of economic uncertainty; 2) our effective solutions for helping clients successfully address these challenges, which can be flexibly utilized to meet each organization’s needs; and 3) our strength in acquiring, retaining, and expanding meaningful client relationships. Our performance in fiscal 2023 reflects the continuation of three key trends that were evident throughout the fiscal year. These trends include:

All Access Pass subscription and subscription services sales grew nine percent to $158.0 million in fiscal 2023 compared with $144.5 million in fiscal 2022. In our Enterprise Division, where most AAP contracts are sold, sales increased six percent to $205.7 million compared with $194.4 million in the prior year. In constant currency, Enterprise sales grew to $209.6 million in fiscal 2023.

Education Division revenues grew 13 percent to $69.7 million in fiscal 2023 on the strength of increased training and consulting days delivered and increased Leader in Me membership revenues. During fiscal 2023, the Education Division added a record 791 new Leader in Me schools in the United States and Canada. Year-over-year Leader in Me school retention remained high during fiscal 2023 at nearly 85 percent.

Total Company deferred revenue at August 31, 2023 increased to $111.2 million compared with $102.4 million at August 31, 2022. The sum of billed subscription and unbilled deferred subscription revenue at August 31, 2023 grew 22 percent to $186.4 million, compared with August 31, 2022. We continue to be pleased with the growth of multi-year contracts and the overall increase in deferred subscription revenue, which provide a strong base for future sales growth.

Our results of operations for fiscal 2023 included increased sales, gross profit, operating income, pre-tax income, and Adjusted EBITDA. Our consolidated sales for fiscal 2023 increased seven percent, or $17.7 million, to a new annual sales record of $280.5 million despite the impact of unfavorable foreign exchange rates. In constant currency, our consolidated sales grew to $284.5 million for the year. This growth was on top of the strong 17 percent growth achieved in fiscal 2022, which benefited from strong sales performance and comparison with a pandemic-impacted fiscal 2021. Our sales in fiscal 2023 increased primarily due to strong sales of subscription and subscription services in both of our Enterprise and Education Divisions. Despite unfavorable exchange rates and some challenging macroeconomic factors during fiscal 2023, our AAP and Leader in Me membership revenues increased compared with the prior year and each of our operating segments were able to increase sales over the prior year. Our revenue growth in fiscal 2023 was driven primarily by a combination of contract renewals, expansions, new customers, and price increases. Enterprise Division sales for the year increased six percent, or $11.3 million, to $205.7 million compared with $194.4 million in fiscal 2022, and were driven primarily by increased AAP revenues, improved international direct office sales, and increased licensee revenues. All Access Pass subscription and subscription services sales grew nine percent in fiscal 2023, international direct office sales increased six percent, or $1.9 million, and licensee revenues increased 10 percent, or $1.1 million, compared with fiscal 2022. Fiscal 2023 growth in Enterprise Division was impacted by foreign exchange and by a somewhat reduced number of onsite presentations in the third and fourth quarters, compared with a record number of onsite presentations in fiscal 2022. Education Division revenues increased 13 percent, or $7.9 million, to $69.7 million compared with $61.9 million in fiscal 2022. Our Education Division subscription and subscription-related revenue, which primarily consists of the Leader in Me membership and consulting days invoiced with the Leader in Me online service, increased 13 percent compared with fiscal 2022.

At August 31, 2023, we had $111.2 million of deferred revenue compared with $102.4 million at August 31, 2022. Our deferred revenue noted above at August 31, 2023 and August 31, 2022 includes $3.7 million and $2.7 million, respectively, of deferred revenue that was classified as long-term based on expected recognition. Total deferred

subscription revenue increased 12 percent to $99.0 million at August 31, 2023 compared with $88.1 million at August 31, 2022. Our unbilled deferred revenue at August 31, 2023 grew 34 percent to $87.4 million compared with $65.4 million at the end of fiscal 2022. At August 31, 2023, the sum of our deferred subscription revenue plus unbilled deferred subscription revenue grew 22 percent, or $33.0 million, to $186.4 million compared with $153.4 million at August 31, 2022. Unbilled deferred revenue represents business that is contracted, but unbilled and therefore excluded from our balance sheet.

The following table sets forth our consolidated net sales by division and by reportable segment for the fiscal years indicated (in thousands):

Gross profit consists of net sales less the cost of services provided or the cost of goods sold. Our cost of sales includes the direct costs of delivering content onsite at client locations, including presenter costs; amortization of previously capitalized curriculum development costs; content royalties; materials used in the production of training products and related assessments; manufacturing labor costs; and freight. Gross profit may be affected by, among other things, the mix of services sold to clients, prices of materials, travel, labor rates, changes in product discount levels, and freight costs. Consolidated cost of sales in fiscal 2023 totaled $67.0 million compared with $60.9 million for fiscal 2022. Our gross profit for the fiscal year ended August 31, 2023 increased six percent, or $11.6 million, to $213.5 million, compared with $201.9 million in fiscal 2022, and increased primarily due to increased sales as described above. Our gross margin in fiscal 2023 remained strong at 76.1 percent of sales compared with 76.8 percent in the prior year.

Our operating expenses in fiscal 2023 increased $8.9 million compared with fiscal 2022 primarily due to a $10.4 million increase in selling, general, and administrative (SG&A) expenses. Despite the increase in SG&A expenses, as a percentage of revenue, our SG&A expenses in fiscal 2023 decreased to 63.6 percent compared with 63.9 percent in fiscal 2022. Our SG&A expenses increased primarily due to increased associate costs resulting from new client-facing personnel and increased salaries; increased commissions on higher sales; a $4.2 million increase in non-cash stock-based compensation expense; and increased travel expense. At August 31, 2023, we had 303 client partners compared with 300 at August 31, 2022.

Our fiscal 2023 income from operations improved 11 percent to $26.4 million compared with $23.7 million in the prior year. Fiscal 2023 pre-tax income increased 17 percent, or $3.8 million, to $25.9 million compared with $22.1 million in fiscal 2022, reflecting the financial metrics noted above.

Our effective income tax rate for fiscal 2023 was approximately 31 percent compared with an effective income tax rate of approximately 16 percent in fiscal 2022. Our effective tax rate in fiscal 2022 was reduced primarily by a $2.8 million reduction in the valuation allowance against our deferred income tax assets. Our effective rate in fiscal 2023 was higher than statutory rates primarily due to $0.9 million of tax expense from non-deductible executive compensation.

Net income for the year ended August 31, 2023 was $17.8 million, or $1.24 per diluted share, compared with $18.4 million, or $1.27 per diluted share, in fiscal 2022. Our Adjusted EBITDA for fiscal 2023 increased 14 percent to $48.1 million compared with $42.2 million in fiscal 2022, reflecting the above-noted factors.

Further details regarding these items can be found in the comparative analysis of fiscal 2023 with fiscal 2022 as discussed within this Management’s Discussion and Analysis.

Our liquidity, financial position, and capital resources remained strong during fiscal 2023. At August 31, 2023, we had $38.2 million of cash, with no borrowings on our $62.5 million revolving credit facility, even after spending $35.6 million on purchases of our common stock during fiscal 2023, compared with $60.5 million of cash, and no borrowings on our revolving credit facility, at August 31, 2022. Cash flows from operating activities remained strong and totaled $35.7 million in fiscal 2023. For further information regarding our liquidity and cash flows, refer to the Liquidity and Capital Resources discussion found within this Management’s Discussion and Analysis.

For a discussion of the results of operations and changes in financial condition for fiscal 2022 compared with fiscal 2021, refer to Part II, Item 7 Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations in our fiscal 2022 Form 10-K, which was filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission on November 14, 2022.

Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Our Financial Statements

The COVID-19 pandemic had a significant adverse impact on our financial results beginning in the third quarter of fiscal 2020 and lasting into early fiscal 2021. As individuals and businesses began adapting to pandemic-related circumstances in fiscal 2021, our business also began to recover. Driven primarily by previous changes to a subscription-based business model, we were able to quickly pivot to delivering content live-online and through our other digital modalities. As a result, our subscription service clients were able to access content and programs from remote locations, which allowed continued engagement of personnel and students during long periods of displacement from normal working or classroom conditions. The ability to deliver high-quality content to our clients, combined with adaptations to the pandemic and loosening restrictions provided a path to recovery beginning in fiscal 2021.

The momentum generated in fiscal 2021 continued into fiscal 2022 as our sales and profitability improved dramatically over fiscal 2021 and produced some of the best growth metrics in the Company’s history due to strong subscription and subscription services growth and comparisons with pandemic-impacted financial results in fiscal 2021. The strong growth in fiscal 2022 set a solid foundation for continued success in fiscal 2023 as the effects of the pandemic waned in most of the world. However, our direct offices in China and Japan, and certain regions served by our international licensee partners continued to be adversely impacted from the lingering effects of the pandemic in fiscal 2023. For example, in the first two quarters of fiscal 2023, our sales in China were down 18 percent and in Japan were down four percent compared with fiscal 2022, primarily due to continued pandemic-related restrictions in those countries. However, as restrictions were lifted in the third and fourth quarters, China’s sales improved and ended up 17 percent over fiscal 2022 and Japan was able to improve enough to end up even with fiscal 2022. While we are optimistic about the future in China, Japan, and certain other countries, we will continue to monitor developments related to the pandemic, and their actual and potential impacts on our financial position, results of operations, and liquidity.

Key Strategic Objectives

Our key strategic objectives for future growth remain largely unchanged from fiscal 2023. We believe following key strategic priorities will position us for continued growth in fiscal 2024 and in future years:

Increase the Impact and Scale of Our Solutions – We intend to build the capabilities to dramatically increase the impact and scale of our solutions with significant investments in people, content, and technology. During fiscal 2024 and future periods, we expect to continue to hire new leaders, salespeople, and team members; offer new and refreshed content and solutions, including a significantly refreshed 7 Habits of Highly Effective People offering in fiscal 2024 and new material for our Leader in Me program; make continued investments in our Impact Platform to continuously improve the user experience and to build in new technology; and work to integrate content, client personnel, and technology in a manner that will help our clients build winning cultures. We consistently seek to provide our clients world-class solutions, using the best technology, that will allow them to transform their organizations into high performing entities.

Refresh our Brand and Messaging – We are focused on telling our story more broadly and powerfully, with the goal of helping significantly more people understand what we do and how we can help them. We recently launched a new brand that was designed to reflect our development into content and technology while retaining our connection to the principles that have driven our growth over the years. The new branding has brought more visitors to our website, registered more people for our marketing events, and generated more thought leadership guide downloads than ever before. We seek to increase the visibility of our services to a much larger audience and believe these efforts will provide added opportunities in the training marketplace.

Accelerate the Flywheel – We seek to build on the momentum of our subscription businesses, which are centered around the All Access Pass in the Enterprise Division and the Leader in Me membership in the Education Division. During fiscal 2023, we significantly grew our billed and unbilled deferred subscription revenue and believe this growth provides a solid foundation for future sales activity. Additionally, we added the most new schools in our history and maintained a high level of school retention during the fiscal year. With millions of AAP users throughout thousands of organizations globally and many thousands of students in schools around the world, we believe that our growth and building momentum have established a strong foundation for future growth and accelerating the “flywheel” of results for our clients, associates, and shareholders.

Invest in and Expand Our Culture – We believe that we are the workplace of choice for achievers with heart. During fiscal 2023 we sought to expand and improve our culture by integrating our corporate values into our associates’ work environment, focusing our teams on making a culture commitment, and standardizing our communication and collaboration toolset. We strive to maintain a culture that provides a great place to work and allows individuals to contribute their best talents and abilities. We believe this atmosphere produces better solutions for our clients and feelings of well-being and satisfaction for our associates. Through our efforts to improve our culture, we have made great progress in our diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives and created a welcoming environment for the many new and talented associates that joined us during fiscal 2023.

We believe the pursuit of these strategic priorities will enable us to be the most trusted leadership company in the world by providing world-class solutions to our clients that will improve their organizations, by creating a rewarding and appealing environment for our associates, and by driving results that will provide return to our shareholders.

Other key factors that influence our operating results include: the number of organizations that are active customers; the number of people trained within those organizations; the continuation or renewal of existing services contracts, especially subscription renewals; the availability of budgeted training spending at our clients and prospective clients, which, in certain content categories, can be significantly influenced by general economic conditions; client satisfaction with our offerings and services; the number and productivity of our international licensee operations; and our ability to manage operating costs necessary to develop and provide meaningful offerings and related products to our clients.

‎

Results of Operations

The following table sets forth, for the fiscal years indicated, the percentage of total sales represented by the line items through income before income taxes in our consolidated income statements. This table should be read in conjunction with the accompanying discussion and analysis, the consolidated financial statements, and the related notes to the consolidated financial statements (amounts in percentages).

FISCAL 2023 COMPARED WITH FISCAL 2022 RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

Enterprise Division

Direct Offices Segment

The Direct Office segment includes our sales personnel that serve clients in the United States and Canada; our directly owned international offices that serve clients in Japan, China, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Germany, Switzerland, and Austria; and other groups such as our government services office and books and audio sales. The following comparative information is for our Direct Offices segment for the periods indicated (in thousands):

For fiscal 2023, our Direct Office segment sales increased six percent to $194.0 million compared with $183.8 million in the prior year. In constant currency, our Direct Office sales for the year increased to $197.5 million. Sales increased by six percent at each of our offices in the United States and Canada and international direct offices. During fiscal 2023 our AAP subscription and subscription related revenues increased nine percent over fiscal 2022. We remain confident that the strength and durability of our AAP offering, our principle-based content, and our subscription business model will help our clients solve difficult issues and will continue to drive growth in future periods despite increasing macroeconomic and geopolitical challenges. The sum of deferred subscription revenue on our balance sheet combined with unbilled multi-year contracts entered into, increased 22 percent, or $33.0 million, to $186.4 million, compared with $153.4 million at August 31, 2022. We believe the continued increase in invoiced AAP and other subscription sales, which are initially recognized on the balance sheet, provide a strong base for continued revenue growth in future periods.

Over the previous several quarters, the performance of our international direct offices has been directly related to the level of recovery from the pandemic and corresponding business and social activity in each country. These ongoing pandemic issues materially impacted our China and Japan offices during fiscal 2023. During late fiscal 2022, China had a

resurgence of COVID cases and enacted strict lockdown measures in response to the rise in cases. These lockdown measures, economic instability, and social unrest adversely impacted our China office during the first half of fiscal 2023 and led to significant reductions in comparative sales for those periods. However, during the third and fourth quarters of fiscal 2023, China sales improved sharply over the first half of fiscal 2023 and led to overall growth in our foreign direct offices. For fiscal 2023, sales through our Germany, Switzerland, and Austria office increased 22 percent and our China office sales increased 17 percent over fiscal 2022. Sales were flat at our other international direct offices. While we remain confident in our international direct offices’ ability to grow in future periods, growth may continue to be hindered by unfavorable economic conditions and geopolitical issues in fiscal 2024. Foreign exchange rates had a $3.5 million unfavorable impact on our Direct Office sales and a $0.9 million unfavorable effect on operating income during fiscal 2023.

Gross Profit. Direct Office gross profit increased primarily due to sales growth as previously described. Direct Office gross margin remained strong in fiscal 2023, and was 80.9 percent compared with 80.5 percent in the prior year.

SG&A Expense. Direct Office SG&A expense for fiscal 2023 increased primarily due to increased associate costs, including new personnel and increased salaries, and increased commissions on higher sales.

International Licensees Segment

In foreign locations where we do not have a directly owned office, our training and consulting services are delivered through independent licensees. The following comparative information is for our international licensee operations in the periods indicated (in thousands):

Sales. Our international licensee revenues are primarily comprised of royalty revenues. During fiscal 2023 our licensee revenues increased primarily due to increased royalty revenues from certain licensees as economies in many of the countries where our licensees operate continue to recover from the pandemic. Compared with fiscal 2022, our royalty revenues increased 12 percent and our share of AAP revenues increased by five percent to $1.5 million. We receive additional revenue from the international licensees for AAP sales to cover a portion of the costs of operating the AAP portal. We remain optimistic that our licensees’ sales and our corresponding royalty revenues will continue to grow in future periods as licensee sales activity has nearly recovered to pre-pandemic levels and we expect the recovery to continue in fiscal 2024. However, difficult macroeconomic conditions, including unfavorable foreign exchange fluctuations, may negatively impact our licensees’ operations and our reported royalty revenues in future periods. Foreign exchange rates had a $0.5 million adverse impact on reported international licensee sales and operating results during fiscal 2023.

Gross Profit. Gross profit increased primarily due to increased royalty revenues as previously described. Gross margin remained strong at 90.2 percent compared with 88.9 percent in the prior year and improved due to the mix of revenue recognized during fiscal 2023.

SG&A Expense. International licensee SG&A expenses increased primarily due to additional spending on technology, development, and various other shared service costs.

‎

Education Division

Our Education Division is comprised of our domestic and international Education practice operations, which are focused on sales to educational institutions, and includes our widely acclaimed Leader in Me program. The following comparative information is for our Education Division in the periods indicated (in thousands):

Sales. Education Division sales in fiscal 2023 increased 13 percent, or $7.9 million, primarily due to increased consulting, coaching, and training days delivered during the year, increased Leader in Me subscription revenue, and an increase in the number of Symposium conference events held. During fiscal 2023, the Education Division delivered nearly 1,100 more training and coaching days than during fiscal 2022, which are recognized as they are delivered. Education Annual membership subscription and subscription-related revenue increased 13 percent compared with the prior year primarily due to increased revenue from previously deferred training and coaching days, and Annual Membership sales resulting from new schools. Our focus on creating strategic partnerships with school districts is working well and we added 147 new district partnerships in fiscal 2023 compared with 65 new partnerships in fiscal 2022. These new district partnerships helped drive a record 791 new schools entering the Leader in Me program during fiscal 2023. We also held four Symposium conference events to promote the Leader in Me program during fiscal 2023 compared with only one in the prior year. Increased sales from coaching days delivered, new membership subscriptions, and Symposiums were partially offset by decreased materials sales. Starting in fiscal 2023, student leadership guides are now all available on the Leader in Me online service, rather than in paper-based format for an additional charge. Overall, we continue to be pleased with the strength of our Education Division sales and believe the building momentum from fiscal 2023 will continue into fiscal 2024 and in future periods; however, many Leader in Me schools have benefitted from funding obtained through the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) Program. The ESSER program is currently set to expire in September 2024 and the potential reduction in available funding may have an adverse impact upon our Education Division. As of August 31, 2023, the Leader in Me program is used in over 3,500 schools in the United States and Canada, compared with over 3,300 schools at August 31, 2022.

Gross Profit. Education Division gross profit increased primarily due to increased sales as previously described. Education segment gross margin was 63.7 percent of sales compared with 66.6 percent in fiscal 2022 and declined primarily due to increased travel costs and change in the product mix sold during fiscal 2023. Approximately 96 percent of coaching and consulting days delivered in fiscal 2023 were live events compared with 82 percent in fiscal 2022.

SG&A Expenses. Education SG&A expenses increased primarily due to increased associate expenses from investments in new personnel, increased commissions on higher sales, changes to compensation plans, and increased travel costs compared with the prior year.

Other Operating Expense Items

Depreciation – Depreciation expense decreased $0.6 million compared with fiscal 2022 primarily due to the full depreciation of certain assets during the fiscal year and reduced capital expenditures over the past couple of years. We currently expect depreciation expense will total approximately $6.0 million in fiscal 2024. Our forecast depreciation expense is somewhat dependent on leasehold improvements that may be necessary to our corporate campus as we approach the end of the master lease agreement in fiscal 2025. Therefore, our depreciation expense may fluctuate from the current expectation.

Amortization – Amortization expense decreased $0.9 million compared with the prior year due to the full amortization of certain intangible assets from previous business acquisitions. We currently expect amortization expense will total $4.2 million during fiscal 2024.

Interest Income – Interest income increased $1.0 million compared with fiscal 2022 primarily due to increased interest rates in late fiscal 2022 and in fiscal 2023, which improved our ability to earn interest income on our cash balances.

Interest Expense – Our interest expense during fiscal 2022 decreased $0.1 million primarily due to reduced term loan debt and a reduced principal balance on our financing obligation (long-term lease on our corporate campus) compared with the prior year. However, rising interest rates during fiscal 2023 partially offset the benefit of lower debt balances during the fiscal year.

Income Taxes

Our effective income tax expense rate for the fiscal year ended August 31, 2023 was approximately 31 percent, compared with an income tax expense rate of approximately 16 percent in fiscal 2022. Our effective income tax rate for fiscal 2023 was higher than the statutory rate primarily due to tax expense of $0.9 million for non-deductible executive compensation and $0.4 million in tax differential on income subject to both U.S. and foreign taxes, which were partially offset by a $0.4 million decrease in the valuation allowance against our deferred income tax assets. Our effective income tax rate for fiscal 2022 was lower than the statutory rate due primarily to a $2.8 million decrease in the valuation allowance against our deferred income tax assets and a $0.6 million benefit for share-based compensation deductions in excess of the corresponding book expense. These benefits were partially offset by tax expense of $1.2 million for non-deductible executive compensation.

We paid $3.3 million in cash for income taxes during fiscal 2023. We anticipate that our total cash paid for income taxes over the coming two to three years will be less than our total income tax provision to the extent we are able to utilize net operating loss carryforwards, foreign tax credit carryforwards, and other deferred income tax assets.

LIQUIDITY AND CAPITAL RESOURCES

Introduction

Our cash at August 31, 2023 totaled $38.2 million, with no borrowings on our $62.5 million revolving credit facility. Of our $38.2 million of cash at August 31, 2023, $12.0 million was held outside the U.S. by our foreign subsidiaries. We routinely repatriate cash from our foreign subsidiaries and consider cash generated from foreign activities a key component of our overall liquidity position. Our primary sources of liquidity are cash flows from the sale of services and products in the normal course of business and available proceeds from our credit facility. Our primary uses of liquidity include payments for operating activities, purchases of our common stock, debt payments, working capital expansion, capital expenditures (including curriculum development), business acquisitions, and contingent payments from previous business acquisitions.

The following table summarizes our cash flows from operating, investing, and financing activities for the past three years (in thousands):

Our New Credit Agreement

On March 27, 2023, we entered into a new credit agreement (the 2023 Credit Agreement) with KeyBank National Association (KeyBank) leading a group of financial institutions (collectively, the Lenders), which replaced our previous credit agreement with JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. (the 2019 Credit Agreement). The 2023 Credit Agreement provides up to $70.0 million in total credit, of which $7.5 million was used to replace the outstanding term loan balance from the 2019 Credit Agreement. The remaining $62.5 million is available as a revolving line of credit or for future term loans. Principal payments on the term loans consist of quarterly payments totaling $1.25 million that are due and payable on the last business day of each March, June, September, and December until the term loan obligation is repaid. These term loan payment provisions are essentially the same as under the 2019 Credit Agreement. We believe the 2023 Credit Agreement will provide significant flexibility and financial resources to allow us to grow the business in future periods.

The 2023 Credit Agreement matures on March 27, 2028, and interest on term loan borrowings under the 2023 Credit Agreement is due and payable when the term loan principal payments are due and payable. Interest on all other borrowings is due and payable on the last day of each month. The interest rate for borrowings on the 2023 Credit Agreement is based on the Secured Overnight Financing Rate (SOFR) and is a tiered structure that varies according to the Leverage Ratio as defined 2023 Credit Agreement (refer to Note 6, Secured Credit Agreement to our consolidated financial statements for the interest rate structure).

As defined in the 2023 Credit Agreement, we are (i) required to maintain a Leverage Ratio of less than 3.00 to 1.00 and a Fixed Charge Coverage Ratio greater than 1.15 to 1.00; and (ii) we are restricted from making certain distributions to stockholders, including repurchases of common stock. However, we are permitted to make distributions, including through purchases of outstanding common stock, provided that we are in compliance with the Leverage Ratio and Fixed Charge Coverage Ratio financial covenants before and after such distribution. At August 31, 2023, we believe that we were in compliance with the terms and covenants contained in the 2023 Credit Agreement.

In addition to our term loan obligation and notes payable to the former owners of Strive Talent, Inc., we have a long-term lease on our corporate campus that is accounted for as a financing obligation. For further information on our debt and leasing obligations, refer to the notes to our consolidated financial statements as presented in Item 8 of this Form 10-K.

The following discussion is a description of the primary factors affecting our cash flows and their effects upon our liquidity and capital resources during the fiscal year ended August 31, 2023.

Cash Flows from Operating Activities

Our primary source of cash from operating activities was the sale of services to our customers in the normal course of business. Our primary uses of cash for operating activities were payments for SG&A expenses, to fund changes in working capital, payments for direct costs necessary to conduct training programs, and payments to suppliers for materials used in training manuals sold. Our cash provided by operating activities during fiscal 2023 was $35.7 million compared with $52.3 million in fiscal 2022. The difference was primarily attributable to changes in working capital during the year related to cash used to pay accounts payable and accrued liabilities plus the impact of changes in deferred revenue compared with the prior year. We expect these working capital changes will moderate in future periods and that our cash flows from operating activities will improve. During fiscal 2023 our collection of accounts receivable remained strong and provided the necessary cash to support our operations, pay our obligations, and make critical investments. We anticipate that our cash flows from operating activities will improve and remain strong during fiscal 2024 and in future periods.

Cash Flows from Investing Activities and Capital Expenditures

During fiscal 2023, our cash used for investing activities totaled $13.6 million. Our primary uses of cash for investing activities consisted of additional investments in the development of our offerings and purchases of property and equipment in the normal course of business.

In fiscal 2023 we spent $9.0 million on the development of our various offerings and related content. We believe continued investment in our offerings and content is key to future growth and the development of our subscription offerings. We currently expect that our capital spending for curriculum development will total $7.1 million in fiscal 2024.

Our purchases of property and equipment during fiscal 2023 consisted primarily of computer software and hardware, and leasehold improvements on our corporate campus. We currently anticipate that our purchases of property and equipment will total $8.0 million in fiscal 2024. Our purchases of property and equipment in fiscal 2024 are highly dependent upon leasehold improvements that may be necessary on our corporate campus as we approach the end of the master lease in fiscal 2025. Therefore, our capital expenditures for property and equipment may fluctuate from current expectations.

Cash Flows from Financing Activities

For the fiscal year ended August 31, 2023, our net cash used for financing activities totaled $44.2 million. Our primary use of financing cash was $35.6 million used to purchase shares of our common stock, which consisted of $34.8 million used to purchase shares on the open market and $0.8 million used to purchase shares withheld for statutory taxes on share-based compensation awards. Excluding the impact of transferring $7.5 million of term loan debt from one lender to another, we used $9.0 million of cash for principal payments on our notes payable and financing obligations, $0.7 million to pay contingent consideration liabilities from previous business acquisitions, and $0.4 million to pay loan origination and legal fees incurred for the 2023 Credit Agreement. Partially offsetting these uses of cash were $1.5 million of proceeds from our Employee Stock Purchase Plan participants to purchase shares of stock during fiscal 2023.

On February 14, 2023, our Board of Directors approved a new plan to purchase up to $50.0 million of our outstanding common stock. The previously existing common stock purchase plan was canceled, and the new common share purchase plan does not have an expiration date. At August 31, 2023, we have $15.7 million remaining on the current purchase authorization.

Our uses of financing cash in future periods are expected to include required payments on our notes payable and financing obligations and may include purchases of our common stock. However, the timing and amount of common stock purchases is dependent on a number of factors, including available resources, and we are not obligated to make purchases of our common stock during any future period.

Sources of Cash and Liquidity

We expect to meet the obligations on our notes payable, service our existing financing obligation, pay for projected capital expenditures, and meet other obligations in fiscal 2024 and beyond from current cash balances and future cash flows from operating activities. Going forward, we will continue to incur costs necessary for the day-to-day operation of the business and may use additional credit and other financing alternatives, if necessary, for these expenditures. During fiscal 2023 we entered into a new five-year credit agreement which we expect to renew and amend on a regular basis to maintain the long-term borrowing capacity of this credit facility. Additional potential sources of liquidity available to us include factoring receivables, issuance of additional equity, or issuance of debt to public or private sources. If necessary, we will evaluate all of these options and select one or more of them depending on overall capital needs and the associated cost of capital.

We believe that our existing cash and cash equivalents, cash generated by operating activities, and the availability of external funds as described above, will be sufficient for us to maintain our operations for at least the upcoming 12 months. However, our ability to maintain adequate capital for our operations in the future is dependent upon a number of factors, including sales trends, macroeconomic activity, further business disruptions associated with the pandemic, our ability to contain costs, levels of capital expenditures, collection of accounts receivable, and other factors. Some of the factors that influence our operations are not within our control, such as general economic conditions and the introduction of new offerings or technology by our competitors. We will continue to monitor our liquidity position and may pursue additional financing alternatives, as described above, to maintain sufficient resources for future growth and capital requirements. However, there can be no assurance such financing alternatives will be available to us on acceptable terms, or at all.

Material Cash Requirements

We do not operate any manufacturing, mining, or other capital-intensive facilities, and we have not structured any special purpose entities, or participated in any commodity trading activities, which would expose us to potential undisclosed liabilities or create adverse consequences to our liquidity. However, we have cash expenditures and are subject to various contractual obligations that are required to run our business. Our material cash requirements include the following:

Associate and Consultant Compensation – Associate and consultant compensation is our largest recurring use of cash. Our compensation plans for associates and delivery consultants include fixed (salaried) and variable elements as well as the cost of benefits, and may fluctuate with sales, financial results, and hiring/retention activity. During fiscal 2023, we expensed approximately $172 million for associate and delivery consultant cash compensation. Associate compensation expense is included in SG&A expense and consultant compensation is included in our cost of sales. These associate costs include variable compensation such as commissions, incentives, and bonuses, and may fluctuate from year-to-year.

Content Development – We believe that ongoing investment in our content and offerings is key to our future success. Our innovations group is responsible for the development of new content as well as refreshing and maintaining our existing content. Including capitalized development, we spent approximately $11 million (excluding compensation discussed above) for the development and maintenance of our offerings and content in fiscal 2023.

Information Technology – Our business is reliant on computer software and hardware. Our subscription service portals require ongoing development, recurring maintenance, and utilize various software. In addition, we utilize various software programs to run our business, including applications for customer resource management, general ledger, cybersecurity, spreadsheets, word processing, e-mail, etc. Including capitalized hardware and software, we spent approximately $8 million for information technology software and hardware during fiscal 2023.

Income Taxes – We are required to pay income taxes in the various jurisdictions where we operate. During fiscal 2023, we paid $3.3 million in cash for income taxes during fiscal 2023. Our use of cash for income taxes in future periods depends upon our profitability and our ability to utilize tax assets such as net operating loss carryforwards and foreign income tax credits.

Contractual Obligations – In addition to the expenses described above, which we believe are required to successfully run our business, we have other longer-term contractual obligations, which require additional cash payments. We have summarized our significant contractual obligations at August 31, 2023 in the following table (in thousands):

⁽¹⁾Payment amounts shown include interest at 6.9 percent, which is the current rate on our term loan obligation under the 2023 Credit Agreement.

⁽²⁾The payment of contingent consideration resulting from prior business acquisitions is based on current estimates and projections. We reassess the fair value of estimated contingent consideration payments each quarter based on available information. The actual payment of contingent consideration amounts may differ in amount and timing from those shown in the table.

CRITICAL ACCOUNTING ESTIMATES

Our consolidated financial statements were prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America. The significant accounting policies that we used to prepare our consolidated financial statements are outlined primarily in Note 1 and in Note 2 (revenue recognition policies) to the consolidated financial statements, which are presented in Part II, Item 8 of this Form 10-K. Some of those accounting policies require us to make assumptions and use judgments that may affect the amounts reported in our consolidated financial statements. Management regularly evaluates its estimates and assumptions and bases those estimates and assumptions on historical experience, factors that are believed to be reasonable under the circumstances, and requirements under accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America. Actual results may differ from these estimates under different assumptions or conditions, including changes in economic and political conditions and other circumstances that are not within our control, but which may have an impact on these estimates and our actual financial results.

The following items require the most significant judgment and often involve complex estimates:

Revenue Recognition

We account for revenue in accordance with Accounting Standards Update No. 2014-09, Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606). For the All Access Pass, judgment is required to determine whether the intellectual property and web-based functionality and content are considered distinct and accounted for separately, or not distinct and accounted for together.

We have determined to account for the AAP as a single performance obligation and recognize the associated transaction price ratably over the term of the underlying contract beginning on the commencement date of each contract, which is the date the Company’s platforms and resources are made available to the customer. This determination was reached after considering that our web-based functionality and content, in combination with our intellectual property, each represent inputs that transform into a combined output that represents the intended outcome of the AAP, which is to provide a continuously accessible, customized, and dynamic learning and development solution only accessible through the AAP platform.

Judgment is required to determine the stand-alone selling price (SSP) for each distinct performance obligation in a revenue contract. Where we have more than one distinct performance obligation, we must allocate the transaction price to each performance obligation based on its relative SSP. The SSP is the price which we would sell a promised product or service separately to a customer. In determining the SSP, we consider the size and volume of transactions, price lists, historical sales, and contract prices. We may modify our pricing from time-to-time in the future, which could result in changes to the SSP.

Stock-Based Compensation

Our shareholders have approved performance-based long-term incentive plans (LTIPs) that provide for grants of stock-based performance awards to certain managerial personnel and executive management as directed by the Organization and Compensation Committee of the Board of Directors. The number of common shares that are vested and issued to LTIP participants is variable and is based upon the achievement of specified performance objectives during defined service periods. Due to the variable number of common shares that may be issued under the LTIP, we reevaluate our LTIP grants on a quarterly basis and adjust the expected vesting dates and number of shares expected to be awarded based upon actual and estimated financial results of the Company compared with the performance goals set for the award. Adjustments to the number of shares awarded, and to the corresponding compensation expense, are made on a cumulative basis at the adjustment date based upon the new estimated probable number of common shares to be awarded.

The analysis of our LTIP awards contains uncertainties because we are required to make assumptions and judgments about the timing and/or the eventual number of shares that will vest in each LTIP grant. The assumptions and judgments that are essential to the analysis include forecasted sales and operating income levels during the LTIP service periods. These forecasted amounts may be difficult to predict over the life of the LTIP awards due to changes in our business, such as from the introduction of subscription-based services, or other external factors, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, and their impact on our financial results. Events such as these may leave some previously approved performance measures obsolete or unattainable. The evaluation of LTIP performance awards and the corresponding use of estimated amounts may produce additional volatility in our consolidated financial statements as we record cumulative adjustments to the estimated service periods and number of common shares to be awarded under the LTIP grants as described above. For example, uncertainties associated with the impact of and expected recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in a significant reversal of previously recognized performance award stock-based compensation expense during fiscal 2020.

Accounts Receivable Valuation

Trade accounts receivable are recorded at the invoiced amount and do not bear interest. Our allowance for doubtful accounts calculations contain uncertainties because the calculations require us to make assumptions and judgments regarding the collectability of customer accounts, which may be influenced by a number of factors that are not within our control, such as the financial health of each customer. We regularly review the collectability assumptions of our allowance for doubtful accounts calculation and compare them against historical collections. Adjustments to the assumptions may either increase or decrease our total allowance for doubtful accounts and may adversely impact our financial results. For example, a 10 percent increase to our allowance for doubtful accounts at August 31, 2023 would decrease our reported income from operations by approximately $0.4 million.

For further information regarding the calculation of our allowance for doubtful accounts, refer to the notes to our financial statements as presented in Item 8 of this Form 10-K.

Valuation of Indefinite-Lived Intangible Assets and Goodwill

Intangible assets that are deemed to have an indefinite life and goodwill balances are not amortized, but rather are tested for impairment on an annual basis, or more often if events or circumstances indicate that a potential impairment exists. The Covey trade name intangible asset originated from the merger with the Covey Leadership Center in 1997 and has been deemed to have an indefinite life. This intangible asset is quantitatively tested for impairment using the present value of estimated royalties on trade name related revenues, which consist primarily of training seminars and related products, and international licensee royalties.

Goodwill is recorded when the purchase price for a business acquisition exceeds the estimated fair value of the net tangible and identified intangible assets acquired. Under current accounting guidance, an annual or interim goodwill impairment test is performed by comparing the fair value of a reporting unit with its carrying amount, and an impairment charge is recognized for the amount by which the carrying amount exceeds the reporting unit’s fair value.

We tested goodwill for impairment at August 31, 2023 at the reporting unit level using a qualitative approach. We determined that it was more likely than not that the fair value of each of our reporting units was more than their carrying values. This determination required judgment to estimate future cash flows and operating results and considered current operating results, expected future operating results, and various other factors such as macroeconomic conditions. Some of these factors are not within our control.

‎

On an interim basis, we consider whether events or circumstances are present that may lead to the determination that goodwill may be impaired. These circumstances include, but are not limited to, the following:

significant underperformance relative to historical or projected future operating results;

significant change in the manner of our use of acquired assets or the strategy for the overall business;

significant change in prevailing interest rates;

significant negative industry or economic trend;

significant change in market capitalization relative to book value; and/or

significant negative change in market multiples of the comparable company set.

If, based on events or changing circumstances, we determine it is more likely than not that the fair value of a reporting unit does not exceed its carrying value, we would be required to test goodwill for impairment.

Determining the fair value of a reporting unit is judgmental in nature and involves the use of significant estimates and assumptions. These estimates and assumptions include revenue growth rates and operating margins used to calculate projected future cash flows, risk-adjusted discount rates, future economic and market conditions, and determination of appropriate market comparables. We base our fair value estimates on assumptions we believe to be reasonable, but that are unpredictable and inherently uncertain. Actual future results may differ from those estimates. In addition, we make certain judgments and assumptions in allocating shared assets and liabilities to determine the carrying values for each of our reporting units. The timing and frequency of our goodwill impairment tests are based on an ongoing assessment of events and circumstances that would indicate a possible impairment. Based on the results of our goodwill impairment analysis during fiscal 2023, we determined that no impairment existed at August 31, 2023, as we determined that it was more likely than not that each reportable operating segment’s estimated fair value exceeded its carrying value. We will continue to monitor our goodwill and intangible assets for impairment and conduct formal tests when impairment indicators are present.

Impairment of Long-Lived Assets

Long-lived tangible assets and finite-lived intangible assets are reviewed for possible impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of such assets may not be recoverable. We use an estimate of undiscounted future net cash flows of the assets over their remaining useful lives in determining whether the carrying value of the assets is recoverable. If the carrying values of the assets exceed the anticipated future cash flows of the assets, we calculate an impairment loss. The impairment loss calculation compares the carrying value of the asset to the asset’s estimated fair value, which may be based upon discounted cash flows over the estimated remaining useful life of the asset. If we recognize an impairment loss, the adjusted carrying amount of the asset becomes its new cost basis, which is then depreciated or amortized over the remaining useful life of the asset. Impairment of long-lived assets is assessed at the lowest levels for which there are identifiable cash flows that are independent from other groups of assets.

Our impairment evaluation calculations contain uncertainties because they require us to make assumptions and apply judgment in order to estimate future cash flows, forecast the useful lives of the assets, and select a discount rate that reflects the risk inherent in future cash flows. Although we have not made any recent material changes to our long-lived assets impairment assessment methodology, if forecasts and assumptions used to support the carrying value of our long-lived tangible and finite-lived intangible assets change in the future, significant impairment charges could result that would adversely affect our results of operations and financial condition.

Acquisitions and Contingent Consideration Liabilities

We record acquisitions resulting in the consolidation of an enterprise using the purchase method of accounting. Under this method, the acquiring company records the assets acquired, including intangible assets that can be identified and named, and liabilities assumed based on their estimated fair values at the date of acquisition. The purchase price in excess of the fair value of the assets acquired and liabilities assumed is recorded as goodwill. If the assets acquired, net of liabilities assumed, are greater than the purchase price paid, then a bargain purchase has occurred and the Company will

recognize the gain immediately in earnings. Among other sources of relevant information, we use independent appraisals or other valuations to assist in determining the estimated fair values of the assets and liabilities. Various assumptions are used in the determination of these estimated fair values including discount rates, market and volume growth rates, product or service selling prices, cost structures, royalty rates, and other prospective financial information.

Additionally, we are required to reassess the fair value of contingent consideration liabilities resulting from business acquisitions at each reporting period. Although subsequent changes to the contingent consideration liabilities do not affect the goodwill generated from the acquisition transaction, the valuation of expected contingent consideration often requires us to estimate future sales and/or profitability. These estimates require the use of numerous assumptions, many of which may change frequently and lead to increased or decreased operating income in future periods. For instance, during fiscal 2023 we recorded immaterial increases to the fair value of our contingent consideration liability compared with $0.1 million of net increases in fiscal 2022 and $0.2 million of increases during fiscal 2021. Business acquisitions in future periods may increase the volatility and amount of these charges. Changes to the fair value of contingent consideration liabilities are recorded as a component of SG&A expenses.

Income Taxes

We regularly evaluate our United States federal and various state and foreign jurisdiction income tax exposures. We account for certain aspects of our income tax provision using the provisions of ASC 740-10-05, which addresses the determination of whether tax benefits claimed or expected to be claimed on a tax return should be recorded in the financial statements. We may recognize the tax benefit from an uncertain tax position only if it is more likely than not that the tax position will be sustained upon examination by the taxing authorities, based on the technical merits of the position. The tax benefits recognized in the financial statements from such a position are measured based on the largest benefit that has a greater than 50 percent likelihood of being realized upon final settlement. The provisions of ASC 740-10-05 also provide guidance on de-recognition, classification, interest, and penalties on income taxes, accounting for income taxes in interim periods, and require increased disclosure of various income tax items. Taxes and penalties are components of our overall income tax provision.

We record previously unrecognized tax benefits in the financial statements when it becomes more likely than not (greater than a 50 percent likelihood) that the tax position will be sustained. To assess the probability of sustaining a tax position, we consider all available evidence. In many instances, sufficient positive evidence may not be available until the expiration of the statute of limitations for audits by taxing jurisdictions, at which time the entire benefit will be recognized as a discrete item in the applicable period.

Our unrecognized tax benefits result from uncertain tax positions about which we are required to make assumptions and apply judgment to estimate the exposures associated with our various tax filing positions. The calculation of our income tax provision or benefit, as applicable, requires estimates of future taxable income or losses. During the course of the fiscal year, these estimates are compared to actual financial results and adjustments may be made to our tax provision or benefit to reflect these revised estimates. Our effective income tax rate is also affected by changes in tax law and the results of tax audits by various jurisdictions. Although we believe that our judgments and estimates discussed herein are reasonable, actual results could differ, and we could be exposed to losses or gains that could be material.

We establish valuation allowances for deferred tax assets when we estimate it is more likely than not that the tax assets will not be realized. The determination of whether valuation allowances are needed on our deferred income tax assets contains uncertainties because we must project future income, including the use of tax-planning strategies, by individual tax jurisdictions. Changes in industry and economic conditions and the competitive environment may impact the accuracy of our projections. We regularly assess the likelihood that our deferred tax assets will be realized and determine if adjustments to our valuation allowance are necessary. These evaluations may produce additional volatility in our tax provision or benefit, net income or loss, and earnings or loss per share. For example, in consideration of the relevant accounting guidance, we reevaluated our deferred tax assets during fiscal 2020 and considered both positive and negative evidence in determining whether it is more likely than not that some portion or all of our deferred tax assets will be realized. Because of the cumulative pre-tax losses over the past three fiscal years, combined with the expected continued disruptions and negative impact to our business resulting from uncertainties related to the recovery from the pandemic, we

were unable to overcome accounting guidance indicating that it is more-likely-than-not that insufficient taxable income will be available to realize all of our deferred tax assets before they expire, which are primarily foreign tax credit carryforwards and a portion of our net operating loss carryforwards. Accordingly, we increased the valuation allowance against our deferred tax assets in fiscal 2020. Due to better-than-expected results in fiscal 2022 and 2021, we reversed a substantial portion of these valuation allowances in those years.

RECENT ACCOUNTING PRONOUNCEMENTS

Refer to Note 1 to the consolidated financial statements for information on recent accounting pronouncements.

REGULATORY COMPLIANCE

We are registered in states in which we do business that have a sales tax and we collect and remit sales or use tax on sales made in these jurisdictions. Compliance with environmental laws and regulations (including new laws and regulations relating to climate change) has not had a material effect on our operations. We believe we are in compliance with applicable governmental regulations in the United States and the countries in which we operate.

SAFE HARBOR STATEMENT UNDER THE PRIVATE SECURITIES LITIGATION REFORM ACT OF 1995

Certain statements made by the Company in this report are “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 as amended (the Exchange Act). Forward-looking statements include, without limitation, any statement that may predict, forecast, indicate, or imply future results, performance, or achievements, and may contain words such as “believe,” “anticipate,” “expect,” “estimate,” “project,” or words or phrases of similar meaning. In our reports and filings we may make forward-looking statements regarding, among other things, our expectations about future sales levels and financial results, expected effects from the COVID-19 pandemic, including effects on how we conduct our business and our results of operations, the timing and duration of the recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, future training and consulting sales activity, expected benefits from the All Access Pass and the electronic delivery of our content, anticipated renewals of subscription offerings, the impact of new accounting standards on our financial condition and results of operations, the amount and timing of capital expenditures, anticipated expenses, including SG&A expenses, depreciation, and amortization, future gross margins, the release of new services or products, the adequacy of existing capital resources, our ability to renew or extend our line of credit facility, the amount of cash expected to be paid for income taxes, our ability to maintain adequate capital for our operations for at least the upcoming 12 months, the seasonality of future sales, future compliance with the terms and conditions of our line of credit, the ability to borrow on our line of credit, expected collection of accounts receivable, estimated capital expenditures, and cash flow estimates used to determine the fair value of long-lived assets. These, and other forward-looking statements, are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties are disclosed from time to time in reports filed by us with the SEC, including reports on Forms 8-K, 10-Q, and 10-K. Such risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the matters discussed in Item 1A of this annual report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended August 31, 2023, entitled “Risk Factors.” In addition, such risks and uncertainties may include unanticipated developments in any one or more of the following areas: cybersecurity risks; unanticipated costs or capital expenditures; delays or unanticipated outcomes relating to our strategic plans; dependence on existing products or services; the rate and consumer acceptance of new product introductions, including the All Access Pass and Impact Platform; competition; the impact of foreign exchange rates; the number and nature of customers and their product orders, including changes in the timing or mix of product or training orders; pricing of our products and services and those of competitors; adverse publicity; and other factors which may adversely affect our business.

The risks included here are not exhaustive. Other sections of this report may include additional factors that could adversely affect our business and financial performance. Moreover, we operate in a very competitive and rapidly changing environment. New risk factors may emerge and it is not possible for our management to predict all such risk factors, nor can we assess the impact of all such risk factors on our business or the extent to which any single factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking statements.

Given these risks and uncertainties, investors should not rely on forward-looking statements as a prediction of actual results.

The market price of our common stock has been and may remain volatile. In addition, the stock markets in general have experienced increased volatility. Factors such as quarter-to-quarter variations in revenues and earnings or losses and our failure to meet expectations could have a significant impact on the market price of our common stock. In addition, the price of our common stock can change for reasons unrelated to our performance. Due to our relatively low market capitalization, the price of our common stock may also be affected by conditions such as a lack of analyst coverage and fewer potential investors.

Forward-looking statements are based on management’s expectations as of the date made, and the Company does not undertake any responsibility to update any of these statements in the future except as required by law. Actual future performance and results will differ and may differ materially from that contained in or suggested by forward-looking statements as a result of the factors set forth in this Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations and elsewhere in our filings with the SEC.

ITEM 7A.    QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET RISK

Market Risk of Financial Instruments

We are exposed to financial instrument market risk primarily through fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates and interest rates. To manage risks associated with foreign currency exchange and interest rates, we may make limited use of derivative financial instruments. Derivatives are financial instruments that derive their value from one or more underlying financial instruments. As a matter of policy, our derivative instruments are entered into for periods consistent with the related underlying exposures and do not constitute positions that are independent of those exposures. In addition, we do not enter into derivative contracts for trading or speculative purposes, nor are we party to any leveraged derivative instrument. During the fiscal years ended August 31, 2023, 2022, and 2021, we were not party to any foreign exchange contracts, interest rate swap agreements, or similar derivative instruments.

Foreign Exchange Sensitivity

Due to the global nature of our operations, we are subject to risks associated with transactions that are denominated in currencies other than the United States dollar, as well as the effects of translating amounts denominated in foreign currencies to United States dollars as a normal part of the reporting process. The objective of our foreign currency risk management activities is to reduce foreign currency risk in the consolidated financial statements. In order to manage foreign currency risks, we may make limited use of foreign currency forward contracts and other foreign currency related derivative instruments.

Interest Rate Sensitivity

At August 31, 2023, our long-term obligations primarily consisted of a term loan payable, a long-term lease agreement (financing obligation) on our corporate headquarters facility, fixed-rate notes payable from the purchase of Strive Talent, Inc., and deferred payments and potential contingent consideration resulting from previous business acquisitions. Since most of our long-term obligations have a fixed interest rate, our overall interest rate sensitivity is primarily influenced by any amounts borrowed on our term loan and revolving line of credit facility, and the prevailing interest rates on these instruments. The effective interest rate on our term loans payable and line of credit facility is variable and was 6.9 percent at August 31, 2023. If interest rates continue to increase, we will incur additional interest expense on our variable-rate loans in future periods. For example, a one percent increase in the effective interest rate on our unpaid term loan balance at August 31, 2023 would result in approximately $23,000 of additional interest expense over the next 12 months. Our financing obligation has a payment structure equivalent to a long-term leasing arrangement with a fixed interest rate of 7.7 percent.

‎

ITEM 8. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND SUPPLEMENTARY DATA

REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM

To the shareholders and the Board of Directors of Franklin Covey Co.

Opinion on Internal Control over Financial Reporting

We have audited the internal control over financial reporting of Franklin Covey and subsidiaries (the “Company”) as of August 31, 2023, based on criteria established in Internal Control — Integrated Framework (2013) issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO). In our opinion, the Company maintained, in all material respects, effective internal control over financial reporting as of August 31, 2023, based on criteria established in Internal Control — Integrated Framework (2013) issued by COSO.

We have also audited, in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (PCAOB), the consolidated financial statements as of and for the year ended August 31, 2023, of the Company and our report dated November 13, 2023, expressed an unqualified opinion on those financial statements.

Basis for Opinion

The Company’s management is responsible for maintaining effective internal control over financial reporting and for its assessment of the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting, included in the accompanying Management’s Report on Internal Control over Financial Reporting. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Company’s internal control over financial reporting based on our audit. We are a public accounting firm registered with the PCAOB and are required to be independent with respect to the Company in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.

We conducted our audit in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether effective internal control over financial reporting was maintained in all material respects. Our audit included obtaining an understanding of internal control over financial reporting, assessing the risk that a material weakness exists, testing and evaluating the design and operating effectiveness of internal control based on the assessed risk, and performing such other procedures as we considered necessary in the circumstances. We believe that our audit provides a reasonable basis for our opinion.

Definition and Limitations of Internal Control over Financial Reporting

A company’s internal control over financial reporting is a process designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. A company’s internal control over financial reporting includes those policies and procedures that (1) pertain to the maintenance of records that, in reasonable detail, accurately and fairly reflect the transactions and dispositions of the assets of the company; (2) provide reasonable assurance that transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, and that receipts and expenditures of the company are being made only in accordance with authorizations of management and directors of the company; and (3) provide reasonable assurance regarding prevention or timely detection of unauthorized acquisition, use, or disposition of the company’s assets that could have a material effect on the financial statements.

Because of its inherent limitations, internal control over financial reporting may not prevent or detect misstatements. Also, projections of any evaluation of effectiveness to future periods are subject to the risk that controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions, or that the degree of compliance with the policies or procedures may deteriorate.

/s/ Deloitte & Touche LLP

Salt Lake City, Utah

November 13, 2023
‎

REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM

To the shareholders and the Board of Directors of Franklin Covey Co.

Opinion on the Financial Statements

We have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheets of Franklin Covey Co. and subsidiaries (the “Company”) as of August 31, 2023 and 2022, the related consolidated income statements and statements of comprehensive income, shareholders’ equity, and cash flows, for each of the three years in the period ended August 31, 2023, and the related notes (collectively referred to as the “financial statements”). In our opinion, the financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Company as of August 31, 2023 and 2022, and the results of its operations and its cash flows for each of the three years in the period ended August 31, 2023, in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.

We have also audited, in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (PCAOB), the Company’s internal control over financial reporting as of August 31, 2023, based on criteria established in Internal Control — Integrated Framework (2013) issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission and our report dated November 13, 2023, expressed an unqualified opinion on the Company’s internal control over financial reporting.

Basis for Opinion

These financial statements are the responsibility of the Company’s management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Company’s financial statements based on our audits. We are a public accounting firm registered with the PCAOB and are required to be independent with respect to the Company in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.

We conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement, whether due to error or fraud. Our audits included performing procedures to assess the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements, whether due to error or fraud, and performing procedures that respond to those risks. Such procedures included examining, on a test basis, evidence regarding the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. Our audits also included evaluating the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the financial statements. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.

Critical Audit Matter

The critical audit matter communicated below is a matter arising from the current-period audit of the financial statements that was communicated or required to be communicated to the audit committee and that (1) relates to accounts or disclosures that are material to the financial statements and (2) involved our especially challenging, subjective, or complex judgments. The communication of critical audit matters does not alter in any way our opinion on the financial statements, taken as a whole, and we are not, by communicating the critical audit matter below, providing a separate opinion on the critical audit matter or on the accounts or disclosures to which it relates.

Revenue Recognition – Refer to Note 2 to the Financial Statements

Critical Audit Matter Description

The Company recognizes revenue upon the transfer of control of promised products and services to customers in an amount equal to the consideration expected to be received in exchange for those products and services. The Company’s Leader in Me subscription offering contracts often include promises to transfer multiple products or services to a customer that are considered distinct performance obligations that should be accounted for separately. The transaction price is allocated to each performance obligation on a relative standalone selling price (SSP) basis. The SSP is the price which the Company would sell a promised product or service separately to a customer. In determining the SSP, the Company considers the size and volume of transactions, price lists, historical sales, and contract prices.

Given the increased extent of audit effort in evaluating management’s judgments in determining SSP, we identified the determination of SSP for the Leader in Me membership offerings as a critical audit matter.

How the Critical Audit Matter Was Addressed in the Audit

Our audit procedures related to the Company’s determination of SSP for these performance obligations, included the following, among others:

We tested the effectiveness of internal controls over the determination of SSP.

We selected a sample of customer agreements and performed the following:

Obtained and read customer contracts and invoices for each selection to evaluate if relevant contractual terms have been appropriately considered by management.

Assessed the terms in the customer agreement and evaluated the appropriateness of management’s application of their accounting policies, along with their use of estimates, in the determination of revenue recognition conclusions.

Assessed the reasonableness of management’s estimates of stand-alone selling prices for products and services and the allocation of the transaction price to identified performance obligations determined on a relative stand-alone selling basis.

Tested the mathematical accuracy of management’s calculations of revenue and the associated timing of revenue recognized in the financial statements.

/s/ Deloitte & Touche LLP

Salt Lake City, Utah

November 13, 2023

We have served as the Company’s auditor since 2016.

‎

FRANKLIN COVEY CO.

CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS

See accompanying notes to consolidated financial statements.
‎

FRANKLIN COVEY CO.

CONSOLIDATED INCOME STATEMENTS AND STATEMENTS OF COMPREHENSIVE INCOME