RCM TECHNOLOGIES, INC. - Annual Report: 2022 (Form 10-K)

Private Securities Litigation Reform Act Safe Harbor Statement

Certain statements included herein and in other reports and public filings made by RCM Technologies, Inc. (“RCM” or the “Company”) are forward-looking within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.  These forward-looking statements include, without limitation, statements regarding the adoption by businesses of new technology solutions; the use by businesses of outsourced solutions, such as those offered by the Company, in connection with such adoption; the Company’s strategic and business initiatives and growth strategies; and the outcome of litigation (at both the trial and appellate levels) and arbitrations, or other business disputes, involving the Company. Readers are cautioned that such forward-looking statements, as well as others made by the Company, which may be identified by words such as “may,” “will,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “continue,” “estimate,” “project,” “intend,” “believe,” and similar expressions, are only predictions and are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause the Company’s actual results and financial position to differ materially from such statements.  Such risks and uncertainties include, without limitation:  (i) unemployment and general economic conditions affecting the provision of life sciences, information technology and engineering services and solutions and the placement of temporary staffing personnel; (ii) the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic; (iii) the Company’s ability to continue to attract, train and retain personnel qualified to meet the requirements of its clients; (iv) the Company’s ability to identify appropriate acquisition candidates, complete such acquisitions and successfully integrate acquired businesses; (v) the Company’s relationships with and reliance upon significant customers, and ability to collect accounts receivable from such customers; (vi) risks associated with foreign currency fluctuations and changes in exchange rates, particularly with respect to the Canadian dollar; (vii) uncertainties regarding amounts of deferred consideration and earnout payments to become payable to former shareholders of acquired businesses; (viii) the adverse effect a potential decrease in the trading price of the Company’s common stock would have upon the Company’s ability to acquire businesses through the issuance of its securities; (ix) the Company’s ability to obtain financing on satisfactory terms; (x) the reliance of the Company upon the continued service of its executive officers; (xi) the Company’s ability to remain competitive in the markets that it serves; (xii) the Company’s ability to maintain its unemployment insurance premiums and workers compensation premiums; (xiii) the risk of claims being made against the Company associated with providing temporary staffing services; (xiv) the Company’s ability to manage significant amounts of information and periodically expand and upgrade its information processing capabilities; (xv) the risk of cyber attacks on our information technology systems or those of our third party vendors; (xvi) the Company’s ability to remain in compliance with federal and state wage and hour laws and regulations; (xvii) uncertainties in predictions as to the future need for the Company’s services; (xviii) uncertainties relating to the allocation of costs and expenses to each of the Company’s operating segments; (ixx) the costs of conducting and the outcome of litigation, arbitrations and other business disputes involving the Company, and the applicability of insurance coverage with respect to any such litigation; (xx) the results of, and costs relating to, any interactions with shareholders of the Company who may pursue specific initiatives with respect to the Company’s governance and strategic direction, including without limitation a contested proxy solicitation initiated by such shareholders, or any similar such interactions; and (xxi) other economic, competitive, health and governmental factors affecting the Company’s operations, markets, products and services.  Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date made.  Except as required by law, the Company undertakes no obligation to publicly release the results of any revision of these forward-looking statements to reflect these trends or circumstances after the date they are made or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.

General

RCM Technologies, Inc. is a premier provider of business and technology solutions designed to enhance and maximize the operational performance of its customers. The Company provides these services through the deployment of advanced engineering, specialty health care, life sciences and information technology services.  For over 40 years, the Company has developed and assembled an attractive, diverse and extensive portfolio of capabilities, service offerings and delivery options.  This combination, paired with RCM’s efficient pricing structure, offers clients a compelling value proposition.

RCM consists of three operating segments: Engineering, Specialty Health Care and Life Sciences and Information Technology Services. 

The Company services some of the largest national and international companies in North America as well as a lengthy roster of Fortune 1000 and mid-sized businesses in such industries as Aerospace/Defense, Educational Institutions, Energy, Financial Services, Health Care, Life Sciences, Manufacturing & Distribution, the Public Sector and Technology.  RCM sells and delivers its services through a network of approximately 25 offices in selected regions throughout North America and Serbia.

During the fiscal year ended January 1, 2022, approximately 32.5% of RCM’s total revenues were derived from Engineering services, 48.3% from Specialty Health Care services, and the remaining 19.2% from IT services.

Impact of COVID-19

As discussed in more detail below under “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” in Part II, Item 7 of this Form 10-K, the COVID-19 pandemic has had a substantial impact on our business, particularly in our Specialty Health Care segment, where it impacted the schools where many of the Company’s personnel work.

Industry Overview

Businesses today face intense competition, the challenge of constant technological change and the ongoing need for business process optimization.  To address these issues and to compete more effectively, companies are continually evaluating the need for implementing innovative solutions to upgrade their systems, applications and processes.  As a result, the ability of an organization to integrate and align advanced technologies with new business objectives is critical.

Industry Overview (Continued)

The Company’s Engineering group remains focused on areas of growth, primarily within the electric power, aerospace, marine and transportation, commercial and industrial, oil and gas, as well as biofuel industries. Given the current composition of its customer base, the Engineering group’s performance is well balanced between its three segments.   In recent years, many electric utilities have prioritized transitioning their power generation assets to cleaner sources of energy. Much of this transformation is being driven by investments in renewable energy. The Energy Information Administration (“EIA”) estimates that 38% of the United States’ electric generation capacity will be comprised of wind and solar assets by 2050. This expansion will require extensive investment in the nation’s transmission infrastructure to interconnect these renewable resources to the energy grid. Projects of this scale will require engineering and design expertise, as well as the utilization of EPC services.  As the world’s industrial output rebounds from pandemic-related weakness in 2020 and 2021, the Company believes its Process and Industrial group is positioned well to take advantage. Companies in the chemical industry are reprioritizing spending towards decarbonization technologies, with many US chemical companies expecting to place an emphasis on renewable feedstocks and new carbon recycling technologies. The Company believes its process engineering services can play a vital role across this multibillion-dollar opportunity. 

In the health care services industry, a shortage of nurses and other medical personnel in the United States has led to increases in business activity for health care service companies, including the Company’s Specialty Health Care group.  Due in part to an aging population and improved medical technology, the demand for selected health care professionals is expected to continue over the next several years, with an emphasis on leveraging technology to expand access to care. The increased adoption of telemedicine, an area in which the Specialty Health Care group has developed new service offerings, is a primary example.  In addition, public educational institutions are outsourcing their requirements for school nurses, therapists and paraprofessionals to lower their costs and it is expected that this will continue and grow. Each of these dynamics have been exacerbated by COVID-19. The pandemic has also altered patterns in health care delivery, with newer delivery models gaining traction, namely telemedicine. Given federal and state regulatory changes as well as private insurer reimbursement methods, utilization of telemedicine services increased significantly. As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, CDC researchers stated that maintaining the expansion of telehealth remains critical to providing access to care.  It is expected the total addressable market opportunity will continue to expand and grow. Expanding access to behavioral health and mental well-being is also a priority for public health officials. Increasing and maintaining access to proper care remains a top priority and the market opportunity for these services is expected to continue to grow.

Companies must integrate and manage computing environments consisting of multiple computing platforms, operating systems, databases and networking protocols and off-the-shelf software applications to support business objectives.  Companies also need to keep pace with new technology developments, which often rapidly render existing equipment and internal skills obsolete.  At the same time, varied factors have caused many organizations to focus on core competencies and trim workforces in the IT management area.  Accordingly, these organizations often lack the quantity, quality and variety of IT skills necessary to design and support IT solutions.  IT managers are charged with supporting increasingly complex systems and applications of significant strategic value, while working under budgetary, personnel and expertise constraints within their own organizations.

The Company believes its target market for IT services is among middle-market companies, which typically lack the time and technical resources to satisfy all of their IT needs internally.  These companies commonly require sophisticated, experienced IT assistance to achieve their business objectives and often rely on IT service providers to help implement and manage their systems.  RCM is structured to provide middle-market companies a single source for their IT needs.

Business Strategy

RCM is dedicated to providing solutions to meet its clients’ business needs by delivering engineering, specialty health care, life sciences and information technology services.  The Company’s objective is to remain a recognized leader of specialized professional staffing, consulting services and solutions in major markets throughout North America.  The Company adapts operating strategies to achieve this objective.  The following is a discussion of the key elements of its growth and operating strategies:

Growth Strategy

Promote Full Life Cycle Solution Capability 

The Company promotes a full life cycle solution capability to its customers.  The goal of the full life cycle solution strategy is to fully address a client’s project implementation cycle at each stage of its development and deployment.  This entails the Company working with its clients from the initial conceptualization of a project through its design and project execution, and extending into ongoing management and support of the delivered product.  RCM’s strategy is to build projects and solutions offerings selectively, utilizing its extensive resource base.

The Company believes that the effective execution of this strategy will generate improved margins on its existing resources.  The completion of this service-offering continuum is intended to afford the Company the opportunity to strengthen long-term client relationships that will further contribute to a more predictable revenue stream.

In addition to a full life cycle solution offering, the Company continues to focus on transitioning into higher value oriented services in an effort to increase its margins on its various service lines and generate revenue that is more sustainable.  The Company believes this transition is accomplished by pursuing additional vertical market specific solutions in conjunction or combination with longer-term based solutions, through expansion of its client relationships and by pursuing strategic alliances and partnerships.

Achieve Internal Growth

The Company continues to promote its internal growth strategies which it designed to better serve the Company’s customers, generate higher revenue and achieve greater operating efficiencies.  Every division of the Company continuously focuses on services and client diversification.  Business units are collaborating on penetrating and servicing accounts as sales teams are increasing their activity levels.  This enables clients to be supported by specialists in their areas of need while RCM productivity increases.

RCM provides an orientation program in which sales managers and professionals receive relevant information about Company operations.

RCM has adopted an industry-centric approach to sales and marketing.  This initiative contemplates that clients within the same industry sectors tend to have common business challenges.  It therefore allows the Company to present and deliver enhanced value to those clients in the vertical markets in which RCM has assembled the greatest work experience. RCM’s consultants continue to acquire project experience that offers differentiated awareness of the business challenges that clients in that industry are facing.  This alignment also facilitates and creates additional cross-selling opportunities.  The Company believes this strategy will lead to greater account penetration and enhanced client relationships.

Operational strategies contributing to RCM’s internal productivity include the delineation of certain new solutions practice areas in markets where its clients had historically known the Company as a contract service provider.  The formation of these practice areas facilitates the flow of project opportunities and the delivery of project-based solutions. 

Growth Strategy (Continued)

Pursue Selective Strategic Acquisitions

The industries in which the Company operates continue to be highly fragmented, and the Company plans to continue to selectively assess opportunities to make strategic acquisitions as such opportunities are presented to the Company. The Company's acquisition strategy is designed to broaden the scope of services and technical competencies and grow its full life cycle solution capabilities.  In considering acquisition opportunities, the Company focuses principally on companies with (i) technologies or market segments RCM has targeted for strategic value enhancement, (ii) margins that are accretive to existing margins, (iii) experienced management personnel, (iv) substantial growth prospects and (v) sellers who desire to join the Company’s management team.  To retain and provide incentives for management of its acquired companies, the Company has generally structured a significant portion of the acquisition price in the form of multi-tiered consideration based on growth of operating profitability of the acquired company over a two to four year period.

Operating Strategy

Develop and Maintain Strong Customer Relationships

The Company seeks to develop and maintain strong interactive customer relationships by anticipating and focusing on its customers’ needs.  The Company emphasizes a relationship-oriented approach to business, rather than the transaction or assignment-oriented approach that the Company believes is used by many of its competitors.  This industry-centric strategy is designed to allow RCM to expand further its relationships with clients in RCM’s targeted sectors. 

To develop close customer relationships, the Company’s practice managers and/or sales people regularly meet with both existing and prospective clients to identify areas of need and help design solutions and identify the resources needed to execute their strategies.  The Company’s managers also maintain close communications with their customers during each project and on an ongoing basis after its completion.  The Company believes that this relationship-oriented approach can result in greater customer satisfaction.  Additionally, the Company believes that by collaborating with its customers in designing business solutions, it can generate new opportunities to cross-sell additional services that the Company has to offer.  The Company focuses on providing customers with qualified individuals or teams of experts compatible with the business needs of its customers and makes a concerted effort to follow the progress of such relationships to ensure their continued success.

Attract and Retain Highly Qualified Consultants and Technical Resources

The Company believes it has been successful in attracting and retaining highly qualified consultants and contractors by (i) providing stimulating and challenging work assignments, (ii) offering competitive wages, (iii) effectively communicating with its candidates, (iv) providing selective training to maintain and upgrade skills and (v) aligning the needs of its customers with appropriately skilled personnel.  The Company believes it has been successful in retaining these personnel due in part to its use of practice managers who are dedicated to maintaining contact with, and monitoring the satisfaction levels of, the Company’s consultants and contractors while they are on assignment.

Engineering

RCM provides a full range of Engineering services including Project Management Engineering & Design, Engineering Analysis, Engineer-Procure-Construct, Configuration Management, Hardware/Software Validation & Verification, Quality Assurance, Technical Writing & Publications, Manufacturing Process Planning & Improvement and 3D/BIM Integrated Design. Engineering services are provided at the site of the client or at the Company’s own facilities.

The Company’s Engineering segment consists of three business units – Energy Services, Aerospace Services and Process & Industrial Services.

The Company provides its engineering services through a number of delivery methods.  These include managed tasks and resources, complete project services, outsourcing, both on and off-site, and a full complement of resourcing alternatives.

As of January 1, 2022, the Company assigned approximately 440 engineering and technical personnel to its customers.

Specialty Health Care

The Company’s Specialty Health Care Group specializes in long-term and short-term staffing as well as executive search and placement solutions for many of the largest healthcare institutions and school districts across the United States. The segment’s portfolio of services includes, but is not limited to, the following fields:

As the COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated, maintaining the utilization of telemedicine remains critical to providing necessary access to care. Expanding access to behavioral health and mental wellness services is also a priority for many public health officials. The Company’s School Services and Telepractice offerings are well positioned to provide solutions in these areas of priority as the market opportunity for these services is expected to continue to grow.

As of January 1, 2022, the Company assigned approximately 2,950 specialty health care services personnel to its customers.  

Life Sciences and Information Technology

The Company’s Life Sciences and Information Technology segment is an integrated group of business units providing staff supplementation services and project solutions with physical locations in the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico primarily supporting Financial, Technical, Manufacturing, Life Sciences and Distribution applications.  Specialization in project solutions include, but are not limited to, the following areas:

RCM’s sector knowledge coupled with technical and business process experience enable the Company to provide strategic planning, project execution and management and support services throughout the entire project life cycle.  RCM has successfully completed multimillion-dollar projects in a variety of industry verticals using time-tested methodologies that manage strict budgets, timelines and quality metrics.

The Company believes that its ability to deliver life sciences and information technology solutions across a wide range of technical platforms provides an important competitive advantage.  RCM ensures that its consultants have the expertise and skills needed to keep pace with rapidly evolving information technologies.  The Company’s strategy is to maintain expertise and acquire knowledge in multiple technologies so it can offer its clients non-biased technology solutions best suited to their business needs.   

The Company provides its IT services through a number of flexible delivery methods.  These include management consulting engagements, project management of client efforts, project implementation of client initiatives, outsourcing, both on and off site, and a full complement of resourcing alternatives.

As of January 1, 2022, the Company assigned approximately 240 life sciences and information technology personnel to its customers.

Branch Offices

The Company’s organization consists of 25 branch offices located in the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico and Serbia.  The locations and services of each of the branch offices are set forth in the table below.

(1) Services provided are abbreviated as follows:

E     - Engineering

HC - Specialty Health Care

IT   - Life Sciences and Information Technology

The Company is domiciled in the United States and its segments operate in the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico and Serbia. 

International Operations

The Company operates its business in Canada and, to a less significant extent, in Puerto Rico and Serbia.  For the fiscal year ended January 1, 2022, approximately 8.7% of the Company’s revenues were generated outside the United States.  There are certain risks inherent in conducting business internationally including: the imposition of trade barriers, foreign exchange restrictions, longer payment cycles, greater difficulties in accounts receivables collection, difficulties in complying with a variety of foreign laws (including without limitation the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act), changes in legal or regulatory requirements, difficulties in staffing and managing foreign operations, complex and uncertain employment environments, political instability and potentially adverse tax consequences.  Our operations in Serbia could be adversely affected by the current conflict between Ukraine and Russia, with which Serbia has substantial ties.  Should sanctions against Russia affect Russia in a way that causes adverse economic consequences to Serbia, or if such sanctions were to be extended to countries that might be considered to be in alignment with Russia, thus could have a negative impact on our employees or operations both within and outside Serbia.  To the extent the Company experiences these risks, the business and results of operations could be adversely affected.

International Operations (Continued)

From its headquarters locations in New Jersey, the Company provides its branch offices with centralized administrative, marketing, finance, MIS, human resources and legal support.  Centralized administrative functions minimize the administrative burdens on branch office managers and allow them to spend more time focusing on sales and marketing and practice development activities.

Branch offices are primarily located in markets that the Company believes have strong growth prospects for the Company’s services.  The Company’s branches are operated in a decentralized, entrepreneurial manner with most offices operating as independent profit centers. 

Sales and Marketing

Sales and marketing efforts are conducted at the local and national level through the Company’s network of branch offices.  Sales activities and productivity are tracked and rankings established and published. Sales between business units are recognized and financially encouraged.  The Company emphasizes long-term personal relationships with customers that are developed through regular assessment of customer requirements and proactive monitoring of service performance.  The Company’s sales personnel make regular visits to existing and prospective customers. New customers are obtained through active sales programs and referrals.  The Company encourages its employees to participate in national and regional trade associations, local chambers of commerce and other civic associations.  The Company seeks to develop strategic partnering relationships with its customers by providing comprehensive solutions for all aspects of a customer’s engineering, life sciences, information technology and other professional services needs. The Company concentrates on providing carefully screened professionals with the appropriate skills in a timely manner and at competitive prices.  The Company regularly monitors the quality of the services provided by its personnel and obtains feedback from its customers as to their satisfaction with the services provided.

The Company serves Fortune 1000 companies and many middle market clients.  The Company’s relationships with these customers are typically formed at the customers’ local or regional level and from time to time, when appropriate, at the corporate level for national accounts.

Key Customers

The Company has established long-term relationships with many of its customers across each of its business segments. RCM’s emphasis on client retention has resulted in repeat business from many of its largest strategic accounts. During the fiscal year ended January 1, 2022, no client accounted for 10% or more of total revenues.   The Company’s five, ten and twenty largest customers accounted for approximately 35.8%, 52.5% and 65.1%, respectively, of the Company’s revenues for the fiscal year ended January 1, 2022.

Other Information

Safeguards - Business, Disaster and Contingency Planning

RCM has implemented a number of safeguards to protect the Company from various system-related risks including Redundant Telecommunications and server systems architecture, multi-tiered server and desktop backup infrastructure, and data center physical and environmental controls.  In addition, RCM has developed disaster recovery / business continuity procedures for all offices.

Given the significant amount of data generated in the Company’s key processes including recruiting, sales, payroll and customer invoicing, RCM has established redundant procedures, functioning on a daily basis, within the Company’s primary data center, which is a third-party Internet Data Center (“IDC”).  This redundancy should mitigate the risks related to hardware, application and data loss by utilizing the concept of live differential backups of servers and desktops to Storage Area Network (SAN) devices on its backup LAN, culminating in offsite tape storage at an independent facility. Controls within the data center environment ensure that all systems are proactively monitored and data is properly archived.

Additionally, RCM has contracted and brokered strategic relationships with third-party vendors to meet its recovery objectives in the event of a system disruption.  For example, comprehensive service level agreements for RCM’s data circuits and network devices guarantee minimal outages as well as network redundancy and scalability.

The Company’s ability to protect its data assets against damage from fire, power loss, telecommunications failures, and facility violations is critical.  To address potential cyber security threats, the Company uses a third-party mail management service to filter all emails destined for the RCMT domain before being delivered to the corporate mail servers. The service has also been deployed to safeguard the enterprise from malicious internet content. The deployment of virus, spam, and patch management controls extends from the perimeter network to all desktops and is centrally monitored and managed.  In addition to the virus and malware controls, an Intrusion Protection System (IPS) monitors and alerts on changes in network traffic patterns as well as known hostile signatures.

The Company maintains a disaster recovery plan that outlines the recovery time / point objectives (RTO / RPO), organization structure, roles and procedures, including site addendum disaster plans for all of its key operating offices.  Corporate IT personnel regulate the maintenance and integrity of backed-up data throughout the Company.

The IDC provides RCM with a robust data center environment with redundant HVAC, commercial power feeds, ten 2000kW diesel generator sets with five 10,000-gallon, above-ground fuel oil storage tanks to provide standby power and dry pipe fire suppression.  In addition, the IDC provides 24x7 security staffing, closed-circuit monitors, secure-card key access, biometrics scanners, man traps, and alarmed doors.

Competition

The market for engineering and IT services is highly competitive and is subject to rapid change.  As the market demand has shifted, many software companies have adopted tactics to pursue services and consulting offerings making them direct competitors when in the past they may have been alliance partners.  Primary competitors include participants from a variety of market segments, including publicly and privately held firms, systems consulting and implementation firms, application software firms, service groups of computer equipment companies, facilities management companies, general management consulting firms and staffing companies.  In addition, the Company competes with its clients’ internal resources, particularly where these resources represent a fixed cost to the client.  Such competition may impose additional pricing pressures on the Company.

The Company believes its principal competitive advantages in the engineering and IT services market include: strong relationships with existing clients, a long-term track record with over 1,000 clients, a broad range of services, technical expertise, knowledge and experience in multiple industry sectors, quality and flexibility of service, responsiveness to client needs and speed in delivering IT solutions.

Additionally, the Company competes for suitable acquisition candidates based on its differentiated acquisition model, its entrepreneurial and decentralized operating philosophy, and its strong corporate-level support and resources.

Seasonality

The Company’s operating results can be affected by the seasonal fluctuations in client expenditures.  Expenditures in the Engineering, Life Sciences and Information Technology segments can be negatively impacted during the first quarter of the year when clients are finalizing their budgets.  Quarterly results generally fluctuate depending on, among other things, the number of billing days in a quarter and the seasonality of clients’ businesses. The business is also affected by the timing of holidays and seasonal vacation patterns, generally resulting in lower revenues and gross profit in the fourth quarter of each year, not considering any non-seasonal impact. Extreme weather conditions may also affect demand in the first and fourth quarters of the year as certain clients’ facilities are located in geographic areas subject to closure or reduced hours due to inclement weather.  The Company generally experiences an increase in its cost of sales and a corresponding decrease in gross profit and gross margin percentage in the first and second fiscal quarters of each year as a result of resetting certain state and federal employment tax rates and related salary limitations.  Also, the Company’s Specialty Health Care segment typically experiences a significant decline in revenues due to the substantial closure of one of its largest customers, the New York City Department of Education, and other educational institution clients during the third quarter due to their summer recess.

Government Regulations

The Company is a consulting firm and employment service provider and  is generally subject to one or more of the following types of government regulation: (1) regulation of the employer/employee relationship between a firm and its employees, including tax withholding or reporting, social security or retirement, benefits, workplace compliance, wage and hour, anti-discrimination, immigration and workers’ compensation, (2) registration, licensing, record keeping and reporting requirements, and (3) federal contractor compliance.  The Company believes it is in material compliance with all employee related statutes.

Intellectual Property

Management believes the RCM Technologies, Inc. name is extremely valuable and important to its business. The Company endeavors to protect its intellectual property rights and maintain certain trademarks, trade names, service marks and other intellectual property rights, including The Source of Smart Solutions®.  The Company is not currently aware of any infringing uses or other conditions that would be reasonably likely to materially and adversely affect the Company’s use of its proprietary rights. 

Workforce

As of January 1, 2022, the Company employed an administrative, sales, recruiting and management staff of approximately 250 people, including licensed engineers and certified IT specialists who, from time to time, participate in engineering design and IT projects undertaken by the Company.  As of January 1, 2022, there were approximately 440 engineering and technical personnel, 2,950 specialty health care services personnel and 240 life sciences and information technology personnel assigned by the Company to work on client projects or assignments for various periods.  None of the Company’s employees are party to a collective bargaining agreement. 

Access to Company Information

The Company is a Nevada corporation organized in 1971.  The address of its principal executive office is 2500 McClellan Avenue, Suite 350, Pennsauken, NJ  08109-4613.

RCM electronically files its annual report on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K and all amendments to those reports with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”).  The SEC maintains an Internet site (http://www.sec.gov) that contains reports, proxies, information statements, and other information regarding issuers that file electronically.

RCM makes available on its website or by responding free of charge to requests addressed to the Company’s Corporate Secretary, its annual reports on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K and all amendments to those reports filed by the Company with the SEC pursuant to Sections 13(a) and 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. These reports are available as soon as reasonably practicable after such material is electronically filed with or furnished to the SEC.  The Company’s website is http://www.rcmt.com.  The information contained on the Company’s website, or on other websites linked to the Company’s website, is not part of this document.  Reference herein to the Company’s website is an inactive text reference only.

RCM has adopted a Code of Conduct applicable to all of its directors, officers and employees. In addition, the Company has adopted a Code of Ethics, within the meaning of applicable SEC rules, applicable to its Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer and Controller. Both the Code of Conduct and Code of Ethics are available, free of charge, by sending a written request to the Company’s Corporate Secretary. If the Company makes any amendments to either of these Codes (other than technical, administrative, or other non-substantive amendments), or waives (explicitly or implicitly) any provision of the Code of Ethics to the benefit of its Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer or Controller, it intends to disclose the nature of the amendment or waiver, its effective date and to whom it applies in the investor relations portion of the website, or in a report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC.

The Company’s business involves a number of risks, some of which are beyond its control.  The risk and uncertainties described below are not the only ones the Company faces.  Set forth below is a discussion of the risks and uncertainties that management believes to be material to the Company.

Economic Trends

Adverse global economic conditions, when they occur, may create conditions such as a general tightening in the credit markets, lower levels of liquidity, increases in the rates of default and bankruptcy, and volatility in credit, equity and fixed income markets.  Any or all of these developments can negatively affect the Company’s business, operating results or financial condition in a number of ways.  For example, current or potential customers may be unable to fund capital spending programs, new product launches of other similar endeavors whereby they might procure services from the Company, and therefore delay, decrease or cancel purchases of services or not pay or delay paying for previously purchased services.  In addition, these conditions may cause the Company to incur increased expenses or make it more difficult either to utilize existing debt capacity or otherwise obtain financing for operations, investing activities (including the financing of any future acquisitions), or financing activities, all of which could adversely affect the Company’s business, financial condition and results of operations.

Global Epidemics

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, and associated initiatives to reduce its spread, have adversely affected the Company’s business and financial position, and may continue to do so.  The impacts described in this risk factor as relating to COVID-19 could arise in the future with respect to any other global pandemics that may occur.

Our business has been, and may continue to be, adversely impacted by the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. As COVID-19 continues to present various health, business and other challenges globally, including significant impacts in the United States, we are taking a variety of measures to protect the health and safety of our employees and, especially in the healthcare segment, deploying our resources, including the talents of our employees, to help the communities we serve meet and overcome the current challenges.  However, public and private sector policies and initiatives to reduce the transmission of COVID-19, such as closures of schools, businesses and manufacturing facilities, the promotion of social distancing, the adoption of working from home by companies and institutions, and travel restrictions could continue to adversely affect demand for our services and to present challenges to us in delivering these services.  The extent to which COVID-19 impacts operations will depend on future developments, which are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted with confidence, including the duration of the outbreak, new information which may emerge concerning the severity of the pandemic and the actions to contain COVID-19 or treat its impact, among others. These impacts on our business could have an adverse effect on our liquidity position and access to capital, including our ability to access our line of credit.  The Company can give no assurance that the line of credit will be available in the future.

These factors, in addition to delays in payment (from clients and/or clients in bankruptcy), have resulted in, and could continue to result in, significant additional bad debts in the near future. Additionally, our operating results would be adversely affected if unexpected increases in the costs of labor and labor related costs, materials, supplies and equipment used in performing services (including the impact of potential tariffs and COVID-19) could not be passed on to our clients.

In addition, we believe that to maintain or improve our financial performance we must continue to obtain service agreements with new clients, retain and provide new services to existing clients, achieve modest price increases on current service agreements with existing clients and/or maintain internal cost reduction strategies at our various operational levels. Furthermore, we believe that our ability to sustain the internal development of managerial personnel is an important factor impacting future operating results and the successful execution of our projected growth strategies.  Certainly, the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic makes these objective more difficult to attain.

Government Regulations

Staffing firms and employment service providers are generally subject to one or more of the following types of government regulation: (1) regulation of the employer/employee relationship between a firm and its employees, including tax withholding or reporting, social security or retirement, benefits, workplace compliance, wage and hour, anti-discrimination, immigration and workers’ compensation; (2) registration, licensing, record keeping and reporting requirements; and (3) federal contractor compliance.  Failure to comply with these regulations could result in the Company incurring penalties and other liabilities, monetary and otherwise. 

Highly Competitive Business

The staffing services and outsourcing markets are highly competitive and have limited barriers to entry.  RCM competes in global, national, regional, and local markets with numerous temporary staffing and permanent placement companies.  Price competition in the staffing industry is significant and pricing pressures from competitors and customers are increasing.  In addition, there is increasing pressure on companies to outsource certain areas of their business to low cost offshore outsourcing firms.  RCM expects that the level of competition will remain high in the future, which could limit RCM’s ability to maintain or increase its market share or profitability.  Our inability to compete successfully with our competitors could adversely affect the Company’s business, financial condition and results of operations.

Seasonality of Business

As described in “Item 1. Business,” our operating results are subject to seasonal fluctuations, with reduced demand often occurring during the first quarter of the year when clients are finalizing their engineering and IT budgets, and also during periods in which there are a substantial amount of holidays and season vacations.  In particular, one of the largest customers in our Specialty Health Care group, the New York City Department of Education, significantly reduces activity during the third quarter, when schools are closed for summer recess.  Our operating results for any given period may fluctuate as a result of the timing of holidays, vacations and other events, and if we were to experience unfavorable performance during periods in which we would otherwise expect to have high seasonal demand, we may have limited ability to make up for such performance during periods of seasonally lower demand.

Events Affecting Significant Customers

As disclosed in “Item 1. Business,” the Company’s five, ten and twenty largest customers accounted for approximately 35.8%, 52.5% and 65.1%, respectively, of revenues for the fiscal year ended January 1, 2022.  During the fiscal year ended January 1, 2022, no client accounted for 10% or more of total revenues.  The Company’s customers may be affected by the current state of the economy or developments in the credit markets or may engage in mergers or similar transactions.  In addition, customers may choose to reduce the business they do with RCM for other reasons or no reason.  The Company could also be materially impacted by actions of prime contractors whereby the Company derives revenues through a subcontractor relationship.  Should any significant customers experience a downturn in their business that weakens their financial condition or merge with another company or otherwise cease independent operation, or limit their relationship with us, it is possible that the business that the customer does with the Company would be reduced or eliminated, which could adversely affect the Company’s business, financial condition and results of operations.

Safety Concerns Regarding Nuclear Power Plants; Limitations on Insurance

New and existing concerns are being expressed in public forums about the safety of nuclear generating units and nuclear fuel.  Among other things, these concerns have led to, and are expected to continue to lead to, various proposals to regulators and governing bodies in some localities where nuclear facilities are located for legislative and regulatory changes that could lead to the shut-down of nuclear units, denial of license renewal applications, municipalization of nuclear units, restrictions on nuclear units or other adverse effects on owning and operating nuclear generating units.  Should these concerns or proposals lead to a diminishment of or reduced growth in the nuclear power industry, the Company’s Engineering segment, which has a focus on the nuclear power industry, could be harmed, and the Company’s business, financial condition and results of operations could be materially adversely affected.

In addition, our liability insurance does not cover accidents occurring at nuclear power facilities.  Should we be found to be responsible for such an event, we may not be able to cover relating damages, and our business would be adversely affected.

Subcontractors, Transit Accounts Receivable and Transit Accounts Payables Related to Construction Management Contracts

The Company’s Engineering segment has entered into arrangements to provide construction management and engineering services to customers under which arrangements the Company then engages subcontractors to provide the construction services.  Ultimately, as a primary contractor, the Company is responsible for the nonperformance or negligence of its subcontractors, whom the Company requires to be adequately insured and to issue performance bonds for their assignment.  Should a subcontractor not perform or act negligently and should there be inadequate insurance or performance bonds in place, the Company might not be able to mitigate its primary liability to the customer, and the Company’s business, financial condition and results of operations could be materially adversely affected.  In addition, while payments to subcontractors typically are due from the Company only after the Company receives payment from the ultimate customer, the Company faces the risk that, should a customer not pay the Company, or should a subcontractor demand payment from the Company prior to the Company’s receipt of payment from its customer, the Company’s business, financial condition and results of operations could be materially adversely affected.

Dependence Upon Personnel

The Company’s operations depend on the continued efforts of its officers and other executive management.  The loss of key officers and members of executive management may cause a significant disruption to the Company’s business.

RCM also depends on the performance and productivity of its local managers and field personnel. The Company’s ability to attract and retain new business is significantly affected by local relationships and the quality of service rendered.  The loss of key managers and field personnel may also jeopardize existing client relationships with businesses that continue to use the Company’s services based upon past relationships with local managers and field personnel.  In order to fulfill the requirements of the Company’s customers, the Company must be able to recruit and retain appropriate personnel for client assignments.

Revolving Credit Facility and Liquidity

If the Company were unable to borrow under its Revolving Credit Facility (see “Item 7.  Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations – Liquidity and Capital Resources – Financing Activities”), it may adversely affect liquidity, results of operations and financial condition. The Company’s liquidity depends on its ability to generate sufficient cash flows from operations and, from time to time, borrowings under the Revolving Credit Facility with the Company’s agent lender Citizens Bank of Pennsylvania. The Company believes that Citizens Bank is liquid and is not aware of any current risk that they will become illiquid.  At January 1, 2022, the Company had $14.2 million in borrowings under the Revolving Credit Facility outstanding and $1.9 million outstanding under letters of credit, with availability for additional borrowings under the Revolving Credit Facility of $28.9 million.

Borrowings under the Revolving Credit Facility bear interest at one of two alternative rates, as selected by the Company at each incremental borrowing.  These alternatives are: (i) LIBOR (London Interbank Offered Rate), plus applicable margin, typically borrowed in fixed 30-day increments or (ii) the agent bank’s prime rate generally borrowed over shorter durations.  At the option of Citizens Bank, LIBOR can be replaced with SOFR (Secured Overnight Financing Rate). The LIBOR alternative is being phased out in 2022.  Citizens Bank has not indicated when this switch will occur, but in any event, the Company does not believe there will be any material impact on its borrowing rate. 

The Revolving Credit Facility contains various financial and non-financial covenants.  At January 1, 2022, the Company was in compliance with the covenants and other provisions of the Credit Facility. Any failure to be in compliance could have a material adverse effect on liquidity, results of operations and financial condition.

Foreign Currency Fluctuations and Changes in Exchange Rates

The Company is exposed to risks associated with foreign currency fluctuations and changes in exchange rates.  RCM’s exposure to foreign currency fluctuations relates to operations in Canada and Serbia, principally conducted through its Canadian and Serbian subsidiaries.  Exchange rate fluctuations affect the United States dollar value of reported earnings derived from the Canadian operations as well as the carrying value of the Company’s investment in the net assets related to these operations.  The Company does not engage in hedging activities with respect to foreign operations. 

Changes in Tax Laws

At any time, United States federal tax laws or the administrative interpretations of those laws may be changed. As a result, changes in United States federal tax laws could negatively impact our operating results, financial condition and business operations, and adversely impact the Company’s shareholders.  At any time, tax laws in the Company’s other jurisdictions, Canada, Puerto Rico and Serbia, may also change.  These tax law changes may have a material impact on the Company’s income tax expense.

Workers’ Compensation and Employee Medical Insurance

The Company self-insures a portion of the exposure for losses related to workers’ compensation and employees’ medical insurance.  The Company has established reserves for workers’ compensation and employee medical insurance claims based on historical loss statistics and periodic independent actuarial valuations.  Significant differences in actual experience or significant changes in assumptions may materially affect the Company’s future financial results.

Improper Activities of Temporary Professionals Could Result in Damage to Business Reputation, Discontinuation of Client Relationships and Exposure to Liability

The Company may be subject to claims by clients related to errors and omissions, misuse of proprietary information, discrimination and harassment, theft and other criminal activity, malpractice, and other claims stemming from the improper activities or alleged activities of temporary professionals.  There can be no assurance that current liability insurance coverage will be adequate or will continue to be available in sufficient amounts to cover damages or other costs associated with such claims.

Claims raised by clients stemming from the improper actions of temporary professionals, even if without merit, could cause the Company to incur significant expense associated with rework costs or other damages related to such claims.  Furthermore, such claims by clients could damage the Company’s business reputation and result in the discontinuation of client relationships.

Acquisitions May Not Succeed

The Company reviews prospective acquisitions as an element of its growth strategy. The failure of any acquisition to meet the Company’s expectations, whether due to a failure to successfully integrate any future acquisition or otherwise, may result in damage to the Company’s financial performance and/or divert management’s attention from its core operations or could negatively affect the Company’s ability to meet the needs of its customers promptly.

International Operations

The Company operates its business in Canada and, to a less significant extent, in Puerto Rico and Serbia. For the fiscal year ended January 1, 2022, approximately 8.7% of the Company’s revenues were generated outside the United States. There are certain risks inherent in conducting business internationally including: the imposition of trade barriers, foreign exchange restrictions, longer payment cycles, greater difficulties in accounts receivables collection, difficulties in complying with a variety of foreign laws (including without limitation the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act), changes in legal or regulatory requirements, difficulties in staffing and managing foreign operations, complex and uncertain employment environments, political instability and potentially adverse tax consequences. Our operations in Serbia could be adversely affected by the current conflict between Ukraine and Russia, with which Serbia has substantial ties.  Should sanctions against Russia affect Russia in a way that causes adverse economic consequences to Serbia, or if such sanctions were to be extended to countries that might be considered to be in alignment with Russia, this could have a negative impact on our employees or operations both within and outside Serbia. To the extent the Company experiences these risks, the business and results of operations could be adversely affected.

Trademarks

Management believes the RCM Technologies, Inc. name is extremely valuable and important to its business. The Company endeavors to protect its intellectual property rights and maintain certain trademarks, trade names, service marks and other intellectual property rights, including The Source of Smart Solutions®.  The Company is not currently aware of any infringing uses or other conditions that would be reasonably likely to materially and adversely affect the Company’s use of its proprietary rights.  The Company’s success depends on its ability to successfully obtain and maintain, and prevent misappropriation or infringement of, its intellectual property, maintain trade secret protection, and conduct operations without violating or infringing on the intellectual property rights of third parties.  Intellectual property litigation is expensive and time-consuming, and it is often difficult, if not impossible, to predict the outcome of such litigation.  If the Company is involved in an intellectual property litigation, its business, financial condition and results of operations could be materially adversely affected.

Data Center Capacity and Telecommunication Links

Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS), card key access, fire suppression, and environmental control systems protect RCM’s datacenter.  All systems are monitored on a 24/7 basis with alerting capabilities via voice or email.  The telecommunications architecture at RCM utilizes managed private circuits from AT&T, which encompasses provisioning redundancy and diversity.

The Company’s ability to protect its data center against damage from fire, power loss, telecommunications failure and other disasters is critical to business operations.  In order to provide many of its services, RCM must be able to store, retrieve, process and manage large databases and periodically expand and upgrade its capabilities.  Any damage to the Company’s data centers or any failure of the Company’s telecommunication links that interrupts its operations or results in an inadvertent loss of data could adversely affect the Company’s ability to meet its customers’ needs and their confidence in utilizing the Company for future services.

RCM’s ability to protect its data, provide services and safeguard its installations, as it relates to the IT infrastructure, is in part dependent on several outside vendors with whom the Company maintains service level agreements.

Cyber Security

We are highly dependent on information technology systems to operate our business. A breakdown, invasion, corruption, destruction or interruption of critical information technology systems by employees, others with authorized access to our systems or unauthorized persons could negatively impact operations.  In the ordinary course of business, we collect, store and transmit confidential information and it is critical that we do so in a secure manner to maintain the confidentiality and integrity of such information.  Additionally, we outsource certain elements of our information technology systems to third parties.  As a result of this outsourcing, our third party vendors may or could have access to our confidential information making such systems vulnerable.  Data breaches of our information technology systems, or those of our third party vendors, may pose a risk that sensitive data may be exposed to unauthorized persons or to the public.  While we believe that we have taken appropriate security measures to protect our data and information technology systems, and have been informed by our third party vendors that they have as well, there can be no assurance that our efforts will prevent breakdowns or breaches in our systems, or those of our third party vendors, that could adversely affect our business.

Data Privacy

We control, process, or have access to personal information regarding our own employees or employment candidates, as well as that of many of our customers or other third parties. Information concerning these individuals may also reside in systems controlled by third party vendors with whom we do business. The legal and regulatory environment concerning data privacy is becoming more complex and challenging, and the potential consequences of non-compliance have become more severe. The European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation, the California Consumer Privacy Act, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 and similar laws impose additional compliance requirements related to the collection, use, processing, transfer, disclosure, and retention of personal information, which can increase operating costs and resources to accomplish. Any failure to abide by these regulations or to protect such personal information from inappropriate access or disclosure, whether through social engineering or by accident or other cause, could have severe consequences including fines, litigation, regulatory sanctions, reputational damage, and loss of customers or employees. There can be no assurance that the steps we take to abide by applicable requirements and protect information will meet all current and future regulatory requirements, anticipate all potential methods of unauthorized access, or prevent all inappropriate disclosures. Any failures to do so could result in governmental enforcement actions, fines, and other penalties, or other liabilities, that could adversely affect our business.

Not applicable.

The Company provides specialty professional consulting services, principally performed at various client locations, through 25 administrative and sales offices located in the United States, Puerto Rico, Canada and Serbia. The majority of the Company’s offices typically consist of 1,000 to 13,000 square feet and are typically leased by the Company for terms of one to five years.  Offices in larger or smaller markets may vary in size from the typical office.  The Company does not expect that it will be difficult to maintain or find suitable lease space at reasonable rates in its markets or in areas where the Company contemplates expansion.

The Company’s executive office is located at 2500 McClellan Avenue, Suite 350, Pennsauken, New Jersey 08109-4613. These premises consist of approximately 3,500 square feet and are leased at a rate of approximately $15.00 per square foot per annum for a term ending on November 30, 2025. 

The Company’s operational office is located at 20 Waterview Boulevard, 4^th Floor, Parsippany, NJ 07054-1271. These premises consist of approximately 9,200 square feet and are leased at a rate of approximately $24.95 per square foot per annum for a term ending on January 31, 2024.

From time to time, the Company is a defendant or plaintiff in various legal actions that arise in the ordinary business course.  These matters may relate to professional liability, tax, compensation, contract, competitor disputes, and employee-related matters and include individual and class action lawsuits, as well as inquiries and investigations by governmental agencies regarding the Company’s employment and compensation practices. Additionally, some of the Company’s clients may also become subject to claims, governmental inquiries and investigations, and legal actions relating to the Company’s professional services. Depending upon the particular facts and circumstances, the Company may also be subject to indemnification obligations under its contracts with such clients relating to these matters.

As such, the Company is required to assess the likelihood of any adverse outcomes to these matters as well as potential ranges of losses and possible recoveries.  The Company may not be covered by insurance as it pertains to some or all of these matters.  A determination of the amount of the provision required for these commitments and contingencies, if any, which would be charged to earnings, is made after careful analysis of each matter.  The Company records a liability when management believes an adverse outcome from a loss contingency is both probable and the amount, or a range, can be reasonably estimated. From time to time, the Company must estimate the potential loss even though the party adverse to the Company has not asserted any specific amounts.  Significant judgment is required to determine both probability of loss and the estimated amount. The Company reviews its loss contingencies at least quarterly and adjusts its accruals and/or disclosures to reflect the impact of negotiations, settlements, rulings, advice of legal counsel, or other new information, as deemed necessary. Once established, a provision may change in the future due to new developments or changes in circumstances and could increase or decrease the Company’s earnings in the period that the changes are made. 

The Company is exposed to various asserted claims as of January 1, 2022, where the Company believes it has a probability of loss. Additionally, the Company is exposed to other asserted claims whereby an amount of loss has not been declared, and the Company cannot determine the potential loss. Any of these various claims could result in an unfavorable outcome or settlement that exceeds the accrued amounts. However, the Company believes that such matters will not, either individually or in the aggregate, have a material adverse effect on its business, consolidated financial position, results of operations, or cash flows. As of January 1, 2022, the Company has accrued $2.9 million for asserted claims.  Included in the January 1, 2022 accrual of $2.9 million, the Company has reserved $1.6 million for the settlement of a class-action suit in California that alleges the Company did not properly pay its travel nurses overtime wages. While the Company believes it did not violate any overtime wage laws, it decided to settle this class action lawsuit in December 2020.  The Company paid the $1.6 million settlement in early January 2022.

The Company is also subject to other pending legal proceedings and claims that arise from time to time in the ordinary course of its business, which may not be covered by insurance.

Not applicable.

Shares of the Company’s common stock are traded on The NASDAQ Global Market under the Symbol “RCMT.” 

Holders

As of February 11, 2022, the approximate number of holders of record of the Company’s Common Stock was 280 and the number of beneficial owners of its Common Stock was approximately 5,110.

Dividends

No dividends were declared in fiscal 2020 or fiscal 2021.  All restricted share awards contain a dividend equivalent provision entitling holders to dividends paid between the restricted stock unit grant date and ultimate share distribution date.  As of January 1, 2022, there were no accrued dividends. 

While the Company, at this time, has no plans to issue any future dividends, any future payment of dividends will depend upon, among other things, the Company’s earnings, financial condition, capital requirements, level of indebtedness, contractual restrictions, and other factors that the Board of Directors deems relevant.  The Revolving Credit Facility (as discussed in Item 7 hereof) prohibits the payment of any dividends or distributions on account of the Company’s capital stock without the prior consent of the majority of the Company’s lenders. 

Stock Repurchase by Issuer

On January 13, 2021, the Company’s Board of Directors authorized a program to repurchase shares of the Company’s common stock constituting, in the aggregate, up to an amount not to exceed $7.5 million. On November 12, 2021, the Company’s Board of Directors further increased the total amount available to repurchase shares up to an amount not to exceed $19.1 million (including the initial $7.5 million authorized), consistent with the maximum limitation set forth by the Company’s revolving line of credit. The program is designed to provide the Company with enhanced flexibility over the long term to optimize its capital structure. Shares of the common stock may be repurchased in the open market or through negotiated transactions. All of the repurchases were conducted under the safe harbor from liability under certain market manipulation rules provided by Rule 10b-18 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended.  The program may be terminated or suspended at any time at the discretion of the Company. 

The following table provides information relating to the shares we purchased during the fourth quarter of the fiscal year ended January 1, 2022:

COVID-19 Considerations

The Company’s priorities during the COVID-19 pandemic are protecting the health and safety of our employees and, especially in the healthcare segment, deploying our resources, including the talents of our employees, to help the communities we serve meet and overcome the current challenges. In the future, the pandemic may cause reduced demand for our services if, for example, the pandemic results in a prolonged recessionary economic environment affecting industries in which we serve; however, since certain services that we offer are essential to the daily lives of our customers, we believe that over the long term, there will continue to be demand for our services. 

Our ability to continue to operate without any significant negative operational impact from the COVID-19 pandemic will in part depend on our ability to protect our employees and our supply chain. The Company has endeavored to follow the recommended actions of government and health authorities to protect our employees, with particular measures in place for those working in our customer facilities. While our revenue, gross profit and operating income were negatively impacted in fiscal 2020 on a consolidated basis and in fiscal 2021 for certain business lines, we have maintained the consistency of our operations, to a substantial degree, from the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. We intend to continue to adhere to our employee safety measures as we seek to ensure that any disruptions to our operations remain as limited as possible during the pandemic. However, the uncertainty resulting from the pandemic could result in an unforeseen disruption to our workforce and supply chain (for example, an inability of a key supplier or transportation supplier to source and transport materials) that could negatively impact our operations.  Any material changes to labor rates for the Company’s workforce may have a material negative impact to revenue, gross profit and operating income.

For additional information on risk factors related to the pandemic or other risks that could impact our results, please refer to “Risk Factors” in Part II, Item 1A of this Form 10-K. For additional information on how COVID-19 has impacted operations and our financial position, please refer to the Segment Discussion and Liquidity and Capital Resources sections in Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.

Overview

RCM participates in a market that is cyclical in nature and sensitive to economic changes.  As a result, the impact of economic changes on revenue and operations can be substantial, resulting in significant volatility in the Company’s financial performance. 

In March 2020, the World Health Organization declared the outbreak of a novel coronavirus (COVID-19) as a pandemic, which continues to present various health, business and other challenges throughout the United States. As a result, we have temporarily closed or reduced most of our office locations, with much of our workforce working from home, and have seen a reduction in customer demand to certain business lines. The duration and ultimate magnitude of the disruption remains uncertain. Therefore, we experienced a negative impact on a consolidated basis during fiscal 2020 and to certain business lines during fiscal 2021, and this matter may continue to negatively impact our business, results of operations, and financial position throughout fiscal 2022 and possibly beyond, and the related financial impact cannot be reasonably estimated at this time.  Please see more detailed disclosure by segment in our Segment Discussion and the impact to our consolidated financial position under Financial Activities under Liquidity and Capital Resources, all in Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.

The Company believes it has developed and assembled an attractive portfolio of capabilities, established a proven record of performance and credibility and built an efficient pricing structure.  The Company is committed to optimizing its business model as a single-source premier provider of business and technology solutions with a strong vertical focus offering an integrated suite of services through a global delivery platform.

The Company believes that most companies recognize the importance of advanced technologies and business processes to compete in today’s business climate.  However, the process of designing, developing and implementing business and technology solutions is becoming increasingly complex.  The Company believes that many businesses today are focused on return on investment analysis in prioritizing their initiatives.  This has had an adverse impact on spending by current and prospective clients for many emerging new solutions.

Nonetheless, the Company continues to believe that businesses must implement more advanced life sciences, information technology and engineering solutions to upgrade their systems, applications and processes so that they can maximize their productivity and optimize their performance in order to maintain a competitive advantage.  Although working under budgetary, personnel and expertise constraints, companies are driven to support increasingly complex systems, applications and processes of significant strategic value.  This has given rise to a demand for outsourcing.  The Company believes that its current and prospective clients are continuing to evaluate the potential for outsourcing business critical systems, applications and processes. 

The Company provides project management and consulting services, which are billed based on either agreed-upon fixed fees or hourly rates, or a combination of both.  The billing rates and profit margins for project management and solutions services are generally higher than those for professional consulting services.  The Company generally endeavors to expand its sales of higher margin solutions and project management services.  The Company also realizes revenue from client engagements that range from the placement of contract and temporary technical consultants to project assignments that entail the delivery of end-to-end solutions.  These services are primarily provided to the client at hourly rates that are established for each of the Company’s consultants based upon their skill level, experience and the type of work performed.

Overview (Continued)

The majority of the Company’s services are provided under purchase orders.  Contracts are utilized on certain of the more complex assignments where the engagements are for longer terms or where precise documentation on the nature and scope of the assignment is necessary.  Although contracts normally relate to longer-term and more complex engagements, they do not obligate the customer to purchase a minimum level of services and are generally terminable by the customer on 60 to 90 days’ notice.  The Company, from time to time, enters into contracts requiring the completion of specific deliverables.  Typically these contracts are for less than one year.  The Company recognizes revenue on these deliverables at the time the client accepts and approves the deliverables.

Costs of services consist primarily of salaries and compensation-related expenses for billable consultants and employees, including payroll taxes, employee benefits and insurance.  Selling, general and administrative expenses consist primarily of salaries and benefits of personnel responsible for business development, recruiting, operating activities, and training, and include corporate overhead expenses.  Corporate overhead expenses relate to salaries and benefits of personnel responsible for corporate activities, including the Company’s corporate marketing, administrative and financial reporting responsibilities and acquisition program. The Company records these expenses when incurred.  Corporate overhead expenses are allocated to the segments based on revenue for the purpose of segment financial reporting.

Critical Accounting Policies and Use of Estimates

This Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations is based on our consolidated financial statements, which have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“U.S. GAAP”). The preparation of financial statements in conformity with U.S. GAAP requires us to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amount of revenue and expenses during the reporting period. In our consolidated financial statements, estimates are used for, but not limited to, accounts receivable and allowance for doubtful accounts, goodwill, long-lived intangible assets, accounting for stock options and restricted stock awards, insurance liabilities, accounting for income taxes and accrued bonuses.

Revenue Recognition

The Company records revenue under Accounting Standards Codification ("ASC") Topic 606, Revenue from Contracts with Customers.  Revenue is recognized when we satisfy a performance obligation by transferring services promised in a contract to a customer, in an amount that reflects the consideration that we expect to receive in exchange for those services.  Performance obligations in our contracts represent distinct or separate service streams that we provide to our customers.  

We evaluate our revenue contracts with customers based on the five-step model under ASC 606: (1) Identify the contract with the customer; (2) Identify the performance obligations in the contract; (3) Determine the transaction price; (4) Allocate the transaction price to separate performance obligations; and (5) Recognize revenue when (or as) each performance obligation is satisfied.

The Company derives its revenue from several sources.  The Company’s Engineering Services, Life Sciences and Information Technology segments perform consulting and project solution services.  The Healthcare segment specializes in long-term and short-term staffing and placement services to hospitals, schools and long-term care facilities amongst others.  All of the Company’s segments perform staff augmentation services and derive revenue from permanent placement fees. The majority of the Company’s revenue is invoiced on a time and materials basis.

Revenue Recognition (Continued)

The following table presents our revenues disaggregated by revenue source for the fifty-two week period ended January 1, 2022 and fifty-three week period ended January 2, 2021:

Time and Material

The Company’s IT and Healthcare segments predominantly recognize revenue through time and material work while its Engineering segment recognizes revenue through both time and material and fixed fee work. The Company’s time and material contracts are typically based on the number of hours worked at contractually agreed upon rates, therefore revenue associated with these time and materials contracts are recognized based on hours worked at contracted rates. 

Fixed Fee

From time to time and predominantly in our Engineering segment, the Company will enter into contracts requiring the completion of specific deliverables.  The Company has master services agreements with many of its customers that broadly define terms and conditions. Actual services performed under fixed fee arrangements are typically delivered under purchase orders that more specifically define terms and conditions related to that fixed fee project. While these master services agreements can often span several years, the Company’s fixed fee purchase orders are typically performed over six to nine month periods.  In instances where project services are provided on a fixed-price basis, revenue is recorded in accordance with the terms of each contract.  In certain instances, revenue is invoiced at the time certain milestones are reached, as defined in the contract.  Revenue under these arrangements are recognized as the costs on these contracts are incurred.  From time-to-time, amounts paid in excess of revenue earned and recognized are recorded as deferred revenue, included in accounts payable and accrued expenses on the accompanying consolidated balance sheets.  Additionally, some contracts contain “Performance Fees” (bonuses) for completing a contract under budget.  Performance Fees, if any, are recorded when earned.  Some contracts also limit revenue and billings to specified maximum amounts.  Provisions for contract losses, if any, are made in the period such losses are determined.  For contracts where there is a specific deliverable and the work is not complete and the revenue is not recognized, the costs incurred are deferred as a prepaid asset.  The associated costs are expensed when the related revenue is recognized.

Revenue Recognition (Continued)

Permanent Placement Services

The Company earns permanent placement fees from providing permanent placement services.  These fees are typically based on a percentage of the compensation paid to the person placed with the Company’s client.

There was $3.4 million of deferred revenue as of January 1, 2022.  Deferred revenue was $0.4 million as of January 2, 2021. Revenue is recognized when the service has been performed.  Deferred revenue may be recognized over a period exceeding one year from the time it was recorded on the balance sheet.  In each of the fifty-two week period ended January 1, 2022 and the fifty-three week period ended January 2, 2021, the Company recognized revenue of $0.4 million, that was included in deferred revenue at the beginning of the reporting period.

Accounts Receivable and Allowance for Doubtful Accounts

The Company’s accounts receivable are primarily due from trade customers.  Credit is extended based on evaluation of customers’ financial condition and, generally, collateral is not required.  Accounts receivable payment terms vary and are stated in the financial statements at amounts due from customers net of an allowance for doubtful accounts.  Accounts outstanding longer than the payment terms are considered past due.  The Company determines its allowance by considering a number of factors, including the length of time trade accounts receivable are past due, the Company’s previous loss history, the customer’s current ability to pay its obligation to the Company, and the condition of the general economy and the industry as a whole.  The Company writes off accounts receivable when they become uncollectible, and payments subsequently received on such receivables previously written off are credited to bad debt expense.

Goodwill

Goodwill is not amortized but is subject to periodic testing for impairment in accordance with ASC Topic 350 “Intangibles - Goodwill and Other - Testing Indefinite-Lived Intangible Assets for Impairment” (“ASC Topic 350”). The Company tests goodwill for impairment on an annual basis as of the last day of the Company’s fiscal December each year or more frequently if events occur or circumstances change indicating that the fair value of the goodwill may be below its carrying amount. The Company has three reporting units.  The Company uses a market-based approach to determine the fair value of the reporting units.  This approach uses earnings/revenue multiples of similar companies recently completing acquisitions and the ability of our reporting units to generate cash flows as measures of fair value of our reporting units. The Company adopted Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) 2017-04, “Intangibles - Goodwill and Other (Topic 350): Simplifying the Test for Goodwill Impairment” effective December 29, 2018 which has eliminated Step 2 from the goodwill impairment test. Under this update, an entity should perform its goodwill impairment test by comparing the fair value of a reporting unit with its carrying amount.

There was no goodwill impairment in fiscal 2021 or 2020. During all periods presented, the Company determined that the existing qualitative factors did not suggest that an impairment of goodwill exists.  There can be no assurance that future indicators of impairment and tests of goodwill impairment will not result in impairment charges for both its Engineering and Specialty Healthcare segments.

Long-Lived and Intangible Assets

The Company evaluates long-lived assets and intangible assets with definite lives for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of an asset may not be recoverable.  When the Company determines that it is probable that undiscounted future cash flows will not be sufficient to recover an asset’s carrying amount, the asset is written down to its fair value.  Assets to be disposed of by sale, if any, are reported at the lower of the carrying amount or fair value less cost to sell.

Accounting for Restricted Stock Awards

The Company uses restricted stock awards to attract, retain and reward employees for long-term service.  The Company follows Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB), Accounting Standards Codification (ASC) Topic 718 “Compensation – Stock Compensation” which requires that the compensation cost relating to stock-based payment transactions be recognized in the financial statements.  This compensation cost is measured based on the fair value of the equity or liability instruments issued. The Company measures stock-based compensation cost using the Black-Scholes option pricing model for stock options and the fair value of the underlying common stock at the date of grant for restricted stock awards.

Insurance Liabilities

The Company has risk participation arrangements with respect to workers compensation and health care insurance. The Company establishes loss provisions based on historical experience and in the case of expected losses from workers compensation, considers input from third parties.  The amounts included in the Company’s costs related to this risk participation are estimated and can vary based on changes in assumptions, the Company’s claims experience or the providers included in the associated insurance programs.

Accounting for Income Taxes

In establishing the provision for income taxes and deferred income tax assets and liabilities and valuation allowances against deferred tax assets, the Company makes judgments and interpretations based on enacted tax laws, published tax guidance and estimates of future earnings.  As of January 1, 2022, the Company had both domestic and foreign net deferred tax assets of $0.4 million.  The domestic long term net deferred tax assets of $0.5 million includes $3.4 million in deferred assets offset by $2.9 million in deferred tax liabilities. The domestic deferred tax assets consist of a net operating loss carryforward of $1.2 million, lease liabilities of $0.8 million and various deferred expense accruals and reserves of $0.8 million. The deferred tax liabilities consist of acquisition amortization of $1.4 million, prepaid expenses of $0.6 million and advance depreciation deductions of $0.4 million.  The realization of deferred tax assets is dependent upon the likelihood that future taxable income will be sufficient to realize these benefits over time, and the effectiveness of tax planning strategies in the relevant tax jurisdictions.  If actual results differ from these estimates and assessments, valuation allowances may be required.  The Company also had $0.1 million in foreign net deferred tax liabilities as of January 1, 2022.

The Company conducts its operations in multiple tax jurisdictions in the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico and Serbia. The Company and its subsidiaries file a consolidated United States Federal income tax return and file in various states. The Company’s federal income tax returns have been examined through 2017. The Company has no open Federal audits as of January 1, 2022.  Except for limited exceptions, the Company is no longer subject to audits by state and local tax authorities for tax years prior to 2018. The Company is no longer subject to audit in Canada for the tax years prior to tax year 2017.  The Company is no longer subject to audit in Puerto Rico for the tax years prior to tax year 2011.

The Company’s future effective tax rates could be adversely affected by changes in the valuation of its deferred tax assets or liabilities or changes in tax laws or interpretations thereof. In addition, the Company is subject to the examination of its income tax returns by the Internal Revenue Service and other tax authorities. The Company regularly assesses the likelihood of adverse outcomes resulting from these examinations to determine the adequacy of its provision for income taxes.

Accrued Bonuses

The Company pays bonuses to certain executive management, field management and corporate employees based on, or after giving consideration to, a variety of financial performance measures. Bonuses for executive management, field management and certain corporate employees are accrued throughout the year for payment during the first quarter of the following year, based in part upon anticipated annual results compared to annual budgets.  In addition, the Company pays discretionary bonuses to certain employees, which are not related to budget performance. Variances in actual results versus budgeted amounts can have a significant impact on the calculations and therefore on the estimates of the required accruals.  Accordingly, the actual earned bonuses may be materially different from the estimates used to determine the quarterly accruals.

Performance-Based Restricted Stock Awards

From time-to-time the Company issues performance-based restricted stock awards to its executives.  Performance-based restricted stock awards are typically vested based on certain multi-year performance metrics as determined by the Board of Directors Compensation Committee. The Company will reassess at each reporting date whether achievement of any performance condition is probable and would begin recognizing additional compensation cost if and when achievement of the performance condition becomes probable.  The Company will then recognize the appropriate expense cumulatively in the year performance becomes probable and recognize the remaining compensation cost over the remaining requisite service period. If at a later measurement date the Company determines that performance-based restricted stock awards deemed as likely to vest are deemed as unlikely to vest, the expense recognized will be reversed.  These performance-based restricted stock awards typically include dividend accrual equivalents, which means that any dividends paid by the Company during the vesting period become due and payable after the vesting period on any stock awards that actually vest, if any.  Dividends for these grants are accrued on the dividend payment dates and included in accounts payable and accrued expenses on the accompanying consolidated balance sheet.  Dividends for performance-based restricted stock awards that ultimately do not vest are forfeited.  

Forward-looking Information

The Company’s growth prospects are influenced by broad economic trends.  The pace of customer capital spending programs, new product launches and similar activities have a direct impact on the need for engineering, life sciences and information technology services. When the U.S., Canadian or global economies decline, the Company’s operating performance could be adversely impacted.  In addition, global events such as the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic also have a substantial impact on our operations and financial results.  The Company believes that its fiscal discipline, strategic focus on targeted vertical markets and diversification of service offerings provides some insulation from adverse trends.  However, general economic declines could result in the need for future cost reductions or changes in strategy.

Additionally, changes in government regulations could result in prohibition or restriction of certain types of employment services or the imposition of new or additional employee benefits, licensing or tax requirements with respect to the provision of employment services that may reduce the Company’s future earnings. There can be no assurance that the Company will be able to increase the fees charged to its clients in a timely manner and in a sufficient amount to cover increased costs as a result of any of the foregoing.

The consulting and employment services market is highly competitive with limited barriers to entry.  The Company competes in global, national, regional and local markets with numerous competitors in all of the Company’s service lines.  Price competition in the industries the Company serves is significant, and pricing pressures from competitors and customers are increasing. The Company expects that the level of competition will remain high in the future, which could limit the Company’s ability to maintain or increase its market share or profitability.

Fiscal Year Ended January 1, 2022 Compared to Fiscal Year Ended January 2, 2021

A summary of operating results for the fifty-two week period ended January 1, 2022 and the fifty-three week period ended January 2, 2021 is as follows (in thousands):

The Company follows a 52/53 week fiscal reporting calendar ending on the Saturday closest to December 31.  The fiscal years ended January 1, 2022 (fiscal 2021) and January 2, 2021 (fiscal 2020) consisted of fifty-two weeks and fifty-three weeks, respectively.

Revenue.  Revenue increased 35.5%, or $53.5 million, for the fifty-two week period ended January 1, 2022 as compared to the fifty-three week period ended January 2, 2021 (the “comparable prior year period”).  Revenue increased $8.5 million in the Engineering segment, $38.0 million in the Specialty Health Care segment and $7.0 million in the Life Sciences and Information Technology segment.  See Segment Discussion for further information on revenue changes.

Cost of Services and Gross Profit.  Cost of services increased 35.1%, or $39.2 million, for the fifty-two week period ended January 1, 2022 as compared to the comparable prior year period. Cost of services increased primarily due to the increase in revenue.  Cost of services as a percentage of revenue for the fifty-two week period ended January 1, 2022 and the comparable prior year period were 73.9% and 74.2%, respectively.  See Segment Discussion for further information regarding changes in cost of services and gross profit.

Fiscal Year Ended January 1, 2022 Compared to Fiscal Year Ended January 2, 2021 (Continued)

Selling, General and Administrative.  Selling, general and administrative (“SGA”) expenses were $42.0 million for the fifty-two week period ended January 1, 2022 as compared to $37.8 million for the comparable prior year period. As a percentage of revenue, SGA expenses were 20.6% for the fifty-two week period ended January 1, 2022 and 25.1% for the comparable prior year period.  See Segment Discussion for further information on SGA expense changes.

Write-off of receivables related to arbitration. The Company recorded a charge of $8.4 million during the comparable prior year period relating to its dispute with a customer that is a major utility in the United States. This dispute was resolved through binding arbitration April 2020.  The charge consisted of $6.7 million for the portion of accounts receivable previously recognized by the Company that was not awarded by the arbitrator, $0.7 million from other projects with this customer that were not part of the arbitration, $0.8 million in professional fees related to the dispute and arbitration and $0.2 million of transit accounts receivable associated with disputed projects that were part of the arbitration. For the fifty-two week period ended January 1, 2022, there was no such charge. See discussion of Contingencies in Note 16 to the Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements included in this report.

Impairment of Office Leases.  During fiscal 2020, in connection with the continuing developments from COVID-19, the Company reduced its leased office space as a result of its employees moving to a remote work environment.  The Company does not believe there is an opportunity to sublet any of the vacant office space due to the current commercial rental marketplace.  This decision and reduction in the use of the office spaces resulted in a right-of-use asset impairment of $1.9 million in fiscal 2020.  This loss was determined by identifying the fair value of the impacted right-of-use assets as compared to the carrying value of the assets as of the measurement date, in accordance with Property, Plant and Equipment Topic 360 of the FASB ASC.  The fair value of the right-of-use assets was based on the remaining term of each lease.  In addition, the Company wrote off a total of $0.3 million in other office lease costs and for obsolete equipment.  There were no such charges in fiscal 2021.

Gain on sale of assets.  On July 30, 2021, the Company sold the principal assets and certain liabilities of its Pickering and Kincardine offices, located in Ontario, Canada. These two offices were often referred to as Canada Power Systems and principally provided engineering services to two major nuclear power providers in Canada.  The two Canada Power Systems offices were part of a reporting unit within the Company’s Engineering segment. The Company recorded a net gain on the sale of these assets and liabilities of $2.4 million.

Remeasurement of acquisition related contingent consideration.  The Company adjusted the forecasted contingent consideration for active acquisition agreements, which created a discreet gain of $1.7 million.

Other Expense.  Other expense consists of interest expense, unused line fees and amortized loan costs on the Company’s line of credit, net of interest income, imputed interest on contingent consideration and gains and losses on foreign currency transactions.  Other expense, net decreased by $0.9 million as compared to the comparable prior year period.  Interest expense decreased by $0.4 million, primarily due to decreased borrowing, and also due to a decreased average borrowing rate under the Company’s line of credit. Other expense, net also decreased by $0.4 million due a gain on foreign currency transactions in the current period as compared to a loss on foreign currency transactions in the comparable prior year period.

Income Tax Expense (Benefit).  The Company recognized $2.9 million of income tax expense for the fifty-two week period ended January 1, 2022, as compared to an income tax benefit of $3.2 million for the comparable prior year period.  The consolidated effective income tax rate for the current period was 21.0% as compared to 26.4% for the comparable prior year period.  The relative income or loss generated in each jurisdiction can materially impact the overall effective income tax rate of the Company, particularly the ratio of Canadian and Serbian pretax income versus U.S. pretax income.  The effective income tax rate can also be impacted by discrete permanent differences affecting any period presented.

Fiscal Year Ended January 1, 2022 Compared to Fiscal Year Ended January 2, 2021 (Continued)

The Company considers its 2021 effective income tax rate to be abnormally low, due mainly to permanent differences detailed in footnote 15 in the Company’s financial statements. The Company estimates its normalized tax rates for fiscal 2021 as 28.5% for the United States, 26.5% for Canada, and 16.5% for Serbia. Based on the fiscal 2021 pretax income mix, the Company estimates its normalized consolidated tax rate as 27.5%.

Differences between the effective tax rate and the applicable U.S. federal statutory rate may arise, primarily from the effect of state and local income taxes, share-based compensation, and potential tax credits available to the Company. The actual 2021 effective tax rate may vary from the estimate depending on the actual operating income earned in various jurisdictions, the potential availability of tax credits, and the exercise of stock options and vesting of share-based awards.

Segment Discussion

Engineering

Engineering revenues of $66.2 million for the fifty-two week period ended January 1, 2022 increased 14.7%, or $8.5 million, compared to the comparable prior year period.  The increase in revenue was comprised of the following: increases in Aerospace revenue of $10.9 million, Industrial Processing revenue of $3.6 million, and Energy Services of $0.9 million, offset by a decrease in revenue from the Canadian Power Systems Group of $6.9 million.  The increase in Aerospace revenue was primarily due to a new outsourcing engagement with one of the Company’s major customers that is anticipated to become a multi-year contract. The increase in Industrial Processing revenue was primarily due to spending increases with several major customers seeking to upgrade their ethanol related production capability. The decrease in the Canadian Power Systems was primarily due to the sale of this business on July 30, 2021 (see details below). Gross profit decreased by 2.5%, or $0.4 million, as compared to the comparable prior year period. Gross profit decreased because of the decrease in gross profit margin. Gross profit margin of 24.3% for the current period decreased from 28.6% for the comparable prior year period. The decrease in gross margin was due to three factors: 1) decreased revenue from the Canadian Power Systems Group, as lower revenue negatively impacted utilization of the segment’s billable consultants; 2) lower gross margin for the new Aerospace contract than the Engineering segment typically experiences; and 3) rework costs on a fixed price contract in the Industrial Processing business. The Engineering segment’s SGA expense of $14.2 million increased by $1.2 million due to investment in new personnel to reposition and generate future growth. The Engineering segment experienced operating income of $5.4 million for the fifty-two week period ended January 1, 2022, as compared to an operating loss of $5.9 million for the comparable prior year period. The reason for improved operating income was primarily due to three discrete differences between the current and comparable prior years periods: 1) the gain on sale of assets associated with selling the Canadian Power Systems business (see paragraph below) of $2.4 million in the current period; 2) the remeasurement of acquisition-related contingent consideration; and 3) the $8.4 million write-off of receivables and professional fees incurred related to a discrete arbitration in the comparable prior year prior.

On July 30, 2021, the Company sold the principal assets and certain liabilities of its Pickering and Kincardine offices, located in Ontario, Canada. These two offices were often referred to as the Canadian Power Systems business and principally provided engineering services to two major nuclear power providers in Canada.  The two Canadian Power Systems offices were part of a reporting unit within the Company’s Engineering segment. The Company will continue to offer other engineering services in Canada and similar services in the United States.  For the fifty-two week period ended January 1, 2022 and the fifty-three week period ended January 2, 2021, these two offices generated revenue of $4.9 million and $11.8 million, respectively. 

Fiscal Year Ended January 1, 2022 Compared to Fiscal Year Ended January 2, 2021 (Continued)

Segment Discussion (Continued)

COVID-19 Impact to Engineering Segment

It is difficult to assess both the current and future impact from COVID-19 to the Engineering segment, due to the high degree of uncertainty around COVID-19 and the duration and extent of the pandemic. The Engineering segment has seen a decline in its field services work as its personnel has constrained access to client facilities. It is difficult to determine the impact on revenue from the loss in field services work. The Company believes that an undetermined amount of field services work will eventually return as a portion of that work is mission-critical to our clients. While the Company has recently seen signs of improvement, given the uncertainties around COVID-19, the Company can give no assurances that it will see an increase in field services revenue.  Additionally, the Company believes that COVID-19 has had a significant adverse impact on the budgets of many of its Aerospace and Utilities clients. The Company’s Aerospace clients have seen an impact to their commercial lines of business.  A number of the Company’s Utility clients have been impacted by their customers’ inability to pay their monthly electric bills.

The Company has transitioned most of its Engineering workforce to work from home. While this has constituted a significant effort, particularly from a technology standpoint, the Company believes that this effort has been completed relatively effectively. The Company also believes that its Engineering clients have been generally supportive of these efforts and believes further that it has not lost any significant, previously awarded work. The Engineering segment continues to see new work proposals, but while recently improved, not at the same level as seen prior to COVID-19. The Engineering segment’s general response to the effects of COVID-19 is to continue to focus on maximizing gross margin by focusing on utilization of billable consultants and maximizing the efficiency of its SGA expense.  The Company has also invested in new senior personnel, in part because it anticipates improved demand in the near future. The Company plans to refine its strategy for responding to COVID-19 as necessary as the situation develops.

Specialty Health Care

Specialty Health Care revenue of $98.5 million for the fifty-two week period ended January 1, 2022 increased 62.9%, or $38.0 million, as compared to the comparable prior year period.  The increase in revenue was driven by both the Company’s school and non-school clients. Revenue from school clients for the fifty-two week period ended January 1, 2022 was $55.4 million as compared to $37.3 million for the comparable prior year period. Revenue from non-school clients for the fifty-two week period ended January 1, 2022 was $43.1 million as compared to $23.2 million for the comparable prior year period. Revenue increases were due to the reopening of Specialty Health Care School clients and unprecedented demand for health care professionals across all types of clients served. The Specialty Health Care segment’s gross profit increased by 89.4%, or $11.9 million, to $25.3 million for the fifty-two week period ended January 1, 2022, as compared to $13.4 million for the prior year period. The increase in gross profit was primarily driven by the increase in revenue, but also a higher gross profit margin. Gross profit margin for the fifty-two week period ended January 1, 2022 increased to 25.7% as compared to 22.1% for the comparable prior year period.  The increase in gross profit margin was primarily due to more normalized revenue and the high demand for certain services.  Specialty Health Care experienced operating income of $5.5 million for the fifty-two week period ended January 1, 2022, as compared to an operating loss of $2.6 million for the comparable prior year period. The primary reason for the increase in operating income was the increase to gross profit, offset by an increase in SGA expense. SGA expense increased by $3.9 million to $19.5 million, as compared to $15.6 million in the comparable prior year period. The increase in SGA expense was primarily due to replacing our workforce that was furloughed in the prior year and hiring new employees to help meet increased demand.

Fiscal Year Ended January 1, 2022 Compared to Fiscal Year Ended January 2, 2021 (Continued)

Segment Discussion (Continued)

COVID-19 Impact to Specialty Health Care Segment

It is difficult to assess both the current and future impact from COVID-19 to the Specialty Health Care segment, due to the high degree of uncertainty around COVID-19 and the duration and extent of the pandemic, especially as it may impact schools where many of our personnel work. While the Specialty Health Care segment has a small number of billable professionals performing services from home, in particular, through its telehealth services offerings, most of its billable staff works at client locations. The majority of the Specialty Health Care segment’s services are historically delivered at schools and health care facilities. The Company believes that demand for much of its services is very high as a result of COVID-19. However, health care professionals, such as nurses and doctors, are scarce and difficult to recruit. Also, the Company believes that any major changes in the pandemic, such as a new variant, could adversely impact revenue. For example, if the Specialty Health Care segment’s school clients were to return to virtual learning, the Specialty Health Care segment could experience a material decline in revenue.

The Specialty Health Care Segment has historically derived much of its revenue from school systems. Many school systems nationwide, including most of the Company’s school clients, closed down for in-person instruction in March 2020. Most of our school clients have opened primarily in-person, but some also offer virtual lessons. Any announced plans are subject to rapid changes. There are numerous factors that could influence further decisions of our school clients on their operations. Any shift toward hybrid and remote operations can have a materially negative impact on revenue generated by the Specialty Healthcare segment. While the Company is optimistic, it is difficult to estimate the impact of any potential school closures on the Company’s 2022 fiscal year.

Life Sciences and Information Technology

Life Sciences and Information Technology revenue of $39.2 million for the fifty-two week period ended January 1, 2022 increased 21.7%, or $7.0 million, as compared to $32.2 million for the comparable prior year period. The increase in Life Sciences and Information Technology revenue was primarily driven by the Company’s Life Sciences practice. The Company believes that the Life Sciences industry has not seen a negative impact from COVID-19. Gross profit of $11.7 million for the fifty-two week period ended January 1, 2022 increased 30.5%, or $2.7 million, as compared to $9.0 million for the comparable prior year period. The increase in gross profit was primarily due to the increase in revenue, as well as an increase in gross profit margin.  The Life Sciences and Information Technology gross profit margin for the fifty-two week period ended January 1, 2022 was 30.0% as compared to 27.9% for the comparable prior year period.  The Company attributes the gross profit margin increase to higher revenue from its Life Sciences practice and a concerted effort to increase gross profit margin through its managed service offerings. SGA expense decreased by $0.9 million to $8.3 million, as compared to $9.2 million in the comparable prior year period. The decrease in SGA expense was a driven by a concerted effort to reduce SGA expense after the uncertainty around the COVID-19 crisis. The Life Sciences and Information Technology segment experienced operating income of $3.4 million as compared to an operating loss of $0.2 million for the comparable prior year period. The increase in operating income was primarily due to the increase in revenue and gross profit, and also the decrease in SGA expense.

Fiscal Year Ended January 1, 2022 Compared to Fiscal Year Ended January 2, 2021 (Continued)

Segment Discussion (Continued)

COVID-19 Impact to Life Sciences and Information Technology Segment

It is difficult to assess both the current and future impact from COVID-19 to the Life Sciences and Information Technology segment, due to the high degree of uncertainty around COVID-19 and the duration and extent of the pandemic. The Life Sciences and Information Technology segment has seen a decline in its field services work as its personnel has limited access to client facilities. While the Company has recently seen signs of improvement, given the uncertainties around COVID-19, the Company can give no assurances that it will see an increase in field services revenue.

The Company has transitioned most of its Life Sciences and Information Technology workforce to work from home. While this has constituted a significant effort, particularly from a technology standpoint, the Company believes that this effort has been completed relatively effectively. The Company also believes that its Life Sciences and Information Technology clients have been generally supportive of these efforts and believes further that it has not lost any significant, previously awarded work. The Life Sciences and Information Technology segment’s general response to the effects of COVID-19 is to continue to focus on maximizing gross margin by focusing on utilization of billable consultants and maximizing the efficiency of its SGA expense. The Company plans to refine its strategy for responding to COVID-19 as necessary as the situation develops.

Supplemental Operating Results on a Non-GAAP Basis

The following non-GAAP measures, which adjust for the categories of expenses described below are non-GAAP financial measures.  Our management believes that these non-GAAP financial measures (“Adjusted operating income (loss)”, “EBITDA”, “Adjusted EBITDA”, “Adjusted net income (loss)”, and “Adjusted diluted net earnings (loss) per share”) are useful information for investors, shareholders and other stakeholders of our company in gauging our results of operations on an ongoing basis and to enhance investors’ overall understanding of our current financial performance and period-to-period comparisons.  We believe these non-GAAP financial measures are performance measures and not liquidity measures. These non-GAAP financial measures should not be considered as an alternative to net income (loss) or operationg income (loss) as indicators of performance.  In addition, neither EBITDA nor Adjusted EBITDA takes into account changes in certain assets and liabilities as well as interest and income taxes that can affect cash flows.  We do not intend the presentation of these non-GAAP measures to be considered in isolation or as a substitute for results prepared in accordance with GAAP.  These non-GAAP measures should be read only in conjunction with our consolidated financial statements prepared in accordance with GAAP.

The following unaudited tables present the Company's GAAP net income and GAAP operating income and the corresponding adjustments used to calculate Adjusted operating income (loss), EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted net income (loss) and Adjusted diluted net earnings (loss) per share for the fifty-two week period ended January 1, 2022 and the fifty-three week period ended January 2, 2021. 

Supplemental Operating Results on a Non-GAAP Basis (Continued)

Liquidity and Capital Resources

The following table summarizes the major captions from the Company’s Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows ($ in thousands):

Operating Activities

Operating activities provided $0.9 million of cash for the fifty-two week period ended January 1, 2022 as compared to $25.2 million in the comparable prior year period.  The major components of cash used in or provided by operating activities in the fifty-two week period ended January 1, 2022 and the comparable prior year period are as follows: net loss or income and changes in accounts receivable, the net of transit accounts payable and transit accounts receivable, prepaid expenses and other current assets, accounts payable, accrued expenses and accrued payroll and related costs, and deferred revenue.

For the fifty-two week period ended January 1, 2022, the Company experienced net income of $11.0 million as compared to net loss of $8.9 million for the comparable prior year period.  An increase in accounts receivables in the fifty-two week period ended January 1, 2022, used $14.7 million of cash as compared to providing $15.9 million in the comparable prior year period. The Company primarily attributes this increase in accounts receivables for the fifty-two week period ended January 1, 2022 to the increase in revenue for the fifty-two week period ended January 1, 2022, primarily generated during the Company’s fiscal fourth quarter. The decrease in accounts receivable for the fifty-three week period ended January 2, 2021 was primarily due to the prolonged impact from COVI-19 in fiscal 2020.

While highly variable, the Company’s transit accounts payable typically exceeds the Company’s transit accounts receivable, but absolute amounts and differences fluctuate significantly from quarter to quarter in the normal course of business.  The net of transit accounts payable and transit accounts receivable was a net payable of $1.1 million as of January 1, 2022 as compared to a net payable of $2.4 million as of January 2, 2021, using $1.3 million of cash during the fifty-two week period ended January 1, 2022.  The net of transit accounts payable and transit accounts receivable was a net payable of $2.4 million as of January 2, 2021 as compared to a net receivable of $0.3 million as of December 28, 2019, providing $2.7 million of cash during the fifty-three week period ended January 2, 2021. 

Prepaid expenses and other current assets provided cash of $1.8 million for the fifty-two week period ended January 1, 2022 as compared to using $0.2 million of cash for the comparable prior year period.  The Company attributes changes to prepaid expenses and other current assets, if any, to general timing of payments in the normal course of business. Since certain expenses are paid before a fiscal year concludes and are amortized over the next fiscal year, prepaid expenses and other current assets generally tend to increase at the end of a fiscal year and decrease during the first half.

An increase in accounts payable and accrued expenses provided cash of $1.5 million for the fifty-two week period ended January 1, 2022 as compared to $1.6 million for the comparable prior year period.  The Company attributes these changes to a deliberate effort to defer payments for cash flow purposes and general timing of payments to vendors in the normal course of business. The Company’s accounts payable and accrued expenses balance of $9.3 million as of January 1, 2022 includes $1.6 million for the settlement of a class action suit in California that alleges the Company did not properly pay its travel nurses overtime wages.  This liability was paid in early fiscal January 2022.

Liquidity and Capital Resources (Continued)

Operating Activities (Continued)

Changes in accrued payroll and related costs provided cash of $0.1 million for the fifty-two week period ended January 1, 2022 as compared to providing cash of $4.6 million for the fifty-three week period ended January 2, 2021.  There are four primary factors that generally impact accrued payroll and related costs: 1) there is a general correlation to operating expenses as payroll and related costs is the Company’s largest expense group, so as operating costs increase or decrease, absent all other factors, so will the accrued payroll and related costs; 2) the Company pays the majority of its payroll every two weeks and normally has thirteen weeks in a fiscal quarter, which means that the Company normally has a major payroll on the last business day of every other quarter; 3) the timing of various payroll related payments varies in the normal course of business; and 4) most of the Company’s senior management participate in annual incentive plans and while progress advances are sometimes made during the fiscal year, these accrued bonus balances, to the extent they are projected to be achieved, generally accumulate throughout the year.  A significant portion of these incentive plan accruals are typically paid at the beginning of one fiscal year, pertaining to the prior fiscal year.   The Company’s last major payroll for the fifty-two week period ended January 1, 2022 was paid on December 31, 2021.  During fiscal 2020, the Company deferred $3.3 million of employer payroll taxes under the CARES Act. Half of these deferred payroll taxes were paid in fiscal December 2021 and the remaining portion must be paid in fiscal December 2022.

Historically, the Company has experienced small deferred revenue balances that have been included in accounts payable and accrued expenses.  During the second half of fiscal 2021, the Company’ Industrial Processing group secured several contracts with significant front-loaded payments, thereby generating larger deferred revenue balances than typically generated. The Company’s deferred revenue balance as of January 1, 2022 was $3.4 million, as compared to $0.4 million as of January 2, 2021, creating positive cash from operations of $3.0 million for the fifty-two week period ended January 1, 2022.  The Company cannot reasonably forecast if it will experience similar deferred revenue balances over the next several quarters as the timing of contract wins and front-loaded payments is typically haphazard.

Investing Activities

Investing activities provided $6.3 million of cash for the fifty-two week period ended January 1, 2022 and used $0.4 million for the fifty-three week period ended January 2, 2021.  Investing activities used $0.6 million for the purchase of property and equipment in the current period as compared to $0.5 million in the prior year comparable period. The current period includes $6.9 million in proceeds for the sale of the Company’s Canadian Power Systems business.

Financing Activities

Financing activities used $7.6 million of cash for the fifty-two week period ended January 1, 2022 as compared to $25.6 million in the comparable prior year period.  The Company made net borrowings under its line of credit of $2.3 million during the fifty-two week period ended January 1, 2022 as compared to net payments of $22.9 million in the comparable prior year period.  The Company used $9.0 million to repurchase shares of its common stock in the current period as compared to $2.2 million in the comparable prior year period.  The Company generated cash of $0.1 million and $0.2 million from sales of shares from its equity plans for the current period and the comparable prior year period, respectively. The Company paid contingent consideration of $0.5 million in the current period as compared to $0.3 million in the comparable prior year period.

Liquidity and Capital Resources (Continued)

Financing Activities (Continued)

Borrowings under the Revolving Credit Facility bear interest at one of two alternative rates, as selected by the Company at each incremental borrowing.  These alternatives are: (i) LIBOR (London Interbank Offered Rate), plus applicable margin, typically borrowed in fixed 30-day increments or (ii) the agent bank’s prime rate generally borrowed over shorter durations.  At the option of Citizens Bank, LIBOR can be replaced with SOFR (Secured Overnight Financing Rate). The LIBOR alternative is being phased out in 2022.  Citizens Bank has not indicated when this switch will occur, but in any event, the Company does not believe there will be any material impact on its borrowing rate.  The Company also pays unused line fees based on the amount of the Revolving Credit Facility that is not drawn.  Unused line fees are recorded as interest expense.  The effective weighted average interest rate, including unused line fees, for the fifty-two week period ended January 1, 2022 was 2.0%.

All borrowings under the Revolving Credit Facility are collateralized by all of the assets of the Company and its subsidiaries and a pledge of the stock of its subsidiaries.  The Revolving Credit Facility also contains various financial and non-financial covenants, such as a covenant that restricts on the Company’s ability to borrow in order to pay dividends.  As of January 1, 2022, the Company was in compliance with all covenants contained in the Revolving Credit Facility (as amended).  The Company believes that it will maintain compliance with its financial covenants for the foreseeable future.   

Borrowings under the line of credit as of January 1, 2022 and January 2, 2021 were $14.2 million and $11.9 million, respectively. At both January 1, 2022 and January 2, 2021 there were letters of credit outstanding for $1.9 million. At January 1, 2022 and January 2, 2021, the Company had availability for additional borrowings under the Revolving Credit Facility of $28.9 million and $35.1 million, respectively.

In addition to borrowings and sales of shares from its equity plans, the Company may raise capital through sales of shares of common stock under its at the market issuance program (the “ATM Program”) established under its May 2021 At Market Issuance Sales Agreement with B. Riley Securities, Inc., as the agent (the “Agent”).  The ATM Program allows the Company to offer and sell shares of the common stock having an aggregate sales price of up to $17.9 million from time to time through the Agent.  To date, the Company has not sold any shares under the ATM Program. 

On June 2, 2020, the Company entered into a stock purchase agreement with certain stockholders of the Company, whereby the Company purchased an aggregate of 1,858,139 shares of the Company’s common stock for a negotiated purchase price of $1.20 per share or $2.2 million in total. The negotiated price of $1.20 per share was less than the lowest trading price of the stock on the day of the repurchase.  The consideration paid by the Company was in accordance with the safe harbor from liability under certain market manipulation rules provided by Rule 10b-18 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and consisted entirely of an unsecured subordinated promissory note for $2.2 million. The note accrues interest at an annual rate of 9.0%, compounded annually, payable quarterly in arrears commencing on September 1, 2020 and continuing on each December 1, March 1, June 1 and September 1 thereafter, and has a maturity date of August 10, 2023. Subject to the applicable provisions of the subordination agreement among the Company, Citizens Bank and the selling stockholders, the note was to become immediately due and payable in the event of a default by the Company.  On September 25, 2020, the Company repaid the subordinated promissory note in full.

Liquidity and Capital Resources (Continued)

Current Liquidity and Revolving Credit Facility

Liquidity is a measure of our ability to meet potential cash requirements, maintain our assets, fund our operations, and meet the other general cash needs of our business. Our liquidity is impacted by general economic, financial, competitive, and other factors beyond our control. Our liquidity requirements consist primarily of funds necessary to pay our expenses, principally labor-costs, and other related expenditures. We generally satisfy our liquidity needs through cash provided by operations and, when necessary, our revolving line of credit from Citizens Bank. The Company believes it has a great deal of flexibility to reduce its costs if it becomes necessary. The Company believes that it can satisfy its liquidity needs for at least the next twelve months.

The Company’s liquidity and capital resources as of January 1, 2022, included accounts receivable and total current asset balances of $48.3 million and $51.8 million, respectively. Current liabilities were $30.1 million as of January 1, 2022 and were exceeded by total current assets by $21.7 million.

The Company experiences volatility in its daily cash flow and, at times, relies on the revolving line of credit to provide daily liquidity for the Company’s financial operations. As of January 1, 2022, the Company was in compliance with all financial covenants contained in the Revolving Credit Facility.  The Company believes that it will maintain compliance with its financial covenants for the foreseeable future.   

Dividends

All restricted share awards contain a dividend equivalent provision entitling holders to dividends paid between the restricted stock unit grant date and ultimate share distribution date.  As of January 1, 2022, there were no accrued dividends.

While the Company, at this time, has no plans to issue any future dividends, any future payment of dividends will depend upon, among other things, the Company’s earnings, financial condition, capital requirements, level of indebtedness, contractual restrictions, and other factors that the Board of Directors deems relevant.  The Revolving Credit Facility (as discussed above) prohibits the payment of any dividends or distributions on account of the Company’s capital stock without the prior consent of the majority of the Company’s lenders. 

Commitments and Contingencies

The Company anticipates that its primary uses of capital in future periods will be for working capital purposes.  Funding for any long-term and short-term capital requirements as well as future acquisitions will be derived from one or more of the Revolving Credit Facility (or a replacement thereof), funds generated through operations or future financing transactions.  The Company is subject to legal proceedings and claims that arise from time to time in the ordinary course of its business, which may or may not be covered by insurance.  Were an unfavorable final outcome to occur, there exists the possibility of a material adverse impact on our financial position, liquidity, and the results of operations.

The Company’s business strategy is to achieve growth both internally through operations and externally through strategic acquisitions.  The Company from time to time engages in discussions with potential acquisition candidates. The Company has acquired numerous companies throughout its history and those acquisitions have generally included significant future contingent consideration. As the size of the Company and its financial resources increase however, acquisition opportunities requiring significant commitments of capital may arise. In order to pursue such opportunities, the Company may be required to incur debt or issue potentially dilutive securities in the future.  No assurance can be given as to the Company’s future acquisition and expansion opportunities or how such opportunities will be financed.

Liquidity and Capital Resources (Continued)

Commitments and Contingencies (Continued)

The Company is exposed to various asserted claims as of January 1, 2022, where the Company believes it has a probability of loss. Additionally, the Company is exposed to other asserted claims whereby an amount of loss has not been declared, and the Company cannot determine the potential loss. Any of these various claims could result in an unfavorable outcome or settlement that exceeds the accrued amounts. However, the Company believes that such matters will not, either individually or in the aggregate, have a material adverse effect on its business, consolidated financial position, results of operations, or cash flows. As of January 1, 2022, the Company has accrued $2.9 million for asserted claims.  Included in the January 1, 2022 accrual of $2.9 million, the Company has reserved $1.6 million for the settlement of a class-action suit in California that alleges the Company did not properly pay its travel nurses overtime wages. While the Company believes it did not violate any overtime wage laws, it decided to settle this class action lawsuit in December 2020.  The Company paid the $1.6 million settlement in early January 2022.

The Company utilizes SAP software for its financial reporting and accounting system which was implemented in 1999 and has not undergone significant upgrades since its initial implementation.  The Company plans to upgrade its current system during fiscal 2022. The Company estimates this upgrade or replacement of its financial reporting and accounting system will cost between $0.5 million and $1.0 million. These estimates are subject to material change.

The Company’s current commitments consist primarily of lease obligations for office space.  The Company believes that its capital resources are sufficient to meet its present obligations and those to be incurred in the normal course of business for at least the next 12 months.

The Company leases office facilities and various equipment under non-cancelable leases expiring at various dates through November 2027.  Certain leases are subject to escalation clauses based upon changes in various factors.  The COVID-19 pandemic has had a profound impact on the Company in 2020. This led the Company to review the guidance in ASC 360-10 to determine if an impairment of a long lived asset had occurred. It was determined that a portion of the office space leased in a number of locations would not be utilized through the remaining lease term.  An impairment of the right of use asset for the unused space of $2.2 million was recorded in 2020.  

Maturities of lease liabilities are as follows:

Liquidity and Capital Resources (Continued)

Future Contingent Payments

As of January 1, 2022, the Company had two active acquisition agreements whereby additional contingent consideration may be earned by the former shareholders: 1) effective October 1, 2017, the Company acquired all of the stock of PSR Engineering Solutions d.o.o. Beograd (Voždovac) (“PSR”) and 2) effective September 30, 2018, the Company acquired certain assets of Thermal Kinetics Engineering, PLLC and Thermal Kinetics Systems, LLC (together, “TKE”). The Company estimates future contingent payments at January 1, 2022 as follows:

Estimates of future contingent payments are subject to significant judgment and actual payments may materially differ from estimates.  Potential future contingent payments to be made to all active acquisitions after January 1, 2022 are capped at a cumulative maximum of $0.7 million.  The Company estimates future contingent consideration payments based on forecasted performance and recorded the fair value of those expected payments as of January 1, 2022.  During the fifty-two week period ended January 1, 2022, the Company measured the intangibles acquired at fair value on a non-recurring basis.  Contingent consideration related to acquisitions is recorded at fair value (level 3) with changes in fair value recorded in other (expense) income, net.

Significant employment agreements are as follows:

Executive Severance Agreements

The Company is a party to Executive Severance Agreements (the “Executive Severance Agreements”) with Mr. Vizi, dated as of June 1, 2018, and Mr. Miller, dated as of February 28, 2014, which set forth the terms and conditions of certain payments to be made by the Company to the executive in the event, while employed by the Company, the executive experiences (a) a termination of employment unrelated to a “Change in Control” (as defined therein) or (b) there occurs a Change in Control and either (i) the executive’s employment is terminated for a reason related to the Change in Control or (ii) in the case of Mr. Miller, Mr. Miller the executive remains continuously employed with the Company for three months following the Change in Control.

Under the terms of the Executive Severance Agreement, if either (a) the executive is involuntarily terminated by the Company for any reason other than “Cause” (as defined therein), “Disability” (as defined therein) or death, or (b) the executive resigns for “Good Reason” (as defined therein), and, in each case, the termination is not a “Termination Related to a Change in Control” (as defined below), the executive will receive the following severance payments: (i) an amount equal to 1.5 times the sum of (a) the executive’s annual base salary as in effect immediately prior to the termination date (before taking into account any reduction that constitutes Good Reason) (“Annual Base Salary”) and (b) the highest annual bonus paid to the executive in any of the three fiscal years immediately preceding the executive’s termination date (“Bonus”), to be paid in installments over the twelve month period following the executive’s termination date; and (ii) for a period of eighteen months following the executive’s termination date, a monthly payment equal to the monthly COBRA premium that the executive is required to pay to continue medical, vision, and dental coverage, for himself and, where applicable, his spouse and eligible dependents.  

Liquidity and Capital Resources (Continued)

Future Contingent Payments (Continued)

Executive Severance Agreements (Continued)

Notwithstanding the above, if the executive has a termination as described above and can reasonably demonstrate that such termination would constitute a Termination Related to a Change in Control, and a Change in Control occurs within 120 days following the executive’s termination date, the executive will be entitled to receive the payments set forth below for a Termination Related to a Change in Control, less any amounts already paid to the executive, upon consummation of the Change in Control.

Under the terms of the Executive Severance Agreement, if a Change in Control occurs and (a) the executive experiences a Termination Related to a Change in Control on account of (i) an involuntary termination by the Company for any reason other than Cause, death, or Disability, (ii) an involuntary termination by the Company within a specified period of time following a Change in Control (12 months for Mr. Vizi and three months for Mr. Miller) on account of Disability or death, or (iii) a resignation by the executive with Good Reason; or (b) in the case of Mr. Miller, the executive resigns, with or without Good Reason, which results in a termination date that is the last day of the three month period following the Change in Control, then the executive will receive the following severance payments: (1) a lump sum payment equal to two times the sum of the executive’s (a) Annual Base Salary and (b) Bonus; and (2) a lump sum payment equal to 24 multiplied by the monthly COBRA premium cost, as in effect immediately prior to the executive’s termination date, for the executive to continue medical, dental and vision coverage, as applicable, in such Company plans for himself and, if applicable, his spouse and eligible dependents.   Upon the occurrence of a Change in Control, the Company shall establish an irrevocable rabbi trust and contribute to the rabbi trust the applicable amounts due under the Executive Severance Agreement.   If Mr. Miller receives the Change in Control Payment following his resignation at the end of the three month period following the Change in Control, he will not be eligible to receive any severance payments under his Executive Severance Agreement.

Mr. Miller’s Executive Severance Agreement provides that if Mr. Miller remains continuously employed for three months following a Change in Control and is employed by the Company on the last day of such specified period, Mr. Miller will receive a lump sum payment equal to two times the sum of his (a) Annual Base Salary and (b) Bonus (the “Change in Control Payment”).  If Mr. Miller receives the Change in Control Payment, he will not be eligible to receive any severance payments under his Executive Severance Agreement.

Mr. Saks, along with several other members of the Company’s senior management (not including Mr. Vizi and Mr. Miller), is covered by our Change in Control Plan for Selected Executive Management (the “CIC Plan”).

Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements

None.

Impact of Inflation

Consulting, staffing, and project services are generally priced based on mark-ups on prevailing rates of pay, and as a result are able to generally maintain their relationship to direct labor costs.  Permanent placement services are priced as a function of salary levels of the job candidates. 

The Company’s business is labor intensive; therefore, the Company has a high exposure to increasing health care benefit costs.  The Company attempts to compensate for these escalating costs in its business cost models and customer pricing by passing along some of these increased health care benefit costs to its customers and employees, however, the Company has not been able to pass on all increases.  The Company is continuing to review its options to further control these costs, which the Company does not believe are representative of general inflationary trends.  Otherwise, inflation has not been a meaningful factor in the Company’s operations.

New Accounting Standards

In June 2016, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) issued Accounting Standards Update (ASU) 2016-13, Financial Instruments - Credit Losses (Topic 326). The new standard amends guidance on reporting credit losses for assets held at amortized cost basis and available-for-sale debt securities.  In February 2020, the FASB issued ASU 2020-02, Financial Instruments-Credit Losses (Topic 326) and Leases (Topic 842) - Amendments to SEC Paragraphs Pursuant to SEC Staff Accounting Bulletin No. 119 and Update to SEC Section on Effective Date Related to Accounting Standards Update No. 2016-02, Leases (Topic 842), which amends the effective date of the original pronouncement for smaller reporting companies.  ASU 2016-13 and its amendments will be effective for the Company for interim and annual periods in fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2022. The Company believes the adoption will modify the way the Company analyzes financial instruments, but it does not anticipate a material impact on results of operations. The Company is in the process of determining the effects the adoption will have on its consolidated financial statements.

In March 2020, the FASB issued ASU No. 2020-04, Reference Rate Reform (Topic 848): Facilitation of the Effects of Reference Rate Reform on Financial Reporting. This standard only applies to contracts and other transactions that reference London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) or another reference rate expected to be discontinued due to reference rate reform.  This guidance provides temporary optional expedients and exceptions to accounting guidance on contract modifications and hedge accounting to ease entities’ financial reporting burdens as the market transitions from the LIBOR and other interbank offered rates to alternative reference rates. The Company may elect to apply the amendments prospectively through December 31, 2022. The Company is currently evaluating the impact this guidance will have on its consolidated financial statements and related disclosures.

The Company’s exposure to market risk for changes in interest rates relates primarily to the Company’s investment portfolio and debt instruments, which primarily consist of the Revolving Credit Facility. The Company does not have any derivative financial instruments in its portfolio.  The Company places its investments in instruments that meet high credit quality standards.  The Company is adverse to principal loss and ensures the safety and preservation of its invested funds by limiting default risk, market risk and reinvestment risk.  As of January 1, 2022, the Company’s investments consisted of cash and money market funds.  The Company does not use interest rate derivative instruments to manage its exposure to interest rate changes.  Based on the Company’s variable-rate line of credit balances during the fifty-two week period ended January 1, 2022, if the interest rate on the Company’s variable-rate line of credit (using an incremental borrowing rate) during the period had been 1.0% higher, the Company’s interest expense on an annualized basis would have increased by $0.2 million.  The Company does not expect any material loss with respect to its investment portfolio.

The financial statements, together with the report of the Company’s Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm, begins on page F-1.

None.

The Company’s management, under the supervision and with the participation of the Company’s Principal Executive Officer and Principal Financial Officer, evaluated the effectiveness of the Company’s disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rule 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) under the Exchange Act) as of the end of the period covered by this report.  Based upon that evaluation, the Principal Executive Officer and Principal Financial Officer concluded that those disclosure controls and procedures as of the end of the period covered by this report were effective to provide reasonable assurance that information required to be disclosed by the Company in the reports that it files or submits under the Exchange Act is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in the SEC’s rules and forms and is accumulated and communicated to the Company’s management, including its principal executive and principal financial officers, or persons performing similar functions, as appropriate, to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure.

A controls system, no matter how well designed and operated, cannot provide absolute assurance that the objectives of the controls system are met, and no evaluation of controls can provide absolute assurance that all control issues and instances of fraud, if any, within a company have been detected.

As management prepares and executes a virtual financial close process, for the first time, there could be related implications on the internal controls performed specifically in conjunction with the preparation, review, and filing of this report. There is a risk that moving to a virtual environment in response to COVID-19 could result in certain controls (e.g., financial closing and reporting controls) being overridden or performed less frequently, or that management could be designing and implementing new controls in response to new risks. In addition, in instances where relevant controls fail, and there are no compensating controls in place, there may be fewer opportunities to timely identify or remediate control deficiencies. There were otherwise no changes in the Company’s internal control over financial reporting during the fiscal year ended January 1, 2022, that materially affected or are reasonably likely to materially affect the Company’s internal control over financial reporting.

Management’s Report on Internal Control over Financial Reporting

Our management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting for the Company. 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. Our system of internal control over financial reporting includes those policies and procedures that (i) pertain to the maintenance of records that, in reasonable detail, accurately and fairly reflect the transactions and dispositions of the assets of the Company; (ii) 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 (iii) 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.

Management performed an assessment of the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting as of January 1, 2022 based upon criteria in Internal Control-Integrated Framework issued and updated in fiscal 2013 by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (“COSO”). Based on this assessment, management determined that the Company’s internal control over financial reporting was effective as of January 1, 2022, based on the criteria in Internal Control-Integrated Framework issued by COSO.

There have been no changes in the Company’s internal control over financial reporting that occurred during the Company’s most recent fiscal quarter and that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, the Company’s internal control over financial reporting.

None

None.

The information required by Item 10 shall be included in the 2022 Proxy Statement and is incorporated herein by reference.

The information required by Item 11 shall be included in the 2022 Proxy Statement and is incorporated herein by reference.

Except as set forth below, the information required by Item 12 shall be included in the 2022 Proxy Statement and is incorporated herein by reference.

The table below presents certain information as of January 1, 2022 concerning securities issuable in connection with equity compensation plans that have been approved by the Company’s shareholders and that have not been approved by the Company’s shareholders.

⁽¹⁾  Includes time-based restricted stock units of 371,872, time-based restricted stock awards of 48,756 and performance-based restricted stock units of 125,000, none of which have an exercise price.

The information required by Item 13 shall be included in the 2022 Proxy Statement and is incorporated herein by reference.

The information required by Item 14 shall be included in the 2022 Proxy Statement and is incorporated herein by reference.

None.

Pursuant to the requirements of Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the Registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, this report has been signed below by the following persons on behalf of the Registrant and in the capacities and on the dates indicated. 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.