The aggregate market value of shares of common stock held by non-affiliates on June 30, 20172020 was approximately $270,716,337.$73,602,814. As of August 28, 2018,March 2, 2021, there were 55,294,67056,481,189 shares of the Registrant’s Common Stock outstanding.

The process for acquiring business from each of our categories of clients is principally the same, by participating in a competitive request-for-proposal (“RFP”) process, with the primary difference among clients being that the process for public sector clients is significantly more formal and complex than for private sector clients as a result of government procurement rules and regulations that govern the public-sector process.

 

Although a significant factor in our business development consists of our standing in our industry, including existing relationships and reputation based on performance on completed projects, our marketing department undertakes a variety of activities in order to expand our exposure to potential new clients. These activities include media relations, advertising, promotions, market sector initiatives and maintaining our website and related web marketing. Media relations include placing articles that feature us and our personnel in trade publications and other media outlets. Our promotions include arranging speaking engagements for our personnel, participation in trade shows and other promotional activities. Market sector initiatives are designed to broaden our exposure to specific sectors of the construction industry by, for example, participating in or organizing industry seminars.

 

Doing business with governments is complex and requires the ability to comply with intricate regulations and satisfy periodic audits. We believe that the ability to understand these requirements and to successfully conduct business with government agencies is a barrier to entry for smaller, less experienced competitors. Most government contracts, including those with foreign governments, are subject to termination by the government, to government audits and to continued appropriations. For the year ended December 31, 2017, 2016 and 2015, revenue from U.S. and foreign government contracts represented approximately 63.0%, 65.6% and 66.0% of our total revenue, respectively.

 

We are required from time to time to obtain various permits, licenses and approvals in order to conduct our business in many of the jurisdictions where we operate. Our business of providing project management services is not subject to significant regulation by state, federal or foreign governments.

The price provisions of our customerclient contracts can be grouped into threetwo broad categories: cost-plus, time and materials and fixed price. Cost-plusUnder the time and materials (“T&M”) arrangements, contract fees are based upon time and materials incurred. The contracts provide for reimbursement of our costsmay be structured as basic time and overheadmaterials, cost plus a predetermined fee.margin or time and materials subject to a maximum contract value (the "cap value"). Under some cost-plusfixed price contracts, the Company’s clients pay an agreed upon amount negotiated in advance for a specified scope of work. The Company is guaranteed to receive the consideration to the extent that the Company delivers under the contract. The Company recognizes revenue over a period of time on fixed price contracts using the input method based upon direct costs incurred to date, which are compared to total projected direct costs. See Note 4 - Revenue from Contracts with Clients in Part II item 8 "Financial Statements and Supplementary Data," in this Form 10-K for more information.

We believe an important performance measure is consulting fee revenue (“CFR”). The professionals we deploy to execute contracts our fee may be based partially on quality, schedule and other performance factors.are occasionally subcontractors. We also enter into contracts whereby wegenerally bill our clients monthly at hourly billing rates. The hourly billing rates are determined by contract terms. For governmental clients, the hourly rates areactual cost of these subcontractors and recognize this cost as both revenue and direct expense. CFR refers to our revenue excluding amounts paid or due to subcontractors. We believe CFR is an important measure because it represents the revenue on which we earn gross profit, whereas total revenue includes subcontractors on which we generally calculated as salary costs plus overhead costs plus a negotiated profit percentage. For commercial clients,pass through the hourly rate can be taken from a standard fee schedule by staff classificationcost and earn minimal or it can be at a discount from this schedule. In some cases, primarily for foreign work, a monthly rate is negotiated rather than an hourly rate. This monthly rate is a build-up of staffing costs plus overhead andno gross profit.

We believe a primaryan important indicator of our future performance is our backlog of uncompleted projects under contract or awarded. Our backlog represents management’s estimate of the amount of contracts and awards in handin-hand that we expect to resultrecognize as CFR in future periods as a component of total revenue. Beginning with the year ended December 31, 2019, we excluded backlog from indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity ("ID/IQ") contracts in circumstances where the work has not yet been approved by the client. ID/IQ contracts require us to deliver an indefinite amount of service over a pre-determined period of time. Estimated future CFR from ID/IQ contracts is only included in our total backlog if the work has been approved starting in 2019. Management evaluated all backlog existing prior to 2019 for the purpose of reporting this pre-2019 backlog consistent with the methodology above. This resulted in a reduction to backlog of $46,584 at December 31, 2019 and a reduction in the 12-month backlog of $397 at December 31, 2019. Our backlog is evaluated by management on a project-by-project basis and is reported for each period shown based upon the binding nature of the underlying contract, commitment or letter of intent, and other factors, including the economic, financial and regulatory viability of the project and the likelihood of the contract being extended, renewed or canceled.

 

Our backlog is important to us in anticipating and planning for our operational needs. Backlog is not a measure defined in U.S. generally accepted accounting principles ("U.S. GAAP"), and our methodology for determining backlog may not be comparable to the methodology used by other companies in determining their backlog.

 

Although backlog reflects business that we consider to be firm, cancellations or scope adjustments may occur.  Further, substantially all of our contracts with our clients may be terminated at will,at-will, in which case the client would only be obligated to us for services provided through the termination date. Historically, the impact of terminations and modifications on our realization of revenue from our backlog has not been significant, however, in December 2016, one contract in the Middle East and one contract in Africa were cancelled. As a result, approximately $73,000 was excluded from our backlog at December 31, 2016. Furthermore, reductions of our backlog as a result of contract terminations and modifications may be offset by additions to the backlog.

We adjust backlog to reflect project cancellations, deferrals and revisions in scope and cost (both upward and downward) known at the reporting date. Future contract modifications or cancellations, however, may increase or reduce backlog and future revenue.CFR.

The following tables show our backlog by geographic region:region as of December 31, 2020 and 2019:

The amount of our 2018 fiscal year.new bookings, before any cancellations or other reductions, was $360,900 and equates to a book-to-burn ratio of 121.7% for the year ended December 31, 2020. Our book-to-burn ratio, a non-GAAP measure, is determined by taking our new CFR bookings and dividing it by CFR for the applicable period. This metric allows management to monitor the Company's business development efforts to ensure we grow our backlog and our business over time, and management believes that this measure is useful to investors for the same reason.

 

The project management industry is highly competitive. We compete for contracts, primarily on the basis of technical capability, with numerous entities, including other construction management companies, design or engineering firms, general contractors, management consulting firms and other entities. Compared to us, many of these competitors are larger, well-established companies that have broader geographic scope and greater financial and other resources. During 2017,2020, some of our largest project management competitors included: AECOM, ARCADIS N.V., Jacobs Engineering Group, Inc., WSP, Parsons Brinckerhoff, Inc., Parsons Corp. and Turner Construction Co., HNTB, and Dar Group.

We maintain insurance covering general and professional liability, involving bodily injury and property damage. We have historically enjoyed a favorable loss ratio in all lines of insurance and our management considers our present limits of liability, deductibles and reserves to be adequate. We endeavor to reduce or eliminate risk through the use of quality assurance/control, risk management, workplace safety and similar methods to eliminate or reduce the risk of losses on a project.

We are led by an experienced management team with significant experience in the construction industry. Additional information about our executive officers follows.

 

 

At June 30, 2018,December 31, 2020, we had 2,856(in ones) 2,704 professionals. Of these professionals, 2,7312,603 worked in our Project Management Group and 125101 worked in our Corporate office.offices. Our personnel included 2,4302,299 full-time employees, 106138 part-time employees, 233216 independent external contractors and 8750 external contractors provided by third-party agencies. We are not a party to any collective bargaining agreements.

 

 

Our business involves a number of risks and uncertainties, some of which are beyond our control. The risks and uncertainties described below could individually or collectively have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows. While these are not the only risks and uncertainties we face, we believe that the more significant risks and uncertainties are as follows:

 

 

Acts of terrorism, political, governmental and social upheaval and threats of armed conflicts in or around various areas in which we operate could limit or disrupt markets and our operations, including disruptions resulting from the evacuation of personnel, cancellation of contracts or the loss of personnel, and may affect timing and collectability of our accounts receivable. Such events may cause further disruption to financial and commercial markets and may generate greater political and economic instability in some of the geographic areas in which we operate.

Accounts receivable represent the largest asset on our balance sheet. While we take steps to evaluate and manage the credit risks relating to our clients, economic downturns or other events can adversely affect the markets we serve and our clients ability to pay, which could reduce our ability to collect all amounts due from clients. If our clients delay in paying or fail to pay us a significant amount of our outstanding receivables, it could have a material adverse effect on our liquidity, results of operations, and financial condition.

 

 

Historically, oil and natural gas prices have been volatile and are subject to fluctuations in response to changes in supply and demand, market uncertainty and a variety of additional factors that are beyond our control. Significant drops in oil or gas prices have led, and could lead to further slowdowns, in construction in oil and gas producing regions, which has had and could continue to have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition and cash flows.

 

 

The markets that we serve are subject to fluctuation based on general global economic conditions and other factors. Unfavorable global economic conditions could adversely affect our business and results of operations, primarily by limiting our access to credit and disrupting our clients’ businesses. The reduction in financial institutions’ willingness or ability to lend has increased the cost of capital and reduced the availability of credit. Although we currently believe that the financial institutions with which we do business will be able to fulfill their commitments to us, there is no assurance that those institutions will be able or willing to continue to do so, which could have a material adverse impact on our business. Changes in general market conditions in the locations where we work may adversely affect our clients’ level of spending, ability to obtain financing, and ability to make timely payments to us for our services, which could require us to increase our allowance for doubtful accounts, negatively impact our days sales outstanding, results of operations and liquidity.

 

 

In certain international regions, primarily the Middle East, it is industry practice for clients to require letters of credit, bonds, bank guarantees or other forms of guarantees. These letters of credit, bonds or guarantees indemnify our clients if we fail to perform our obligations under our contracts. We currently have relationships with various domestic and international banking institutions to assist us in providing clients with letters of credit or guarantees. In the event there are limitations in worldwide banking capacity, we may find it difficult to find sufficient bonding capacity to meet our future bonding needs. Failure to provide credit enhancements on terms required by a client may result in our inability to compete or win a project.

 

 

There are risks inherent in doing business internationally, including:

 

 

Any of these and other factors could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition or cash flows.

 

 

The U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, the U.K. Bribery Act and similar worldwide and local anti-corruption laws in other jurisdictions, generally prohibit companies and their intermediaries from making improper payments to officials for the purpose of obtaining or retaining business. Our internal policies mandate compliance with these anti-corruption laws. The policies also are applicable to agents through which we do business in certain non-U.S. jurisdictions. We operate in many parts of the world that have experienced governmental corruption to some degree, and in certain circumstances, strict compliance with anti-corruption laws may conflict with local customs and practices. Despite our training and compliance programs, we cannot assure you that our internal control policies and procedures always will protect us from improper or criminal acts committed by our employees or agents. Our continued expansion outside the U.S., including in developing countries, could increase the risk of such violations in the future. Violations of these laws, or allegations of such violations, could disrupt our business, subject us to fines, penalties and restrictions and otherwise result in a material adverse effect on our results of operations or financial condition. All of our acquired businesses are subject to our internal policies. However, because our internal policies are more restrictive than some local laws or customs where we operate, we may be at an increased risk for violations while we train our new employees to comply with our internal policies and procedures.

 

 

Many of our employees often travel to and work in high security risk countries around the world that are undergoing or that may undergo political, social and economic upheavals resulting in war, civil unrest, criminal activity or acts of terrorism. For example, we have had and expect to continue to have significant projects in the Middle East and Africa. As a result, we may be subject to costs related to employee injury, repatriation or other unforeseen circumstances. Further, circumstances in these countries could make it difficult or impossible to attract and retain qualified employees, which could have a material adverse effect on our operations.

 

Our inability to win profitable government contracts could harm our operations and adversely affect our net earnings. Government contracts are typically awarded through a heavily regulated procurement process. Some government contracts are awarded to multiple competitors, causing increases in overall competition and pricing pressure. In turn, the competition and pricing pressure may require us to make sustained post-award efforts to reduce costs under these contracts. If we are not successful in reducing the amount of costs, our profitability on these contracts may be negatively impacted. In addition, some of our federal government contracts require U.S. government security clearances. If we, or certain of our personnel, were to lose these security clearances, our ability to continue performance of these contracts or to win new contracts requiring such clearances may be negatively impacted.

 

 

Most government contracts are subject to the continuing availability of legislative appropriation. Legislatures typically appropriate funds for a given program on a year-by-year basis, even though contract performance may take more than one year. As a result, at the beginning of a program, the related contract is only partially funded, and additional funding is normally committed only as appropriations are made in each subsequent fiscal year. These appropriations and the timing of payment of appropriated amounts may be influenced by, among other things, the state of the economy, budgetary and other political issues affecting the particular government and its appropriations process, competing priorities for appropriation, the timing and amount of tax receipts and the overall level of government expenditures. If appropriations are not made in subsequent years on government contracts, then we will not realize all of our potential revenue and profit from those contracts.

 

 

Substantially all of our contracts are subject to termination by the client either at its convenience or upon our default. If one of our clients terminates a contract at its convenience, then we typically are able to recover only costs incurred or committed, settlement expenses and profit on work completed prior to termination, which could prevent us from recognizing all of our potential revenue and profit from that contract. If one of our clients terminates the contract due to our default, we could be liable for excess costs incurred by the client in re-procuring services from another source, as well as other costs.

 

 

Our books and records are subject to audit by the various governmental agencies we serve and by their representatives. These audits can result in adjustments to reimbursable contract costs and allocated overhead. In addition, if as a result of an audit, we or one of our subsidiaries is charged with wrongdoing or the government agency determines that we or one of our subsidiaries is otherwise no longer eligible for federal contracts, then we or, as applicable, that subsidiary, could be temporarily suspended or, in the event of convictions or civil judgments, could be prohibited from bidding on and receiving future government contracts for a period of time. Furthermore, as a United States government contractor, we are subject to increased risk of investigations, criminal prosecution, civil fraud, whistleblower lawsuits and other legal actions and liabilities, the results of which could have a material adverse effect on our operations.

 

We submit change orders under some of our contracts, typically for payment for work performed beyond the initial contractual requirements. The clients may not approve or may contest these change orders and we cannot assure you that these claims will be approved in whole, in part or at all. If these claims are not approved, our net earnings could be adversely impacted.

 

 

The inability to obtain financing or governmental approvals, changes in economic or market conditions or other unforeseen events, such as terrorist acts or natural disasters, could lead to us not realizing any revenue under some or all of these contracts. We cannot assure you that the backlog attributed to any of our uncompleted projects under contract will be realized as revenue or, if realized, will result in profits.

 

Many projects may remain in our backlog for an extended period of time because of the size or long-term nature of the contract. In addition, from time to time, projects are scaled back or cancelled.canceled. These types of backlog reductions adversely affect the revenue and profit that we ultimately receive. Included in our backlog is the maximum amount of all indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity (“ID/IQ”), or task order, contracts, or a lesser amount if we do not reasonably expect to be issued task orders for the maximum amount of such contracts. A significant amountportion of our backlog is derivedcontains estimated revenue from ID/IQ contracts, andin which, we only include backlog for work that has been approved by the client. We cannot provide any assurance that we will, in fact, be awarded the maximum amount of such contracts.

 

 

We rely on third-party subcontractors as well as third-party strategic partners and specialists to complete our projects. To the extent that we cannot engage such subcontractors, partners or specialists or cannot engage them on a competitive basis, our ability to complete a project in a timely fashion or at a profit may be impaired. If we are unable to engage appropriate strategic partners or specialists in some instances, we could lose the ability to win some contracts. In addition, if a subcontractor or specialist is unable to deliver its services according to the negotiated terms for any reason, including the deterioration of its financial condition or over-commitment of its resources, we may be required to purchase the services from another source at a higher price. This may reduce the profit to be realized or result in a loss on a project for which the services were needed.

 

 

We sometimes enter into joint venture agreements and other contractual arrangements with outside partners to jointly bid on and execute a particular project. The success of these joint projects depends on the satisfactory performance of the contractual obligations of both our partners and us. If any of our partners fails to satisfactorily perform its contractual obligations, we may be required to make additional investments and provide additional services to complete the project. If we are unable to adequately address our partner’s performance issues, then our client could terminate the joint project, exposing us to legal liability, loss of reputation or reduced profits.

 

 

The project management industry is highly competitive. We compete for contracts, primarily based on technical capability, with numerous entities, including other construction management companies, design or engineering firms, general contractors, management consulting firms and other entities. Compared to us, many of these competitors are larger, well-established companies that have broader geographic scope and greater financial and other resources. If we cannot compete effectively with our competitors, or if the costs of competing, including the costs of retaining and hiring professionals, become too expensive, our revenue growth and financial results may differ materially from our expectations.

 

In the past, we have acquired companies related to the project management business and we may continue to expand and diversify our operations with additional acquisitions as strategic opportunities arise. If the competition for acquisitions increases, or if the cost of acquiring businesses or assets becomes too expensive, the number of suitable acquisition opportunities may decline, the cost of making an acquisition may increase or we may be forced to agree to less advantageous acquisition terms for the companies that we are able to acquire. Alternatively, at the time an acquisition opportunity presents itself, internal and external pressures (including, but not limited to, borrowing capacity under our credit facilities or the availability of alternative financing), may cause us to be unable to pursue or complete an acquisition. Our ability to grow our business, particularly through acquisitions, may depend on our ability to raise capital by selling equity or debt securities or obtaining additional debt financing. There can be no assurance that we will be able to obtain financing when we need it or on terms acceptable to us.

 

In addition, managing the growth of our operations will require us to continually increase and improve our operational, financial and human resources management and our internal systems and controls. If we are unable to manage growth effectively or to successfully integrate acquisitions or if we are unable to grow organically, that could have a material adverse effect on our business.

We are heavily reliant on computer, information and communications technology and related systems in order to properly operate. From time to time, we experience system interruptions and delays. In the event we are unable to regularly deploy software and hardware, effectively upgrade our systems and network infrastructure and take other steps to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of our systems, the operation of such systems could be interrupted or delayed, or our data security could be breached. In addition, our computer and communications systems and operations could be damaged or interrupted by natural disasters, power loss, telecommunications failures, acts of war or terrorism, acts of God, computer viruses, physical or electronic security breaches. Any of these or other events could cause system interruptions, delays and loss of critical data including private data. While we have taken steps to address these concerns by implementing sophisticated network security, training and internal control measures, there can be no assurance that a system failure or loss or data security breach will not materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and operating results.

 

 

Our management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate disclosure controls and procedures and internal control over our financial reporting, as defined in Rules 13a-15(e) and 13a-15(f), respectively, under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. As disclosed in Item 9A of this Annual Report on Form 10-K, management has identified several material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting and has determined that our disclosure controls and procedures were not effective. A material weakness is defined as a deficiency, or combination of significant deficiencies, in internal control over financial reporting, such that there is a more than a remote likelihood that a material misstatement of our annual or interim financial statements will not be prevented or detected on a timely basis. As a result of these material weaknesses, our management concluded that the Company did not maintain effective disclosure controls and procedures and internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2017.2020.

We have developed and have begun to implement a remediation plan designed to address these material weaknesses in internal control over financial reporting and ineffective disclosure controls and procedures. If our remedial measures are insufficient, or if additional material weaknesses or significant deficiencies in our internal controls are discovered or occur in the future, our consolidated financial statements may contain material misstatements and we could be required to restate our financial results, which could materially and adversely affect our business and results of operations or financial condition, restrict our ability to access the capital markets, require us to expend significant resources to correct the weaknesses or deficiencies, subject us to fines, penalties or judgments, harm our reputation or otherwise cause a decline in investor confidence.

 

As of August 28, 2018,March 2, 2021, there were 55,294,67056,481 shares of our common stock outstanding. An additional 6,075,2461,563 shares of our common stock may be issued upon the exercise of options held by employees, management and directors.directors and an additional 2,452 shares of our common stock may be issued upon the vesting of restricted and deferred stock units. We also have the authority, as determined by our Board of Directors, to issue up to 1,000,0001,000 shares of preferred stock and additional options to purchase 2,077,4594,015 shares of our common stock without stockholder approval. Future issuances or sales of our preferred stock or common stock could have an adverse effect on the market price of our common stock.

 

 

We may retain future earnings, if any, for future operations, expansion and debt repayment and have no current plans to pay any cash dividends. Any decision to declare and pay dividends in the future will be made at the discretion of our Board of Directors and will depend on, among other things, our results of operations, financial condition, cash requirements, contractual restrictions and other factors that our Board of Directors may deem relevant. In addition, our ability to pay dividends is limited by covenants of our Secured Credit Facilities and may be limited by future indebtedness incurred by our subsidiaries or us. As a result, you may not receive any return on an investment in our common stock unless you sell our common stock for a price greater than that which you paid for it.

 

Our Board of Directors is authorized to issue one or more series of preferred stock from time to time without any action on the part of our stockholders. Our Board of Directors also has the power, without stockholder approval, to set the terms of any such series of preferred stock that may be issued, including voting rights, dividend rights and preferences over our common stock with respect to dividends and other terms. If we issue preferred stock in the future that has a preference over our common stock with respect to the payment of dividends or other terms, or if we issue preferred stock with voting rights that dilute the voting power of our common stock, the rights of holders of our common stock or the market price of our common stock could be adversely affected.

 

 

Provisions in our organizational documents and Delaware law could discourage potential acquisition proposals, could delay or prevent a change in control of the Company that our stockholders may consider favorable and could adversely affect the market value of our common stock. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws include provisions that:

 

These provisions may make it more difficult for stockholders to take specific corporate actions and could have the effect of delaying or preventing a change in control of the Company.

 

In addition, Section 203 of the Delaware General Corporation Law imposes certain restrictions on mergers and other business combinations between the Company and any holder of 15% or more of our outstanding common stock. This provision is applicable to Hill and may have an anti-takeover effect that may delay, defer or prevent a tender offer or takeover attempt that a stockholder might consider in the stockholder’s best interest. In general, Section 203 could delay for three years and impose conditions upon “business combinations” between an “interested shareholder” and Hill, unless prior approval by our Board of Directors is given. The term “business combination” is defined broadly to include mergers, asset sales and other transactions resulting in financial benefit to a stockholder. An “interested shareholder,” in general, would be a person who, together with affiliates and associates, owns or within three years did own, 15% or more of a corporation’s voting stock.

 

As of December 31, 2017, Irvin E. Richter, David L. Richter and other members of the Richter family beneficially owned approximately 16.3% of our common stock. This concentration of ownership could significantly influence matters requiring stockholder approval and could delay, deter or prevent a change in control of the Company or other business combinations that might otherwise be beneficial to our other stockholders. Accordingly, this concentration of ownership may impact the market price of our common stock. In addition, the interest of our significant stockholders may not always coincide with the interest of the Company’s other stockholders. In deciding how to vote on such matters, they may be influenced by interests that conflict with our other stockholders.