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UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

Form 10-K

Form 10-K
(Mark One)

þANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the fiscal year ended April 30, 2020

2023

OR

o

TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the transition period from ____to _____

Commission File Number 001-14505

KORN FERRY

(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in its Charter)

Delaware

95-2623879

Delaware

95-2623879
(State or Other Jurisdiction of Incorporation or Organization)

(I.R.S. Employer Identification No.)

1900 Avenue of the Stars, Suite 2600,1500, Los Angeles, California

90067

(Address of Principal Executive Offices)

(Zip Code)

(310) 552-1834

(Registrant’s Telephone Number, Including Area Code)

Securities Registered Pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

Title of Each Class

Trading Symbol(s)

Name of Each Exchange on Which Registered

Common Stock, par value $0.01 per share

KFY

New York Stock Exchange

Securities Registered Pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: None

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

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

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

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

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

Large accelerated filer

þ

Accelerated filer

o

Non-accelerated filer

o

Smaller reporting company

o

Emerging growth company

o

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

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has filed a report on and attestation to its management’s assessment of the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (15 U.S.C. 7262(b)) by the registered public accounting firm that prepared or issued its audit report. þ
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act). Yes o No þ

The number of shares outstanding of our common stock as of July 8, 2020 was 54,638,627 shares.

The aggregate market value of the registrant’s voting and non-voting common stock held by non-affiliates of the registrant on October 31, 2019,2022, the last business day of the registrant’s most recently completed second fiscal quarter (assuming that the registrant’s only affiliates are its officers, directors and 10% or greater stockholders) was approximately $1,508,247,824$2,220,447,158 based upon the closing market price of $36.69$55.59 on that date of a share of common stock as reported on the New York Stock Exchange.

The number of shares outstanding of our common stock as of June 22, 2023 was 52,180,966 shares.



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Documents incorporated by reference

Portions of the registrant’s definitive Proxy Statementproxy statement for its 20202023 Annual Meeting of Stockholders scheduled to be held on September 23, 2020 are incorporated by reference into Part III of this Form 10-K.

Explanatory Note

The Company was unable to file this Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended April 30, 2020 (the “Annual Report”) by the original deadline of June 29, 2020 in light of the ongoing impact of the coronavirus (“COVID-19”) pandemic. To respond to both health and safety


concerns and applicable governmental orders, the Company imposed a range of travel restrictions, office closures, social distancing measures, and remote working policies to maintain its operations while prioritizing the safety of its employees and customers. These measures resulted in operational challenges and disruptions, including to the Company’s customary year-end processes and interactions with and between its accounting personnel, external auditors, and others responsible for or contributing to the preparation of the Annual Report. Therefore, as disclosed in a Form 8-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) on May 11, 2020, the Company relied on the SEC’s March 25, 2020 “Order Under Section 26 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 Modifying Exemptions from the Reporting and Proxy Delivery Requirements for Public Companies,” Release No. 34-88465, to delay the filing of the Annual Report.

KORN FERRY

Index to Annual Report on Form 10-K for the Fiscal Year Ended April 30, 2020

2023

Item #

Description

Page

Item #

Part I.Description

Page

Item 1

1

12

28

28

29

29

29

30

32

34

55

56

56

56

56

57

57

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57

Item 15

58

60

61

F-1

F-1



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PART I.

Item 1. Business

ABOUT KORN FERRY

Company Overview
Korn Ferry (referred to herein as the “Company” or in the first-person notations “we,” “our,” and “us”) is a leading global organizational consulting firm, synchronizingfirm.
Korn Ferry has evolved from our executive search-focused roots into a company with a more diverse service and digital and other solution offering that is designed to align with our clients’ desire to synchronize their strategy, operations, and talent to drive superior business performance.

We operatebelieve we are the premier organizational consultancy uniquely positioned to leverage our extensive intellectual property to help companies bring talent and strategy together, helping them have the right people in 111 officesthe right places and providing them with the right rewards. We seek to bring their strategies to life by designing their organizational structure and helping them hire, motivate and retain the best people. And we help professionals navigate and advance their career.

Our fiscal 2023 performance reflects the relevance of our strategy, the top-line synergies created by our end-to-end talent and leadership solutions, and the increasing reach and relevance of the Korn Ferry brand. Thanks to the passion and performance of our colleagues, we have concluded the year with strong results, in 53 countries, enabling us to deliver our solutions onwhat was a global basis, wherever our clients do business. As of April 30, 2020, we had 8,198 full-time employees, including 2,979 consultants and execution staff who are primarily responsible for originating client services.

very challenging macroeconomic environment.

During fiscal 2020,2023, we partneredworked with 13,724 client organizations in achieving their strategic talent objectives by providing an entire array of products and services.almost 15,000 organizations. Our clients include many of the world’s largest and most prestigious public and private companies, middle marketmiddle-market and emerging growth companies, as well asand government and nonprofitnon-profit organizations. We serve 97% of the Fortune 100 and 93% of the Financial Times Stock Exchange 100. We have built strong client loyalty, with 90%nearly 80% of our engagements in fiscal 2020 being2023 completed on behalf of clients for whom we had conducted engagements in the previous three fiscal years.

We were originally formedwork with:

96% of the S&P 100, and 85% of the S&P 500
94% of the Euronext 100
85% of the FTSE 100
91% of the S&P Europe 350
60% of the S&P Asia 50
80% of the S&P Latin America 40
In addition, we work with:
3 in every 4 best companies to work for (Fortune Magazine)
1 in every 2 of the fastest growing companies in the world (Fortune Magazine)
79% of the world’s top performing companies (Drucker Institute)
96% of the top 50 world's most admired companies (Fortune Magazine)

We also continued to make significant investments across the breadth of our business and in our people. This commitment includes strategic acquisitions and the innovation and development of our platforms, solutions and ways of working. A testament to Korn Ferry’s forward-thinking approach is the acquisition of our third and fourth Interim hiring firms in the last 18 months. This strategic decision has not only boosted our standing, particularly in the Professional Search and Interim sectors, but we believe also enables us to capitalize on significant opportunities for growth while effectively responding to prevailing shifts in the workforce. These shifts include a heightened focus on agility and cost-management, a growing need for specialized expertise and on-demand skills, as a California corporationwell as the accommodation of evolving employee preferences and dynamics within the workforce. These investments are intended to expand our offerings to help us further differentiate ourselves in November 1969the marketplace and reincorporated as a Delaware corporationreflect our continued focus on high-demand areas emerging in this environment.
A critical driver of our success has been the evolution and maturation of our go-to-market (“GTM”) activities. Our "Marquee" and "Regional" accounts lead these activities with approximately 340 accounts or 2% of our total clients, representing more than 35% of our total fee revenue. We continue to invest in Global Account Leaders (“GALs”), resulting in us exiting the year with more than 70 colleagues in this role. Leveraging our acquisition of the Miller Heiman Group, we use our own sales effectiveness methodologies and discipline in our Marquee and Regional account programs to drive rates of top-line growth in excess of the rest of our portfolio.
We continue to capitalize on the top-line synergies created by our end-to-end solutions that are designed to address the many aspects of an employee’s engagement with their employer. This manifests itself in our ability to continue generating additional fee revenues based on referrals from one line of business to another, generating more than 25% of total fee revenues for fiscal 2000.

The Company operates through four global segments:

1.

Consulting helps clients synchronize their strategy and their talent by addressing four fundamental needs: Organizational Strategy, Assessment and Succession, Leadership and Professional Development, and Rewards and Benefits. This work is supported and underpinned by a comprehensive range of some of the world’s leading intellectual property (“lP”) and data.

2.

Digital leverages an artificial intelligence (“AI”) powered platform to identify the best structure, roles, capabilities and behaviors needed to drive business forward. This end to end system gives clients one enterprise-wide talent framework and delivers an achievable blueprint for success along with the guidance and tools to deliver it. 

3.

Executive Search helps organizations recruit board level, chief executive and other senior executive and general management talent. Behavioral interviewing and proprietary assessments are used to determine ideal organizational fit, and salary benchmarking builds appropriate frameworks for compensation and retention.

4.

RPO and Professional Search combines people, process expertise and IP-enabled technology to deliver enterprise talent acquisition solutions to clients. Transaction sizes range from single professional searches to team, department and line of business projects, and global outsource recruiting solutions.

Consulting and Digital are new reporting segments. Previously, these were tracked and reported together as2023. In fact, by integrating the previously mentioned acquired companies into Korn Ferry, Advisory (“Advisory”). Overwe were able to generate an incremental $50.0 million in fee revenues since November 1, 2021, (the date of acquisition of our first Interim business) through referrals between the pastacquired companies and our business prior the acquisitions.

With vision, innovation and focus as our guide, we believe we are now a company with a more durable business, with greater and expanding relevance, and with an increasingly sustainable level of business and profitability that is poised for further growth in the years to come.
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Fiscal 2023 Performance Highlights
Our results reflect the dedication and hard work of our more than 10,600 talented colleagues. They focus on creating value for our stakeholders, our colleagues themselves, our clients, our shareholders, and the communities in which we haveoperate.
Our strategic growth reflects a more balanced and sustainable organization.

Our performance was solid during what can be described as times of macroeconomic and geopolitical turbulence and uncertainty, generating $2,835.4 million in fee revenue, up 8.0% compared to fiscal 2022.
Net Income Attributable to Korn Ferry was $209.5 million. Operating income and Adjusted EBITDA* were $316.3 million (margin of 11.2%) and $457.3 million (margin of 16.1%), respectively.
Diluted Earnings Per Share was $3.95.
During fiscal 2023, we continued with our balanced approach to capital allocation. For the full year, the Company invested $254.8 million in acquisitions and $61.0 million in capital expenditures primarily related to the Digital business and harmonize the structure of our contentcorporate infrastructure. We also spent $18.5 million on debt service costs, and data, building a technology platform for the efficient delivery of these assets directlyreturned $93.9 million and $33.0 million to an end consumer or indirectly through a consulting engagement. These investments, combined with the acquisitions of Miller Heiman Group, AchieveForum and Strategy Execution (the “Acquired Companies”) in November 2019, resulting in reassessing how we manage our Advisory business. Therefore, beginningshareholders in the third quarterform of fiscal 2020, we separated Advisory into two segments in order to better align withshare repurchases and dividends, respectively.
*Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA and Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA margin are non-GAAP financial measure and have limitations as analytical tools. See Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations for a discussion of why management believes the Company’s strategy (which included the acquisitionpresentation of the Acquired Companies) and the decisions of the Company’s chief operating decision maker, who had begun to regularly make resource allocation decisions and assess performance separately between Consulting and Digital within Advisory.

In addition to Digital, in recent years we have made other significant investments in our business that have strengthened our IP, enhanced our geographical presence, added complementary offerings to deepen client relationships, and broaden our capabilities around talent acquisition, organizational strategy, assessment and succession, development and rewards and benefits. Approximately 71% of our revenue comes from clients that utilize multiple lines of our business.

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On June 12, 2018, the Company’s Board of Directors approved the Onenon-GAAP financial measures provide meaningful supplemental information regarding Korn Ferry’s performance.

The Korn Ferry rebranding plan forStory
Our Strategy
Our systematic approach to solving business challenges has us uniquely positioned to build the Company (the “Plan”). The Plan includes going to market under a single, master brand architecture, solely as Korn Ferryservices and sunsetting all the Company’s sub-brands used at the time, including Futurestep, Hay Groupsolutions that people, teams and Lominger, among others. This integrated go-to-marketorganizations need so that business strategy is implemented and performance follows. Our approach was a key driver in our fee revenue growth in fiscal year 2018, which led to the decision to further integrate our go-to-market activities under one master brand — Korn Ferry. As a result, the Company discontinued the use of all sub-brands and changed its name, effective January 1, 2019, to “Korn Ferry.” Two of the Company’s former sub-brands, Hay Group and Lominger, came to Korn Ferry through acquisitions. In connection with the accounting for these acquisitions, $106.6 million of the purchase price was allocated to indefinite-lived tradename intangible assets. As a result of the decision to discontinue their use, the Company took a one-time, non-cash write-off of tradenames of $106.6 million in fiscal 2019. During fiscal 2020 the Company completed the implementation of the plan.

In March 2020, COVID-19 was reported to have spread to over 100 countries, territories or areas worldwide. Initially, the negative business impact of the coronavirus outbreak was most pronounced in the Asia Pacific Region, and in particular China and Hong Kong. During the fourth quarter of fiscal 2020 the World Health Organization declared it a pandemic and the impact has been felt worldwide. The outbreak has severely restricted the level of economic activity in affected areas and has had an adverse impact on sales of certain of our products and services. Governments and companies have implemented social distancing - limiting either travel or in person individual or group face-to-face interaction as well as working from home to adhere to stay at home orders from national, state and city governments. All of our business segments across all of our geographies have been impacted as fee revenue decreased significantly in the fourth quarter. In light of the continuing uncertainty in worldwide economic conditions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and, as part of a broader program aimed at further enhancing our strong balance sheet and liquidity position, on April 20, 2020, we initiated a plan intended to adjust our cost base to the current economic environment and to position us to invest in the recovery. This plan includes (i) a reduction in workforce, which was substantially completed by the end of fiscal 2020 and resulted in restructuring charges of $40.5 million associated with severance, (ii) the temporary furlough of certain employees, (iii) subject to certain exceptions and legal requirements, salary reductions across the organization, and (iv) other cost saving measures relating to general and administrative expenses.

We file annual, quarterly and current reports, proxy statements and other documents with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), pursuant to the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”). Our reports, proxy statements and other documents filed electronically with the SEC are available at the website maintained by the SEC at www.sec.gov.

We also make available, free of chargeis focused on the Investor Relations portion of our website at http://ir.kornferry.com, our annual, quarterly, and current reports, and, if applicable, amendments to those reports, filed or furnished pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Exchange Act as soon as reasonably practicable after we electronically file such reports with, or furnish them to, the SEC at www.sec.gov.

We also make available on the Investor Relations portion of our website at http://ir.kornferry.com press releases and related earnings presentations and other important information, which we encourage you to review.

Our Corporate Governance Guidelines, Code of Business Conduct and Ethics, and the charters of the Audit Committee, Compensation and Personnel Committee, and Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee of our Board of Directors are also posted on the Investor Relations portion of our website at http://ir.kornferry.com. Stockholders may request copies of these documents by writing to our Corporate Secretary at 1900 Avenue of the Stars, Suite 2600, Los Angeles, California 90067.

THE KORN FERRY OPPORTUNITY

Aligned around our vision to be the preeminent organizational consulting firm, we are pursuing an ambitious strategy that will help us to focus relentlessly on clients and collaborate intensively across the organization. This approach builds on the best of our past and gives us a clear path to the future with focused initiativesfollowing strategic priorities to increase our client and commercial impact.

Korn Ferry is transforming how clients address their talent management needs. We have evolved from a mono-line business to a multi-faceted consultancy, giving our consultants more frequent and expanded opportunities to engage with clients. The expansion of our business into larger addressable markets offers higher growth potential and more durable and visible revenue streams.

While most organizations can develop a sound strategy, they often struggle with how to make it stick. That is where we come in: synchronizing an organization’s strategy with its talent to drive superior performance. We help companies design their organization—the structure, roles and responsibilities—to seize these opportunities. In addition, we help organizations select and hire the talent they need to execute their strategy—and show them the best way to compensate, develop and motivate their people.

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We do this through our five core solution sets:

Core Solutions

Organizational Strategy

We map talent strategy to business strategy by designing operating models and organizational structures that align to them, helping organizations put their plans into action. We make sure they have the right people, in the right roles, engaged and enabled to do the right things.

Assessment and Succession

We provide actionable, research-backed insights that allow organizations to understand the true capabilities of their people so they can make decisions that ensure the right leaders are ready—when and where they are needed—now and in the future.

Talent Acquisition

From executive search to recruitment process outsourcing (“RPO”), we integrate scientific research with our practical experience and industry-specific expertise to recruit professionals of all levels and functions for client organizations.

Leadership and Professional Development

We develop leaders at all levels along every stage of their career journey with a spectrum of intensive high-touch and scalable high-tech development experiences. Our combination of data, development content and coaching with forward-thinking, creative design builds leadership experiences that help entry-to senior-level leaders develop and deliver superior results.

Rewards and Benefits

We help organizations design rewards to achieve their strategic objectives. We help them pay their people fairly for doing the right things—with rewards they value—at a cost the organization can afford.

Integrated Solutions

Additionally, we deliver differentiated approaches for our clients through our integrated market offerings, which bring together our best thinking from across our core solutions. These offerings, guided by an ever-changing business environment, target specific client needs and demonstrate Korn Ferry’s competitive advantage and durability. 

For example, as the COVID-19 global pandemic took hold, our structure and systems enabled us to quickly pivot our go-to-market approach to help clients navigate the myriad of organizational and people challenges they faced at both the onset of the crisis and as they forge a path towards recovery. A key differentiator is Korn Ferry’s ability to bridge business strategy and talent strategy, positioning us to partner with our clients broadly and deeply in the delivery of integrated solutions ranging from cost optimization to virtual learning experiences, change management, and career transition/outplacement.

Other integrated offerings focus on our clients’ transformational challenges. Our digital transformation service helps clients execute on a digital operating model, including the introduction and integration of new agile ways of working. Rich proprietary data enables our clients to better deliver the right value proposition to attract, retain and engage digital talent. In addition, we help specific functional areas, such as HR, develop their future-state model within a digital environment.

Our diversity and inclusion (“D&I”) service helps clients innovate and grow by creating an inclusive culture and diverse workforce. Organizations are in different places on their D&I journeys, ranging from compliance-driven, values-driven, talent performance driven, and beyond. As a result, we combine our insights into a single offering that can be tailored to different markets and unique buyers.

From core through integrated, across our solution portfolio, we have the advantage of best-in-class solutions, products and talent, coupled with deep market expertise, to deliver a seamless approach to organization, talent and rewards strategies. Our change management capabilities further support our clients, through the successful execution of their transformational strategies and the effective implementation of their people and culture programs.

OUR INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY AND TECHNOLOGY

By bringing together our industry knowledge, methodology, measurements, and data insights, we can not only benchmark clients against the best but also help them make the changes necessary to achieve their optimal performance. We offer a complete view of the talent they need and the talent they have. We know if their rewards are fair and effective and we align their structures, role profiles, and people to support the strategy so that clients know where to focus their efforts to create lasting change in the organization.

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The Talent Hub

At the core of our approach is deep IP and research that informs smarter, more data-driven outcomes for our clients. We house all this data inside our Talent Hub. With more than four billion total data points, including 74 million assessment results, seven million employee engagement survey responses, and rewards data for 22 million employees across over 25,000 organizations and more than 150 countries, our Talent Hub provides the fuel for all of our services, solutions and products, bringing clients a research-based foundation to underpin quality and consistency in their talent processes.

The Korn Ferry Institute

The Korn Ferry Institute, our research and analytics arm, develops and infuses robust scientific research, cutting-edge IP, and state-of-the-art talent analytics methodologies into Korn Ferry, enabling every client facing Korn Ferry colleague to partner with organizations and people ​to activate their potential and find the success they seek.​

At the highest level, the Korn Ferry Institute is built on three core pillars:

1.

Robust Research and Thought Leadership​: We define leadership, human, and organizational performance for the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

2.

Science-Based IP: We develop and measure the gold standard of what is required for success at work for talent in the new economy.

3.

Client Advanced Analytics and Data Management: We integrate and build upon our data sets using advanced modeling and artificial intelligence to produce predictive insights and deliver demonstrable client impact.

In the fiscal year ahead, we will continue to innovate, driving even greater business and societal impact as we focus on crisis management, organizational transformation, and defining the leadership needed for the future.

INDUSTRY TRENDS

The world has seen so much change.

The emergence of COVID-19 is an event of historic magnitude, with repercussions that will undoubtedly be felt for years. There is virtually no company or industry that has not been impacted by the crisis, forcing them to evolve their talent processes, find new ways to deliver customer value, lead employees through uncertainty and change, and reduce costs to survive.

And, while the world battles this pandemic and the resulting adverse economic consequences, we are seeing violence in the United States uncover a long-standing practice of people treating others based on personal bias – conscious or sub-conscious. As part of this movement, we have raised an active and intentional voice to strongly condemn all bias, including racism and engage in candid dialogue to listen, understand and then lead through action to drive transformative change.

From these long overdue calls for social equality to a global pandemic causing economic downturns, layoffs, furloughs, and pay reductions, emotions are running high. Uncertainty has led to fear. People and companies are struggling to perform at their best. Organizations are increasingly turning to partners like Korn Ferry to synchronize their strategy with their talent as an answer to today’s most pressing business challenges, specifically:

Creating cultures of inclusion where diversity is intrinsically valued; where every individual is able to contribute fully; and where all talented people can advance through the organization regardless of their gender, background or other identifying factors.

impact:

Pivoting from in-person/classroom delivery and training to a model where our services, solutions and IP are consumed by our clients virtually, enabled by a technology platform.

Achieving growth and cost synergies from M&A transactions without destroying employee engagement.

Having the right people, mindsets and structures to achieve successful digital transformations.

Managing potential market volatility by optimizing cost in their reward structures and workforce mix.

Transitioning to the workforce of the future to address changes in work such as the need for greater agility and new roles being created by technology, plus changes to worker preferences such as remote working.

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1.Improving the way an organization engages its customers by aligning go-to-market strategy with the company’s growth strategy, ensuring that the right people are in the right roles, and that sale professionals have the right tools, skills and mindset to be effective – whether in a face-to-face or virtual setting.

Developing leaders at all levels along every stage of their career journey whether senior level, high-touch through early-career scalable high-tech development experiences. Clients need a combination of data, development content and coaching with forward-thinking, creative design to build leadership experiences that deliver superior results.

Changing ingrained ways of thinking and building strategies that energize employees and drive performance in the face of disruptive change.

Improving the quality of service delivery in core functions to create strategic competitive advantage.

In addition, we believe the following factors will have a long-term positive impact on our industry:

Companies are actively in search of trusted advisors that can offer a full suite of organizational consulting products and solutions, to manage the multiple needs of their business on a global scale using a common language and technology platform.

Over the next decade, demand for skilled workers will outstrip supply, resulting in a global talent shortage. Organizations must make talent strategy a key priority and take steps now to educate, train and upskill their existing workforces.

Companies are increasingly leveraging big data and predictive analytics to measure the influence of activities across all aspects of their business, including their people. They expect their partners to deliver superior metrics and better ways of driving results.

There is an increasing demand for professionals with not just the right experience, but also the right leadership competencies, traits and drivers to meet the requirements of the position and organizational culture today and prepare it for tomorrow. 

Executive management tenure continues to hover at historically low levels.

The balance of power is shifting from the employer to the employee, as more people take charge of their own careers and the gig economy continues to grow in popularity.

Talent mobility is being recognized as a critical driver in the recruitment, development and retention of an organization’s people, particularly their early career professionals.

Succession planning remains under heightened scrutiny amidst pressure to generate growth, shorter C suites tenures and the emphasis being placed on making succession planning a systemic governance process within global organizations.

Executive pay is under a perpetual spotlight, making it imperative that organizations get this right to ensure the public trust and establish a functional compensation strategy that starts right at the top and helps to drive retention.

Companies are more determined than ever to close the diversity gap on pay and advancement to leadership roles.

More companies are maintaining strategic focus by choosing to outsource non-core functions like talent acquisition to RPO providers who can offer efficient, high-quality services.

GROWTH STRATEGY

Our objective is to expand our position as the preeminent organizational consulting firm. In order to meet this objective, we will continue to pursue our multi-pronged strategy:

Drive a One Korn Ferry Go-to-Market Strategy

Our synergistic go-to-market strategy bringing together our core solutions, is driving more integrated, scalable client relationships. This is evidenced by the fact that approximately 71% of our revenues come from clients that utilize

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multiple lines of our business. To better compete in the market, we will continue to evolve from our traditional line of business segmentation to integrated solutions along industries lines.

Our Digital business is a core pillar of our go-to-market strategy. We have built an integrated platform that gives clients direct access to people and organizational data, insights, analytics, and digital assets that when used together, give clients a common language for all talent matters. A software-as-a-service (“SaaS”) model creates financial security, improves Company cash flow, and helps us generate wider and more long-term relationships with our clients through large scale and technology-based human resources programs. Digital, with its discrete capabilities, also enables us to engage businesses we might not have previously worked with because a complete advisory solution was not required, cost was a barrier, or they lacked awareness of Korn Ferry as a provider. We continue to seek ways to further scale these highly profitable products to our global clients.

Another pillar of our growth strategy is our Marquee and Regional Accounts program. This program drives significant global and regional strategic account developmentintegration across solutions and provides a framework for all our client development activities as we successfully deepen client relationships. Our Marquee and Regional Accounts program now comprises approximately one-third of our global fee revenues. In the year ahead, we will continue to grow and expand our account management activities. This includes driving consistent account selection, assignment, planning and execution; implementing account-based marketing efforts; optimizing the pipeline and opportunity process; integrating our best thinking across solutions; and hiring additional dedicated account leaders. The success of this approach has now been extended to include a broader set of Regional Accounts to be serviced with this same attention and care.

Deliver Client Excellence and Innovation

Technology is positioned to reshape the future of work and with it, the workforce as we know it today. Market innovations contribute to more accurate, faster, cost-effective and impactful business and human decisions. Our firm is well positioned here. We have a set of assets that are critical to such decisions: deep science on organization and human motivation, data on talent, work and rewards, and proven products and solutions.

We have combined our people and organizational data, insights, analytics, and digital assets into a unified single platform to inform smarter, more data-driven outcomes for our clients. Our license based tools allow us to create wide and meaningful impact across our clients’ business, from organizational development and job profiling to selection, training, individual and team development, succession planning, M&A, D&I, digital transformation and more. We can provide insights and solutions to clients more quickly by having “best practice” predefined to act as a benchmark to work towards. Continued enhancements to our Talent Hub platform, including the upcoming launches of Korn Ferry Architect, Learn, and Org Scan, will allow us to embed more analytics directly into our clients’ user experience.

More than 100,000 consumers have registered and are using Korn Ferry Advance, our business-to-consumer offering, since it launched in the United States (the “U.S.”) in July 2017. We are expanding and enhancing the offering to provide more focused assistance to people looking to make their next career move, as well as to provide tailored career services to an organization’s people. Korn Ferry Advance will continue to leverage cutting-edge technology as well as the greatest asset we have—our consultants. Korn Ferry Advance is also being used to augment our Korn Ferry Digital offerings, primarily in leadership development, professional development and career transition services.

geographies.

2.Create the Top-of-Mind Brand in Organizational Consulting

Along with - Lead innovation through relevant market offerings and evolve our peoplethought leadership around talent strategy.

3.Deliver Client Excellence and IP, the Korn Ferry brand is the strongest asset of the Company. Positioning Korn Ferry as the preeminent global organizational consultancyInnovation and demonstratingdiversify our ability to drive business performance through people remains the goal of our global marketing program.

The Korn Ferry brand is brought to market via two distinct channels: primarily through business-to-business (“B2B”)offerings into fully integrated, scalable and in the early stage of business-to-consumer (“B2C”). In both instances, we communicate key core values about what we do, expressing that we are ‘more than’ as well as inspiring action in the way our customers run their businesses and in the way they approach their careers. We are executing against our strategy with these priorities in mind:

sustainable client engagements.

One Korn Ferry—We will partner with internal and external stakeholders to advance a differentiated one Korn Ferry story and brand that minimizes operational risks, engages our employees, resonates in the broader market and becomes a platform for differentiation and sustainable growth.

4.

Generate Demand—We will assess market trends, liaise with clients, and partner with internal stakeholders to develop a steady cadence of thought leadership-based campaigns, public relations and demand generation activities that engage clients and prospects in meaningful conversations.

Advance Korn Ferry as a Premier Career Destination

We continue to invest - Attract and retain top talent through continued investment in building a world-class organization that is aligned to our strategy and is staffed bythrough a capable, motivated, and agile workforce. A few key initiatives in this area include:

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5.Onboarding— To support growth, we have a standardized, global onboarding experience for all Korn Ferry new hires using a common platform, materials and resources to ensure new colleagues are effectively integrated into the Company with reduced ramp-up time to full productivity. We are also taking a programmatic approach to onboarding through our Talent Academy and StartUp early career training.

Career Paths and Mobility—Under the Korn Ferry enterprise-wide career model, we created an integrated career framework, called Career Architecture, that encompasses all the roles at Korn Ferry differentiated by focus, accountability and complexity. Career Architecture is supported by Success Profiles that define the key responsibilities and capabilities of roles. These profiles allow for comparisons among roles so that employees can determine what they may need to develop to move into different jobs across the organization. With this framework and our global promotions processes, we enable and encourage talent mobility across all areas of our business. In fiscal 2020, we promoted more than 1,200 colleagues across our four segments.

Talent Development—Our growth plans require a learning, agile organization. To facilitate this, we use a learning management system (iAcademy) to serve as a Center of Excellence focused on the growth and development of our colleagues through rich, personalized content.

Mentoring—As our firm continues to expand in size and offerings, our colleagues face increasingly complex client and career issues, all while learning how to work together as One Korn Ferry. The need to connect, collaborate and help each other has never been more pronounced. This past year we launched a firm-wide mentorship program to empower our colleagues to learn, connect and advance. Paired through the Korn Ferry Advance platform, Mentors and Mentees are matched based on proximity, career goals and focus.

Benefits—We offer competitive benefits across the globe that are customized within each country we operate in based on market prevalence and cultural relevance. The Korn Ferry Cares benefits strategy focuses on keeping our colleagues and their families healthy – physically, emotionally, financially, and socially. Our progressive benefit offerings in the U.S. helped us earn top recognitions as a best employer by Working Mother Magazine and the Human Rights Campaign.

Pursue Transformational M&A Opportunities at the Intersection of Talent and Strategy

Strategy.

Our Core Capabilities
We have developed a core competencycontinue to integrate, replicate and scale our solutions and to lead innovation in identifying, acquiringthe digitally enabled new world of work. The depth and integrating M&A targets that have the potential to further our strategic objectives and enhance shareholder value. Our disciplined approach to M&A considers strategic alignment and cultural fit along with economics that deliver a return in excessbreadth of our cost of capital. M&A will continueofferings across the talent lifecycle—from attraction to playassessment to recruitment to development, management, and reward—place us in a critical role in the ongoing evolution of Korn Ferrydistinctive position. We offer end-to-end solutions—a view into an industry specialized,organization’s entire talent ecosystem—to create positive client outcomes. Our five core capabilities include:
Organization Strategy: We map talent strategy to business outcomes-oriented solution provider atstrategy, designing operating models and organization structures that help companies put strategic plans into action.
Assessment and Succession: Our assessment and succession solutions help pinpoint clear and actionable opportunities for growth. Leaders and employees are empowered to take action on their own development, while companies use strategic perspectives to build stronger plans and make smarter investments today and into the intersection of talent and strategy. While we will continue to execute on our targeted organic growth pathways, M&A will be a vital component of our future growth and capital deployment strategies.

OUR ORGANIZATION

The Company operates through four global segments: Consulting, Digital,future.

Talent Acquisition: From Executive Search, and RPO & Professional Search. Consulting, Digital, and RPO & Professional Search are managed on a global basis with operations in North America, Europe, the Middle East& Interim and Africa (“EMEA”Recruitment Process Outsourcing ("RPO"), Asia Pacific covering single to multi-hire permanent positions and Latin America. Our Executive Search business is managed and reported on a geographic basis across four regions: North America, EMEA, Asia Pacific and Latin America.

Consulting

Overview—Korn Ferry helps clients design their organization—the structure, roles and responsibilities—and shows them the best way to develop, motivate and compensate their people. Our focus is on making change happen and helping people and organizations exceed their potential. Through our talented colleagues, robust solutions and IP, our consultants can solve the most disruptive and challenging organizational and talent problems facing clients.

Our Consulting team is comprised of topleadership and organizational consultants and thought leaders, working in 85 cities in 50 countries. Our consultants are predominately recruited from local markets, so they are sensitive to local issues, but work together in global teams, resulting in larger opportunities with greater client and commercial impact. Within Consulting, we offer the following core go-to-market solutions:

Organizational Strategy: We provide end-to-end support to organizations that want to transform their business. Strategy becomes operationalized by aligning the tangible elements of the organization—people, structure and process—and the intangible elements—motivations, relationships and culture.

Assessment and Succession: We provide actionable, research-backed insight and products that allow organizations to understand the talent they have, benchmarked against the talent they need to deliver on the business strategy, andinterim contractors, we help them close any gaps.organizations attract and retain the right people across functions, levels and skills.

Leadership and Professional Development:We help develop leaders at all levels along everyeach stage of their career journey

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with a spectrum of intensive high-touch and scalable high-tech development experiences. Our combination of data, development content and coaching with forward-thinking, creative design builds leadership experiences that help entry-to senior-level leaders develop and deliver superior results.

Rewards and Benefits

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:Total Rewards: We help organizations design rewards to achieve their strategic objectives, to pay their people fairly for doing the right things—things with rewards they value—value at a cost that the organization can afford.
Our advice is backedIntegrated Solutions
We also offer integrated solutions that bring together expertise from across our core capabilities to navigate broader business challenges around leading through change, transforming for growth and keeping top talent.
Our solutions are powered by the qualityKorn Ferry Intelligence Cloud and quantityare enabled by the combination of our payrich and unique data and widely used job evaluation methodology.a suite of Digital Performance Management Tools that combine the expertise of Korn Ferry with the power of Open artificial intelligence ("AI"). Focused on business outcomes, the combination of Korn Ferry intellectual property ("IP") and advanced technology enables our experts to deliver actionable insights and personalized recommendations accurately and efficiently. These solutions include:

Workforce Transformation: We offer practical and pragmatic solutions to support organizations in re-shaping workforces for the future. These solutions are often bundleddesigned to enhance workforce productivity, agility, engagement, and alignment with the organization's strategic goals.

Cost Optimization: We work with leaders to manage cost drivers: organization, people and rewards. We help make client organizations fit for the future by putting in place strategies designed to enable our clients to achieve cost reductions while maintaining performance and growth.
Leadership Development and Coaching at Scale: Businesses need to prepare for the future by creating a culture of learning that helps them quickly adapt to new trends and demands. Leveraging our Korn Ferry Advance platform, we combine our expertise in leadership development with technology to provide quality coaching and development at scale across organizations.
M&A Solutions: We use a framework that helps organizations look beyond balance sheets and focus on people. From the assessment and selection of leaders to drive the go-forward strategy, to the future organization design and governance, we help shape the combined purpose, ensure you have the right people in the right roles and craft the integration and change management activities to maximize the investment. We also help buyers achieve leadership and cultural accretive acquisitions which drive superior financial results.
Environmental, Social & Governance ("ESG") and Sustainability: We believe our people-focused approach to ESG practices contribute to long-term value creation. By aligning strategy, people and business operations in this area, we help companies build resilience, foster innovation, and improve their reputation, positioning them for sustainable growth and success in both turbulent and prosperous times.
Diversity, Equity & Inclusion: We believe diverse and inclusive organizations drive better business performance, attract and retain high-caliber talent, foster innovation for competitive advantage, and enhance brand reputation. Our expertise in this area runs deep. We help clients comply and create more inclusive, equitable, and successful organizations reflective of today's diverse and interconnected world.
Sales Effectiveness powered by KF Sell: Today's selling environment is more complex than ever, with sales teams challenged to deliver value. Sellers need the right tools, training, and approach to be successful. Korn Ferry leverages the KF Sell platform and award-winning Miller-Heiman sales methodology to help organizations achieve their top-line growth objectives.
Career Mobility for Tech Talent powered by KF Career: We retain, engage and develop tech talent to create a competitive advantage for our clients' organizations. For example, using KF Career for Tech, clients can benchmark their teams, identify skill gaps, create career mobility for tech talent and deliver a progressive employee experience where the individuals, team and company move together in synergy.

Our Businesses
The Company has recently acquired companies that have added critical mass to our existing Professional Search & Interim business. This provided the Chief Operating Decision Maker ("CODM") with the opportunity to reassess how he managed and allocated resources to the prior RPO & Professional Search segment. Therefore, beginning in fiscal 2023, the Company separated RPO & Professional Search into two segments to align with the CODM's strategy to make separate resource allocation decisions and assess performance separately between Professional Search & Interim and RPO.
integrated market offerings (e.g., Digital Transformation, M&A)
The Company now has eight reportable segments that include  our IP and data and reflect our best thinking across our solutions, enablingoperate through the following five lines of business, supported by a corporate center. This structure allows us to develop innovative and differentiated approachesbring our resources together to our clients’ most pressing business challenges.

We partner with some of the world’s most admired organizations in the creation, assisting and execution of talent strategy. We accomplish this through consulting solutions that address how people work and show how to nurture them so that their strategies succeed. We capitalizefocus on the breadth of our IP, service offerings and expertise to do what is right for the client—transforming ideas into actionable insights. Clients can depend on our solutions to be data backed, market tested and agile.

We are widely recognized by
our clients and industry experts forpartner with them to solve the excellencechallenges they face in their businesses.

1.Consulting aligns organizational structure, culture, performance, development, and people to drive sustainable growth by addressing four fundamental organizational and talent needs: Organization Strategy, Assessment and Succession, Leadership and Professional Development, and Total Rewards. We enable this work with a comprehensive set of Digital Performance Management Tools, based on our work. Some highlights frombest-in-class IP and
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data. The Consulting teams employ an integrated approach across our core capabilities and integrated solutions described above to help clients execute their strategy in a digitally enabled world.
Summary of financial fiscal 2020 include:

Overall leader, Baker’s Dozen Customer Satisfaction Ratings: Employee Engagement (HRO Today)

2023 highlights:

Fee revenue was $677.0 million, an increase of 4.0% compared to fiscal 2022, representing 24% of total fee revenue.

Leader, Organization Strategy Consulting (ALM Intelligence)

Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA margin were $108.5 million and 16.0%, respectively.

Leader, Talent and Leadership Consulting and #1 in Depth Capability (ALM Intelligence)

Gold Medal, UK’s Leading Management Consultants: People and Performance (Financial Times)

Choice Award, Measurement, Testing & Assessment (Training Magazine Network)

Best Consulting Firms in HR Consulting (Vault)

Best RPO Provider in Greater China - MNC (HRoot)

Golden HR Award for Outstanding Achievements in South China Property – Shimao (Guangzhou HRO)

Korn Ferry is known for creatingThe number of consulting and owning one of the most comprehensive and up-to-date people and organization databasesexecution staff at year-end was 1,853 with an increase in the world. We can benchmark clients againstaverage bill rate (fee revenue divided by the best, but more critically, can help them make the changesnumber of hours worked by consultants and execution staff) of $10 per hour or 3% compared to achieve their optimal performance. These insights are embedded into every consulting project and are a powerful differentiator for our clients, who have come to depend on Korn Ferry for our informed and data-driven point of view.

Consulting fee revenue was $543.1 million, $568.3 million and $540.5 million in fiscal 2020, 2019 and 2018, respectively. This represented 28%, 30% and 31% of the Company’s total fee revenue in fiscal 2020, 2019 and 2018, respectively.

2022.

Client Base—During fiscal 2020,2023, the Consulting segment partnered with approximatelyover 4,800 clients across the globe, and 22%28% of Consulting’s fiscal 20202023 fee revenue was referred from Korn Ferry’s Executive Search, Digital and RPO & Professional Search segments.other lines of business. Our clients come from the private, public, and not-for-profit sectors across every major industry and represent diverse business challenges.

Competition—The people and organizational consulting market is extremely competitive, asfragmented, with different companies are increasingly seeking ways to synchronize their strategy and talent to drive superior business performance.offering our core solutions. Our competitors include consulting organizations affiliated with accounting, insurance, information systems, executive search and staffing firms, as well as strategy consulting firms. Some of our main competitors are Ernst & Young,firms such as McKinsey, Willis Towers Watson and Deloitte. Although these firms are our largest competitors, weWe also compete with smaller boutique firms that specializespecializing in specific regional, industry, or functional aspects of leadership and HR consulting.human resources ("HR") consulting aspects.

2.Digital

Overview—As develops technology-enabled Performance Management Tools that empower our clients. At the world changes at lightning speed, to compete, organizations need to be agile, decisive, and to act and scale fast.core of our offerings is the proprietary Korn Ferry Intelligence Cloud platform. With access to six billion data points and fortified by our established success methodology, this platform drives a range of Digital empowers leadersPerformance Management Tools. Through these tools, our consultants can analyze business data, benchmark against industry best practices, and deliver personalized recommendations. Additionally, our clients and their employees can independently utilize these digital tools to reach their goals by optimizingidentify, implement, and maintain performance enhancements at scale. Our Digital products include:

KF Assess: Puts the potential of their people.right people, with the right skills in place to deliver.

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The subscription-based platform that powers our Digital business combines our bank ofKF Architect: Streamlines the way jobs are designed, organized and evaluated.
KF Listen: Provides insight to understand and improve the employee dataexperience.
KF Sell: Creates a consistent, repeatable sales strategy to maximize sales effectiveness.
KF Pay: Compares and Korn Ferry methodology to benchmark where individuals and teams are now, and then identifiesdevelops the best structure, roles, capabilitiespay structures to motivate people to perform at their best.
KF Career for Tech: Upskill, reskill, develop and behaviorsdeploy an optimized technology workforce.
Summary of financial fiscal 2023 highlights:
Fee revenue was $354.7 million, an increase of 2.0% compared to fiscal 2022, representing 13% of total fee revenue.
Subscription and rewards needed to drive organizational effectiveness. Digital delivers clear insight with the training and tools needed to align organizational structure with business strategy.

The recent acquisitions of the Acquired Companies allow us to further complement our offering with tools, training and content aimed specifically at driving client challenges related to the acceleration of revenue growth, enhanced customer experience, and professional development.

Our Digital solutions cover the talent journey:

Korn Ferry Assess: our post-hire assessment solution to help you develop and leverage your existing talent

Korn Ferry Listen: customized employee engagement programs that determine how engaged and enabled employees are and help clients understand why

Korn Ferry Pay: market-leading compensation data and tools for employee rewards programs

Korn Ferry Recruit: AI-enabled talent acquisition tools that streamline hiring

Korn Ferry Select: our pre-hire assessment to help you find and hire the best talent

Our Digital team is comprised of topleadership and organizational consultants and thought leaders, located in 71 cities in 48 countries. Our consultants are predominately recruited from local markets, so they are sensitive to local issues, but work together in global teams, resulting in larger opportunities with greater client and commercial impact. DigitalLicense fee revenue was $292.4$119.7 million, $252.7an increase of 10% compared to fiscal 2022.

Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA margin were $97.5 million and $244.5 million in fiscal 2020, 2019 and 2018,27.5%, respectively.

Client Base—During fiscal 2020,2023, the Digital segment partnered with approximately 9,000over 8,300 clients across the globe, and 6%34% of Digital’s fiscal 20202023 fee revenue was referred from Korn Ferry’s Executive Search, Consulting and RPO & Professional Search segments.other lines of business, primarily Consulting. Our clients come from the private, public and not-for-profit sectors, across every major industry and represent diverse business challenges.

CompetitionThe competitor landscapeAgain, competition is fragmented. fragmented in this sector. We compete with specialist suppliers, and boutique and large consulting companies in each solution area. Some of our main competitors arearea such as AON, Mercer, Willis Towers Watson, SHL, Fuel 50, SkillSoft, Criteria, Predictive Index, Prevue Hire and Textio. Despite this, oneTextlio. One of our advantages is the way we have linkedlinking our data, IP and theour technology platform thatacross our solutions. This allows us to providegive organizations an end-to-end view of talent. We are able to show what success looks like across almost 4,000 roles, and our Accountability, Capability, & Identity Success Profile model provides a holistic way to look at a job from multiple angles and provide connectivity from people to strategy.

3.Executive Search

Overview—Korn Ferry helps clients attract and hire leaders who fit with their organization and make it stand out. Our services are typically used to fill executive-level positions, such as board directors,organizations recruit board-level, chief executive, officers, chief financial officers, chief operating officers, chief information officers, chief human resource officers and other C-suite/senior executive officers.

Our Executive Search services concentrate on searches for positions with average annual cash compensation of $360,000 or more, or comparable compensation in foreign locations. The industry is comprised of retained and contingency recruitment firms. Retained firms, such as Korn Ferry, typically charge a fee for their services equalgeneral management talent to approximately one-third of the first-year annual cash compensation for the position being filled regardless of whether the position is filled. Contingency firms generally work on a non-exclusive basis and are compensated only upon successfully placing a recommended candidate.

As part of being retained by a client to conduct a search, we assemble a team of consultants with appropriate geographic, industry and functional expertise. We utilize a standardized and differentiateddeliver lasting impact. Our approach to placing talent that integratesbrings together our research-based IP, proprietary assessments and behavioral interviewing with our practical experience. Our search consultants serve as management advisors who work closely withexperience to determine the client in identifying, assessingideal organizational fit. Salary benchmarking then helps us build appropriate frameworks for compensation and placing qualified candidates. attraction. This business is managed and reported on a geographic basis and represents four of the Company’s reportable segments (Executive Search North America, Executive Search Europe, the Middle East and Africa ("EMEA"), Executive Search Asia Pacific ("APAC") and Executive Search Latin America).

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Summary of financial fiscal 2023 highlights:
Fee revenue was $875.8 million, a decrease of 6% compared to fiscal 2022, representing 31% of total fee revenue.
Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA margin were $205.8 million and 23.5%, respectively.*
In fiscal 2020,2023, we executed 6,064opened more than 6,300 new executive search assignments.

Industry Specializationengagements with an average of 594 consultants.

*Executive Search Adjusted EBITDA and Executive Search Adjusted EBITDA margin are non-GAAP financial measures and have limitations as analytical tools. See Item 7. Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations for a discussion of why management believes the presentation of these non-GAAP financial measures provide meaningful supplemental information regarding Korn Ferry's performance.
Consultants are organized in six broad industriesindustry groups and bring an in-depth understanding of the market conditions and strategic management issues faced by clients face within their specific industries and geographies. We are continually lookingIn addition, we regularly look to expand our specialized expertise through internal development and strategic hiring in targeted growth areas.
Functional Expertise

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— We also have organized centers of functional expertise. This helps our teams comprehensively grasp the specific requirements and nuances involved in the role itself. These partners bring a deep understanding of the functional dynamics–from strategy through to execution-enabling them to identify and place candidates who possess the necessary skills, knowledge, and experience to excel in the role.

Percentage of Fiscal 2020 Assignments Opened by Industry Specialization

Global Industries:

Industrial

31

%

Financial Services

20

%

Life Sciences/Healthcare Provider

16

%

Consumer

15

%

Technology

13

%

Regional Specialties (U.S.):

Education/Not-for-Profit

5

%

Functional Expertise—We have organized executive search centers of functional expertise, composed of consultants who have extensive backgrounds in placing executives in certain functions, such as board directors, CEOs and other senior executive officers. Our Board & CEO Services group, for example, focuses exclusively on placing CEOs and board directors in organizations around the world. This is a dedicated team from the most senior ranks of the Company. Their work is with CEOs and in the boardroom, and their expertise is in organizational leadership and governance. They conduct hundreds of engagements every year, tapping talent from every corner of the globe. This work spans all ranges of organizational scale and purpose. Members of functional groups are located throughout our regions and across our industry groups.

Percentage of Fiscal 20202023 Assignments Opened by Functional Expertise

Board Level/CEO/CFO/Senior Executive and General Management

78 

70

%

Finance and Control

10

%

Information Systems

%
Marketing and Sales

6

%

Information Systems

6

%

Manufacturing/Engineering/Research and Development/Technology

5

%

Human Resources and Administration

3

%

Regions

North America

—In fiscal 2020, the region generated fee revenue of $434.6 million and opened 2,557 new engagements with an average of 253 consultants.

EMEA—In fiscal 2020, the region generated fee revenue of $170.3 million and opened 1,863 new engagements with an average of 173 consultants.

Asia Pacific—In fiscal 2020, the region generated fee revenue of $98.1 million and opened 1,107 new engagements with an average of 96 consultants.

Latin America—In fiscal 2020, the region generated fee revenue of $29.4 million and opened 537 new engagements with an average of 38 consultants.

Client Base—Our 3,968more than 4,000 Executive Search engagement clients in fiscal 20202023 include many of the world’s largest and most prestigious public and private companies.

Competition—InOur Executive Search we competeline of business competes with otherspecialist global executive search firms, (i.e.such as Egon Zehnder, Heidrick & Struggles International, Inc., Russell Reynolds Associates and Spencer Stuart). Although these firms are our largest competitors, weStuart. We also compete with smaller boutique firms that specializespecializing in specific regional, industry, or functional searches. We believe our brand name, differentiated business model, systematic approach to client service, cutting-edgeinnovative technology, unique IP, global network, prestigious clientele, strong specialty practices and high-caliber colleagues are recognized worldwide. We also believe our long-term incentive compensation arrangements as well asand other executive benefits distinguish us from most of our competitors and are importantessential in attracting and retaining our keytop consultants.

RPO

4.Professional Search & Professional Search

OverviewInterim —Korn Ferry combines people, process expertise and IP-enabled technology to deliverdelivers enterprise talent acquisition solutions for professional level middle and upper management. The Company helps clients source high-quality candidates at speed and scale globally, covering single-hire to our clients. Our recruiting solutions have breadth, including all functional talent segments—multi-hire permanent placements and interim contractors (that are focused on senior executive, information technology ("IT"), Finance & Accounting and HR roles). During fiscal 2023, we acquired Infinity Consulting Solutions, a provider of IT Marketing, R&D, Commercial Sales, HR, Healthcare, Supply Chain, Finance and Legal.interim talent. We also have depth, with the abilityacquired Salo LLC, a provider of finance, accounting and HR interim talent.

Summary of financial fiscal 2023 highlights:
Fee revenue was $503.4 million, an increase of 69% compared to deliver transaction sizes ranging from single professional searchesfiscal 2022, representing 18% of total fee revenue.
Average bill rates increased by 26% to team, department and line of business projects, and enterprise global professional recruiting solutions. Our global capabilities deliver 1-10,000 or more new hires to address our clients’ employment needs.

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RPO: In fiscal 2020, Korn Ferry was recognized as one of the top RPO providers$115 per hour in the Baker’s Dozen list, markinglast quarter of fiscal 2023 from $91 per hour as of January 31, 2022, which was the quarter we acquired our 13first interim business. Average bill rates represent fee revenue from interim services divided by the number of hours worked by consultants providing those services.

th consecutive year on the list. WeAdjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA margin were also named a leader on the Everest PEAK Matrix for three years running$110.9 million and achieved star performer status in 2020. 22.0%, respectively.
Through decades of experience, we have enhanced our RPO solution to deliver quality candidates that drive our clients’ business strategies. We leverage proprietary IP and data sets to guide clients on the critical skills and competencies to look for, compensation information to align with market demand, and assessment tools to ensure candidate fit.

We combine traditional recruitment expertise with a multi-tiered portfolio of talent acquisition solutions. Consultants, based in 33 countries, have access to our databases of pre-screened, mid-level professionals. Our global candidate pool complements our international presence and multi-channel sourcing strategy to provide speed, efficiency and quality service for clients worldwide.

Project Recruitment: We can deliver the same talent acquisition services as we would in an end-to-end RPO solution, but within a defined project start and end date. Our Project Recruitment solution is seamless and aligned with the client’s broader talent acquisition strategy. Clients enjoy the same benefits around reduced time to hire, reduced cost per hire and improved candidate quality that they would with a full RPO solution, but via an on-demand model to manage short-term or specialized needs.

Professional Search: We are positioned to help organizations identify and attract professionals at the middle to upper levels of management in single-search engagements. We focus on:

INDUSTRIES:

Consumer

FUNCTIONAL EXPERTISE:

Finance & Accounting

Financial Services

Human Resources

Industrial

Information Technology

Life Sciences/Healthcare

Sales, Marketing & Digital

Technology

Supply Chain Management

Education/Not-for-Profit/Government

Our innovative search process mirrors our Executive Search solution, offering access to active and passive candidate pools, the industry’s richest data on salaries and employee engagement, and proprietary tools in Korn Ferry Digital. A wealth of assessment data defines the traits needed for success in each role we recruit and matches candidates against best-in-class profiles while also gauging cultural fit. Our newest offering, Korn Ferry Recruit, a nimble solution, provides a fully integrated end-to-end technology solution for high-volume hiring of repeatable roles.

Client Base—During fiscal 2020,2023, the RPOProfessional Search & Professional SearchInterim segment partnered with 2,202more than 4,000 clients across the globe, and 43%32% of RPOProfessional Search & Professional Search’sInterim’s fiscal 20202023 fee revenue was referred from Korn Ferry’s Executive Search Consulting and Digital segments.other lines of business.

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Competition—We primarily compete for RPOProfessional Search & Interim business with other global RPO providers and compete for search assignments with regional contingency recruitment firms and large national retained recruitment firms.firms such as Robert Half, Michael Page, Harvey Nash, Robert Walters and BTG. We believe our competitive advantage is distinct. We are strategic, workingcollaborating with clients to hire best-fit candidates using our assessment IP, proprietary technology and professional recruiters. Our Talent Delivery Centers provide our teams with increased scalability, multilingual capabilities, global reach and functional specialization. We also work under the One Korn Ferry umbrella to help clients plan for their broader talent acquisition needs as part of their business strategy planning.

Professional Staff

5.RPO offers scalable recruitment outsourcing solutions leveraging customized technology and Employees

talent insights. The Company's scalable solutions, built on science and powered by best-in-class technology and consulting expertise, enable the Company to act as a strategic partner in clients’ quest for superior recruitment outcomes and better candidate fit.

Summary of financial fiscal 2023 highlights:
Fee revenue was $424.6 million, an increase of 8% compared to fiscal 2022, representing 15% of total fee revenue.
Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA margin were $52.6 million and 12.4%, respectively.
Client Base—During fiscal 2023, the RPO segment partnered with more than 300 clients across the globe, and 54% of RPO fiscal 2023 fee revenue was referred from Korn Ferry’s other lines of business.
CompetitionWe have assembled a wealth of talent that is rewarded based on performance.primarily compete for RPO business with other global RPO providers such as Cielo, Alexander Mann Solutions, IBM, Allegis, Kelly Services and Randstad.
Finally, our corporate center manages finance, legal, technology/IT, HR, marketing, and our research arm, the Korn Ferry Institute.
We help clients in four geographic markets: North America, Latin America, EMEA, and APAC. Our Company bringsgeographic markets bring together a wide range of disciplinescapabilities from across the organization—infusing industry and professions—everything from academic researchfunctional expertise and technology development skills—to executive recruiting, consulting,deliver value to our partners.
We operate in 108 offices in 53 countries, helping us deliver our solutions globally, wherever our clients do business. We continue our commitment to diversity and business leadership. We are also a culturally diverse organization. Our people come from all over the worldinclusion, hiring, promoting, and speak a multitude of languages. For us, this diversity is a key source of strength. It means we have people who are ableextending opportunities to challenge convention, offer unique perspectives,women and generate innovative ideas. Equally important, it means we can think and act globally—just like our clients.

underrepresented groups. As of April 30, 2020,2023, 70% of our workforce in the U.S. is female or from an underrepresented group. Broken down further, 62% of our workforce in the U.S. is female, and 64% of our global workforce is female. Our global age demographic is 53% Millennials (ages 26-41) and 8% Gen Z/Centennials (ages 25 and below). As of April 30, 2023, we had a total of 8,19810,697 full-time employees. Of this, 1,686 were Executive Search employees consisting of 556 consultantsemployees:

Consultants and execution staff1
Support staff2
Total employees
Consulting1,8533632,216
Digital3471,0771,424
Executive Search6021,2181,820
Professional Search & Interim4985911,089
RPO1803,7503,930
Corporate218218
Total3,4807,21710,697

1Consultants and 1,130execution staff, primarily responsible for originating client services
2Support staff includes associates, researchers, administrative, and support staff. staff
Business Challenges We Solve
Our Consulting segment had 2,058judgment and expertise have been built from decades of experience and insight into the business challenges companies are grappling with across industries. We work to understand the relevant macro trends impacting society and the future of work. After the reopening that followed the global pandemic, it is evident that the world of work has permanently changed and with the emergence of technologies like artificial intelligence ("AI"), the evolution continues. We support our clients amid a time of enormous transition and change, with these specific business challenges:
Transforming businesses while delivering robust performance.
Solving leadership challenges arising from the new landscape of hybrid and remote working.
Delivering for people, planet, and profit, and assisting with ESG and other corporate strategic initiatives.
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Finding the right talent in a dynamic and dislocated labor market.
Engaging and motivating employees asso companies can retain and reward their talent.
Supporting the work-scape transition from a place of Aprilwork to collaboration spaces.
Building work environments that are inclusive and free from bias.
Engaging and Reward to retain top talent.
Our Proprietary Data
We manage and leverage more than six billion data points, including:
Over 98 million assessments.
Engagement data on approximately 33 million employees.
And we hold:
Rewards data on more than 30 2020, consisting of 1,671 consultantsmillion people covering some 30,000 organizations.
More than 10,000 individual success profiles covering over 30,000 job titles.
Organizational benchmark data on more than 12,000 entities.
Culture surveys on approximately 600 entities and execution staff7.2 million respondents.
Pay policy and 387 associates, researchers, administrative and support staff. Our Digital segment had 1,413 employees as of April 30, 2020, consisting of 421 consultants and 992 associates, researchers, administrative and support staff. Our RPOpractice data on more than 150 countries.
Innovation & Professional Search segment had 2,891 employees as of April 30, 2020, consisting of 331 consultants and 2,560 administrative and support staff. Corporate had 150 professionals as of April 30, 2020. We are not party to a collective bargaining agreement and consider our relations with our employees to be good. Intellectual Property
Korn Ferry is andedicated to developing leading-edge services and leveraging innovation. We have made investments in technology, learning platforms, virtual coaching, individual learning journeys, data insights, and intellectual property that permeates all our solutions. With these investments, we are transforming how clients address their talent management needs. We have evolved from a mono-line business to a multi-faceted consultancy, giving our consultants more opportunities to engage with clients. The expansion of our business into larger markets offers higher growth potential and more durable and visible revenue streams.
The Korn Ferry Institute
The Korn Ferry Institute is our research and analytics arm. The Korn Ferry Institute develops robust research, innovative IP, and advanced analytics to enable Korn Ferry employees to partner with people and organizations to activate their potential and succeed.
We have built the Korn Ferry Institute on three core pillars:
1.Robust Research and Thought Leadership to anticipate and innovate: We explore trends and define leadership and human and organizational performance for a fast-changing economy. Some project examples from fiscal 2023 include research around:
Purpose
ESG
Neuroscience
Gen Z
2.Differentiated IP development supported by leading-edge science and enablement: We develop and measure what is required for success at work in the new economy. Examples from fiscal 2023 include IP around:
Inclusive Language and Leadership
Learning Agility
Career Mobility
Assessments and Interactive Feedback
3.Client Advanced Analytics and Data Management to generate insights: We integrate and build upon our datasets and external data using advanced modeling and AI. This allows us to produce predictive insights and deliver demonstrable client impact. During fiscal 2023, we supported the following:
On-demand Assessment Analytics
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Demographics and Job Factors
Psychometrics
In the fiscal year ahead, we intend to continue innovating to drive even greater business and societal impact to:
Provide research and modeling on the future of work, our solution areas, and industries to support growth and help our science, research and IP remain innovative and relevant.
Innovate and refine knowledge to strengthen IP, educate colleagues, expand analytics capabilities, and maximize impact across solutions and markets.
Global Delivery Capability
We believe a key differentiator for us is our global delivery capability. This allows us to support the varied parts of our business to give clients value-added services and solutions across the globe. We believe we can bring the right people from anywhere in the world to our clients at the right time both in physical and virtual working environments, which is a capability that is particularly crucial as business needs and conditions continue to change rapidly.
Competition
Korn Ferry operates in a rapidly changing global marketplace with a diverse range of organizations that offer services and solutions like those we offer. However, we believe no other company provides the same full range of services, uniquely positioning us for success in this highly fragmented, talent management landscape.
Our Market and Approach
Industry Recognition
Our company culture and excellent work within the industry are widely recognized. Some highlights from fiscal 2023 include global industry awards and accolades in recognition of performance and achievements:
Named America's Number One Executive Recruiter Firm 2023, Forbes
Named among the top 20 on Training Industries’ 2023 Top Sales Training & Enablement Companies
Named in America's Best Management Consulting Firms list in 2023, Forbes
Leader level Carbon Disclosure Project ("CDP") Rating for 2022 response to climate change questionnaire
Gold Medal for Sustainability rating from EcoVadis 2022
Gold HIRE Vets Medallion Award 2022, US Department of Labor
Recognized by Seramount (formerly Working Mother Media) in the best Companies for Parents list 2022, in the Best Companies for Dads list 2022, and as a Top Company in the Executive Women list 2022
Top Global RPO Provider, RPO Baker's Dozen List 2022, HRO Today
Recognized as a Leader in Recruitment Process Outsourcing in Everest Group's PEAK Matrix Assessment 2022
Our Go-To-Market Approach
Our go-to-market strategy brings together Korn Ferry’s core solutions to drive more integrated, scalable client relationships. Our goal is to drive topline synergies by increasing growth in the crossline of business referrals. This has been successful as during fiscal 2023, approximately 80% of revenue came from clients using multiple lines of our business, consistent with fiscal 2022.
We intend to continue evolving integrated solutions along industry lines to drive cross-geography and cross-solution referrals. Our Marquee and Regional Accounts program is a pillar of our growth strategy, which now comprises more than one-third of our revenue, yet only 2% of our clients. Its success has been realized by using our own IP and by following a disciplined approach to account planning and management with the addition of Global Account Leaders, resulting in more enduring relationships with clients. We believe building long-term client relationships of scale delivers less cyclical, more resilient revenue and new business through structured, programmatic account planning and strategic investments in account management talent.
Elevating our Brand
Collaboration between sales, marketing, research and business teams has enabled wider recognition for Korn Ferry in the market and a deeper connection with our customers through our thought leadership and the sharing of timely, news-driven content designed to inspire and challenge conventional points of view around workplace topics.
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The provocation we put out into the world is to Be More Than. Be More Than is about identifying and unleashing potential. Bring the right opportunity, to the right person, at the right time and it will change their world. Get people focused, aligned, believing and working together and it can change the world.
The principles behind Be More Than guide our thinking and behavior and represent our commitment to our clients and to each other. We help unleash potential in people to enable thriving, high-performing teams that collectively power sustainable growth and transform businesses.
Our People
Culture and Workforce
Our culture has evolved tremendously over the years with a team spirit of working together across different offices, regions, and practices. We strive to foster a supportive, respectful culture where everyone feels valued for their contribution, can do their best work and exceed their potential. Our approach to talent acquisition, development, recognition, engagement and benefits are designed to support this approach. Our priority is to hire without bias and provide under-represented talent with equal opportunity employer.

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across the firm. We work hard to build an environment of recognition by acknowledging others and appreciating their contributions and achievements. Our global talent promotion process recognizes colleagues for exceptional dedication and service to clients, embracing our firm's purpose and values, outstanding collaboration and stretching to meet expectations. We believe diversity drives innovation and connects us to our customers and communities. We are committed to building strong teams of people with diverse experiences, backgrounds, and perspectives.
Our Beliefs and Behaviors
Our culture starts with our values of Inclusion, Honesty, Knowledge, and Performance. Our values set the standard for what we expect of all our people. They also reflect the experience we want our clients to have when they work with us. We seek to embrace people with different points of view. We actively help our colleagues grow and develop with mentoring and support. We strive to learn, grow, to be better today than we were yesterday, and always do our best for our clients, colleagues, and shareholders.
As a global corporation, our commitment is to act ethically, which begins with each of us. This thinking is embedded in our core values and guides how we work together and with others. We strongly believe in a radically human approach, striving for empathy, honesty and authenticity across our interactions.
Developing and Rewarding Our People
We focus on making Korn Ferry a firm that energizes, develops, rewards and empowers people to pursue their passions and help our business succeed. Our global talent promotion process recognizes colleagues for exceptional dedication and service to clients. We run promotion cycles twice a year to allow us to appreciate the contribution of colleagues more frequently. In fiscal 2023, we promoted over 1,200 people in our five lines of business and Corporate.
We offer competitive benefits across the globe customized to each country we operate in based on market prevalence and cultural relevance. The Korn Ferry Cares benefits strategy focuses on keeping our colleagues and their families healthy – physically, emotionally, financially, and socially. Our progressive benefit offerings in the U.S. helped us earn top recognitions by Seramount (formerly Working Mother Media) as the best company for Parents 2022, Top Company for Dads 2022, Top Company for Female Professionals 2022, and as one of the Human Rights Campaign’s Best Places to Work for LGBTQ Equality 2022.
We believe in teaching and mentoring to support our colleagues’ career growth and success. These efforts have fostered stability and expertise in our workforce. Development happens broadly throughout the organization, from our formal mentoring program to direct training on our learning management platform, iAcademy. We also champion a range of career and leadership programs, such as our Mosaic program for diverse high-potentials, Leadership U for Korn Ferry, and Leadership U PLUS for Korn Ferry colleagues, an internal leadership development program. We use our Korn Ferry Advance platform, used externally by clients for career coaching and career development, as an internal development program platform.
We run a global colleague advisory council that offers feedback to senior leadership on the colleague experience within Korn Ferry. Also, our internal employee engagement program, the Korn Ferry Founder Awards, recognizes and celebrates exceptional performance.
Employee Well-being
The well-being of our employees is a focus. We run a series of initiatives to support employee well-being and instill an organizational culture of health, including an Employee Assistance program, mental health awareness campaigns, well-being webinars, flexible work schedules and parental support for distance learning.
Our employee safety
We are committed to creating a place where people can be successful professionally and personally. In response to the pandemic, we developed and implemented new practices designed to prioritize the health and safety of our employees and clients.
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Available Information
We file annual, quarterly, and current reports, proxy statements, and other documents with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"), according to the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the "Exchange Act"). Our reports, proxy statements, and other documents filed electronically with the SEC are available at the website maintained by the SEC at https://www.sec.gov.
We also make available, free of charge on the Investor Relations portion of our website at http://ir.kornferry.com, those annual, quarterly, and current reports, and, if applicable, amendments to those reports, filed or furnished under Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Exchange Act as soon as reasonably practicable after we electronically file such reports with, or furnish them to, the SEC at www.sec.gov.
Our Corporate Governance Guidelines, Code of Business Conduct and Ethics, and the charters of the Audit Committee, Compensation and Personnel Committee, and Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee of our Board of Directors are also posted on the Investor Relations portion of our website at http://ir.kornferry.com. Stockholders may request copies of these documents by writing to our Corporate Secretary at 1900 Avenue of the Stars, Suite 1500, Los Angeles, California 90067.
In addition, we make available on the Investor Relations portion of our website at http://ir.kornferry.com press releases and related earnings presentations and other essential information, which we encourage you to review.
Item 1A. Risk Factors

The discussion below describes the most significantmaterial factors, events, and uncertainties that make an investment in our securities risky.risky, and these risk factors should be considered carefully together with all other information in this Annual Report, including the financial statements and notes thereto. It does not address all of the risks that we face, and additional risks not presently known to us or that we currently deem immaterial may also arise and impair our business operations. Our business, financial condition or results of operations could be materially adversely affected by the occurrence of any of these risks.

Risks Related to Our Business

The global coronavirus (“COVID-19”) pandemic has been negatively impacting our operations and financial performance, as well as the operations and financial performance of many of the clients in the industries we serve. The ultimate magnitude of this impact will depend on a variety of factors, including the duration of the impact, restrictions and operational requirements that apply to our business and the businesses of our clients, and the state of the global economy as a result of the pandemic, none of which can be predicted at this time.

In December 2019, COVID-19 was reported to have surfaced in Wuhan, China. Since then, COVID-19 has spread across the globe, including all or most of the countries in which we and our clients operate. The COVID-19 pandemic has caused, and is expected to continue to cause, a global slowdown in economic activity, a decrease in demand for a broad variety of goods and services, disruptions in global supply chains, and significant volatility and disruption of financial markets. Because the severity, magnitude and duration of the pandemic and its economic consequences are uncertain, vary by region, are rapidly changing and difficult to predict, its full impact on our operations and financial performance, as well as its impact on our near-term ability to successfully execute our strategic objectives, remains similarly uncertain and difficult to predict. Further, the pandemic’s ultimate impact depends in part on many factors not within our control and which may vary by region (heightening the uncertainty as to the ultimate impact COVID-19 may have on our operations and financial performance), including (1) restrictive governmental and business actions that have been and continue to be taken in response (including travel restrictions, work from home requirements, and other workforce limitations), (2) economic stimulus, funding and relief programs and other governmental economic responses, (3) the effectiveness of governmental actions, (4) economic uncertainty in key global markets and financial market volatility, (5) levels of economic contraction or growth, (6) the impact of the pandemic on health and safety, (7) the pace of recovery if and when the pandemic subsides, and (8) how significantly the number of cases increases as economies begin to open up and the restrictive governmental and business actions referred to above are relaxed.

Further, the COVID-19 pandemic has subjected our operations and financial performance to a number of risks, including those discussed below:

Operations-related risks: Across all of our businesses, we are facing increased operational challenges including a heightened need to protect employee health and safety, office shutdowns, workplace disruptions, and restrictions on the movement of people, both at our own offices and at those of our clients and our suppliers. We are also experiencing, and expect to continue experiencing, lower demand and volume for products and services, client requests for engagement deferrals or other contract modifications, and other factors related directly and indirectly to the COVID-19 pandemic that adversely impact our businesses. We expect that the longer the period of economic disruption continues, the more severe the negative impact will be on our operations and financial performance.

Client-related risks: Our clients have been and will be disrupted by quarantines and restrictions on employees’ ability to work and office closures. Such disruptions have and may continue to restrict our ability to provide products and services to our clients and have also and may continue to reduce demand for our products and services. In addition, COVID-19 has adversely affected the global economy and the economies and financial markets of many countries, which may result in further economic downturn that could affect demand for our products and services and impact our operations.

Employee-related risks: We have experienced and will experience disruptions to our operations resulting from quarantines, self-isolations, or other movement and restrictions on the ability of our employees to perform their jobs that may impact our ability to deliver our products and services in a timely manner or meet milestones or customer commitments.

Liquidity- and funding-related risks: While we have significant sources of cash and liquidity and access to committed credit lines, a prolonged period of generating lower revenue could adversely affect our cash flow and liquidity. Conditions in the financial and credit markets may also limit our ability to draw on our revolving credit line, as well as the availability of additional funding or increase the cost of funding, if it were to become necessary.

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As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to negatively impact our operations, it may also have the effect of heightening many of the other risks described in this Risk Factor section of our 10-K. In particular, see the risk factors titled:

“We may not be able to align our cost structure with our revenue level”,

“Our financial results could suffer if we are unable to achieve or maintain adequate utilization and suitable billing rates for our consultants”,

“Foreign currency exchange rate risks affect our results of operations”,

“Our indebtedness could adversely affect our financial condition”,

“We may be unable to service our indebtedness”,

“A decline in our operating results or available cash could cause us to experience difficulties in complying with covenants contained in more than one agreement”,

“We are increasingly dependent on third parties for the execution of critical functions”,

“As a result of our acquisitions, we have substantial amounts of goodwill and intangible assets, and changes in business conditions could cause these assets to become impaired, requiring write-downs that would adversely affect our operating results”,

“We are a cyclical company whose performance is tied to local and global economic conditions”,

“We face risks associated with social and political instability, legal requirements and economic conditions in our international operations”,

“You may not receive the level of dividends provided for in the dividend policy our Board of Directors has adopted or any dividends at all”, and

“Our inability to successfully recover should we experience a disaster or other business continuity problem could cause material financial loss, loss of human capital, regulatory actions, reputational harm or legal liability”.

Further, the COVID-19 pandemic may also affect our operations and financial results in a manner that is not presently known to us or that we currently do not expect to present significant risks to our operations or financial results.

As a result of the decrease in fee revenue worldwide, the Company developed and implemented a plan that included (i) a reduction in workforce which resulted in $40.5 million of restructuring charges in fiscal 2020 (ii) the temporary furlough of certain employees, (iii) subject to certain exceptions and legal requirements, salary reductions across the organization, and (iv) other cost saving measures relating to general and administrative expenses. There is no guarantee that such plan will be successful and achieve the expected cost efficiencies.

Our inability to successfully recover should we experience a disaster or other business continuity problem could cause material financial loss, loss of human capital, regulatory actions, reputational harm or legal liability.

Should we experience a disaster or other business continuity problem, such as an earthquake, hurricane, terrorist attack, security breach, power loss, telecommunications failure or other natural or man-made disaster, our continued success will depend, in part, on the availability of our personnel, our office facilities, and the proper functioning of our computer, telecommunication and other related systems and operations. In such an event, we could experience near-term operational challenges with regard to particular areas of our operations. In particular, our ability to recover from any disaster or other business continuity problem will depend on our ability to protect our technology infrastructure against damage from business continuity events that could have a significant disruptive effect on our operations. For example, much of our corporate staff are based in California, which has a high level of risk from wildfires and earthquakes. The impacts of climate change present notable risks, including damage to assets and technology caused by extreme weather events linked to climate change and may otherwise heighten or exacerbate the occurrence of such weather events. We could potentially lose client data or experience material adverse interruptions to our operations or delivery of services to our clients in a disaster. A disaster on a significant scale or affecting certain of our key operating areas within or across regions, or our inability to successfully recover should we experience a disaster, pandemic or other business continuity problem, could materially interrupt our business operations and cause material financial loss, loss of human capital, regulatory actions, reputational harm, damaged client relationships or legal liability.

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We are limited in our ability to recruit candidates from certain of our clients due to off-limit agreements with those clients and for client relation and marketing purposes; suchpurposes. Such limitations could harm our business.

Either by agreement with clients, or for client relations or marketing purposes, we are required to or elect to refrain from, for a specified period of time, recruiting candidates from a client when conducting searches on behalf of other clients. These off-limit agreements can generally remain in effect for up to two years following the completion of an assignment and cause us to lose search opportunities to our competition. The duration and scope of the off-limit agreement, including whether it covers all operations of the client and its affiliates or only certain divisions of a client, generally are subject to negotiation or internal policies and may depend on factors such as the scope, size and complexity of the client’s business, the length of the client relationship and the frequency with which we have been engaged to perform executive and professional searches for the client. If a prospective client believes that we are overly restricted by these off-limit agreements from recruiting employees of our existing clients, these prospective clients may not engage us to perform their executive searches. Therefore, our inability to recruit candidates from these clients may make it difficult for us to obtain search assignments from, or to fulfill search assignments for, other companies in that client’s industry. We cannot ensure that off-limit agreements will not impede our growth or our ability to attract and serve new clients, or otherwise harm our business.

We face significant competition;competition. Competition in our industries could result in lost market share, reduced demand for our services, and/or require us to charge lower prices for our services, which could adversely affect our operating results and future growth.

We continue to face significant competition to each of our services and product offerings. The human resource consulting market has been traditionally fragmented and a number of large consulting firms, such as Ernst & Young, McKinsey, Willis Towers Watson and Deloitte are buildinghave built businesses in human resource consulting to serve these needs. Our consulting business line has and
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continues to face competition from human resource consulting businesses. Many of these competitors are significantly larger than Korn Ferry and have considerable resources at their disposal, allowing for potentially significant investment to grow their human resource consulting business. Digital Productsproducts in the human resource market hashave been traditionally fragmented and a number of firms such as AON, Mercer, Willis Towers Watson, SHL, Fuel 50, SkillSoft, Criteria, Predictive Index, Prevue Hire and Textio offer competitive products. Competitors in the digital marketplace are a combination of large, well capitalizedwell-capitalized firms and niche players who have received multiple rounds of private financing. Increased competition, whether as a result of professional and social networking website providers, traditional executive search firms, sole proprietors and in-house human resource professionals (as noted above) or larger consulting firms building human resources consulting businesses, may lead to pricing pressures that could negatively impact our business. For example, increased competition could require us to charge lower prices, and/or cause us to lose market share, each of which could reduce our fee revenue.

Our executive search services face competition from both traditional and non-traditional competitors that provide job placement services, including other large global executive search firms, smaller specialty firms and web-based firms. In recent years, we haveWe also begun facingface increased competition from sole proprietors and in-house human resource professionals whose ability to provide job placement services has been enhanced by professional profiles made available on the internet and enhanced social media-based search tools. The continued growth of the shared economy and related freelancing platform sites may also negatively impact demand for our services by allowing employers seeking services to connect with employees in real time and without any significant cost. Traditional executive search competitors include Egon Zehnder, Heidrick & Struggles International, Inc., Russell Reynolds Associates and Spencer Stuart. In each of our markets, one or more of our competitors may possess greater resources, greater name recognition, lower overhead or other costs and longer operating histories than we do, which may give them an advantage in obtaining future clients, capitalizing on new technology and attracting qualified professionals in these markets. Additionally, specialty firms can focus on regional or functional markets or on particular industries and executive search firms that have a smaller client base are subject to fewer off-limits arrangements. There are no extensive barriers to entry into the executive search industry and new recruiting firms continue to enter the market.

We believe the continuing development and increased availability of information technology will continue to attract new competitors, especially web-enabled professional and social networking website providers, and these providers may be facilitating a company’s ability to insource their recruiting capabilities. Competitors in these fields include SmashFly, iCIMS, Yello, Indeed, Google for Jobs and Jobvite. As these providers continue to evolve, they may develop offerings similar to or more expansive than ours, thereby increasing competition for our services or more broadly causing disruption in the executive search industry. Further, as technology continues to develop and the shared economy continues to grow, we expect that the use of freelancing platform sites will become more prevalent. As a result, companies may turn to such sites for their talent needs, which could negatively impact demand for the services we offer.

Our RPO & Professional Search services primarily compete for business with other RPO providers such as Cielo, Alexander Mann Solutions, IBM, Allegis, and Kelly Services and Randstad while Professional Search & Interim services compete for mid-level professional search

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assignments with regional contingency recruitment firms and large national retained recruitment firms such as Robert Half, Michael Page, Harvey Nash, Robert Walters, TekSystems and the Lucas Group.BTG. In addition, some organizations have developed or may develop internal solutions to address talent acquisition that may be competitive with our solutions. This is a highly competitive and developing industry with numerous specialists. To compete successfully and achieve our growth targets for our talent acquisition business, we must continue to support and develop assessment and analytics solutions, maintain and grow our proprietary database, deliver demonstrable return on investment to clients, support our products and services globally, and continue to provide consulting and training to support our assessment products. Our failure to compete effectively could adversely affect our operating results and future growth.

Consolidation in the industries that we serve could harm our business.

Companies in the industries that we serve have and may continue to achieve economies of scale and other synergies by combining with or acquiring other companies. If two or more of our clients merge or consolidate and combine their operations, we may experience a decrease in the amount of services we perform for these clients. If one of our clients merges or consolidates with a company that relies on another provider for its services, we may lose work from that client or lose the opportunity to gain additional work. The increased market power of larger companies could also increase pricing and competitive pressures on us. Any of these possible results of industry consolidation could harm our business, results of operations and financial condition.

Failure to attract and retain qualified and experienced consultants could result in a loss of clients which in turn could cause a decline in our revenue and harm to our business.

We compete with other executive, and professional search and interim and consulting firms for qualified and experienced consultants. These other firms may be able to offer greater bonuses, incentives or compensation and benefits or more attractive lifestyle choices, career paths, office cultures, or geographic locations than we do. Competition for these consultants typically increases during periods of wage inflation, labor constraints, and/or low unemployment, such as the environment experienced in calendar year 2022, and can result in material increases to our costs and stock usage under authorized employee stock plans, among other impacts.
Attracting and retaining consultants in our industry is particularly important because, generally, a small number of consultants have primary responsibility for a client relationship. Because client responsibility is so concentrated, the loss of key consultants may lead to the loss of client relationships. In fiscal 2020,2023, our top threesix consultants in each of Executive(Executive Search and Consulting segment hadConsulting) generated business equal to approximately 1%2% of our total fee revenues. Furthermore, our top ten consultants in each of Executive(Executive Search and Consulting segment hadConsulting) generated business equal to approximately 3%6% of our total fee revenues. This risk is heightened due to the general portability of a consultant’s business: consultants have in the past, and will in the future, terminate their employment with our Company. Any decrease in the quality of our reputation, reduction in our compensation levels relative to our peers or restructuringmodifications of our compensation program, whether as a result of insufficient revenue, a decline in the market price of our common stock or for any other reason, could impair our ability to retain existing consultants or attract additional qualified consultants with the requisite experience, skills and established client relationships. Our failure
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to retain our most productive consultants, whether in Executive Search, Consulting, Digital, Professional Search & Interim or RPO, & Professional Search, or maintain the quality of service to which our clients are accustomed, as well as the ability of a departing consultant to move business to his or her new employer, could result in a loss of clients, which could in turn cause our fee revenue to decline and our business to be harmed. We may also lose clients if the departing Executive Search, Consulting, Digital or RPO & Professional Search consultant has widespread name recognition or a reputation as a specialist in his or her line of business in a specific industry or management function. We could also lose additional consultants if they choose to join the departing Executive Search, Consulting, Digital or RPO & Professional Search consultant at another executive search or consulting firm. Failing to limit departing consultants from moving business or recruiting our consultants to a competitor could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We incur substantial costsare working to hireadvance culture change through the continued implementation of diversity, equity and retaininclusion ("DE&I") initiatives throughout our professionals,organization and the shift to a hybrid work environment. If we expectdo not or are perceived not to successfully implement these costsinitiatives, our ability to continue and to grow.

Our success depends on attracting and retaining professional employees. Torecruit, attract and retain such employeestalent may be adversely impacted and shifts in perspective and expectations about social issues and priorities surrounding DE&I may occur at a competitive marketplace,faster pace than we must provide a competitive compensation package. As such,are capable of managing effectively. If we often pay hiring bonuses and annual retention bonuses are unable to secure the services of new hiresidentify, attract and retain our professional employees. Such payments have taken the form of long-term deferred compensation, restricted stock, and unsecured cash paymentssufficient talent in the form of promissory notes. The aggregate amount of these awards to employees is significant and as competition in our industry intensifies, we expect to continue issuing these types of long-term incentive awards. The deterioration in the national and global economy and labor markets as a result of COVID-19 has and may continue to put negative pressure on demand for our services, thereby negatively affecting our generation of future revenues, but we nonetheless continue to incur the cost of these long-term awards, resulting in lower results of operations.

Failing to retain our executive officers and key personnel or integrate new members of our senior management who are critical to our businesspositions, it may prevent us from successfully managingachieving our strategic vision, disrupt our business, impact revenues, increase costs, damage employee morale and affect the quality and continuity of client service. In addition, risks associated with our recent reduction in the future.

Our future success depends upon the continued service of our executive officers and other key management personnel. Competition for qualified personnel is intense, and weheadcount may compete with other companies that have greater financial and other resources than we do. If we lose the services of one or more of our executives or key employees, or if one or more of them decides to join a competitor or otherwise compete directly or indirectly with us,

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orbe exacerbated if we are unable to integrate new membersretain qualified personnel.

We are highly dependent on the continued services of our senior management whosmall team of executives.
We are critical todependent upon the efforts and services of our business, werelatively small executive team. The loss for any reason, including retirement of any one of our key executives, could have an adverse effect on our operations and our plans for executive succession may not be able to successfully manage our business or achieve our business objectives.

sufficiently mitigate such losses.

Failing to maintain our professional reputation and the goodwill associated with our brand name could seriously harm our business.

We depend on our overall reputation and brand name recognition to secure new engagements and to hire qualified professionals. Our success also depends on the individual reputations of our professionals. We obtain a majority of our new engagements from existing clients or from referrals by those clients. Any client who is dissatisfied with our services can adversely affect our ability to secure new engagements.

If any factor, including poor performance or negative publicity, whether or not true, hurts our reputation, we may experience difficulties in competing successfully for both new engagements and qualified consultants, which could seriously harm our business.

As we develop new services, clients and practices, enter new lines of business, and focus more of our business on providing a full range of client solutions, the demands on our business and our operating and legal risks may increase.

As part of our corporate strategy, we are attempting to leverage our research and consulting services to sell a full range of services across the life cycle of a policy, program, project or initiative, and we are regularly searching for ways to provide new services to clients.clients, such as our recent entry into the Interim business and strategic acquisitions. This strategy, even if effectively executed, may prove insufficient in light of changes in market conditions, workforce trends, technology, competitive pressures or other external factors. In addition, we plan to extend our services to new clients and into new lines of business and geographic locations. As we focus on developing new services, clients, practice areas and lines of business; open new offices; acquire or dispose of business; and engage in business in new geographic locations, our operations are exposed to additional as well as enhanced risks.

In particular, our growth efforts place substantial additional demands on our management and staff, as well as on our information, financial, administrative and operational systems. We may not be able to manage these demands successfully. Growth may require increased recruiting efforts, opening new offices, increased business development, selling, marketing and other actions that are expensive and entail increased risk. We may need to invest more in our people and systems, controls, compliance efforts, policies and procedures than we anticipate. Therefore, even if we do grow, the demands on our people and systems, controls, compliance efforts, policies and procedures may exceed the benefits of such growth, and our operating results may suffer, at least in the short-term, and perhaps in the long-term.

Efforts involving a different focus and/or new services, clients, practice areas, lines of business, offices and geographic locations entail inherent risks associated with our inexperience and competition from mature participants in those areas. Our inexperience may result in costly decisions that could harm our profit and operating results. In particular, new or improved services often relate to the development, implementation and improvement of critical infrastructure or operating systems that our clients may view as “mission critical,” and if we fail to satisfy the needs of our clients in providing these services, our clients could incur significant costs and losses for which they could seek compensation from us. As our business continues to evolve and we provide a wider range of services, we will become increasingly dependent upon our employees, particularly those operating in business environments less familiar to us. Failure to identify, hire, train and retain talented employees who share our values could have a negative effect on our reputation and our business.

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We are subject to potential legal liability from clients, employees, candidates for employment, stockholders and others. Insurance coverage may not be available to cover all of our potential liability and available coverage may not be sufficient to cover all claims that we may incur.

We are exposed to potential claims with respect to the executive search process and our consulting services.services, among numerous other matters. For example, a client could assert a claim for matters such as breach of an off-limit agreement or recommending a candidate who subsequently proves to be unsuitable for the position filled. Further, the current employer of a candidate whom we placed could file a claim against us alleging interference with an employment contract; a candidate could assert an action against us for failure to maintain the confidentiality of the candidate’s employment search; and a candidate or employee could assert an action against us for alleged discrimination, violations of labor and employment law or other matters. Also, in various countries, we are subject to data protection, employment and other laws impacting the processing of candidate information and other regulatory requirements that could give rise to liabilities/claims. Client dissatisfaction with the consulting services provided by our consultants may also lead to claims against us.

Additionally, as part of our consulting services, we often send a team of leadership consultants to our clients’ workplaces. Such consultants generally have access to client information systems and confidential information. An inherent risk of such activity includes possible claims of misuse or misappropriation of client IP, confidential information, funds or other property, as well as harassment, criminal activity, torts, or other claims. Such claims may

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result in negative publicity, injunctive relief, criminal investigations and/or charges, payment by us of monetary damages or fines, or other material adverse effects on our business.

From time to time, we may also be subject to legal actions or claims brought by our stockholders, including securities, derivative and class actions, for a variety of matters related to our operations, such as significant business transactions, cybersecurity incidents, volatility in our stock, and our responses to stockholder activism, among others. Such actions or claims and their resolution may result in defense costs, as well as settlements, fines or judgments against us, some of which are not, or cannot be, covered by insurance. The payment of any such costs, settlements, fines or judgments that are not insured could have a material adverse effect on our business. In addition, such matters may affect the availability or cost of some of our insurance coverage, which could adversely impact our results of operations and expose us to increased risks that would be uninsured.

We cannot ensure that our insurance will cover all claims or that insurance coverage will be available at economically acceptable rates. Our ability to obtain insurance, its coverage levels, deductibles and premiums, are all dependent on market factors, our loss history and insurers’ perception of our overall risk profile. Our insurance may also require us to meet a deductible. Significant uninsured liabilities could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We are subject to numerous and varied government regulations across the jurisdictions in which we operate.
Our business is subject to various federal, state, local, and foreign laws and regulations that are complex, change frequently and may become more stringent over time. Future legislation, regulatory changes or policy shifts under the current U.S. administration or other governments could impact our business. Our failure to comply with applicable laws and regulations could restrict our ability to provide certain services or result in the imposition of fines and penalties, substantial regulatory and compliance costs, litigation expense, adverse publicity, and loss of revenue. We incur, and expect to continue to incur, significant expenses in our attempt to comply with these laws, and our businesses are also subject to an increasing degree of compliance oversight by regulators and by our clients. In addition, our Digital services and increasing use of technology in our business expose us to data privacy and cybersecurity laws and regulations that vary and are evolving across jurisdictions. These and other laws and regulations, as well as laws and regulations in the various states or in other countries, could limit our ability to pursue business opportunities we might otherwise consider engaging in, impose additional costs or restrictions on us, result in significant loss of revenue, impact the value of assets we hold, or otherwise significantly adversely affect our business. Any failure by us to comply with applicable laws or regulations could also result in significant liability to us from private legal actions, or may result in the cessation of our operations or portions of our operations or impositions of fines and restrictions on our ability to carry on or expand our operations. Our operations could also be negatively affected by changes to laws and regulations and enhanced regulatory oversight of our clients and us. These changes may compel us to change our prices, may restrict our ability to implement price increases, and may limit the manner in which we conduct our business or otherwise may have a negative impact on our ability to generate revenues, earnings, and cash flows. If we are unable to adapt our products and services to conform to the new laws and regulations, or if these laws and regulations have a negative impact on our clients, we may experience client losses or increased operating costs, and our business and results of operations could be negatively affected.
Our business and operations are impacted by developing laws and regulations, as well as evolving investor and customer expectations with regard to, corporate responsibility matters and reporting, which expose us to numerous risks.
We are subject to evolving local, state, federal and/or international laws, regulations, and expectations regarding corporate responsibility matters, including sustainability, the environment, climate change, human capital management, DE&I, procurement, philanthropy, data privacy and cybersecurity, human rights, business risks and opportunities, including shifts in market preferences for reporting, more sustainable or socially responsible products and services, and other actions. These
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requirements, expectations, and/or frameworks, which can include assessment and ratings published by third-party firms, are not synchronized and vary by stakeholder, industry, and geography; as a result, they may: increase the time and cost of our efforts to monitor and comply with those obligations; limit the extent, frequency, and modality with which our consultants travel; impact our business opportunities, supplier choices and reputation; and expose us to heightened scrutiny, liability, and risks that could negatively affect us. We report on our aspirations, targets, and initiatives related to corporate responsibility matters (both directly and in response to third-party inquiries). These efforts have also, and may in the future include, reporting intended to address certain third-party frameworks, such as the recommendations of the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board, the Task Force for Climate-Related Financial Disclosures and other standards or material assessments related to corporate responsibility matters. Our ability to achieve our corporate responsibility aspirations which may change or to meet these evolving expectations is not guaranteed and is subject to numerous risks, including the existence, cost, and availability of certain technology, methodologies, and processes, the acquisition and integration of new entities, and trends in demand. Failing to accurately report, progress on, or meet any such aspirations or expectations (including a perceived failure to do so) on a timely basis or at all could negatively affect our business, growth, results of operations, and reputation. Meeting or exceeding such aspirations or expectations also may not result in the benefits initially anticipated.
Within our own operations, we face additional costs: from rising energy costs, which make it more expensive to power our corporate offices; and efforts to mitigate or reduce our operations’ impacts from or on the environment, such as a shift to cloud technology or a leasing preference for buildings that are LEED-certified. We have also developed and offer corporate responsibility services and products designed to address customer demand for human capital management, DE&I, and sustainability matters within their own organizations and workforce, the success of which depends on many factors and may not be fully realized.
Risks Related Toto Our Profitability

We may not be able to align our cost structure with our revenue level, which in turn may require additional financing in the future that may not be available at all or may be available only on unfavorable terms.

We continuously evaluate our cost base in relation to projected near to mid-term demand for our services in an effort

Our efforts to align our cost structure with the current realities of our markets.markets may not be successful. When actual or projected fee revenues are negatively impacted by weakening customer demand, we have and may again find it necessary to take cost cutting measures so that we can minimize the impact on our profitability. Inprofitability, such as the restructuring recently initiated in the second half of fiscal 2020, due to the decrease in fee revenue as a result of COVID-19, the Company developed and implemented a plan that included (i) a reduction in workforce which resulted in $40.5 million of restructuring charges in fiscal 2020 (ii) the temporary furlough of certain employees, (iii) subject to certain exceptions and legal requirements, salary reductions across the organization, and (iv) other cost saving measures relating to general and administrative expenses. There is, however, no guarantee that such measures will properly align our cost structure to our revenue level.2023. Failing to maintain a balance between our cost structure and our revenue could adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations and lead to negative cash flows, which in turn might require us to obtain additional financing to meet our capital needs. If we are unable to secure such additional financing on favorable terms, or at all, our ability to fund our operations could be impaired, which could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations.

Our financial results could suffer if we are unable to achieve or maintain adequate utilization and suitable billing rates for our consultants.

Our profitability depends, to a large extent, on the utilization and billing rates of our professionals. Utilization of our professionals is affected by a number of factors, including:

the number and size of client engagements;

the number and size of client engagements; the timing of the commencement, completion and termination of engagements (for example, the commencement or termination of multiple RPO engagements could have a significant impact on our business, including significant fluctuations in our fee revenue, since these types of engagements are generally larger, in terms of both staffing and fee revenue generated, than our other engagements); our ability to transition our consultants efficiently from completed engagements to new engagements; the hiring of additional consultants because there is generally a transition period for new consultants that results in a temporary drop in our utilization rate; unanticipated changes in the scope of client engagements; our ability to forecast demand for our services and thereby maintain an appropriate level of consultants; and conditions affecting the industries in which we practice, as well as general economic conditions.

the timing of the commencement, completion and termination of engagements (for example, the commencement or termination of multiple RPO engagements could have a significant impact on our business, including significant fluctuations in our fee revenue, since these types of engagements are generally larger, in terms of both staffing and fee revenue generated, than our other engagements);

our ability to transition our consultants efficiently from completed engagements to new engagements;

the hiring of additional consultants because there is generally a transition period for new consultants that results in a temporary drop in our utilization rate;

unanticipated changes in the scope of client engagements;

our ability to forecast demand for our services and thereby maintain an appropriate level of consultants; and

conditions affecting the industries in which we practice as well as general economic conditions.

The billing rates of our consultants that we are able to charge are also affected by a number of factors, including:

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our clients’ perception of our ability to add value through our services;

our clients’ perception of our ability to add value through our services; the market demand for the services we provide, which may vary globally or within particular industries that we serve; an increase in the number of clients in the government sector in the industries we serve; the introduction of new services by us or our competitors; our competition and the pricing policies of our competitors; and current economic conditions.

the market demand for the services we provide;

an increase in the number of clients in the government sector in the industries we serve;

the introduction of new services by us or our competitors;

our competition and the pricing policies of our competitors; and

current economic conditions.

If we are unable to achieve and maintain adequate overall utilization, as well as maintain or increase the billing rates for our consultants, our financial results could materially suffer. In addition, our consultants oftentimes perform services at the physical locations of our clients. Natural disasters, pandemics, disruptions to travel and transportation or problems with communications systems negatively impact our ability to perform services for, and interact with, our clients at their physical locations, which could have an adverse effect on our business and results of operations.

The profitability of our fixed-fee engagements with clients may not meet our expectations if we underestimate the cost of these engagements when pricing them.

When making proposals for fixed-fee engagements, we estimate the costs and timing for completing the engagements. Theseengagements and these estimates reflect our best judgment regarding the efficiencies of our methodologies and consultants as we plan to deploy them on engagements.may not be accurate. Any increased or unexpected costs or unanticipated delays in connection with the performance of fixed-fee engagements, including delays caused by factors outside our control, could make these contracts
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less profitable or unprofitable, which would have an adverse effect on our profit margin. Clients may also delay or cancel engagements, which could cause expected revenues to be realized at a later time or not at all. For the years ended April 30, 2020, 2019,2023, 2022, and 2018,2021, fixed-fee engagements represented 25%23%, 27%22%, and 28%26% of our revenues, respectively.

Inflationary pressure has and may continue to adversely impact our profitability.
Demand for our services is affected by global economic conditions and the general level of economic activity in the geographic regions in which we operate. During periods of slowed economic activity, many companies hire fewer permanent employees, and our business, financial condition and results of operations may be adversely affected. If unfavorable changes in regional or global economic conditions occur, our business, financial condition and results of operations could suffer. Accelerated and pronounced economic pressures, such as the recent inflationary cost pressures and rise in interest rates, as well as geopolitical uncertainty, has and may continue to negatively impact our expense base by increasing our operating costs, including labor, borrowing, and other costs of doing business. Continued inflationary pressures may result in increases in operating costs that we may not be able to fully offset by raising prices for our services because if we do our clients may choose to reduce their business with us, which may reduce our operating margin.
Risks Related Toto Accounting and Taxation

Changes in our accounting estimates and assumptions could negatively affect our financial position and results of operations.

We prepare our consolidated financial statements in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”). These accounting principles require us to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and the disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of our financial statements. We are also required to make certain judgments that affect the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during each reporting period. We periodically evaluate our estimates and assumptions, including those relating to revenue recognition, restructuring, deferred compensation, goodwill and other intangible assets, contingent consideration, annual performance-related bonuses, allowance for doubtful accounts, share-based payments and deferred income taxes. Actual results could differ from the estimates we make based on historical experience and various assumptions believed to be reasonable based on specific circumstances, and changes in accounting standards could have an adverse impact on our future financial position and results of operations.

Foreign currency exchange rate risks affect our results of operations.

A material portion of our revenue and expenses are generated by our operations in foreign countries, and we expect that our foreign operations will account for a material portion of our revenue and expenses in the future. Most of our international expenses and revenue are denominated in foreign currencies. As a result, our financial results are affected by changes in foreign currency exchange rates or weak economic conditions in foreign markets in which we have operations, among other factors. Fluctuations in the value of those currencies in relation to the U.S. dollar have caused and will continue to cause dollar-translated amounts to vary from one period to another. Such variations expose us to both adverse as well as beneficial movements in currency exchange rates. Given the volatility of exchange rates, we are not always able to manage effectively our currency translation or transaction risks, which has and may continue to adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations.

Unfavorable tax laws, tax law changes and tax authority rulings may adversely affect results.

We are subject to income taxes in the U.S. and in various foreign jurisdictions. Domestic and international tax liabilities are subject to the allocation of income among various tax jurisdictions. Our effective tax rate could be adversely affected by changes in the mix of earnings among countries with differing statutory tax rates or changes in tax laws. The amount of our income taxes and other taxes are subject to ongoing audits by U.S. federal, state and local tax authorities and by non-U.S. authorities. If these audits result in assessments different from estimated amounts recorded, future financial results may include unfavorable tax adjustments.

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Future changes in tax laws, treaties or regulations, and their interpretations or enforcement, may be unpredictable, particularly as taxing jurisdictions face an increasing number of political, budgetary and other fiscal challenges. Tax rates in the jurisdictions in which we operate may change as a result of macroeconomic and other factors outside of our control, making it increasingly difficult for multinational corporations like ourselves to operate with certainty about taxation in many jurisdictions. As a result, we have been and may again be materially adversely affected by future changes in tax law or policy (or in their interpretation or enforcement) in the jurisdictions where we operate, including the U.S., which could have a material adverse effect on our business, cash flow, results of operations, financial condition, as well as our effective income tax rate.

We have deferred tax assets that we may not be able to use under certain circumstances.

If we are unable to generate sufficient future taxable income in certain jurisdictions, or if there is a significant change in the time period within which the underlying temporary differences become taxable or deductible, we could be required to increase our valuation allowances against our deferred tax assets. This would result in an increase in our effective tax rate, and an adverse effect on our future operating results. In addition, changes in statutory tax rates may also change our deferred tax assets or liability balances, with either a favorable or unfavorable impact on our effective tax rate. Our deferred tax assets may also be impacted by new legislation or regulation.

Risks Related to Our Financing/Indebtedness

Our level indebtedness could adversely affect our financial condition, our ability to operate our business, react to changes in the economy or our industry, prevent us from fulfilling our obligations under our indebtedness and could divert our cash flow from operations for debt payments.

As of April 30, 2020,2023, we had approximately $400.0 million in total indebtedness outstanding, and $646.0$645.4 million of availability under our $650.0 million five-year senior secured revolving credit facility (the “Revolver”) and $500 million of availability under our $500.0 million five-year senior secured delayed draw term loan facility that expired on June 24, 2023 (“Delayed Draw Facility”), both provided for under our Credit Agreement, as amended on June 24, 2022 (the “Credit“Amended Credit Agreement”) that we entered into on December 16, 2019, with a syndicate of banks and Bank of America, National Association as administrative agent. Subject to the limits contained in the Amended Credit Agreement that govern our Revolver and the indenture governing our $400.0 million principal amount of the 4.625% Senior Unsecured Notes due 2027 (the “Notes”), we may be able to incur substantial additional debt from time to time to finance working capital, capital expenditures, investments or acquisition, or for other purposes. If we do so, the risks related to our debt could increase.

Specifically, our level of debt could have important consequences to us, including the following:

it may be difficult for us to satisfy our obligations, including debt service requirements under our outstanding debt; our ability to obtain additional financing for working capital, capital expenditures, debt service requirements, acquisitions or other general corporate purposes may be impaired; requiring a substantial portion of cash flow from operations to be dedicated to the payment of principal and interest on our indebtedness, including the Notes, therefore reducing our ability to use our cash flow to fund our operations, capital expenditures, future business opportunities and other purposes; we are more vulnerable to economic downturns and adverse industry conditions and our flexibility to plan for, or react to, changes in our business or industry is more limited; our ability to capitalize on business opportunities and to react to competitive pressures, as compared to our competitors, may be compromised due to our high level of debt and the restrictive covenants in the Amended Credit Agreement and the indenture governing our Notes; our ability to borrow additional funds or to refinance debt may be limited; and it may cause potential or existing customers to not contract with us due to concerns over our ability to meet our financial obligations, such as insuring against our professional liability risks, under such contracts.

it may be difficult for us to satisfy our obligations, including debt service requirements under our outstanding debt;

our ability to obtain additional financing for working capital, capital expenditures, debt service requirements, acquisitions or other general corporate purposes may be impaired;

requiring a substantial portion of cash flow from operations to be dedicated to the payment of principal and interest on our indebtedness, including the Notes, therefore reducing our ability to use our cash flow to fund our operations, capital expenditures, future business opportunities and other purposes;

we are more vulnerable to economic downturns and adverse industry conditions and our flexibility to plan for, or react to, changes in our business or industry is more limited;

our ability to capitalize on business opportunities and to react to competitive pressures, as compared to our competitors, may be compromised due to our high level of debt and the restrictive covenants in the Credit Agreement and the indenture governing our Notes;

our ability to borrow additional funds or to refinance debt may be limited;

COVID-19 could impact our ability to draw on the revolver or result in a credit downgrade; and

it may cause potential or existing customers to not contract with us due to concerns over our ability to meet our financial obligations, such as insuring against our professional liability risks, under such contracts.

Furthermore, our debt under our Revolver bears interest at variable rates.

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Despite our indebtedness levels, we and our subsidiaries may still incur substantially more debt, which could further exacerbate the risks associated with our substantial leverage.

We and our subsidiaries may incur substantial additional indebtedness in the future. The Amended Credit Agreement and the indenture governing our Notes contain restrictions on the incurrence of additional indebtedness, but these restrictions are subject to several qualifications and exceptions, and the indebtedness that may be incurred in compliance with

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these restrictions could be substantial. If we incur additional debt, the risks associated with our leverage, including those described above, would increase. Further, the restrictions in the indenture governing the Notes and the Amended Credit Agreement will not prevent us from incurring obligations, such as trade payables, that do not constitute indebtedness as defined in such debt instruments. As of April 30, 2020,2023, we had $646.0$645.4 million of availability to incur additional secured indebtedness under our Revolver.

Revolver and $500 million of availability to incur additional secured indebtedness under our Delayed Draw Facility that expired on June 24, 2023.

Our variable rate indebtedness subjects us to interest rate risk, which could cause our indebtedness service obligations to increase significantly.

Interest rates fluctuate. As a result, interest rates on the Revolver or other variable rate debt offerings could be higher or lower than current levels. IfWhen interest rates increase, our debt service obligations on our variable rate indebtedness, if any, would increase even though the amount borrowed remained the same, and our net income and cash flows, including cash available for servicing our indebtedness, would correspondingly decrease. In addition, a transition away from the London Interbank Offered Rate (“LIBOR”) as a benchmark for establishing the applicable interest rate may affect the cost of servicing our debt under the Revolver. The Financial Conduct Authority of the U.K. has announced that it plans to phase out LIBOR by the end of calendar year 2021. Our borrowing arrangements provide for alternative base rates, but such alternative base rates may or may not be related to LIBOR, and the consequences of the phase out of LIBOR cannot be entirely predicted at this time. For example, if any alternative base rate or means of calculating interest with respect to our outstanding variable rate indebtedness leads to an increase in the interest rates charged, it could result in an increase in the cost of such indebtedness, impact our ability to refinance some or all of our existing indebtedness or otherwise have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We may be unable to service our indebtedness.

Our ability to make scheduled payments on and to refinance our indebtedness depends on and is subject to our financial and operating performance, which in turn is affected by general and regional economic, financial, competitive, business and other factors, all of which are beyond our control, including the availability of financing in the international banking and capital markets. Lower total revenue generally will reduce our cash flow. We cannot assure you that our business will generate sufficient cash flow from operations or that future borrowings will be available to us in an amount sufficient to enable us to service our debt, to refinance our debt or to fund our other liquidity needs.

If we are unable to meet our debt service obligations or to fund our other liquidity needs, we will need to restructure or refinance all or a portion of our debt, which could cause us to default on our debt obligations and impair our liquidity. Our ability to restructure or refinance our debt will depend on the condition of the capital markets and our financial condition at such time. Any refinancing of our indebtedness could be at higher interest rates and may require us to comply with more onerous covenants that could further restrict our business operations.

Moreover, in the event of a default, the holders of our indebtedness, including the Notes, could elect to declare all the funds borrowed to be due and payable, together with accrued and unpaid interest, if any. The lenders under the Revolver could also elect to terminate their commitments thereunder, cease making further loans, and institute foreclosure proceedings against their collateral, and we could be forced into bankruptcy or liquidation. If we breach our covenants under the Revolver, we would be in default thereunder. The lenders could exercise their rights, as described above, and we could be forced into bankruptcy or liquidation.

The agreements governing our debt impose significant operating and financial restrictions on us and our subsidiaries, which may prevent us from capitalizing on business opportunities.

The Amended Credit Agreement and the indenture governing the Notes impose significant operating and financial restrictions on us. These restrictions limit our ability and the ability of our subsidiaries to, among other things:

incur or guarantee additional debt or issue capital stock; pay dividends and make other distributions on, or redeem or repurchase, capital stock; make certain investments; incur certain liens; enter into transactions with affiliates; merge or consolidate; enter into agreements that restrict the ability of subsidiaries to make dividends, distributions or other payments to us or the guarantors; in the case of the indenture governing our Notes, designate restricted subsidiaries as unrestricted subsidiaries; and transfer or sell assets.

incur or guarantee additional debt or issue capital stock;

pay dividends and make other distributions on, or redeem or repurchase, capital stock;

make certain investments;

incur certain liens;

enter into transactions with affiliates;

merge or consolidate;

enter into agreements that restrict the ability of subsidiaries to make dividends, distributions or other payments to us or the guarantors;

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in the case of the indenture governing our Notes, designate restricted subsidiaries as unrestricted subsidiaries; and

transfer or sell assets.

We and our subsidiaries are subject to covenants, representations and warranties in respect of the Revolver, including financial covenants as defined in the Amended Credit Agreement. See “Note 10 – 11 –Long-Term DebtLong-Term Debt” of our notes to our consolidated financial statements included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

As a result of these restrictions, we are limited as to how we conduct our business, and we may be unable to raise additional debt or equity financing to compete effectively or to take advantage of new business opportunities. The terms of any future indebtedness we may incur could include more restrictive covenants. We cannot assure you that we will be able to maintain compliance with these covenants in the future and, if we fail to do so, that we will be able to obtain waivers from the lenders and/or amend the covenants.

Our failure to comply with the restrictive covenants described above and/or the terms of any future indebtedness from time to time could result in an event of default, which, if not cured or waived, could result in our being required to repay these borrowings before their due date. If we are forced to refinance these borrowings on less favorable terms or cannot refinance these borrowings, our results of operations and financial condition could be adversely affected.

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A decline in our operating results or available cash could cause us to experience difficulties in complying with covenants contained in more than one agreement, which could result in our bankruptcy or liquidation.

If we sustain a decline in our operating results or available cash, we could experience difficulties in complying with the financial covenants contained in the Amended Credit Agreement. The failure to comply with such covenants could result in an event of default under the Revolver and by reason of cross-acceleration or cross-default provisions, other indebtedness may then become immediately due and payable. In addition, should an event of default occur, the lenders under our Revolver could elect to terminate their commitments thereunder, cease making loans and institute foreclosure proceedings against our assets, and we could be forced into bankruptcy or liquidation. If our operating performance declines, we may in the future need to obtain waivers from the lenders under our Revolver to avoid being in default. If we breach our covenants under our Revolver and seek a waiver, we may not be able to obtain a waiver from the lenders thereunder. If this occurs, we would be in default under our Revolver, the lenders could exercise their rights, as described above, and we could be forced into bankruptcy or liquidation.

Risks Related to Technology, Cybersecurity and Intellectual Property

Social media platforms present risks and challenges that can cause damage to our brand and reputation.

The inappropriate and/or unauthorized use of social media platforms, including weblogs (or blogs), social media websites and other forms of Internet-based communications, which allow individuals access to a broad audience of consumers and other interested persons by our clients or employees could increase our costs, cause damage to our brand, lead to litigation or result in information leakage, including the improper collection and/or dissemination of personally identifiable information of candidates and clients. In addition, negative or inaccurate posts or comments about us on any social networking platforms could damage our reputation, brand image and goodwill.

Technological advances may significantly disrupt the labor market and weaken demand for human capital at a rapid rate.

Our success is directly dependent on our customers’ demands for talent. As technology continues to evolve, more tasks currently performed by people have been and may continue to be replaced by automation, robotics, machine learning, artificial intelligence and other technological advances outside of our control. The human resource industry has been and continues to be impacted by significant technological changes, enabling companies to offer services competitive with ours. Many of those technological changes may (i) reduce demand for our services, (ii) enable the development of competitive products or services, or (iii) enable our current customers to reduce or bypass the use of our services, particularly in lower-skill job categories. Additionally, rapid changes in artificial intelligenceAI and generative AI which involves the use of advanced algorithms and machine learning techniques to create content, generate ideas, or simulate human-like behaviors and block chain-based technology are increasing the competitiveness landscape. We may not be successful in anticipating or responding to these changes and demand for our services could be further reduced by advanced technologies being deployed by our competitors. The effortTechnological developments such as these may materially affect the cost and use of technology by our clients and demand for our services, and if we do not sufficiently invest in new technology and industry developments, or if we do not make the right strategic investments to gain technological expertiserespond to these developments and successfully drive innovation, our services and solutions, our ability to generate demand for our services, attract and retain clients, and our ability to develop new technologiesand achieve a competitive advantage and continue to grow could be negatively affected. If we are unable to keep pace with the industry changes this could result in an impairment of goodwill or other intangible assets and would have a negative impact on our business may require us to incur significant expenses.profitability and operating results. In some cases, we depend on key vendors and partners to provide technology and other support. If these third parties fail to perform their obligations or cease to work with us, our ability to execute on our strategic initiatives could be adversely affected.

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Limited protection of our IP could harm our business, and we face the risk that our services or products may infringe upon the IP rights of others.

We cannot guarantee that trade secrets, trademark and copyright law protections are adequate to deter misappropriation of our IP (which has become an important part of our business). Existing laws of some countries in which we provide services or products may offer only limited protection of our IP rights. Redressing infringements may consume significant management time and financial resources. Also, we cannot detect all unauthorized use of our IP and take the necessary steps to enforce our rights, which may have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition or results of operations. We cannot be sure that our services and products, or the products of others that we offer to our clients, do not infringe on the IP rights of third parties, and we may have infringement claims asserted against us or our clients. These claims may harm our reputation, result in financial liability and prevent us from offering some services or products.

We have invested in specialized technology and other IP for which we may fail to fully recover our investment, or which may become obsolete.

We have invested in developing specialized technology and IP, including proprietary systems, processes and methodologies, such as Korn Ferry Advance and Talent Hub, that we believe provide us a competitive advantage in serving our current clients and winning new engagements. Many of our service and product offerings rely on specialized technology or IP that is subject to rapid change, and to the extent that this technology and IP is rendered obsolete and of no further use to us or our clients, our ability to continue offering these services, and grow our revenues, has been and may continue to be adversely affected. There is no assurance that we will be able to develop new, innovative or improved technology or IP or that our technology and IP will effectively compete with the IP developed by our competitors. If we are unable to develop new technology and IP or if our competitors develop better technology or IP, our revenues and results of operations could be adversely affected.

We rely heavily on our information systems, and if we lose that technology, or fail to further develop our technology, our business could be harmed.

Our success depends in large part upon our ability to store, retrieve, process, manage and protect substantial amounts of information. Our information systems are subject to the risk of failure, obsolescence and inadequacy. To achieve our strategic objectives and to remain competitive, we must continue to develop and enhance our information systems. This may require the acquisition of equipment and software and the development of new proprietary software, either internally or through independent consultants. If we are unable to design, develop, implement and utilize, in a cost-effective manner, information systems that provide the capabilities necessary for us to compete effectively, or for any reason any interruption or loss of our information processing capabilities occurs, this could harm our business, results of operations and financial condition. We cannot be sure that our current insurance against the effects of a disaster regarding our information technology or our disaster recovery procedures will continue to be available at reasonable prices, cover all our losses or compensate us for the possible loss of clients occurring during any period that we are unable to provide business services.

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We are subject to risk as it relates to software that we license from third parties.

We license software from third parties, much of which is integral to our systems and our business. The licenses are generally terminable if we breach our obligations under the license agreements. If any of these relationships were terminated or if any of these parties were to cease doing business or cease to support the applications we currently utilize, we may be forced to spend significant time and money to replace the licensed software. However, we cannot assure you that the necessary replacements will be available on reasonable terms, if at all.

We are dependent on third parties for the execution of certain critical functions.

We do not maintain all of our technology infrastructure, and we have outsourced certain other critical applications or business processes to external providers, including cloud-based services. The failure or inability to perform on the part of one or more of these critical suppliers or partners have caused, and could in the future cause significant disruptions and increased costs. We are also dependent on security measures that some of our third-party vendors and customers are taking to protect their own systems and infrastructures. If our third-party vendors do not maintain adequate security measures, do not require their sub-contractors to maintain adequate security measures, do not perform as anticipated and in accordance with contractual requirements, or become targets of cyber-attacks, we may experience operational difficulties and increased costs, which could materially and adversely affect our business.

Cyber security vulnerabilities and incidents have and may again lead to the improper disclosure of information obtained from our clients, candidates and employees, which could result in liability and harm to our reputation.

We use information technology and other computerresources to carry out operational and marketing activities and to maintain our business records. We rely on information technology systems to process, transmit, and store electronic information and to communicate among our locations around the world and with our clients, partners, and employees. The breadth and complexity of this infrastructure increases the risk of security breaches which could lead to potentialincidents resulting in the unauthorized disclosure of sensitive or confidential information.Relianceinformation and other adverse consequences that could have a material adverse impact on our business and results of operations. Our reliance on trained professionals to configure and operate this infrastructure creates the potential for human error, leading to potential exposure of sensitive or confidential information.

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Our systems and networks and the vendors who provide us services are vulnerable to computer viruses, malware, worms, hackers and other security issues,incidents, including physical and electronic break-ins, attacks by hackers, computer viruses, malware, worms, router disruption, sabotage or espionage, ransomware attacks, supply chain attacks, disruptions from unauthorized access and tampering (including through social engineering such as phishing attacks), employee error and misconduct, impersonation of authorized users and coordinated denial-of-service attacks. For example, in the past we have experienced cyber security incidents resulting from unauthorized access to our systems, which to date have not had a material impact on our business or results of operations; however, there is no assurance that such impacts will not be material in the future.

We expect cybersecurity incidents to continue to occur in the future.

The continued occurrence of high-profile data breaches against various entities and organizations provides evidence of an external environment that is increasingly hostile to information security. This environment demands that we continuouslyregularly improve our design and coordination of security controls across our business groups and geographies in order to protect information that we develop or that is obtained from our clients, candidates and employees. Despite these efforts, given the ongoing and increasingly sophisticated attempts to access the information of entities, our security controls over this information, our training of employees, and other practices we follow have not and may not prevent the improper disclosure of such information. Our efforts and the costs incurred to bolster our security against attacks cannot provide absolute assurance that future data breaches will not occur. We depend on our overall reputation and brand name recognition to secure new engagements. Perceptions that we do not adequately protect the privacy of information could inhibit attaining new engagements, qualified consultants and could potentially damage currently existing client relationships.

Data security, data privacy and data protection laws, such as the European Union General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”), and other evolving regulations and cross-border data transfer restrictions, may limit the use of our services, increase our costs and adversely affect our business.

We are subject to numerous U.S. and foreign jurisdiction laws and regulations designed to protect client, colleague, supplier and company data, such as the GDPR,, which became effective in May 2018, and requires companies to meet stringent requirements regarding the handling of personal data, including its use, protection and transfer and the ability of persons whose data is stored to correct or delete such data about themselves. Complying with the enhanced obligations imposed by the GDPR has resulted and may continue to result in additional costs to our business and has required and may further require us to amend certain of our business practices. Failure to meet the GDPR requirements could result in significant penalties, including fines up to 4% of annual worldwide revenue. The GDPR also confers a private right of action on certain individuals and associations.

Laws and regulations in this area are evolving and generally becoming more stringent. For example, the New York State Department of Financial Services has issued cybersecurity regulations that outline a variety of required security measures for protection of data. Some U.S. states, including California and Virginia, have also enacted cybersecurity laws requiring certain security measures of regulated entities that are broadly similar to GDPR requirements, such as the California Consumer Privacy Act, California Privacy Rights Act and Virginia Consumer Data Protection Act. New privacy laws in Colorado will take effect in calendar year 2023, and we expect that other states will continue to do so. adopt legislation in this area.
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As these laws continue to evolve, we may be required to make changes to our services, solutions and/or products so as to enable the Company and/or our clients to meet the new legal requirements, including by taking on more onerous obligations in our contracts, limiting our storage, transfer and processing of data and, in some cases, limiting our service and/or solution offerings in certain locations. Changes in these laws, or the interpretation and application thereof, may also increase our potential exposure through significantly higher potential penalties for non-compliance. The costs of compliance with, and other burdens imposed by, such laws and regulations and client demand in this area may limit the use of, or demand for, our services, solutions and/or products, make it more difficult and costly to meet client expectations, or lead to significant fines, penalties or liabilities for noncompliance, any of which could adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

In addition, due to the uncertainty and potentially conflicting interpretations of these laws, it is possible that such laws and regulations may be interpreted and applied in a manner that is inconsistent from one jurisdiction to another and may conflict with other rules or our practices. Any failure or perceived failure by us to comply with applicable laws or satisfactorily protect personal information could result in governmental enforcement actions, litigation, or negative publicity, any of which could inhibit sales of our services, solutions and/or products.

Further, enforcement actions and investigations by regulatory authorities related to data security incidents and privacy violations continue to increase. It is possible that future enactment of more restrictive laws, rules or regulations and/or future enforcement actions or investigations could have an adverse impact on us through increased costs or restrictions on our businesses and noncompliance could result in regulatory penalties and significant legal liability.

Social media platforms present risks and challenges that can cause damage to our brand and reputation.
The inappropriate and/or unauthorized use of social media platforms, including blogs, social media websites and other forms of Internet-based communications, which allow individuals access to a broad audience of consumers and other interested persons by our clients or employees could increase our costs, cause damage to our brand, lead to litigation or result in information leakage, including the improper collection and/or dissemination of personally identifiable information of candidates and clients. In addition, negative or inaccurate posts or comments about us on any social networking platforms could damage our reputation, brand image and goodwill.
Risks Related to Acquisitions

Acquisitions, or our inability to effect acquisitions, may have an adverse effect on our business.

We have completed several strategic acquisitions of businesses in the last several years, including our acquisition of the Acquired CompaniesThe Lucas Group and Patina Solutions Group, Inc. in fiscal 20202022 and Hay GroupInfinity Consulting Solutions and Salo LLC in fiscal 2016.2023. Targeted acquisitions have been and continue to be part of our growth strategy, and we may in the future selectively acquire businesses that are complementary to our existing service offerings. However, we cannot be certain that we will be able to continue to identify appropriate acquisition candidates or acquire them on satisfactory terms. Our ability to consummate such acquisitions on satisfactory terms will depend on:

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the extent to which acquisition opportunities become available;

on the extent to which acquisition opportunities become available; our success in bidding for the opportunities that do become available; negotiating terms that we believe are reasonable; and regulatory approval, if required.

our success in bidding for the opportunities that do become available;

negotiating terms that we believe are reasonable; and

regulatory approval, if required.

Our ability to make strategic acquisitions may also be conditioned on our ability to fund such acquisitions through the incurrence of debt or the issuance of equity. Our Amended Credit Agreement limits us from consummating acquisitions unless we are in pro forma compliance with our financial covenants, and our pro forma domestic liquidity after giving effect to the acquisition is at least $50.0 million, and certain other conditions are met. If we are required to incur substantial indebtedness in connection with an acquisition, and the results of the acquisition are not favorable, the increased indebtedness could decrease the value of our equity. In addition, if we need to issue additional equity to consummate an acquisition, doing so would cause dilution to existing stockholders.

If we are unable to make strategic acquisitions, or the acquisitions we do make are not on terms favorable to us or not effected in a timely manner, it may impede the growth of our business, which could adversely impact our profitability and our stock price.

We may not be able to successfully integrate or realize the expected benefits from our acquisitions.

Our future success depends in part on our ability to complete the integration of acquisition targets successfully into our operations. The process of integrating an acquired business subjects us to a number of risks, including:

diversion of management attention;

amortization of intangible assets, adversely affecting our reported results of operations;

inability to retain and/or integrate the management, key personnel and other employees of the acquired business;

inability to properly integrate businesses resulting in operating inefficiencies;

inability to establish uniform standards, disclosure controls and procedures, internal control over financial reporting and other systems, procedures and policies in a timely manner;

inability to retain the acquired company’s clients;

exposure to legal claims for activities of the acquired business prior to acquisition; and

incurrence of additional expenses in connection with the integration process.

If our acquisitions are not successfully integrated, our business, financial condition and results of operations, as well as our professional reputation, could be materially adversely affected.

Further, we cannot assure you that acquisitions will result in the financial, operational or other benefits that we anticipate. Some acquisitions may not be immediately accretive to earnings and some expansion may result in significant expenditures.

Businesses we acquire may have liabilities or adverse operating issues that could harm our operating results.

Businesses we acquire may have liabilities or adverse operating issues, or both, that we either fail to discover through due diligence or underestimate prior to the consummation of the acquisition. These liabilities and/or issues may include the acquired business’ failure to comply with, or other violations of, applicable laws, rules or regulations or contractual or other obligations or liabilities. As the successor owner, we may be financially responsible for, and may suffer harm to our reputation or otherwise be adversely affected by, such liabilities and/or issues. An acquired business also may have problems with internal controls over financial reporting, which could in turn cause us to have significant deficiencies or material weaknesses in our own internal controls over financial reporting. These and any other costs, liabilities, issues, and/or disruptions associated with any past or future acquisitions, and the related integration, could harm our operating results.

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As a result of our acquisitions, we have substantial amounts of goodwill and intangible assets, and changes in business conditions could cause these assets to become impaired, requiring write-downs that would adversely affect our operating results.

All of our acquisitions have been accounted for as purchases and involved purchase prices well in excess of tangible asset values, resulting in the creation of a significant amount of goodwill and other intangible assets. As of April 30, 2020,2023, goodwill and purchased intangibles accounted for approximately 22%25% and 4%3%, respectively, of our total assets. Under U.S. GAAP, we do not amortizeWe review goodwill and intangible assets acquired in a purchase business combination that are determined to have indefinite useful lives, but instead review them annually (or more frequently, if impairment indicators arise) for impairment. In fiscal 2019,the Company began to offer substantially all of the Company’s current products and services using the “Korn Ferry” name, branding and trademarks, and has sunset substantially all sub-brands, including Futurestep, Hay Group and Lominger, among others. The Hay Group and Lominger brands came to the Company through acquisitions and, in connection with the accounting for those acquisitions, $106.6 million of the purchase price was allocated to indefinite lived tradename intangible assets.On June 12, 2018, the Company concluded that as a result of the decision to discontinue the use of such sub-brands in the near term, the Company was required under U.S. GAAP to record in the first quarter of fiscal 2019 a one-time, non-cash intangible asset impairment charge of $106.6 million. The discontinuation of such brands could adversely affect our business. Further, futureFuture events or changes in circumstances that result in an impairment of goodwill or other intangible assets would have a negative impact on our profitability and operating results.

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An impairment in the carrying value of goodwill and other intangible assets could negatively impact our consolidated results of operations and net worth.

Goodwill is initially recorded as the excess of amounts paid over the fair value of net assets acquired. While goodwill is not amortized, it is reviewed for impairment at least annually or more frequently, if impairment indicators are present. In assessing the carrying value of goodwill, we make qualitative and quantitative assumptions and estimates about revenues, operating margins, growth rates and discount rates based on our business plans, economic projections, anticipated future cash flows and marketplace data. There are inherent uncertainties related to these factors and management’s judgment in applying these factors. Goodwill valuations have been calculated using an income approach based on the present value of future cash flows of each reporting unit and a market approach. We could be required to evaluate the carrying value of goodwill prior to the annual assessment if we experience unexpected, significant declines in operating results or sustained market capitalization declines. These types of events and the resulting analyses could result in goodwill impairment charges in the future. Impairment charges, such asfuture and therefore impact the impairment charge thatvalue of assets we recorded in the first quarter of fiscal 2019 related to the discontinuation of the Hay Group and Lominger brands, could substantiallyhold, or otherwise significantly adversely affect our results of operationsbusiness, which could limit our financial flexibility and net worth in the periods of such charges.

liquidity.

Risks Related to Global Operations

We are a cyclical company whose performance is tied to local and global economic conditions.

Demand for our services is affected by global economic conditions, including recessions, inflation, interest rates, tax rates and economic uncertainty, and the general level of economic activity in the geographic regions and industries in which we operate. When conditions in the global economy, including the credit markets, deteriorate, or economic activity slows, many companies hire fewer permanent employees and some companies, as a cost-saving measure, choose to rely on their own human resources departments rather than third-party search firms to find talent, and under these conditions, companies have cut back on human resource initiatives, all of which negatively affects our financial condition and results of operations. We also experience more competitive pricing pressure during periods of economic decline. If the geopolitical uncertainties result in a reduction in business confidence, ifwhen the national or global economy or credit market conditions in general deteriorate, the unemployment rate increases or any changes occur in U.S. trade policy (including any increases in tariffs that result in a trade war), such uncertainty or changes put negative pressure on demand for our services and our pricing, resulting in lower cash flows and a negative effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. In addition, some of our clients experience reduced access to credit and lower revenues, resulting in their inability to meet their payment obligations to us.

We face risks associated with social and political instability, legal requirements and economic conditions in our international operations.

We operate in 53 countries and, during the year ended April 30, 2020,2023, generated 55%45% of our fee revenue from operations outside of the U.S. We are exposed to the risk of changes in social, political, legal and economic conditions inherent in international operations. Examples of risks inherent in transacting business worldwide that we are exposed to include:

uncertainties and instability in economic and market conditions caused by the United Kingdom’s (the “U.K.”) exit from the E.U. (“Brexit”);

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uncertainty regarding how the U.K.’s access to the E.U. Single Market and the wider trading, legal, regulatory and labor environments, especially in the U.K. and E.U., will be impacted by Brexit, including the resulting impact on our business and that of our clients;

changes in and compliance with applicable laws and regulatory requirements, including U.S. laws affecting the activities of U.S. companies abroad, including the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977 and sanctions programs administered by the U.S. Department of the Treasury Office of Foreign Assets Control, and similar foreign laws such as the U.K. Bribery Act, as well as the fact that many countries have legal systems, local laws and trade practices that are unsettled and evolving, and/or commercial laws that are vague and/or inconsistently applied;

difficulties in staffing and managing global operations, which could impact our ability to maintain an effective system of internal control;

difficulties in building and maintaining a competitive presence in existing and new markets;

social, economic and political instability, including the repercussions of the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine and the cessation of our business in Russia;

social, economic and political instability;

differences in cultures and business practices;

statutory equity requirements;

differences in accounting and reporting requirements;

repatriation controls;

repatriation controls; 

differences in labor and market conditions;

potential adverse tax consequences;

multiple regulations concerning immigration, pay rates, benefits, vacation, statutory holiday pay, workers’ compensation, union membership, termination pay, the termination of employment, and other employment laws; and

the introduction of greater uncertainty with respect to trade policies, tariffs, disputes or disruptions, the termination or suspension of treaties, boycotts and government regulation affecting trade between the U.S. and other countries.

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the introduction of greater uncertainty with respect to trade policies, tariffs, disputes or disruptions, the termination or suspension of treaties, boycotts and government regulation affecting trade between the U.S. and other countries.
One or more of these factors has and may in the future harm our business, financial condition or results of operations.

The United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the E.U. may adversely impact our operations in the United Kingdom and elsewhere.

In fiscal 2020, 10.6% of our fee revenue was recognized in the U.K. On January 31, 2020, the U.K. left the E.U. and is now in a transition period through December 31, 2020. Although the U.K. will remain in the E.U. single market and customs union during the transition period, the long-term nature of the U.K.’s relationship with the E.U. is unclear and there is considerable uncertainty as to whether any agreement will be reached and implemented. The political and economic instability created by Brexit has caused and may continue to cause significant volatility in global financial markets and uncertainty regarding the regulation of data protection in the U.K. In particular, although the U.K. enacted a Data Protection Act in May 2018 that is consistent with the GDPR, uncertainty remains regarding how data transfers to and from the U.K. will be regulated. Brexit could also have the effect of disrupting the free movement of goods, services, and people between the U.K., the E.U., and elsewhere. Brexit could lead to legal uncertainty and potentially divergent national laws and regulations as the U.K. determines which E.U. laws to replace or replicate. Further, uncertainty around these and related issues could lead to adverse effects on the economy of the U.K. and the other economies. At this time, we cannot predict the impact Brexit will have on our business generally and our U.K. and European operations more specifically, and no assurance can be given that our operating results, financial condition and prospects would not be adversely impacted by the result. Brexit and any uncertainty with respect thereto could adversely impact customer demand and create significant currency fluctuations. In addition, we could be adversely impacted by changes in trade policies, labor, tax or other laws and regulations, IP rights and supply chain logistics. We may incur additional costs as it addresses any such changes. All or any one of these factors could adversely affect our business, revenue, financial condition and results of operations.

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The challenges that continue to surround the timing and terms of the U.K.’s exit from the EU and its consequences could adversely impact customer and investor confidence and relationships, result in additional market volatility and adversely affect our businesses and results of operations. These effects could derive from delays or reductions in contract awards, canceled contracts, increased costs, fluctuations in exchange rates, difficulty in recruiting or in gaining permission to employ existing staff, or less favorable payment terms.

The interest rates under our Credit Agreement may be impacted by the phase-out of LIBOR.

LIBOR is the basic rate of interest used in lending between banks on the London interbank market and is widely used as a reference for setting the interest rates on loans globally. We generally use LIBOR as a reference rate to calculate interest rates under our credit facility. In 2017, the U.K.’s Financial Conduct Authority, which regulates LIBOR, announced that it intends to phase out LIBOR by the end of 2021. It is unclear if LIBOR will cease to exist at that time or if new methods of calculating LIBOR will be established such that it continues to exist after 2021. The U.S. Federal Reserve, in conjunction with the Alternative Reference Rates Committee, a steering committee comprised of large U.S. financial institutions, is considering replacing U.S. dollar LIBOR with a new index, the Secured Overnight Financing Rate (“SOFR”), calculated using short-term repurchase agreements backed by U.S. Treasury securities. Whether or not SOFR, or another alternative reference rate, attains market traction as a LIBOR replacement tool remains in question. If LIBOR ceases to exist, we may need to amend our Credit Agreement to replace LIBOR with an agreed upon replacement index, and certain of the interest rates under our Credit Agreement may change. The new rates may not be as favorable to us as those in effect prior to any LIBOR phase-out.

Risks Related to ourOur Dividend Policy

You may not receive the level of dividends provided for in the dividend policy our Board of Directors has adopted or any dividends at all.

We are not obligated to pay dividends on our common stock. Despite our history of paying dividends, the declaration and payment of all future dividends to holders of our common stock are subject to the discretion of our Board of Directors, which may amend, revoke or suspend our dividend policy at any time and for any reason, including earnings, capital requirements, financial conditions and other factors our Board of Directors may deem relevant. The terms of our indebtedness may also restrict us from paying cash dividends on our common stock under certain circumstances. See below “—Our ability to pay dividends is restricted by agreements governing our debt, including our Amended Credit Agreement and the indenture governing our Notes, and by Delaware law.”

Over time, our capital and other cash needs may change significantly from our current needs, which could affect whether we pay dividends and the level of any dividends we may pay in the future. If we were to use borrowings under our Revolver to fund our payment of dividends, we would have less cash and/or borrowing capacity available for future dividends and other purposes, which could negatively affect our financial condition, our results of operations, our liquidity and our ability to maintain and expand our business. Accordingly, you may not receive dividends in the intended amounts, or at all. Any reduction or elimination of dividends may negatively affect the market price of our common stock.

Our ability to pay dividends is restricted by agreements governing our debt, including our Amended Credit Agreement and indenture governing our Notes, and by Delaware law.

Both our Amended Credit Agreement and the indenture governing our Notes restrict our ability to pay dividends. See “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Liquidity and Capital Resources,” where we describe the terms of our indebtedness, including provisions limiting our ability to declare and pay dividends. As a result of such restrictions, we may be limited in our ability to pay dividends unless we redeem our Notes and amend our Amended Credit Agreement or otherwise obtain a waiver from our lenders. In addition, as a result of general economic conditions, conditions in the lending markets, the results of our business or for any other reason, we may elect or be required to amend or refinance our Revolver, at or prior to maturity, or enter into additional agreements for indebtedness. Any such amendment, refinancing or additional agreement may contain covenants that could limit in a significant manner or entirely our ability to pay dividends to you.

Additionally, under the Delaware General Corporation Law (“DGCL”), our Board of Directors may not authorize payment of a dividend unless it is either paid out of surplus, as calculated in accordance with the DGCL, or if we do not have a surplus, out of net profits for the fiscal year in which the dividend is declared and/or the preceding fiscal year.

If, as a result of these restrictions, we are required to reduce or eliminate the payment of dividends, a decline in the market price or liquidity, or both, of our common stock could result. This may in turn result in losses by you.

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Our dividend policy may limit our ability to pursue growth opportunities.

If we pay dividends at the level currently anticipated under our dividend policy, we may not retain a sufficient amount of cash to finance growth opportunities, meet any large unanticipated liquidity requirements or fund our operations in the event of a significant business downturn. In addition, because a portion of cash available will be distributed to holders of our common stock under our dividend policy, our ability to pursue any material expansion of our business, including through acquisitions, increased capital spending or other increases of our expenditures, will depend more than it otherwise would on our ability to obtain third party financing. We cannot assure you that such financing will be available to us at all, or at an acceptable cost. If we are unable to take timely advantage of growth opportunities, our future financial condition and competitive position may be harmed, which in turn may adversely affect the market price of our common stock.

Risks Related to Our Stockholders
We have provisions that make an acquisition of us more difficult and expensive.
Anti-takeover provisions in our Stockholders

Certificate of Incorporation, our Bylaws and under Delaware law make it more difficult and expensive for us to be acquired in a transaction that is not approved by our Board of Directors. Some of the provisions in our Certificate of Incorporation and Bylaws include: limitations on stockholder actions; advance notification requirements for director nominations and actions to be taken at stockholder meetings; and the ability to issue one or more series of preferred stock by action of our Board of Directors.

These provisions could discourage an acquisition attempt or other transaction in which stockholders could receive a premium over the current market price for the common stock.
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General Risk Factors
Failing to retain our executive officers and key personnel or integrate new members of our senior management who are critical to our business may prevent us from successfully managing our business in the future.
Our future success depends upon the continued service of our executive officers and other key management personnel. Competition for qualified personnel is intense, and we may compete with other companies that have greater financial and other resources than we do. If we lose the services of one or more of our executives or key employees, or if one or more of them decides to join a competitor or otherwise compete directly or indirectly with us, or if we are unable to integrate new members of our senior management who are critical to our business, we may not be able to successfully manage our business or achieve our business objectives.
Changes in our accounting estimates and assumptions and other financial reporting standards could negatively affect our financial position and results of operations.
We prepare our consolidated financial statements in accordance with U.S. GAAP. These accounting principles require us to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and the disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of our financial statements. We are also required to make certain judgments that affect the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during each reporting period. We periodically evaluate our estimates and assumptions, including those relating to revenue recognition, restructuring, deferred compensation, goodwill and other intangible assets, contingent consideration, annual performance-related bonuses, allowance for doubtful accounts, share-based payments and deferred income taxes. Actual results could differ from the estimates we make based on historical experience and various assumptions believed to be reasonable based on specific circumstances, and changes in accounting standards could have an adverse impact on our future financial position and results of operations.
Unfavorable tax laws, tax law changes and tax authority rulings may adversely affect results.
We are subject to income taxes in the U.S. and in various foreign jurisdictions. Domestic and international tax liabilities are subject to the allocation of income among various tax jurisdictions. Our effective tax rate could be adversely affected by changes in the mix of earnings among countries with differing statutory tax rates or changes in tax laws. The amount of our income taxes and other taxes are subject to audits by U.S. federal, state and local tax authorities and by non-U.S. authorities. If these audits result in assessments different from estimated amounts recorded, future financial results may include unfavorable tax adjustments.
Future changes in tax laws, treaties or regulations, and their interpretations or enforcement, may be unpredictable, particularly as taxing jurisdictions face an increasing number of political, budgetary and other fiscal challenges. Tax rates in the jurisdictions in which we operate may change as a result of macroeconomic and other factors outside of our control, making it increasingly difficult for multinational corporations like ourselves to operate with certainty about taxation in many jurisdictions.
As a result, we have been and may again be materially adversely affected by future changes in tax law or policy (or in their interpretation or enforcement) in the jurisdictions where we operate, including the U.S., which could have a material adverse effect on our business, cash flow, results of operations, financial condition, as well as our effective income tax rate.
Limited protection of our IP could harm our business, and we face the risk that our services or products may infringe upon the IP rights of others.
We cannot guarantee that trade secrets, trademark and copyright law protections are adequate to deter misappropriation of our IP (which has become an important part of our business). Existing laws of some countries in which we provide services or products may offer only limited protection of our IP rights. Redressing infringements may consume significant management time and financial resources. Also, we cannot detect all unauthorized use of our IP and take the necessary steps to enforce our rights, which may have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition or results of operations. We cannot be sure that our services and products, or the products of others that we offer to our clients, do not infringe on the IP rights of third parties, and we may have infringement claims asserted against us or our clients. These claims may harm our reputation, result in financial liability and prevent us from offering some services or products.
We may not be able to successfully integrate or realize the expected benefits from our acquisitions.
Our future success depends in part on our ability to complete the integration of acquisition targets successfully into our operations. The process of integrating an acquired business subjects us to a number of risks, including:
diversion of management attention;
amortization of intangible assets, adversely affecting our reported results of operations;
inability to retain and/or integrate the management, key personnel and other employees of the acquired business;
inability to properly integrate businesses resulting in operating inefficiencies;
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inability to establish uniform standards, disclosure controls and procedures, internal control over financial reporting and other systems, procedures and policies in a timely manner;
inability to retain the acquired company’s clients;
exposure to legal claims for activities of the acquired business prior to acquisition; and
incurrence of additional expenses in connection with the integration process.
If our acquisitions are not successfully integrated, our business, financial condition and results of operations, as well as our professional reputation, could be materially adversely affected.
Further, we cannot assure you that acquisitions will result in the financial, operational or other benefits that we anticipate. Some acquisitions may not be immediately accretive to earnings and some expansion may result in significant expenditures.
Businesses we acquire may have liabilities or adverse operating issues that could harm our operating results.
Businesses we acquire may have liabilities or adverse operating issues, or both, that we either fail to discover through due diligence or underestimate prior to the consummation of the acquisition. These liabilities and/or issues may include the acquired business’ failure to comply with, or other violations of, applicable laws, rules or regulations or contractual or other obligations or liabilities. As the successor owner, we may be financially responsible for, and may suffer harm to our reputation or otherwise be adversely affected by, such liabilities and/or issues. An acquired business also may have problems with internal controls over financial reporting, which could in turn cause us to have significant deficiencies or material weaknesses in our own internal controls over financial reporting. These and any other costs, liabilities, issues, and/or disruptions associated with any past or future acquisitions, and the related integration, could harm our operating results.
We may be subject to the actions of activist stockholders.

Our Board of Directors and management team are committed to acting in the best interest of allstockholders, which could disrupt our stockholders. business.

We value constructive input from investors and regularly engage in dialogue with our stockholders regarding strategy and performance. Activist stockholders who disagree with the composition of the Board of Directors, our strategy or the way the Company is managed may seek to effect change through various strategies and channels.channels, such as through commencing a proxy contest, making public statements critical of our performance or business or engaging in other similar activities. Responding to stockholder activism can be costly and time-consuming, disrupt our operations, and divert the attention of management and our employees from our strategic initiatives. Activist campaigns can create perceived uncertainties as to our future direction, strategy, or leadership and may result in the loss of potential business opportunities, harm our ability to attract new employees, investors, and customers, and cause our stock price to experience periods of volatility or stagnation. COVID-19 has caused a market dislocation
We face various risks related to health epidemics, pandemics, and similar outbreaks that negatively impact our operations and financial performance and those of the clients we serve. The ultimate magnitude of any future pandemics or similar outbreaks depends on numerous factors, the full extent of which generally tends to increase this risk.

we may not be capable of predicting.

Our business and financial results have been, and could be disrupted as a result of actions of certain stockholders.

If any of our stockholders commence a proxy contest, advocate for change, make public statements critical of our performance or business, or engage in other similar activities, then our business could bethe future, adversely affected because we may have difficulty attractingby health epidemics, pandemics, and retaining clients due to perceived uncertainties as to our future directionsimilar outbreaks. Pandemics can cause a global slowdown in economic activity, a decrease in demand for a broad variety of goods and negative public statements about our business; responding to proxy contestsservices, disruptions in global supply chains, and other similar actionssignificant volatility and disruption of financial markets. Because the severity, magnitude and duration of a pandemic and its economic consequences are uncertain and vary by stockholders is likely to result in us incurring substantial additional costs and significantly divert the attention of management and our employees; and, if individuals are elected to our Board of Directors with a specific agenda, the execution of our strategic plan may be disrupted or a new strategic plan altogether may be implemented, which could have a material adverseregion, its full impact on our operations and financial performance is uncertain and difficult to predict. Further, a pandemic’s ultimate impact depends in part on many factors not within our control, including (1) restrictive governmental and business actions (including travel restrictions, vaccine mandates, testing requirements, and other workforce limitations), (2) economic stimulus, funding and relief programs and other governmental economic responses, (3) the effectiveness of governmental actions, (4) economic uncertainty in key global markets and financial conditionmarket volatility, (5) levels of economic contraction or resultsgrowth, (6) the impact of operations. Further, anythe pandemic on health and safety and (7) the availability and effectiveness of these mattersvaccines and booster shots.

In addition, pandemics can subject our operations and financial performance to a number of risks, including operational challenges, such as heightened attention to employee health and safety, workplace disruptions or any such actions by stockholdersshutdowns, cybersecurity risks, supplier disruptions or delays, and travel restrictions, as well as client-related risks, as clients may experience similar disruptions, fluctuations, and restrictions that may impact our ability to provide products and result in volatility of the price ofservices to our common stock.

We have provisions that make an acquisition of us more difficultclients (or for clients to pay for such products and expensive.

Anti-takeover provisions inservices) and may reduce demand for our Certificate of Incorporation, our Bylawsproducts and under Delaware law make it more difficult and expensive for us to be acquired in a transaction that is not approved by our Board of Directors. Some of the provisions in our Certificate of Incorporation and Bylaws include:

limitations on stockholder actions;

services.

advance notification requirements for director nominations and actions to be taken at stockholder meetings; and

the ability to issue one or more series of preferred stock by action of our Board of Directors.

These provisions could discourage an acquisition attempt or other transaction in which stockholders could receive a premium over the current market price for the common stock.

Item 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments

Not applicable.

Item 2. Properties

Our corporate office is in Los Angeles, California. We lease our corporate office and all 111 of ouras well as an additional 107 offices through which we conduct business that are located in North America, EMEA, Asia Pacific and Latin America, all of which are used by all of our business segments. As of April 30, 2020,2023, we leased an aggregate of approximately 1.31.1 million square feet of office space. The leases generally have remaining terms of 1 to 109 years and contain customary terms and conditions. We
23

korn.jpg
believe that our facilities are adequate for our current needs, and we do not anticipate any significant difficulty replacing such facilities or locating additional facilities to accommodate any future growth.

28


Item 3. Legal Proceedings

From time to time, we are involved in litigation both as a plaintiff and a defendant, relating to claims arising out of our operations. As of the date of this report, we are not engaged in any legal proceedings that are expected, individually or in the aggregate, to have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations.

Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures

Not applicable.

Information about our Executive Officers

Name

NameAge as of April 30, 2020

2023

Position

Gary D. Burnison

62

59

President and Chief Executive Officer

Robert P. Rozek

62

59

Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Corporate Officer

Mark Arian

62

59

Chief Executive Officer, Consulting

Byrne Mulrooney

62

59

Chief Executive Officer, RPO & Digital

Michael Distefano53Chief Executive Officer, Professional Search & Digital

Interim

Our executive officers serve at the discretion of our Board of Directors. There is no family relationship between any executive officer or director. The following information sets forth the business experience for at least the past five years for each of our executive officers.

Gary D. Burnison has been President and Chief Executive Officer of the Company since July 2007. He was the Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of the Company from March 2002 until June 30, 2007, and Chief Operating Officer from NovemberOctober 2003 until June 30, 2007. Prior to joining Korn Ferry, Mr. Burnison was Principal and Chief Financial Officer of Guidance Solutions, a privately held consulting firm, from 1999 to 2001. Prior to that, he served as an executive officer and a member of the Boardboard of Directorsdirectors of Jefferies and Company, Inc., the principal operating subsidiary of Jefferies Group, Inc. from 1995 to 1999. Earlier, Mr. Burnison was a Partner at KPMG Peat Marwick. Mr. Burnison earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Southern California.

Robert P. Rozek joined the Company in February 2012 as our Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer and, in December 2015, also became our Chief Corporate Officer. Prior to joining Korn Ferry, he served as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Cushman & Wakefield, Inc., a privately held commercial real estate services firm, from June 2008 to February 2012. Prior to joining Cushman & Wakefield, Inc., Mr. Rozek served as Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Las Vegas Sands Corp., a leading global developer of destination properties (integrated resorts) that feature premium accommodations, world-class gaming and entertainment, convention and exhibition facilities and many other amenities, from 2006 to 2008. Prior to that, Mr. Rozek held senior leadership positions at Eastman Kodak, and spent five years as a Partner with PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP. Mr. Rozek is a graduate of Canisius College in New York with a bachelor’s degree in accounting.

Mark Arian joined the Company as Chief Executive Officer of Korn Ferry’s Advisory segment in April 2017 and is now the Chief Executive Officer of Consulting. Prior to Korn Ferry, Mr. Arian served as a Managing Principal at Ernst and& Young LLP, a multinational professional services firm that provides audit, tax, business risk, technology and security risk services, and human capital services worldwide, from March 2014 until March of 2017. In that capacity, he led the People Advisory Services—Financial Services Sector, and his responsibilities included commercial, people and key account leadership. Between 2008 and 2014, Mr. Arian held various leadership positions at AON and AON Hewitt, a provider of insurance, reinsurance, human capital and management consulting services, serving as an Executive Vice President and leading its strategic Mergers and Acquisitions (“M&A”) and business transformation offering globally. Mr. Arian has also held various leadership positions at Towers Perrin (now Wills Towers Watson) including serving as the Global M&A and Global Change Management leader, and Hewitt Associates, where Mr. Arian built and led the Corporate Restructuring and Change Practice. Mr. Arian is a graduate of Duke University and holds a juris doctorate from Columbia University.

Byrne Mulrooney joined the Company in April 2010 as Chief Executive Officer of RPO & Professional Search and in March 2017 also became the Chief Executive Officer of Digital. He is now the Chief Executive Officer of RPO and Digital. Prior to joining Korn Ferry, he was President and Chief Operating Officer of Flynn Transportation Services, a third-party logistics company, from 2007 to 2010. Prior to that, he led Spherion’s workforce solutions business in North America, which provides workforce solutions in professional services and general staffing, including recruitment process outsourcing and managed services, from 2003 to 2007. Mr. Mulrooney held executive positions for almost 20 years at EDS and IBM in client services, sales, marketing and operations. Mr. Mulrooney is a graduate of Villanova University in Pennsylvania. He holds a master’s degree in management from Northwestern University’s J.L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management.

29

24

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Michael Distefano has been the Chief Executive Officer of Professional Search & Interim and President of Search Innovation and Delivery Team since December 2020. Mr. Distefano joined the Company over 20 years ago in March of 2001 and served in various capacities since that time, including President of Korn Ferry Asia Pacific from May 2018 until April 2021 and prior to that as the Chief Marketing Officer from 2007 to 2021 and President of the Korn Ferry Institute. Prior to Korn Ferry, Mr. Distefano held leadership positions at GetSmart.com and Benefits Consulting, Inc. Mr. Distefano is a graduate of Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania.
25

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PART II.

Item 5. Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities

Common Stock

Our common stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol ‘KFY’.KFY. On July 8, 2020,June 22, 2023, there were approximately 15,25838,078 stockholders of record of the Company’s common stock.

Performance Graph

We have presented below a graph comparing the cumulative total stockholder return onof the Company’s shares with the cumulative total stockholder return on (1) the Standard & Poor’s 500 Stock Index and (2) athe company-established peer group. Cumulative total return for each of the periods shown in the performance graph is measured assuming an initial investment of $100 on April 30, 20152018 and the reinvestment of any dividends paid by the Company and any company in the peer group on the date the dividends were paid.

Our peer group is comprised of a broad number of publicly traded companies, which are principally or in significant part involved in either professional staffing or consulting.services. The peer group is comprised of the following 1211 companies: CBIZ,ASGN Inc. (CBZ)(ASGN), Cushman & Wakefield Plc. (CWK), FTI Consulting Inc. (FCN), Heidrick & Struggles International Inc. (HSII), Huron Consulting Group Inc. (HURN), ICF International Inc. (ICFI), Insperity Inc. (NSP), Kelly Services,Jones Lang Lasalle Inc. (KELYA)(JLL), KforceManpowerGroup Inc. (KFRC)(MAN), Resources Connection, Inc. (RECN),PageGroup Plc. (MPGPF) and Robert Half International Inc. (RHI), Willis Towers Watson Plc (WLTW) and TrueBlue, Inc. (TBI). We previously included Navigant Consulting, Inc. in our peer group, but as a result of it ceasing to be a public company on October 14, 2019 as a result of its acquisition by Guidehouse, we have removed it from our peer group and is no longer included in the table below. We believe this group of professional services firms is reflective of similar sized companies in terms of our market capitalization, revenue or profitability,with significant global exposure that mirrors our global footprint and therefore provides a more meaningful comparison of stock performance. The returns of each company have been weighted according to their respective stock market capitalization at the beginning of each measurement period for purposes of arriving at a peer group average.

The stock price performance depicted in this graph is not necessarily indicative of future price performance. This graph will not be deemed to be incorporated by reference by any general statement incorporating this Annual Report on Form 10-K into any filing by us under the Securities Act of 1933 or the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, except to the extent we specifically incorporate this information by reference and shall not otherwise be deemed soliciting material or deemed filed under the Securities Act of 1933 or the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.

COMPARISON OF 5 YEAR CUMULATIVE TOTAL RETURN(*)

Among Korn Ferry, the S&P 500 Index, and a Peer Group

2990
Copyright© 20202023 Standard & Poor's, a division of S&P Global. All rights reserved.

(*)$100 invested on April 30, 2018 in stock or index, including reinvestment of dividends. Fiscal year ended April 30, 2023.

$100 invested on April 30, 2015 in stock or index, including reinvestment of dividends. Fiscal year ended April 30, 2020.

30


Capital Allocation Approach

The Company and its Board of Directors endorse a balanced approach to capital allocation. The Company’s firstlong-term priority is to invest in growth initiatives, such as the hiring of consultants, the continued development of IP and derivative products and services, and the investment in synergistic, accretive M&A transactions that are expected to earn a return superior to the Company's cost of capital. Next, the Company’s capital allocation approach contemplates the planned return of a
26

korn.jpg
portion of excess capital to stockholders, in the form of a regular quarterly dividend, subject to the factors discussed below under “Dividends” and in more detail in the “Risk Factors” section of this Annual Report on Form 10-K. Additionally, the Company considers share repurchases on an opportunistic basis and subject to the terms of our Credit Agreement.indebtedness, as well as using excess cash to repay the Notes. See Note 10— 11— Long Term Debt for a description of the Amended Credit Agreement.

Agreement and indenture governing the Notes.

Dividends

On December 8, 2014, the Board of Directors adopted a dividend policy reflecting an intention to distribute to our stockholders a regular quarterly cash dividend of $0.10 per share.

Every quarter since the adoption of the dividend policy, the Company has declared a quarterly dividend. On June 21, 2021 and 2022, the Board of Directors increased the quarterly dividend to $0.12 per share and $0.15 per share, respectively. On June 26, 2023, the Board of Directors of the Company approved an increase of 20% in our quarterly dividend, which increased the quarterly dividend to $0.18 per share.

The declaration and payment of future dividends under the quarterly dividend policy will be at the discretion of the Board of Directors and will depend upon many factors, including the Company’s earnings, capital requirements, financial conditions, the terms of the Company’s indebtedness and other factors that the Board of Directors may deem to be relevant. The Board of Directors may, however, amend, revoke or suspend the dividend policy at any time and for any reason.

Stock Repurchase Program

On March 6, 2019,June 21, 2022, the Board of Directors approved an increase in the Company’s stock repurchase program of approximately $200$300 million, which brought our available capacity to repurchase shares in the open market or privately negotiated transactions to approximately $250$318 million. Common stock may be repurchased from time to time in open market or privately negotiated transactions at the Company’s discretion subject to market conditions and other factors. The Company repurchased approximately $92.4$93.9 million, $37.4$98.8 million and $33.1$30.4 million of the Company’s common stock during fiscal 2020, 20192023, 2022 and 2018,2021, respectively. Any decision to execute on our stock repurchase program will depend on our will depend on our earnings, capital requirements, financial condition and other factors considered relevant by our Board of Directors. The Amended Credit Agreement dated  December 16, 2019, permits us to pay dividends to our stockholders and make share repurchases so long as there is no default under the Amended Credit Agreement, the consolidatedCompany’s total funded debt to adjusted EBITDA ratio (as set forth in the Amended Credit Agreement, the “consolidated net leverage ratio, which uses adjusted EBITDAratio”) is no greater than 4.255.00 to 1.00, and thewe are in pro forma liquidity is at least $50 million.compliance with our financial covenant. Furthermore, our Notes allow the Company to pay $25.0 million of dividends per fiscal year with no restrictions plus an unlimited amount of dividends so long as the Company’s consolidated total leverage ratio is not greater than 3.50 to 1.00 and the Company is not in default under the indenture governing the Notes.

Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities

The following table summarizes common stock repurchased by us during the fourth quarter of fiscal 2020:

2023:
Total Number of
Shares
Purchased (1)
Average
Price Paid
Per Share
Total Number of
Shares
Purchased
as Part of
Publicly-
Announced
Programs
Approximate
Dollar Value of
Shares that
May Yet be
Purchased
under the
Programs(2)
February 1, 2023 - February 28, 202395,000$56.35 95,000$243.3 million
March 1, 2023 - March 31, 202376,699$53.09 75,000$239.3 million
April 1, 2023 - April 30, 202385,000$48.12 85,000$235.2 million
Total256,699$52.65 255,000 

 

 

Total Number of

Shares

Purchased (1)

 

 

Average

Price Paid

Per Share

 

 

Total Number of

Shares

Purchased

as Part of

Publicly-

Announced

Programs (2)

 

 

Approximate

Dollar Value of

Shares that

May Yet be

Purchased

under the

Programs (2)

February 1, 2020 February 29, 2020

 

 

113,000

 

 

$

38.65

 

 

 

113,000

 

 

$178.3 million

March 1, 2020 — March 31, 2020

 

 

709,619

 

 

$

28.37

 

 

 

706,569

 

 

$158.3 million

April 1, 2020 — April 30, 2020

 

 

989

 

 

$

23.33

 

 

 

 

 

$158.3 million

Total

 

 

823,608

 

 

$

29.77

 

 

 

819,569

 

 

 

(1)Represents withholding of 1,699 shares to cover taxes on vested restricted shares, in addition to shares purchased as part of a publicly announced program.

Represents withholding of 4,039 of restricted shares to cover taxes on vested restricted shares in addition to 819,569 shares repurchased as part of our publicly announced programs.

(2)On June 21, 2022, our Board of Directors approved an increase to the share repurchase program of $300 million. The shares can be repurchased in open market transactions or privately negotiated transactions at the Company's discretion. The share repurchase program has no expiration date. We repurchased approximately $13.4 million of the Company's common stock under the program during the fourth quarter of fiscal 2023.

On March 6, 2019, our Board of Directors approved an increase to the share repurchase program to an aggregate of $250 million. The shares can be repurchased in open market transactions or privately negotiated transactions at the Company’s discretion. The share repurchase program has no expiration date.

31


Item 6. Selected Financial DataReserved

The following selected financial data are qualified by reference to, and should be read together with, our “Audited Consolidated Financial Statements and Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements” and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” appearing elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. The selected statements of income data set forth below for the fiscal years ended April 30, 2020, 2019 and 2018 and the selected balance sheets data as of April 30, 2020 and 2019 are derived from our audited consolidated financial statements, appearing elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. The selected balance sheets data as of April 30, 2018, 2017 and 2016 and the selected statement of income data set forth below for the fiscal years ended April 30, 2017 and 2016 are derived from audited consolidated financial statements and notes thereto which are not included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

 

 

Year Ended April 30,

 

 

 

2020(1)

 

 

2019

 

 

2018

 

 

2017

 

 

2016

 

 

 

(in thousands, except per share data and other operating data)

 

Selected Consolidated Statements of Income Data:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fee revenue

 

$

1,932,732

 

 

$

1,926,033

 

 

$

1,767,217

 

 

$

1,565,521

 

 

$

1,292,112

 

Reimbursed out-of-pocket engagement expenses

 

 

44,598

 

 

 

47,829

 

 

 

52,302

 

 

 

56,148

 

 

 

54,602

 

Total revenue

 

 

1,977,330

 

 

 

1,973,862

 

 

 

1,819,519

 

 

 

1,621,669

 

 

 

1,346,714

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Compensation and benefits

 

 

1,297,994

 

 

 

1,311,240

 

 

 

1,199,057

 

 

 

1,065,659

 

 

 

891,472

 

General and administrative expenses

 

 

258,957

 

 

 

351,991

 

 

 

237,390

 

 

 

226,232

 

 

 

213,018

 

Reimbursed expenses

 

 

44,598

 

 

 

47,829

 

 

 

52,302

 

 

 

56,148

 

 

 

54,602

 

Cost of services

 

 

85,886

 

 

 

75,487

 

 

 

73,658

 

 

 

71,482

 

 

 

59,824

 

Depreciation and amortization

 

 

55,311

 

 

 

46,489

 

 

 

48,588

 

 

 

47,260

 

 

 

36,220

 

Restructuring charges, net (2)

 

 

58,559

 

 

 

 

 

 

78

 

 

 

34,600

 

 

 

33,013

 

Total operating expenses

 

 

1,801,305

 

 

 

1,833,036

 

 

 

1,611,073

 

 

 

1,501,381

 

 

 

1,288,149

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Operating income

 

 

176,025

 

 

 

140,826

 

 

 

208,446

 

 

 

120,288

 

 

 

58,565

 

Other (loss) income, net

 

 

(2,879

)

 

 

10,405

 

 

 

11,416

 

 

 

10,661

 

 

 

(4,778

)

Interest expense, net

 

 

(22,184

)

 

 

(16,891

)

 

 

(13,832

)

 

 

(14,607

)

 

 

(3,394

)

Income tax provision

 

 

43,945

 

 

 

29,544

 

 

 

70,133

 

 

 

29,104

 

 

 

18,960

 

Net income

 

 

107,017

 

 

 

104,796

 

 

 

135,897

 

 

 

87,238

 

 

 

31,433

 

Net income attributable to noncontrolling interest

 

 

(2,071

)

 

 

(2,145

)

 

 

(2,118

)

 

 

(3,057

)

 

 

(520

)

Net income attributable to Korn Ferry

 

$

104,946

 

 

$

102,651

 

 

$

133,779

 

 

$

84,181

 

 

$

30,913

 

Basic earnings per share

 

$

1.91

 

 

$

1.84

 

 

$

2.39

 

 

$

1.48

 

 

$

0.58

 

Diluted earnings per share

 

$

1.90

 

 

$

1.81

 

 

$

2.35

 

 

$

1.47

 

 

$

0.58

 

Basic weighted average common shares outstanding

 

 

54,342

 

 

 

55,311

 

 

 

55,426

 

 

 

56,205

 

 

 

52,372

 

Diluted weighted average common shares outstanding

 

 

54,767

 

 

 

56,096

 

 

 

56,254

 

 

 

56,900

 

 

 

52,929

 

Cash dividends declared per common share

 

$

0.40

 

 

$

0.40

 

 

$

0.40

 

 

$

0.40

 

 

$

0.40

 

Other Operating Data:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fee revenue by segment:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Consulting (3)

 

$

543,095

 

 

$

568,321

 

 

$

540,529

 

 

$

497,736

 

 

$

351,208

 

Digital (4)

 

 

292,366

 

 

 

252,727

 

 

 

244,484

 

 

 

226,450

 

 

 

119,937

 

Executive search:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

North America

 

 

434,624

 

 

 

455,826

 

 

 

408,098

 

 

 

356,625

 

 

 

371,345

 

EMEA

 

 

170,314

 

 

 

182,829

 

 

 

173,725

 

 

 

146,506

 

 

 

144,319

 

Asia Pacific

 

 

98,132

 

 

 

104,291

 

 

 

96,595

 

 

 

80,169

 

 

 

80,506

 

Latin America

 

 

29,400

 

 

 

31,896

 

 

 

30,624

 

 

 

34,376

 

 

 

26,744

 

Total executive search

 

 

732,470

 

 

 

774,842

 

 

 

709,042

 

 

 

617,676

 

 

 

622,914

 

RPO & Professional Search

 

 

364,801

 

 

 

330,143

 

 

 

273,162

 

 

 

223,659

 

 

 

198,053

 

Total fee revenue

 

$

1,932,732

 

 

$

1,926,033

 

 

$

1,767,217

 

 

$

1,565,521

 

 

$

1,292,112

 

Number of offices (at period end) (5)

 

 

111

 

 

 

104

 

 

 

106

 

 

 

114

 

 

 

150

 

Number of consultants and execution staff (at period end)

 

 

2,979

 

 

 

3,099

 

 

 

2,922

 

 

 

2,900

 

 

 

2,784

 

Number of new engagements opened

 

 

8,808

 

 

 

9,725

 

 

 

9,149

 

 

 

8,126

 

 

 

7,430

 

Number of full-time employees:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Consulting

 

 

2,058

 

 

 

2,416

 

 

 

2,316

 

 

 

2,413

 

 

 

2,432

 

Digital

 

 

1,413

 

 

 

1,187

 

 

 

1,138

 

 

 

1,185

 

 

 

1,194

 

Executive search

 

 

1,686

 

 

 

1,960

 

 

 

1,865

 

 

 

1,791

 

 

 

1,682

 

RPO & Professional Search

 

 

2,891

 

 

 

2,942

 

 

 

2,188

 

 

 

1,710

 

 

 

1,530

 

Corporate

 

 

150

 

 

 

173

 

 

 

136

 

 

 

133

 

 

 

109

 

Total full-time employees

 

 

8,198

 

 

 

8,678

 

 

 

7,643

 

 

 

7,232

 

 

 

6,947

 

Selected Consolidated Balance Sheets Data as of April 30:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cash and cash equivalents

 

$

689,244

 

 

$

626,360

 

 

$

520,848

 

 

$

410,882

 

 

$

273,252

 

Marketable securities (6)

 

 

174,085

 

 

 

140,751

 

 

 

137,085

 

 

 

119,937

 

 

 

141,430

 

Working capital

 

 

612,876

 

 

 

585,852

 

 

 

455,799

 

 

 

385,095

 

 

 

188,010

 

Total assets

 

 

2,743,828

 

 

 

2,334,852

 

 

 

2,287,914

 

 

 

2,062,898

 

 

 

1,898,600

 

Long-term obligations (7)

 

 

895,930

 

 

 

540,507

 

 

 

509,839

 

 

 

517,271

 

 

 

375,035

 

Total stockholders’ equity

 

 

1,223,691

 

 

 

1,243,387

 

 

 

1,219,615

 

 

 

1,087,048

 

 

 

1,047,301

 

(1)

Due to the acquisition of Miller Heiman Group, AchieveForum and Strategy Execution on November 1, 2019, which accounted for $53.2 million

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and $155.5 million of fee revenue and total assets, respectively, during fiscal 2020, financial data trends for fiscal 2020 are not comparable to the prior period.

(2)

During fiscal 2020, the Company implemented two restructuring plans in order to rationalize our cost structure by eliminating redundant positions. The first plan was due to the acquisition of Miller Heiman Group, AchieveForum and Strategy Execution on November 1, 2019, which resulted in restructuring charges of $18.1 million in fiscal 2020 related to severance. The second plan was due to the COVID-19 pandemic that decreased our fee revenue significantly in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2020 and resulted in restructuring charges of $40.5 million in fiscal 2020 related to severance. During fiscal 2018 and 2017, the Company continued to implement the fiscal 2016 restructuring plan in order to integrate the Advisory entities that were acquired in fiscal 2016 by eliminating redundant positions and operational, general and administrative expenses and consolidating office space. This resulted in restructuring charges of $0.1 million and $34.6 million in fiscal 2018 and 2017, respectively. Of the amount recorded in restructuring charges in fiscal 2017, $16.0 million related to severance and $18.6 million related to consolidation of office spaces. In fiscal 2016, the Company implemented the above-referenced restructuring plan and as a result, the Company recorded $33.0 million in restructuring charges, of which $32.1 million related to severance and $0.9 million related to consolidation and abandonment of premises.

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(3)

During fiscal 2020, the Company changed the composition of its global segments. The Consulting segment represents the consulting business that was previously included in the Advisory segment. Segment data for fiscal 2019, 2018, 2017 and 2016 have been recast to reflect the division of the Advisory segment into the Consulting and Digital segments.


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(4)

During fiscal 2020, the Company changed the composition of its global segments. The Digital segment represents the products business that was previously included in the Advisory segment. Segment data for fiscal 2019, 2018, 2017 and 2016 have been recast to reflect the division of the Advisory segment into the Consulting and Digital segments.

(5)

The number of offices decreased by eight as of April 30, 2018 compared to April 30, 2017 and 36 as of April 30, 2017 compared to April 30, 2016, due to the continued implementation of the 2016 restructuring plan.

(6)

As of April 30, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, and 2016, the Company’s marketable securities included $141.4 million, $140.8 million, $137.1 million, $119.9 million, and $141.4 million, respectively, held in trust for settlement of the Company’s obligations under certain of its deferred compensation plans. See Note 5—Financial Instruments in the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

(7)

During fiscal 2020 our long- term obligations increased compared to the previous years due to $180.8 million of non-current portion of operating lease liability recognized as a result of the implementation of Accounting Standard Codification 842 -Leases in fiscal 2020 and our new 4.625% Senior Unsecured Notes due 2027 with a $400 million principal amount offset by a decrease in the amount outstanding under our Credit Facility in fiscal 2020 compared to fiscal 2019.

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Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations

Forward-Looking Statements

This Annual Report on Form 10-K may contain certain statements that we believe are, or may be considered to be, “forward-looking” statements, within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”). These forward-looking statements generally can be identified by use of statements that include phrases such as “believe,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “plan,” “foresee,” “may,” “will,” “likely,” “estimates,” “potential,” “continue” or other similar words or phrases. Similarly, statements that describe our objectives, plans or goals, as well as the expected benefits of the acquisition of Miller Heiman Group, AchieveForum and Strategy Execution (collectively, the “Acquired Companies”),including the timing and expected benefitsanticipated impacts of our recently adopted restructuring plans and the magnitude and duration of the impact of the global (“COVID-19”) pandemic on our business employees, customers and our ability to provide services in affected regions.strategy, are also forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause our actual results to differ materially from those contemplated by the relevant forward-looking statement. The principal risk factors that could cause actual performance and future actions to differ materially from the forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, those relating to the magnitude and duration of the negative impact of the COVID -19 outbreak on our business, employees, customers and our ability to provide services in affected regions, global and local political and or economic developments in or affecting countries where we have operations, such as inflation, global slowdowns, or recessions, competition, geopolitical tensions, shifts in global trade patterns, changes in demand for our services as a result of automation, dependence on and costs of attracting and retaining qualified and experienced consultants, impact of inflationary pressures on our profitability, maintaining our relationships with customers and suppliers and retaining key employees, maintaining our brand name and professional reputation, potential legal liability and regulatory developments, portability of client relationships, consolidation of or within the industries we serve, changes and developments in governmental laws and regulations, evolving investor and customer expectations with regard to environmental, social and governance matters, currency fluctuations in our international operations, risks related to growth, alignment of our cost structure, including as a result of recent workforce, real estate, and other restructuring initiatives, restrictions imposed by off-limits agreements, reliance on information processing systems, cyber security vulnerabilities or events, changes to data security, data privacy, and data protection laws, dependence on third parties for the execution of critical functions, limited protection of our intellectual property (���(“IP”), our ability to enhance and develop new technology, our ability to successfully recover from a disaster or other business continuity problems, employment liability risk, an impairment in the carrying value of goodwill and other intangible assets, treaties, or regulations on our business and our company,Company, deferred tax assets that we may not be able to use, our ability to develop new products and services, the impact of the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union, changes in our accounting estimates and assumptions, the utilization and billing rates of our consultants, seasonality, the expansion of social media platforms, the ability to effect acquisitions and integrate acquired businesses, including Infinity Consulting Solutions ("ICS") and Salo LLC ("Salo"), resulting organizational changes, our indebtedness, the Acquired Companies,ultimate magnitude and duration of any future pandemics or similar outbreaks, and related restrictions and operational requirements that apply to our business and the businesses of our clients, and any related negative impacts on our business, employees, customers and our ability to recognize the anticipated benefits of the acquisition of the Acquired Companies, the costs related to the acquisition of the Acquired Companies, our indebtedness,the phase-out of LIBOR,provide services in affected regions, and the matters disclosed under the heading “Risk Factors” in the Company’s Exchange Act reports, including Item 1A included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. Readers are urged to consider these factors carefully in evaluating the forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K are made only as of the date of this Annual Report on Form 10-K and we undertake no obligation to publicly update these forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent events or circumstances.

The following presentation of management’s discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations should be read together with our consolidated financial statements and related notes included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

We also make available on the Investor Relations portion of our website earnings slides and other important information, which we encourage you to review.

Executive Summary

Korn Ferry (referred to herein as the “Company” or in the first personfirst-person notations “we,” “our,” and “us”) is a global organizational consulting firm.firm. We help clients synchronize strategy, operations and talent to drive superior business performance. We work with organizations to design their structures, roles and responsibilities. We help them hire the right people to bring their strategy to life. And we advise them on how to reward, develop and motivate their people.
We are pursuing a strategy to help Korn Ferry focus on clients and collaborate intensively across the organization. This approach is intended to build on the best of our past and give us a clear path to the future with focused initiatives to increase our client and commercial impact. Korn Ferry is transforming how clients address their talent management needs. We have evolved from a mono-line business to a multi-faceted consultancy business, giving our consultants more frequent and expanded opportunities to engage with clients.
Our eight reportable segments operate through the following five lines of business:
1.Consulting aligns organizational structure, culture, performance and people to drive sustainable growth by addressing four global segments:

1.fundamental needs: Organizational Strategy, Assessment and Succession, Leadership and Professional Development, and Total Rewards. We enable this work with a comprehensive set of Digital Performance Management Tools, based on some of our world’s leading lP and data. The Consulting teams employ an integrated approach across core solutions, each one intended to strengthen our work and thinking in the next, to help clients execute their strategy in a digitally enabled world.

Consulting helps clients synchronize their strategy and their talent by addressing four fundamental needs: Organizational Strategy, Assessment and Succession, Leadership and Professional Development, and Rewards and Benefits. This work is supported and underpinned by a comprehensive range of some of the world’s leading IP and data.

2.

Digital leverages an artificial intelligence (“AI”) powered platform

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2.Digital develops technology-enabled Performance Management Tools that empower our clients. Our digital products give clients direct access to our proprietary data, client data and analytics to deliver clear insights with the training tools needed to align organizational structure with business strategy.
3.Executive Search helps organizations recruit board level, chief executive and other senior executive and general management talent to deliver lasting impact. Our approach to placing talent brings together research-based IP, proprietary assessments, and behavioral interviewing with our practical experience to determine the ideal organizational fit. Salary benchmarking then builds appropriate frameworks for compensation and retention. This business is managed and reported on a geographic basis and represents four of the Company’s reportable segments (Executive Search North America, Executive Search Europe, the Middle East and Africa ("EMEA"), Executive Search Asia Pacific ("APAC"), and Executive Search Latin America).
4.Professional Search & Interim delivers enterprise talent acquisition solutions for professional level middle and upper management. We help clients source high-quality candidates at speed and scale globally, covering single-hire to multi-hire permanent placements and interim contractors.
5.Recruitment Process Outsourcing ("RPO") offers scalable recruitment outsourcing solutions leveraging customized technology and talent insights. Our scalable solutions, built on science and powered by best-in-class technology and consulting expertise, enable us to act as a strategic partner in clients’ quest for superior recruitment outcomes and better candidate fit.
Professional Search & Interim and RPO were formerly referred to, identify structure, roles, capabilities and behaviors needed to drive business forward. The end to end system gives clients one enterprise-wide talent framework and delivers an achievable blueprint for success along with the guidance and tools to deliver it.

3.

Executive Search helps organizations recruit board level, chief executive and other senior executive and general management talent. Behavioral interviewing and proprietary assessments are used to determine ideal

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organizational fit, and salary benchmarking builds appropriate frameworks for compensation and retention.

4.

RPO and Professional Search combines people, process expertise and IP-enabled technology to deliver enterprise talent acquisition solutions to clients. Transaction sizes range from single professional searches to team, department and line of business projects, and global outsource recruiting solutions.

Consulting and Digital are new reporting segments. Previously, these were tracked and reported together, as Korn Ferry AdvisoryRPO & Professional Search (“Advisory”RPO & Professional Search”). OverWe have recently acquired companies that have added critical mass to our Professional Search and Interim operations. These acquisitions provided us the past years we have invested in the Digital business and harmonized the structure of our content and data, building atechnology platform for the efficient delivery of these assets directlyopportunity to an end consumer or indirectly through a consulting engagement. These investments, combined with the acquisitions of Miller Heiman Group, AchieveForum and Strategy Execution (“the “Acquired Companies”) in November 2019 from TwentyEighty, Inc. for $108.6 million, resulted in reassessingreassess how we managed our Advisory business.RPO & Professional Search segment. Therefore, beginning in the third quarter of fiscal 2020,2023, we separated AdvisoryRPO & Professional Search into two segments in order to better align with the Company’s strategy (which included the acquisition of the Acquired Companies) and the decisions of the Company’s chief operating decision maker, who had begunbegan to regularly make separate resource allocation decisions and assess performance separately between Consultingour Professional Search & Interim business and Digital within Advisory. The addition of the Acquired Companies has further expanded our vast IP and content and leveraged the firm’s digital delivery platforms. We have invested in our digital business to digitize and harmonize the structure of our IP content and data and in building a technology platform for the efficient delivery of these assets directly to an end consumer or indirectly through a consulting engagement.

RPO business.

Highlights of our performance in fiscal 20202023 include:

Approximately 70% of the executive searches we performed in fiscal 2020 were for board level, chief executive and other senior executive and general management positions. Our 3,968 search engagement clients in fiscal 2020 included many of the world’s largest and most prestigious public and private companies.

Approximately 78% of the executive searches we performed in fiscal 2023 were for board level, chief executive and other senior executive and general management positions. Our more than 4,000 search engagement clients in fiscal 2023 included many of the world’s largest and most prestigious public and private companies.

We have built strong client loyalty, with 90% of the assignments performed during fiscal 2020 having been on behalf of clients for whom we had conducted assignments in the previous three fiscal years.

We have built strong client loyalty, with nearly 80% of the assignments performed during fiscal 2023 having been on behalf of clients for whom we had conducted assignments in the previous three fiscal years.

Approximately 71% of our revenues were generated from clients that utilized multiple lines of our business.

Approximately 80% of our revenues were generated from clients that have utilized multiple lines of our business.

A vital pillar of our growth strategy is our Digital business. Our data and IP are embedded into the core business processes of our clients, helping us generate long-term relationships through large scale and technology-based talent programs.

In fiscal 2020, Korn Ferry was recognized as one of the top RPO providers in the Baker’s Dozen list, marking our 13th consecutive year on the list. We were also named leader on the Everest PEAK Matrix for three years running and achieved star performer status in fiscal 2020. Through decades of experience, we have enhanced our RPO solution to deliver quality candidates that drive our clients’ business strategies. We leverage proprietary IP and data sets to guide clients on the critical skills and competencies to look for, compensation information to align with market demand, and assessment tools to ensure candidate fit.

RestructuringIn fiscal 2023, we acquired ICS, a provider of senior-level IT interim professional solutions with additional expertise in the areas of compliance and Operational Changeslegal, accounting and finance, and human resources. We also recently acquired Salo, a leading provider of finance, accounting and human resources ("HR") interim talent.

Performance Highlights
On June 12, 2018,August 1, 2022, we completed the Company’s Boardacquisition of Directors approvedICS for $99.3 million, net of cash acquired. ICS is a highly regarded provider of senior-level IT interim professional solutions with additional expertise in the One Korn Ferry rebranding planareas of compliance and legal, accounting and finance, and HR.
On February 1, 2023, we completed the acquisition of Salo for $155.4 million, net of cash acquired. Salo is a leading provider of finance, accounting and HR interim talent, with a strong focus on serving organizations in healthcare, among other industries.
The above acquisitions echo the commitment to scale our solutions, further increase the focus at the intersection of talent and strategy-wherever and however the needs of organizations evolve-and present real, tangible opportunity for us and our clients looking for the Company (the “Plan”). The Plan includes goingright talent, who are highly agile, with specialized skills and expertise, to market under a single, master brand architecture, solely as Korn Ferryhelp them drive superior performance, including on an interim basis. We believe the addition of these acquisitions to our broader talent acquisition portfolio–spanning Executive Search, RPO, Professional Search and sunsetting allInterim services–has accelerated our ability to capture additional shares of this significant market. All of the Company’s sub-brands used at the time, including Futurestep, Hay Group and Lominger, among others. This integrated go-to-market approach was a key driver in our fee revenue growthacquisitions in fiscal year 2018, which led to the decision to further integrate our go-to-market activities under one master brand — Korn Ferry. As a result, the Company discontinued the use of all sub-brands and changed its name, effective January 1, 2019, to “Korn Ferry.” Two of the Company’s former sub-brands, Hay Group and Lominger, came to Korn Ferry through acquisitions. In connection with the accounting for these acquisitions, $106.6 million of the purchase price was allocated to indefinite-lived tradename intangible assets. As a result of the decision to discontinue their use, the Company took a one-time, non-cash write-off of tradenames of $106.6 million in fiscal 2019. During fiscal 2020 the Company completed the implementation of this plan.

On November 1, 2019, we adopted a restructuring plan to rationalize our cost structure to realize the efficiencies and operational improvement that the investments2023 are included in the digital business had enabled, or positioned us to realize. The plan impacts both Consulting and Digital and includes the elimination of redundant positions and consolidation of office space. During fiscal 2020, we recognized $18.1 million of restructuring charges associated with severance and recorded $2.8 million of integration/acquisition costs associated with impairment of 16 office leases. The restructuring actions will be completed by July 31, 2020.

The Impact of COVID-19

In March 2020, COVID-19 was reported to have spread to over 100 countries, territories or areas worldwide. Initially,

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the negative business impact of the coronavirus outbreak was most pronounced in the Asia Pacific Region, and in particular China and Hong Kong. During the fourth quarter of fiscal 2020 the World Health Organization declared it a pandemic and the impact has been felt worldwide. The outbreak has severely restricted the level of economic activity in affected areas and has had an adverse impact on sales of certain of our products and services. Governments and companies have implemented social distancing - limiting either travel or in person individual or group face-to-face interaction as well as working from home to adhere to stay at home orders from national, state and city governments. All of our business segments across all of our geographies have been impacted as fee revenue decreased significantly in the fourth quarter. Professional Search & Interim segment.

In light of the continuing uncertaintyCompany’s evolution to an organization that is selling larger integrated solutions in worldwide economic conditions caused bya world where there are shifts in global trade lanes and persistent inflationary pressures, on January 11, 2023, the COVID-19 pandemic and, as part of a broader program aimed at further enhancing our strong balance sheet and liquidity position, on April 20, 2020, weCompany initiated a plan (the “Plan”) intended to adjust our cost base to the current economic environmentrealign its workforce with its business needs and to position usobjectives, namely, to invest in areas of potential growth and implement reductions where there was excess capacity. The Plan resulted in the recovery. This plan includes (i) a reduction of the Company's annualized cost base by approximately $45.0 million to $55.0 million (after taking into account new hires in workforce, which was substantially completed byconnection with the endrebalancing of the Company's workforce). The Plan consisted of severance and related employee benefits payments and lease termination costs. In fiscal 2020 and resulted2023, the Company recorded $42.6 million in restructuring charges, net, and $5.5 million and $4.4 million in impairment of $40.5 million associated with severance, (ii)right-of-use asset and fixed assets, respectively, as a result of implementing the temporary furlough of certain employees, (iii) subject to certain exceptions and legal requirements, salary reductions across the organization, and (iv) other cost saving measures relating to general and administrative expenses.

Plan.

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The Company evaluates performance and allocates resources based on the chief operating decision maker’s review of (1) fee revenue and (2) adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (“Adjusted EBITDA”). To the extent that such charges occur, Adjusted EBITDA excludes restructuring charges, integration/acquisition costs, certain separation costs and certain non-cash charges (goodwill, intangible asset and other than temporary impairments of investments)charges). For fiscal 2020,2023, Adjusted EBITDA excluded $58.6$42.6 million of restructuring charges, $12.2net, $14.9 million of integration/acquisition costs, $5.5 million impairment of right-of-use assets and $1.8$4.4 million impairment of separation costs.fixed assets. For fiscal 2019,2022, Adjusted EBITDA excluded $106.6$7.9 million of tradename write-offsintegration/acquisition costs, $7.4 million impairment of right-of-use assets and $6.7$1.9 million impairment of fixed assets. For fiscal 2021, Adjusted EBITDA excluded $30.7 million of restructuring charges, net and $0.7 million of integration/acquisition costs. For fiscal 2018, Adjusted EBITDA excluded $9.4 million
Consolidated and the subtotals of integration/acquisition costs and $0.1 million of restructuring charges, net.

EBITDA,Executive Search Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA margin are non-GAAP financial measures. Theymeasures and have limitations as analytical tools,tools. They should not be viewed as a substitute for financial information determined in accordance with United States (“U.S.”) generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”), and should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for analysis of the Company’s results as reported under GAAP. In addition, they may not necessarily be comparable to non-GAAP performance measures that may be presented by other companies.

Management believes the presentation of these non-GAAP financial measures provides meaningful supplemental information regarding Korn Ferry’s performance by excluding certain charges, items of income and other items that may not be indicative of Korn Ferry’s ongoing operating results. The use of these non-GAAP financial measures facilitates comparisons to Korn Ferry’s historical performance and the identification of operating trends that may otherwise be distorted by the factors discussed above. Korn Ferry includes these non-GAAP financial measures because management believes it is useful to investors in allowing for greater transparency with respect to supplemental information used by management in its evaluation of Korn Ferry’s ongoing operations and financial and operational decision-making. The accounting policies for the reportable segments are the same as those described in the summary of significant accounting policies in the accompanying consolidated financial statements, except that the above noted items are excluded from EBITDA to arrive at Adjusted EBITDA. Management further believes that Adjusted EBITDA is useful to investors because it is frequently used by investors and other interested parties to measure operating performance among companies with different capital structures, effective tax rates and tax attributes and capitalized asset values, all of which can vary substantially from company to company.

Fee revenue was $1,932.7$2,835.4 million during fiscal 2020,2023, an increase of $6.7$208.7 million, or 8%, compared to $1,926.0$2,626.7 million in fiscal 2019,2022, with increases in fee revenue in Digital and RPO & Professional Search. During fiscal 2020, we recorded operating incomeall lines of $176.0 millionbusiness with the exception of Executive Search, Digital, Consulting and RPO &Search. Professional Search segments contributing $156.9& Interim had the largest increase in fee revenue when compared to fiscal 2022. The acquisition of companies in the Professional Search & Interim segment was a significant factor in the year-over-year increase in fee revenue. Exchange rates unfavorably impacted fee revenue by $96.8 million, $46.9 million, $17.7 million and $50.4 million, respectively, offset by Corporate expenses of $96.0 million.or 4%, during fiscal 2023 compared to fiscal 2022. Net income attributable to Korn Ferry increaseddecreased by $2.2$116.9 million during fiscal 20202023 to $104.9$209.5 million from $102.7$326.4 million in fiscal 2019.2022. Adjusted EBITDA was $301.0$457.3 million, a decrease of $10.0$81.6 million during fiscal 2020,2023, from Adjusted EBITDA of $311.0$538.9 million in the year-ago period.fiscal 2022. During fiscal 2020,2023, the Executive Search, Professional Search & Interim, Consulting, Digital, Consulting and RPO & Professional Search segmentslines of business contributed $181.1Adjusted EBITDA of $205.8 million, $83.1$110.9 million, $61.1$108.5 million, $97.5 million and $60.2$52.6 million, respectively, offset by Corporate expenses net of other income of $84.5$118.0 million.

Our cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities increaseddecreased by $96.2$143.2 million to $863.3$1,067.9 million at April 30, 2020,2023, compared to $767.1$1,211.1 million at April 30, 2019.2022. This increasedecrease was mainly due to cash flows from operationsthe acquisitions of ICS and net borrowings of $168.6 million as a result of our December 2019 notes offering offset by the repayment of the amount outstanding under our prior revolving credit facility (discussed further below). The increase was partially offset by annual bonuses earned in fiscal 2019Salo, retention payments, capital expenditures, stock repurchases and dividends paid to stockholders during fiscal 2020, sign-on and retention payments, $108.6 million paid for the acquisition of the Acquired Companies, $92.4 million in stock repurchases in the open market, $41.5 million in payments for the purchase of property and equipment, $9.0 million paid in tax withholding on restricted stock vestings and $22.8 million in dividends paid during fiscal 2020.2023. As of April 30, 2020,2023, we held marketable securities to settle obligations under our Executive Capital Accumulation Plan (“ECAP”) with a cost value of $144.3

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$187.0 million and a fair value of $141.4$187.8 million. Our vested obligations for which these assets were held in trust totaled $124.6$172.2 million as of April 30, 20202023 and our unvested obligations totaled $21.7$21.9 million.

Our working capital increaseddecreased by $27.0$113.3 million to $612.9$662.4 million in fiscal 2020.2023, as compared to $775.7 million at April 30, 2022. We believe that cash on hand and funds from operations and other forms of liquidity will be sufficient to meet our anticipated working capital, capital expenditures, general corporate requirements, repayment of our debt obligations and dividend payments under our dividend policy in the next twelve12 months. We had $646.0 million available for borrowing under our Revolver (as defined herein) at April 30, 2020. As of April 30, 2019, we had a total of $420.2$1,145.4 million available under the Credit Facilities (defined in Liquidity and Capital Resources) and a total of $645.3 million available under the previous revolvercredit facilities after letters of credit were issued. As of April 30, 2020 and 2019, there was $4.0$4.6 million and $2.9$4.7 million of standby letters of credit issued respectively,as of April 30, 2023 and 2022, respectively. Of the amount available under our long-term debt arrangements.the Credit Facilities, $500.0 million is under the Delayed Draw Facility that expired on June 24, 2023 and is no longer available as a source of liquidity. We had a total of $11.3$11.5 million and $8.5$10.0 million of standby letters of credits with other financial institutions as of April 30, 20202023 and 2019,2022, respectively.

Critical Accounting Policies

The following discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations are based on our consolidated financial statements. Preparation of our periodic filings requires us to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amount of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of our financial statements and the reported amounts of revenue and expenses during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from those estimates and assumptions and changes in the estimates are reported in current operations as new information is learned or upon the amounts becoming fixed and determinable. In preparing our consolidated financial statements and accounting for the underlying transactions and balances, we apply our accounting policies as disclosed in the notes to our
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consolidated financial statements. We consider the policies discussed below as critical to an understanding of our consolidated financial statements because their application places the most significant demands on management’s judgment and estimates. Specific risks for these critical accounting policies are described in the following paragraphs. Senior management has discussed the development, selection and key assumptions of the critical accounting estimates with the Audit Committee of the Board of Directors.

Revenue Recognition. Substantially all fee revenue is derived from talent and organizational consulting services and digital sales, stand-alone or as part of a solution, fees for professional services related to executive and professional recruitment performed on a retained basis, interim services and RPO, either stand-alone or as part of a solution.

Revenue is recognized when control of the goods and services is transferred to the customer in an amount that reflects the consideration that we expect to be entitled to in exchange for those goods and services. Revenue contracts with customers are evaluated based on the five-step model outlined in Accounting Standard Codification (“ASC”) 606 (“("ASC 606”606"):, Revenue from Contracts with Customers: 1) identify the contract with a customer; 2) identify the performance obligation(s) in the contract; 3) determine the transaction price; 4) allocate the transaction price to the separate performance obligation(s); and 5) recognize revenue when (or as) each performance obligation is satisfied.

Consulting fee revenue is primarily recognized as services are rendered, measured by total hours incurred to theas a percentage of total estimated hours at completion. It is possible that updated estimates for consulting engagements may vary from initial estimates with such updates being recognized in the period of determination. Depending on the timing of billings and services rendered, we accrue or defer revenue as appropriate.

Digital revenue is generated from IP platforms enabling large-scale, technology-based talent programs for pay, talent development, engagement, and assessment and is consumed directly by an end user or indirectly through a consulting engagement. Revenue is recognized as services are delivered and we have a legally enforceable right to payment. Revenue also comes from the sale of our proprietary IP subscriptions, which are considered symbolic IP due to the dynamic nature of the content. As a result, revenue is recognized over the term of the contract. Functional IP licenses grant customers the right to use IP content via the delivery of a flat file. Because the IP content license has significant stand-alone functionality, revenue is recognized upon delivery and when an enforceable right to payment exists. Revenue for tangible and digital products sold by the Company, such as books and digital files, is recognized when these products are shipped.

Fee revenue from executive and non-executive professional search activities is generally one-third of the estimated first yearfirst-year cash compensation of the placed candidate, plus a percentage of the fee to cover indirect engagement relatedengagement-related expenses. In addition to the search retainer, an uptick fee is billed when the actual compensation awarded by the client for a placement is higher than the estimated compensation. In the aggregate, upticks have been a relatively consistent percentage of the original estimated fee; therefore, we estimate upticks using the expected value method based on historical data on a portfolio basis. In a standard search engagement, there is one performance obligation, which is the promise to undertake a search. We generally recognize such revenue over the course of a search and when it iswe are legally entitled to payment as outlined in the billing terms of the contract. Any revenues associated with services that are provided on a contingent basis are recognized once the contingency is resolved, as this is when control is transferred to the customer. These assumptions determine the timing of revenue recognition for the reported period.

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In addition to talent acquisition for permanent placement roles, the Professional Search & Interim segment also offers recruitment services for interim roles. Interim roles are short term in duration, generally less than 12 months. Generally, each interim role is a separate performance obligation. We recognize fee revenue over the duration that the interim resources’ services are provided which also aligns to the contracted invoicing plan and enforceable right to payment.

RPO fee revenue is generated through two distinct phases: 1) the implementation phase and 2) the post-implementation recruitment phase. The fees associated with the implementation phase are recognized over the period that the related implementation services are provided. The post-implementation recruitment phase represents end-to-end recruiting services to clients for which there are both fixed and variable fees, which are recognized over the period that the related recruiting services are performed.

Annual Performance-Related Bonuses. Each quarter, management makes its best estimate of its annual performance relatedperformance-related bonuses, which requires management to, among other things, project annual consultant productivity (as measured by engagement fees billed and collected by executive searchExecutive Search and Professional Search consultants and revenue and other performance/profitability metrics for Consulting, Digital, Interim and RPO & Professional Search consultants), the level of engagements referred by a consultant in one line of business to a different line of business, our performance, including profitability, competitive forces and future economic conditions and their impact on our results. At the end of each fiscal year, annual performance relatedperformance-related bonuses take into account final individual consultant productivity (including referred work), Company/line of business results, including profitability, the achievement of strategic objectives, and the results of individual performance appraisals and the current economic landscape. Accordingly, each quarter we reevaluate the assumptions used to estimate annual performance relatedperformance-related bonus liability and adjust the carrying amount of the liability recorded on the consolidated balance sheets and report any changes in the estimate in current operations. Because annual performance-based bonuses are communicated and paid only after we report our full fiscal year results, actual performance-based bonus payments may differ from the prior year’s estimate. Such changes in the bonus estimate historically have been immaterial and are recorded in current operations in the period in which they are determined.

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Deferred Compensation. Estimating deferred compensation requires assumptions regarding the timing and probability of payments of benefits to participants and the discount rate. Changes in these assumptions could significantly impact the liability and related cost on our consolidated balance sheets and statements of income, respectively. For certain deferred compensation plans, management engages an independent actuary to periodically review these assumptions in order to confirm that they reflect the population and economics of our deferred compensation plans in all material respects and to assist us in estimating our deferred compensation liability and the related cost. The actuarial assumptions we use may differ from actual results due to changing market conditions or changes in the participant population. These differences could have a significant impact on our deferred compensation liability and the related cost.

Carrying Values. Valuations are required under GAAP to determine the carrying value of various assets. Our most significant assets for which management is required to prepare valuations are carrying value of receivables, goodwill, other intangible assets, share-based payments, leases and recoverability of deferred income taxes. Management must identify whether events have occurred that may impact the carrying value of these assets and make assumptions regarding future events, such as cash flows and profitability. Differences between the assumptions used to prepare these valuations and actual results could materially impact the carrying amount of these assets and our operating results.

Of the assets mentioned above, goodwill is the largest asset requiring a valuation. Fair value of goodwill for purposes of the goodwill impairment test when performing the quantitative test is determined utilizing (1) a discounted cash flow analysis based on forecasted cash flows (including estimated underlying revenue and operating income growth rates) discounted using an estimated weighted-average cost of capital for market participants and (2) a market approach, utilizing observable market data such as comparable companies in similar lines of business that are publicly traded or which are part of a public or private transaction (to the extent available). We also reconcile the results of these analyses to its market capitalization. If the carrying amount of a reporting unit exceeds its estimated fair value, goodwill is considered potentially impaired and further tests are performed to measure the amount of impairment loss, if any.

We perform an annual impairment test each year as of January 31, or more frequently if impairment indicators arise. The qualitative test performed as of January 31, 20202023 did not indicate any impairment. During the fourth quarter of fiscal 2020, the rapidimpairment, and severe impacts of COVID-19, and more specifically, thetherefore there was no need to support global social distancing efforts, by mitigating the spread of the virus and complying with restrictions put in place by various governmental and authoritative entities, led to a decline in demand for our products and services. These actions had a material impact on our business.  Therefore, we performedperform a quantitative review as of March 31, 2020, to assess whether we believed these actions caused the fair value of any of our reporting units to fall below its carrying value. This quantitative review included sensitivity analyses of each reporting unit’s discounted cash flow models considering updated rates, financial results and forecasts, market multiples and terminal value revenue growth rates. The conclusion for all reporting units was that no impairment existed as of March 31, 2020.

test. While historical performance and current expectations have resulted in fair values of goodwill in excess of carrying values, if our assumptions are not realized, it is possible that in the future an impairment charge may need to be recorded. However, it is not possible at this time to determine if an impairment charge would result or if such a charge would be material. Fair value determinations require considerable judgment and are sensitive to changes in underlying assumptions and factors. As a result, there can be no assurance that the estimates and assumptions

38


made for purposes of the annual goodwill impairment test will prove to be accurate predictions of the future. As of our testing date, the fair valuethere were no indicators of each reporting unit exceeded its carrying amountimpairments that required us to perform a quantitative test and as a result, no impairment charge was recognized. However, due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic the fair value calculated by or substantive valuation of all the reporting units has declined. While these fair values exceed carrying value for all reporting units the excess of fair value over carrying value of the Consulting segment has the smallest buffer. As of April 30, 2020, goodwill in our Consulting segment was $173.0 million. We are unable to predict how long the impacts from COVID-19 will affect our operations or what additional restrictions may be imposed by governments. Variations from current expectations could impact future levels of fair value relative to carrying value resulting in an impairment. There was no indication of potential impairment during the month ofthrough April 30, 20202023 that would have required further testing.

Examples of events or circumstances that could reasonably be expected to negatively affect the underlying key assumptions and ultimately impact the estimated fair value of the reporting units may include such items as follows:

A prolonged downturn in the business environment in which the reporting units operate including a longer than anticipated public health crisis;

A prolonged downturn in the business environment in which the reporting units operate including a longer than anticipated public health crisis;

An economic climate that significantly differs from our future profitability assumptions in timing or degree;

An economic climate that significantly differs from our future profitability assumptions in timing or degree;

The deterioration of the labor markets;

The deterioration of the labor markets;

Volatility in equity and debt markets; and

Volatility in equity and debt markets;

Competition and disruption in our core business.

Competition and disruption in our core business; and
Technological advances such as artificial intelligence that impact labor markets and can diminish the value of our IP.
32

korn.jpg
Results of Operations

The following table summarizes the results of our operations as a percentage of fee revenue:

 

 

Year Ended April 30,

 

 

 

2020

 

 

2019

 

 

2018

 

Fee revenue

 

 

100.0

%

 

 

100.0

%

 

 

100.0

%

Reimbursed out-of-pocket engagement expenses

 

 

2.3

 

 

 

2.5

 

 

 

3.0

 

Total revenue

 

 

102.3

 

 

 

102.5

 

 

 

103.0

 

Compensation and benefits

 

 

67.2

 

 

 

68.1

 

 

 

67.9

 

General and administrative expenses (1)

 

 

13.4

 

 

 

18.3

 

 

 

13.4

 

Reimbursed expenses

 

 

2.3

 

 

 

2.5

 

 

 

3.0

 

Cost of services

 

 

4.4

 

 

 

3.9

 

 

 

4.2

 

Depreciation and amortization

 

 

2.9

 

 

 

2.4

 

 

 

2.7

 

Restructuring charges, net

 

 

3.0

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Operating income

 

 

9.1

 

 

 

7.3

 

 

 

11.8

 

Net income

 

 

5.5

%

 

 

5.4

%

 

 

7.7

%

Net income attributable to Korn Ferry

 

 

5.4

%

 

 

5.3

%

 

 

7.6

%

(Numbers may not total exactly due to rounding)

(1)

General and administrative expenses for fiscal 2019 includes write-off of tradenames of $106.6 million.

Year Ended April 30,
202320222021
Fee revenue100.0 %100.0 %100.0 %
Reimbursed out-of-pocket engagement expenses1.0 0.6 0.5 
Total revenue101.0 100.6 100.5 
Compensation and benefits67.1 66.3 71.7 
General and administrative expenses9.5 9.0 10.6 
Reimbursed expenses1.0 0.6 0.5 
Cost of services8.4 4.4 4.0 
Depreciation and amortization2.4 2.4 3.4 
Restructuring charges, net1.5 — 1.7 
Operating income11.2 17.9 8.6 
Net income7.5 %12.6 %6.4 %
Net income attributable to Korn Ferry7.4 %12.4 %6.3 %

39


The operating results for fiscal 2022 and 2021 have been revised to conform to the new segment reporting.
The following tables summarize the results of our operations by segment:

operations:

(Numbers may not total exactly due to rounding)

 

 

Year Ended April 30,

 

 

 

2020

 

 

2019

 

 

2018

 

 

 

Dollars

 

 

%

 

 

Dollars

 

 

%

 

 

Dollars

 

 

%

 

 

 

(dollars in thousands)

 

Fee revenue

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Consulting (1)

 

$

543,095

 

 

 

28.1

%

 

$

568,321

 

 

 

29.5

%

 

 

540,529

 

 

 

30.6

%

Digital (1)

 

 

292,366

 

 

 

15.1

 

 

 

252,727

 

 

 

13.1

 

 

 

244,484

 

 

 

13.8

 

Executive Search:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

North America

 

 

434,624

 

 

 

22.5

 

 

 

455,826

 

 

 

23.7

 

 

 

408,098

 

 

 

23.1

 

EMEA

 

 

170,314

 

 

 

8.8

 

 

 

182,829

 

 

 

9.5

 

 

 

173,725

 

 

 

9.8

 

Asia Pacific

 

 

98,132

 

 

 

5.1

 

 

 

104,291

 

 

 

5.4

 

 

 

96,595

 

 

 

5.5

 

Latin America

 

 

29,400

 

 

 

1.5

 

 

 

31,896

 

 

 

1.7

 

 

 

30,624

 

 

 

1.7

 

Total Executive Search

 

 

732,470

 

 

 

37.9

 

 

 

774,842

 

 

 

40.3

 

 

 

709,042

 

 

 

40.1

 

RPO & Professional Search

 

 

364,801

 

 

 

18.9

 

 

 

330,143

 

 

 

17.1

 

 

 

273,162

 

 

 

15.5

 

Total fee revenue

 

 

1,932,732

 

 

 

100.0

%

 

 

1,926,033

 

 

 

100.0

%

 

 

1,767,217

 

 

 

100.0

%

Reimbursed out-of-pocket engagement expense

 

 

44,598

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

47,829

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

52,302

 

 

 

 

 

Total revenue

 

$

1,977,330

 

 

 

 

 

 

$

1,973,862

 

 

 

 

 

 

$

1,819,519

 

 

 

 

 

(1)

The Consulting and Digital segment data for fiscal 2019 and 2018 has been recast to reflect the division of the Advisory segment into the Consulting and Digital segments.

 

 

Year Ended April 30,

 

 

 

2020

 

 

2019

 

 

2018

 

 

 

Dollars

 

 

Margin(1)

 

 

Dollars

 

 

Margin(1)

 

 

Dollars

 

 

Margin(1)

 

 

 

(dollars in thousands)

 

Operating income (loss)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Consulting{2}

 

$

17,695

 

 

 

3.3

%

 

$

(34,115

)

 

 

(6.0

%)

 

$

22,408

 

 

 

4.1

%

Digital(2)

 

 

46,909

 

 

 

16.0

 

 

 

39,732

 

 

 

15.7

 

 

 

78,127

 

 

 

32.0

 

Executive Search:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

North America

 

 

113,080

 

 

 

26.0

 

 

 

120,754

 

 

 

26.5

 

 

 

100,397

 

 

 

24.6

 

EMEA

 

 

21,085

 

 

 

12.4

 

 

 

29,974

 

 

 

16.4

 

 

 

26,768

 

 

 

15.4

 

Asia Pacific

 

 

17,914

 

 

 

18.3

 

 

 

24,364

 

 

 

23.4

 

 

 

18,425

 

 

 

19.1

 

Latin America

 

 

4,860

 

 

 

16.5

 

 

 

3,998

 

 

 

12.5

 

 

 

4,022

 

 

 

13.1

 

Total Executive Search

 

 

156,939

 

 

 

21.4

 

 

 

179,090

 

 

 

23.1

 

 

 

149,612

 

 

 

21.1

 

RPO & Professional Search

 

 

50,438

 

 

 

13.8

 

 

 

50,884

 

 

 

15.4

 

 

 

39,396

 

 

 

14.4

 

Corporate

 

 

(95,956

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

(94,765

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

(81,097

)

 

 

 

 

Total operating income

 

$

176,025

 

 

 

9.1

%

 

$

140,826

 

 

 

7.3

%

 

$

208,446

 

 

 

11.8

%

(1)

Margin calculated as a percentage of fee revenue by segment.

(2)

The Consulting and Digital segment data for fiscal 2019 and 2018 has been recast to reflect the division of the Advisory segment into the Consulting and Digital segments.

Year Ended April 30,
202320222021
Dollars%Dollars%Dollars%
(dollars in thousands)
Fee revenue      
Consulting$677,001 23.9 %$650,204 24.8 %$515,844 28.5 %
Digital354,651 12.5 349,025 13.3 287,306 15.9 
Executive Search:
North America562,139 19.8 605,704 23.1 397,275 21.9 
EMEA187,014 6.6 182,192 6.9 138,954 7.7 
Asia Pacific95,598 3.4 118,596 4.5 83,306 4.6 
Latin America31,047 1.1 29,069 1.1 17,500 1.0 
Total Executive Search875,798 30.9 935,561 35.6 637,035 35.2 
Professional Search & Interim503,395 17.7 297,096 11.3 130,831 7.2 
RPO424,563 15.0 394,832 15.0 239,031 13.2 
Total fee revenue2,835,408 100.0 %2,626,718 100.0 %1,810,047 100.0 %
Reimbursed out-of-pocket engagement expense28,428 16,737 9,899 
Total revenue$2,863,836 $2,643,455 $1,819,946 

40

In the tables that follow, the Company presents a subtotal for Executive Search Adjusted EBITDA and a single percentage for Executive Search Adjusted EBITDA margin, which reflects the aggregate of all of the individual Executive Search Regions. These figures are non-GAAP financial measures and are presented as they are consistent with the Company’s lines of business and are financial metrics used by the Company’s investor base.
33

 

 

Year Ended April 30, 2020

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Executive Search

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Consulting

 

 

Digital

 

 

North

America

 

 

EMEA

 

 

Asia Pacific

 

 

Latin

America

 

 

Subtotal

 

 

RPO &

Professional

Search

 

 

Corporate

 

 

Consolidated

 

 

 

(in thousands)

 

Fee revenue

 

$

543,095

 

 

$

292,366

 

 

$

434,624

 

 

$

170,314

 

 

$

98,132

 

 

$

29,400

 

 

$

732,470

 

 

$

364,801

 

 

$

 

 

$

1,932,732

 

Total revenue

 

$

557,255

 

 

$

294,261

 

 

$

447,528

 

 

$

172,978

 

 

$

99,209

 

 

$

29,493

 

 

$

749,208

 

 

$

376,606

 

 

$

 

 

$

1,977,330

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net income attributable to Korn Ferry

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

$

104,946

 

Net income attributable to noncontrolling interest

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2,071

 

Other loss, net

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2,879

 

Interest expense, net

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

22,184

 

Income tax provision

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

43,945

 

Operating income (loss)

 

$

17,695

 

 

$

46,909

 

 

$

113,080

 

 

$

21,085

 

 

$

17,914

 

 

$

4,860

 

 

$

156,939

 

 

$

50,438

 

 

$

(95,956

)

 

$

176,025

 

Depreciation and amortization

 

 

17,567

 

 

 

19,261

 

 

 

3,452

 

 

 

1,713

 

 

 

1,311

 

 

 

1,182

 

 

 

7,658

 

 

 

3,906

 

 

 

6,919

 

 

 

55,311

 

Other income (loss), net

 

 

1,326

 

 

 

485

 

 

 

(3,051

)

 

 

139

 

 

 

11

 

 

 

51

 

 

 

(2,850

)

 

 

82

 

 

 

(1,922

)

 

 

(2,879

)

EBITDA

 

 

36,588

 

 

 

66,655

 

 

 

113,481

 

 

 

22,937

 

 

 

19,236

 

 

 

6,093

 

 

 

161,747

 

 

 

54,426

 

 

 

(90,959

)

 

 

228,457

 

Integration/acquisition costs

 

 

 

 

 

5,937

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

6,215

 

 

 

12,152

 

Restructuring charges, net

 

 

24,504

 

 

 

10,481

 

 

 

7,244

 

 

 

6,347

 

 

 

3,649

 

 

 

309

 

 

 

17,549

 

 

 

5,742

 

 

 

283

 

 

 

58,559

 

Separation costs

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1,783

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1,783

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1,783

 

Adjusted EBITDA

 

$

61,092

 

 

$

83,073

 

 

$

120,725

 

 

$

31,067

 

 

$

22,885

 

 

$

6,402

 

 

$

181,079

 

 

$

60,168

 

 

$

(84,461

)

 

$

300,951

 

Operating margin

 

 

3.3

%

 

 

16.0

%

 

 

26.0

%

 

 

12.4

%

 

 

18.3

%

 

 

16.5

%

 

 

21.4

%

 

 

13.8

%

 

 

 

 

 

 

9.1

%

Adjusted EBITDA margin

 

 

11.2

%

 

 

28.4

%

 

 

27.8

%

 

 

18.2

%

 

 

23.3

%

 

 

21.8

%

 

 

24.7

%

 

 

16.5

%

 

 

 

 

 

 

15.6

%

korn.jpg

Year Ended April 30,

 

Year Ended April 30, 2019

 

202320222021

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Executive Search

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Consulting(1)

 

 

Digital(1)

 

 

North

America

 

 

EMEA

 

 

Asia Pacific

 

 

Latin

America

 

 

Subtotal

 

 

RPO &

Professional

Search

 

 

Corporate

 

 

Consolidated

 

Consolidated

 

(in thousands)

 

(in thousands)

Fee revenue

 

$

568,321

 

 

$

252,727

 

 

$

455,826

 

 

$

182,829

 

 

$

104,291

 

 

$

31,896

 

 

$

774,842

 

 

$

330,143

 

 

$

 

 

$

1,926,033

 

Fee revenue$2,835,408 $2,626,718 $1,810,047 

Total revenue

 

$

585,893

 

 

$

252,727

 

 

$

469,743

 

 

$

186,131

 

 

$

105,543

 

 

$

31,960

 

 

$

793,377

 

 

$

341,865

 

 

$

 

 

$

1,973,862

 

Total revenue$2,863,836 $2,643,455 $1,819,946 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net income attributable to Korn Ferry

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

$

102,651

 

Net income attributable to Korn Ferry$209,529 $326,360 $114,454 

Net income attributable to noncontrolling interest

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2,145

 

Net income attributable to noncontrolling interest3,525 4,485 1,108 

Other income, net

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(10,405

)

Other (income) loss, netOther (income) loss, net(5,261)11,880 (37,194)

Interest expense, net

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

16,891

 

Interest expense, net25,864 25,293 29,278 

Income tax provision

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

29,544

 

Income tax provision82,683 102,056 48,138 

Operating (loss) income

 

$

(34,115

)

 

$

39,732

 

 

$

120,754

 

 

$

29,974

 

 

$

24,364

 

 

$

3,998

 

 

$

179,090

 

 

$

50,884

 

 

$

(94,765

)

 

$

140,826

 

Operating incomeOperating income316,340 470,074 155,784 

Depreciation and amortization

 

 

16,172

 

 

 

12,885

 

 

 

3,890

 

 

 

1,254

 

 

 

1,428

 

 

 

410

 

 

 

6,982

 

 

 

3,255

 

 

 

7,195

 

 

 

46,489

 

Depreciation and amortization68,335 63,521 61,845 

Other income (loss), net

 

 

2,203

 

 

 

995

 

 

 

6,699

 

 

 

432

 

 

 

281

 

 

 

322

 

 

 

7,734

 

 

 

268

 

 

 

(795

)

 

 

10,405

 

Other income (loss), net5,261 (11,880)37,194 

EBITDA

 

 

(15,740

)

 

 

53,612

 

 

 

131,343

 

 

 

31,660

 

 

 

26,073

 

 

 

4,730

 

 

 

193,806

 

 

 

54,407

 

 

 

(88,365

)

 

 

197,720

 

Integration/acquisition costs

 

 

5,304

 

 

 

1,255

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

187

 

 

 

6,746

 

Integration/acquisition costs14,922 7,906 737 

Tradename write-offs

 

 

76,967

 

 

 

29,588

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

-

 

 

 

106,555

 

Impairment of fixed assetsImpairment of fixed assets4,375 1,915 — 
Impairment of right of use assetsImpairment of right of use assets5,471 7,392 — 
Restructuring charges, netRestructuring charges, net42,573 — 30,732 

Adjusted EBITDA

 

$

66,531

 

 

$

84,455

 

 

$

131,343

 

 

$

31,660

 

 

$

26,073

 

 

$

4,730

 

 

$

193,806

 

 

$

54,407

 

 

$

(88,178

)

 

$

311,021

 

Adjusted EBITDA$457,277 $538,928 $286,292 

Operating margin

 

 

(6.0

%)

 

 

15.7

%

 

 

26.5

%

 

 

16.4

%

 

 

23.4

%

 

 

12.5

%

 

 

23.1

%

 

 

15.4

%

 

 

 

 

 

 

7.3

%

Adjusted EBITDA margin

 

 

11.7

%

 

 

33.4

%

 

 

28.8

%

 

 

17.3

%

 

 

25.0

%

 

 

14.8

%

 

 

25.0

%

 

 

16.5

%

 

 

 

 

 

 

16.1

%

Adjusted EBITDA margin16.1 %20.5 %15.8 %

(1)

The Consulting and Digital segment data for fiscal 2019 has been recast to reflect the division of the Advisory segment into the Consulting and Digital segments.

Year Ended April 30, 2023
Fee revenueTotal revenueAdjusted EBITDAAdjusted EBITDA margin
(dollars in thousands)
Consulting$677,001 $686,979 $108,502 16.0 %
Digital354,651 354,967 97,458 27.5 %
Executive Search:
North America562,139 568,212 140,850 25.1 %
EMEA187,014 188,114 31,380 16.8 %
Asia Pacific95,598 95,956 24,222 25.3 %
Latin America31,047 31,054 9,370 30.2 %
Total Executive Search875,798 883,336 205,822 23.5 %
Professional Search & Interim503,395 507,058 110,879 22.0 %
RPO424,563 431,496 52,588 12.4 %
Corporate— — (117,972)
Consolidated$2,835,408 $2,863,836 $457,277 16.1 %

41


34

 

 

Year Ended April 30, 2018

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Executive Search

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Consulting(1)

 

 

Digital(1)

 

 

North

America

 

 

EMEA

 

 

Asia

Pacific

 

 

Latin

America

 

 

Subtotal

 

 

RPO &

Professional

Search

 

 

Corporate

 

 

Consolidated

 

 

 

(in thousands)

 

Fee revenue

 

$

540,529

 

 

$

244,484

 

 

$

408,098

 

 

$

173,725

 

 

$

96,595

 

 

$

30,624

 

 

$

709,042

 

 

$

273,162

 

 

$

 

 

$

1,767,217

 

Total revenue

 

$

556,521

 

 

$

244,484

 

 

$

421,260

 

 

$

177,234

 

 

$

98,062

 

 

$

30,717

 

 

$

727,273

 

 

$

291,241

 

 

$

 

 

$

1,819,519

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net income attributable to Korn Ferry

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

$

133,779

 

Net income attributable to noncontrolling interest

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2,118

 

Other income, net

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(11,416

)

Interest expense, net

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

13,832

 

Income tax provision

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

70,133

 

Operating income (loss)

 

$

22,408

 

 

$

78,127

 

 

$

100,397

 

 

$

26,768

 

 

$

18,425

 

 

$

4,022

 

 

$

149,612

 

 

$

39,396

 

 

$

(81,097

)

 

$

208,446

 

Depreciation and amortization

 

 

18,954

 

 

 

12,573

 

 

 

3,930

 

 

 

1,689

 

 

 

1,408

 

 

 

455

 

 

 

7,482

 

 

 

3,054

 

 

 

6,525

 

 

 

48,588

 

Other income, net

 

 

2,127

 

 

 

374

 

 

 

1,142

 

 

 

168

 

 

 

373

 

 

 

181

 

 

 

1,864

 

 

 

152

 

 

 

6,899

 

 

 

11,416

 

EBITDA

 

 

43,489

 

 

 

91,074

 

 

 

105,469

 

 

 

28,625

 

 

 

20,206

 

 

 

4,658

 

 

 

158,958

 

 

 

42,602

 

 

 

(67,673

)

 

 

268,450

 

Integration/acquisition costs

 

 

7,724

 

 

 

1,427

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

279

 

 

 

9,430

 

Restructuring charges (recoveries), net

 

 

(122

)

 

 

(119

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

313

 

 

 

 

 

 

313

 

 

 

6

 

 

 

-

 

 

 

78

 

Adjusted EBITDA

 

$

51,091

 

 

$

92,382

 

 

$

105,469

 

 

$

28,625

 

 

$

20,519

 

 

$

4,658

 

 

$

159,271

 

 

$

42,608

 

 

$

(67,394

)

 

$

277,958

 

Operating margin

 

 

4.1

%

 

 

32.0

%

 

 

24.6

%

 

 

15.4

%

 

 

19.1

%

 

 

13.1

%

 

 

21.1

%

 

 

14.4

%

 

 

 

 

 

 

11.8

%

Adjusted EBITDA margin

 

 

9.5

%

 

 

37.8

%

 

 

25.8

%

 

 

16.5

%

 

 

21.2

%

 

 

15.2

%

 

 

22.5

%

 

 

15.6

%

 

 

 

 

 

 

15.7

%

korn.jpg

(1)

The Consulting and Digital segment data for fiscal 2018 has been recast to reflect the division of the Advisory segment into the Consulting and Digital segments.

Year Ended April 30, 2022
Fee revenueTotal revenueAdjusted EBITDAAdjusted EBITDA margin
(dollars in thousands)
Consulting$650,204 $654,199 $116,108 17.9 %
Digital349,025 349,437 110,050 31.5 %
Executive Search:
North America605,704 609,258 181,615 30.0 %
EMEA182,192 182,866 31,804 17.5 %
Asia Pacific118,596 118,705 35,105 29.6 %
Latin America29,069 29,079 9,089 31.3 %
Total Executive Search935,561 939,908 257,613 27.5 %
Professional Search & Interim297,096 297,974 106,015 35.7 %
RPO394,832 401,937 59,126 15.0 %
Corporate— — (109,984)
Consolidated$2,626,718 $2,643,455 $538,928 20.5 %


Year Ended April 30, 2021
Fee revenueTotal revenueAdjusted EBITDAAdjusted EBITDA margin
(dollars in thousands)
Consulting$515,844 $517,046 $81,522 15.8 %
Digital287,306 287,780 86,095 30.0 %
Executive Search:
North America397,275 399,104 98,099 24.7 %
EMEA138,954 139,213 11,742 8.5 %
Asia Pacific83,306 83,463 16,676 20.0 %
Latin America17,500 17,500 1,289 7.4 %
Total Executive Search637,035 639,280 127,806 20.1 %
Professional Search & Interim130,831 131,080 36,934 28.2 %
RPO239,031 244,760 32,477 13.6 %
Corporate— — (78,542)
Consolidated$1,810,047 $1,819,946 $286,292 15.8 %
Fiscal 20202023 Compared to Fiscal 2019

During fiscal 2020, the Company changed the composition of its global segments. The Consulting and Digital segment were previously included in the Advisory segment. Segment data for fiscal 2019 has been recast to reflect the division of the Advisory segment into the Consulting and Digital segments.

2022

Fee Revenue

Fee Revenue. Fee revenue increased by $6.7$208.7 million, or 0.3%8.0%, to $1,932.7$2,835.4 million in fiscal 20202023 compared to $1,926.0$2,626.7 million in fiscal 2019.2022. Exchange rates unfavorably impacted fee revenue by $36.2$96.8 million, or 2%4%, in fiscal 20202023 compared to the year-ago period. The higher feefiscal 2022. Fee revenue was attributable to fee revenue generated from the Acquired Companies and growthincreased in RPO & Professional Search, offset by decreasesall lines of business except in Executive Search which saw a decline in fee revenue compared to fiscal 2022 primarily due to a decline in demand for our products and Consulting principally impactedservices caused by COVID-19 I the fourth quarterslowdown in the global economy. The acquisitions of The Lucas Group, Patina Solutions Group ("Patina"), ICS and Salo (the "Acquired Companies") were a significant factor in the increase in fee revenue compared to fiscal 2020.2022.

Consulting. Consulting reported fee revenue of $543.1$677.0 million in fiscal 2020, a decrease2023, an increase of $25.2$26.8 million, or 4%, compared to $568.3$650.2 million in fiscal 2019.2022. The increase in fee revenue was mainly driven by an increase in demand for workforce transformation, organization design, and senior leadership development delivered through our Organization Strategy, Leadership Development, Total Rewards and Assessment & Succession solutions, as clients aligned their structures to new market opportunities and addressed compensation and retention issues. Exchange rates unfavorably impacted fee revenue by $10.9$27.8 million, or 4%, compared to fiscal 2022.
Digital. Digital reported fee revenue of $354.7 million in fiscal 2023, an increase of $5.7 million, or 2%, compared to the year-ago period. The decrease was primarily due to the impact of COVID-19 in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2020.

Digital. Digital reported fee revenue of $292.4$349.0 million in fiscal 2020, an2022. The increase of $39.7 million, or 16%, compared to $252.7 million in fiscal 2019. The higher fee revenue was attributableprimarily driven by increasing demand for Development offerings as companies invest in sales effectiveness tools and training content to fee build their commercial teams' capabilities to maximize

35

korn.jpg
revenue generated from the Acquired Companies.growth, as well as in analytics on Total Rewards trends used to aid in retention and staffing decisions. Exchange rates unfavorably impacted fee revenue by $6.4 million, or 3%, compared to the year-ago period.

Executive Search. Executive Search reported fee revenue of $732.5 million in fiscal 2020, a decrease of $42.3$18.8 million, or 5%, compared to $774.8fiscal 2022.

Executive Search North America. Executive Search North America reported fee revenue of $562.1 million in the year-ago period.fiscal 2023, a decrease of $43.6 million, or 7%, compared to $605.7 million in fiscal 2022. Exchange rates unfavorably impacted fee revenue by $11.9$2.2 million or 2%, in fiscal 2020 as compared to the year-ago period. As detailed below, Executive Search fee revenue was lower in all regions in fiscal 2020 as2023 compared to fiscal 2019. The overall decrease in fee revenue was driven by decreases in fee revenue in all sectors due to COVID-19 with consumer products, financial services, technology and education/non-profit having the greatest impact.

North America reported fee revenue of $434.6 million in fiscal 2020, a decrease of $21.2 million, or 5%, compared to $455.8 million in the year-ago period.2022. North America’s fee revenue was lowerdecreased due to a 7%14% decrease in the number of engagements billed, partially offset by a 3%an 8% increase in the weighted-average fees billed per engagement (calculated using local currency) in fiscal 20202023 compared to the year-ago period.

fiscal 2022.

Executive Search EMEA. Executive Search EMEA reported fee revenue of $170.3$187.0 million in fiscal 2020,a decrease2023, an increase of $12.5$4.8 million, or 7%3%, compared to $182.8$182.2 million in fiscal 2019.2022. Exchange rates unfavorably impacted fee revenue by $5.9$15.6 million, or 3%9%, in fiscal 2020,2023 compared to the year-ago period.fiscal 2022. The decreaseincrease in fee revenue was primarily due to a 3% decrease in the number of engagements billed and a 1% decrease10% increase in the weighted-average fees billed per engagement (calculated using local currency) and a 2% increase in the number of engagements billed in fiscal 20202023 compared to the year-ago period. fiscal 2022.The performance in Germany,the United Kingdom, Norway,

42


SwedenArab Emirates, Switzerland, Denmark, Netherlands and DenmarkGermany were the primary contributors to the increase in fee revenue in fiscal 2023 compared to fiscal 2022, partially offset by a decrease in fee revenue in fiscal 2020 compared to the year-ago period.France, Russia and Italy.

Executive Search Asia Pacific.

Executive Search Asia Pacific reported fee revenue of $98.1$95.6 million in fiscal 2020,2023, a decrease of $6.2$23.0 million, or 6%19%, compared to $104.3$118.6 million in fiscal 2019.2022. Exchange rates unfavorably impacted fee revenue by $2.9$7.9 million, or 3%7%, in fiscal 2020,2023 compared to the year-ago period.fiscal 2022. The decrease in fee revenue was due to a 5%16% decrease in the number of engagements billed, partially offset by a 2% increase in the weighted-average fees billed per engagement (calculated using local currency) in fiscal 20202023 compared to the year-ago period.fiscal 2022. The performance in China, Japan, Australia, India and ChinaKorea were the primary contributors to the decrease in fee revenue in fiscal 2023 compared to fiscal 2022, partially offset by increasesan increase in fee revenue in Singapore and Japan in fiscal 2020 compared to the year-ago period.

Malaysia.

Executive Search Latin America. Executive Search Latin America reported fee revenue of $29.4$31.0 million in fiscal 2020,2023, an increase of $1.9 million, or 7%, compared to $29.1 million in fiscal 2022. Exchange rates were relatively flat in fiscal 2023 compared to fiscal 2022. The increase in fee revenue was due to a 9% increase in the weighted-average fees billed per engagement (calculated using local currency), partially offset by a decrease of $2.52% in the number of engagements billed in fiscal 2023 compared to fiscal 2022. The performance in Mexico and Brazil were the primary contributors to the increase in fee revenue in fiscal 2023 compared to fiscal 2022, partially offset by a decrease in fee revenue in Colombia.
Professional Search & Interim. Professional Search & Interim reported fee revenue of $503.4 million in fiscal 2023, an increase of $206.3 million, or 8%69%, compared to $31.9$297.1 million in fiscal 2019.2022. Exchange rates unfavorably impacted fee revenue by $2.6$7.4 million, or 2%, in fiscal 2023 compared to fiscal 2022. The increase in fee revenue was driven by an increase in both interim and professional search fee revenue of $188.1 million and $18.2 million, respectively, which was primarily due to the acquisitions of the Acquired Companies.
RPO. RPO reported fee revenue of $424.6 million in fiscal 2023, an increase of $29.8 million, or 8%, in fiscal 2020, compared to the year-ago period. The decrease in fee revenue was due to lower fee revenue in Brazil, Colombia and Argentina, partially offset by increases in fee revenue in Mexico and Chile in fiscal 2020 compared to the year-ago period.

RPO & Professional Search. RPO & Professional Search reported fee revenue of $364.8$394.8 million in fiscal 2020, an increase of $34.7 million, or 11%, compared to $330.1 million in fiscal 2019.2022. Exchange rates unfavorably impacted fee revenue by $6.9$17.1 million, or 2%4%, in fiscal 2023 compared to the year-ago period. Higher fee revenues in RPO and professional search of $26.4 million and $8.3 million, respectively, drove thefiscal 2022. The increase in fee revenue.revenue was due to wider adoption of RPO services in the market in combination with our differentiated solutions.

Compensation and Benefits

Compensation and benefits expense decreased $13.2increased by $159.7 million, or 1%9%, to $1,298.0$1,901.2 million in fiscal 20202023 from $1,311.2$1,741.5 million in fiscal 2019.2022. Exchange rates favorably impacted compensation and benefits by $22.6$53.6 million, or 2%3%, in fiscal 20202023 compared to the year-ago period.fiscal 2022. The decreaseincrease in compensation and benefits expense was primarily due to lower performance-related bonus expenseincreases in salaries and related payroll taxes of $147.7 million and employer insurance of $15.3 million. These increases were due to lowerthe increase in fee revenue overall which resulted in an increase in average headcount of 15% in fiscal 2023 compared to fiscal 2022, and wage inflation. Also contributing to higher compensation and benefits expense were increases in commission expense of $20.2 million due to higher fee revenue, $18.7 million more in deferred compensation expenses as a result of COVID-19 pandemic, a decrease in expenses associated with our deferred compensation and retirement plans driven by a decreaseincreases in the fair value of participants’ accounts in fiscal 2023 compared to fiscal 2022 and a decrease inhigher integration/acquisition costs. These decreases in compensation and benefits expense werecosts of $6.4 million. This increase was partially offset by a 3% increasedecreases in average headcount, which contributed to an increaseperformance-related bonus expense of $38.2 million and $8.9 million in salaries and related payroll taxes in fiscal 2020 compared to fiscal 2019.amortization of long-term incentive awards. Compensation and benefits expense, as a percentage of fee revenue, decreasedincreased to 67% in fiscal 20202023 from 68%66% in fiscal 2019.

2022.

Consulting compensation and benefits expense decreasedincreased by $17.8$27.6 million, or 5%6%, to $373.2$478.5 million in fiscal 20202023 from $391.0$450.9 million in fiscal 2019.2022. Exchange rates favorably impacted compensation and benefits by $7.8$16.5 million, or 2%4%, in fiscal 20202023 compared to the year-ago period.fiscal 2022. The changeincrease in compensation and benefits expense was primarily due to lower performance-related bonus expense due to lower fee revenue as a result of COVID-19 pandemic, partially offset by an increaseincreases in salaries and related payroll taxes.taxes of $22.2 million and employer insurance of $2.5 million. These increases were due to the segment's revenue growth coupled which resulted in an increase in average headcount of 7% in fiscal 2023 compared to fiscal 2022, and wage inflation. Also contributing to higher compensation and benefits expense was an increase in deferred compensation expense of $2.6 million in fiscal 2023 compared to fiscal 2022. Consulting compensation and benefits expense, as a percentage of fee revenue, wasincreased to 71% in fiscal 2023 from 69% for both thein fiscal 2020 and 2019.

2022.

Digital compensation and benefits expense increased by $16.6$11.3 million, or 12%6%, to $149.7$189.1 million in fiscal 20202023 from $133.1$177.8 million in fiscal 2019.2022. Exchange rates favorably impacted compensation and benefits by $2.8$7.5 million, or 2%4%, in fiscal 2020 2023
36

korn.jpg
compared to the year-ago period.fiscal 2022. The increase in compensation and benefits expense was primarily due to an increase in salaries and related payroll taxes mainlyof $13.8 million due to a 9% increase in average headcount in fiscal 2023 compared to fiscal 2022 and wage inflation. The increase was partially offset by a decrease in performance-related bonus expense of $3.0 million. Digital compensation and benefits expense, as a percentage of fee revenue, increased to 53% in fiscal 2023 from 51% in fiscal 2022.
Executive Search North America compensation and benefits expense increased by $9.0 million, or 2%, to $386.1 million in fiscal 2023 compared to $377.1 million in fiscal 2022. Exchange rates favorably impacted compensation and benefits by $1.0 million in fiscal 2023 compared to fiscal 2022. The increase in compensation and benefits expense was primarily due to higher salaries and related payroll taxes of $12.4 million and an increase in employer insurance of $1.6 million. These increases were due to an increase in average headcount of 10% in fiscal 2023 compared to fiscal 2022 and wage inflation. Also contributing to the increase in compensation and benefits expense was an increase in deferred compensation expense of $12.4 million due to an increase in the fair market value of participants' accounts in fiscal 2023 compared to fiscal 2022. The increase was partially offset by lower performance-related bonus expense of $12.4 million as a result of lower fee revenue and a decrease in the amortization of long-term incentive awards of $4.9 million. Executive Search North America compensation and benefits expense, as a percentage of fee revenue, increased to 69% in fiscal 2023 from 62% in fiscal 2022.
Executive Search EMEA compensation and benefits expense increased by $7.4 million, or 6%, to $140.5 million in fiscal 2023 compared to $133.1 million in fiscal 2022. Exchange rates favorably impacted compensation and benefits by $8.2 million, or 6%, in fiscal 2023 compared to fiscal 2022. The increase in compensation and benefits expense was primarily due to higher performance-related bonus expense of $4.5 million, salaries and related payroll taxes of $2.5 million and amortization of long-term incentive awards of $1.1 million in fiscal 2023 compared to fiscal 2022. These increases were due to the Executive search EMEA segment's revenue growth combined with an increase in average headcount of 11% in fiscal 2023 compared to fiscal 2022. Executive Search EMEA compensation and benefits expense, as a percentage of fee revenue, increased to 75% in fiscal 2023 from 73% in fiscal 2022.
Executive Search Asia Pacific compensation and benefits expense decreased by $10.4 million, or 14%, to $61.9 million in fiscal 2023 compared to $72.3 million in fiscal 2022. Exchange rates favorably impacted compensation and benefits by $4.3 million, or 6%, in fiscal 2023 compared to fiscal 2022. The decrease in compensation and benefits expense was primarily due to a decrease in performance-related bonus expense of $8.3 million in fiscal 2023 compared to fiscal 2022 due to lower segment fee revenue. Executive Search Asia Pacific compensation and benefits expense, as a percentage of fee revenue, increased to 65% in fiscal 2023 from 61% in fiscal 2022.
Executive Search Latin America compensation and benefits expense increased by $2.0 million, or 11%, to $20.4 million in fiscal 2023 compared to $18.4 million in fiscal 2022. Exchange rates unfavorably impacted compensation and benefits by $0.1 million, in fiscal 2023 compared to fiscal 2022. The increase in compensation and benefits expense was primarily due to an increase in salaries and related payroll taxes as a result of the segment’s fee revenue growth with an increase in average headcount of 8% in fiscal 2023 compared to fiscal 2022. Executive Search Latin America compensation and benefits expense, as percentage of fee revenue, increased to 66% in fiscal 2023 from 63% in fiscal 2022.
Professional Search & Interim compensation and benefits expense increased by $74.5 million, or 50%, to $223.3 million in fiscal 2023 compared to $148.8 million in fiscal 2022. Exchange rates favorably impacted compensation and benefits by $2.9 million, or 2%, in fiscal 2023 compared to fiscal 2022. The increase in compensation and benefits expense was primarily due to higher salaries and related payroll taxes of $52.0 million, commission expense of $18.0 million, employee insurance of $3.9 million and integration/acquisition costs of $6.4 million due to the acquisitions of the Acquired Companies, resultingwhich resulted in a 12%55% increase in the average headcount in fiscal 20202023 compared to the year-ago period.Digitalfiscal 2022. This increase was partially offset by a decrease of $8.0 million in performance-related bonus expense. Professional Search & Interim compensation and benefits expense, as a percentage of fee revenue, decreased to 51%44% in fiscal 20202023 from 53%50% in fiscal 2019.

Executive Search2022.

RPO compensation and benefits expense decreasedincreased by $30.0$35.8 million, or 6%12%, to $472.4$339.0 million in fiscal 2020 compared to $502.42023 from $303.2 million in fiscal 2019.2022. Exchange rates favorably impacted compensation and benefits by $7.5$13.1 million, or 1%4%, in fiscal 20202023 compared to the year-ago period.fiscal 2022. The decreaseincrease in compensation and benefits expense was primarily due to lower performance-related bonus expense due to lower fee revenuehigher salaries and related payroll taxes of $42.1 million and employer insurance of $6.1 million as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The restsegment's fee revenue growth combined with an increase in average headcount of 18% in fiscal 2023 compared to fiscal 2022. Also contributing to the change was due to a decrease in the expenses associated with our deferred compensation and retirement plans driven by a decrease in the fair value of participants’ accounts.Executive Searchhigher compensation and benefits expense as a percentage of fee revenue, decreased to 64% in fiscal 2020 from 65% in fiscal 2019.

RPO & Professional Search compensation and benefits expense increased by $26.4 million, or 11%, to $261.0 million in fiscal 2020 from $234.6 million in fiscal 2019. Exchange rates favorably impacted compensation and benefits by $4.5 million, or 2%, in fiscal 2020 compared towas the year-ago period. The increase was due to a 14% increase in the average headcount in fiscal 2020 compared to fiscal 2019,severance expense of $3.2 million. This increase was partially offset by a decreasedecreases in lower performance-related bonus expense due to lower fee revenue as a result of COVID-19 pandemic.$12.6 million and in the use of outside contractors of $5.4 million. RPO & Professional Search compensation and benefits expense, as a percentage of fee revenue, increased to 72%80% in fiscal 20202023 from 71%77% in fiscal 2019.

2022.

Corporate compensation and benefits expense decreasedincreased by $8.4$2.7 million, or 17%5%, to $41.7$62.4 million in fiscal 20202023 from $50.1$59.7 million in fiscal 2019.2022. The decreaseincrease in compensation and benefits expense was primarily driven by higher salaries and related payroll taxes of $4.5 million due to lower performance-related bonusan increase in average headcount of 13% in fiscal 2023 compared to fiscal 2022, and to a lesser extent to an increase in stock-based compensation expense of $2.3 million and the use of outside contractors of $1.3 million. Also contributing to the increase in compensation and benefits expense was an increase in deferred compensation expense of $1.1 million due to

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increases in the fair value of participants' accounts. The increase was
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lower fee revenue

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partially offset by an increase in the cash surrender value ("CSV") of company-owned life insurance ("COLI") of $4.8 million as a result of COVID-19 pandemicincreased death benefits, and a decrease in expenses associated with our deferred compensation and retirement plansthe amortization of long-term incentive awards of $1.2 million in fiscal 20202023 compared to the year-ago period.

fiscal 2022.

General and Administrative Expenses

General and administrative expenses decreased $93.0increased by $31.2 million, or 26%13%, to $259.0$268.5 million in fiscal 20202023 compared to $352.0$237.3 million in fiscal 2019.2022. Exchange rates favorably impacted general and administrative expenses by $6.2$12.5 million, or 2%5%, in fiscal 20202023 compared to the year-ago period.fiscal 2022. The decrease in general and administrative expenses was magnified by a one-time write-off of tradenames of $106.6 million in fiscal 2019 related to the Plan. The decrease in general and administrative expenses was partially offset by increases in marketing and business development expenses and integration/acquisition costs. General and administrative expenses, as a percentage of fee revenue, decreased to 13% in fiscal 2020 from 18% in fiscal 2019, however, excluding the tradename write-offs, general and administrative expenses as a percentage of fee revenue was 13% in both fiscal 2020 and 2019.

Consulting general and administrative expenses decreased by $79.1 million, or 54%, to $67.1 million in fiscal 2020 compared to $146.2 million in the year-ago period. The decrease in general and administrative expenses was magnified by a one-time write-off of tradenames related to the Plan of $77.0 million in fiscal 2019. Consulting general and administrative expenses, as a percentage of fee revenue, decreased to 12% in fiscal 2020 from 26% in fiscal 2019. Excluding the tradename write-offs, general and administrative expenses as a percentage of fee revenue was 12% in both fiscal 2020 and 2019.

Digital general and administrative expenses decreased by $19.4 million, or 33%, to $38.7 million in fiscal 2020 compared to $58.1 million in the year-ago period. The decrease in general and administrative expenses was magnified by a one-time write-off of tradenames related to the Plan of $29.6 million in fiscal 2019, partially offset by an increase in integration/acquisition costs and premise and office expenses. Digital general and administrative expenses, as a percentage of fee revenue, decreased to 13% in fiscal 2020 from 23% in fiscal 2019. Excluding the tradename write-offs, general and administrative expenses as a percentage of fee revenue was 13% in fiscal 2020 compared to 11% in the year-ago period.

Executive Search general and administrative expenses decreased by $7.2 million, or 9%, to $74.9 million in fiscal 2020 from $82.1 million in fiscal 2019. The decrease in general and administrative expenses was primarily due to decreaseshigher marketing and business development expenses of $15.9 million and an increase in computer software licenses expense of $9.0 million, which contributed to the increase in fee revenue in fiscal 2023 compared to fiscal 2022, as well as an increase in legal and other professional fees travel related expenses and premise and office expenses in fiscal 2020 compared to the year-ago period. Executive Search general and administrative expenses, as a percentage of fee revenue was 10% in fiscal 2020 compared to 11% in the year-ago period.

RPO & Professional Search general and administrative expenses increased by $3.1 million, or 11%, to $31.2 million in fiscal 2020 from $28.1 million in fiscal 2019. The increase was primarily due to an increase in premise and office expense and to a lesser extent foreign exchange loss in fiscal 2020 compared to foreign exchange gain in fiscal 2019. RPO & Professional Search general$6.7 million. General and administrative expenses, as a percentage of fee revenue, was 9% in both fiscal 20202023 and 2019.

fiscal 2022.

Consulting general and administrative expenses increased by $6.4 million, or 12%, to $57.9 million in fiscal 2023 compared to $51.5 million in fiscal 2022. The increase in general and administrative expenses was primarily due to increases in impairment charges of $3.1 million associated with the reduction of the Company’s real estate footprint and marketing and business development expenses of $2.1 million related to fee revenue growth. Also contributing to the increase in general and administrative expenses was an increase in foreign exchange losses of $2.0 million in fiscal 2023 compared to fiscal 2022. Consulting general and administrative expenses, as a percentage of fee revenue, increased to 9% in fiscal 2023 from 8% in fiscal 2022.
Digital general and administrative expenses increased by $9.6 million, or 31%, to $40.6 million in fiscal 2023 compared to $31.0 million in fiscal 2022. The increase in general and administrative expenses was primarily due to higher computer software licenses expense of $3.2 million and an increase in marketing and business development expenses of $3.1 million. Also contributing to the increase in general and administrative expense was an increase in impairment charges of $1.7 million associated with the reduction of the Company's real estate footprint and an increase in foreign exchange losses of $1.5 million in fiscal 2023 compared to fiscal 2022. Digital general and administrative expenses, as a percentage of fee revenue, increased to 11% in fiscal 2023 from 9% in fiscal 2022.
Executive Search North America general and administrative expenses increased by $1.6 million, or 5%, to $32.4 million in fiscal 2023 from $30.8 million in fiscal 2022. The increase in general and administrative expenses was primarily due to an increase in marketing and business development expenses of $2.1 million, partially offset by foreign exchange gains of $0.2 million in fiscal 2023 compared to foreign exchange losses of $0.4 million in fiscal 2022. Executive Search North America general and administrative expenses, as a percentage of fee revenue, increased to 6% in fiscal 2023 from 5% in fiscal 2022.
Executive Search EMEA general and administrative expenses decreased by $3.3 million, or 18%, to $14.7 million in fiscal 2023 from $18.0 million in fiscal 2022. The decrease in general and administrative expenses was primarily due to a decrease in premise and office expense of $3.3 million due to impairment charges recorded in fiscal 2022 and as a result of the reduction of the Company's real estate footprint. Also contributing to the decrease is the impact of foreign currency with foreign currency gains of $0.3 million in fiscal 2023 compared to foreign exchange losses of $0.7 million in fiscal 2022. This decrease was partially offset by an increase in marketing and business development expense of $1.0 million related to fee revenue growth in fiscal 2023 compared to fiscal 2022. Executive Search EMEA general and administrative expenses, as a percentage of fee revenue, decreased to 8% in fiscal 2023 from 10% in fiscal 2022.
Executive Search Asia Pacific general and administrative expenses decreased by $1.3 million, or 12%, to $9.7 million in fiscal 2023 from $11.0 million in fiscal 2022. The decrease in general and administrative expenses was primarily due to decreases in bad debt expense of $0.7 million and premise and office expense of $0.6 million in fiscal 2023 compared to fiscal 2022. Executive Search Asia Pacific general and administrative expenses, as a percentage of fee revenue, increased to 10% in fiscal 2023 from 9% in fiscal 2022.
Executive Search Latin America general and administrative expenses increased by $0.5 million, or 56%, to $1.4 million in fiscal 2023 from $0.9 million in fiscal 2022. The increase in general and administrative expenses was primarily due to a gain recorded in fiscal 2022 due to the termination of a lease agreement in Mexico, thereby increasing premise and office expense by $1.7 million, partially offset by an increase in foreign exchange gains of $0.8 million in fiscal 2023 compared to fiscal 2022. Executive Search Latin America general and administrative expenses, as a percentage of fee revenue, increased to 4% in fiscal 2023 from 3% in fiscal 2022.
Professional Search & Interim general and administrative expenses increased by $10.1 million, or 50%, to $30.3 million in fiscal 2023 from $20.2 million in fiscal 2022. The increase in general and administrative expenses was primarily due to increases in bad debt expense of $5.4 million, marketing and business development expenses of $2.4 million, premise and office expense of $1.3 million and integration/acquisition costs of $0.8 million in fiscal 2023 compared to fiscal 2022. Professional Search & Interim general and administrative expenses, as a percentage of fee revenue, decreased to 6% in fiscal 2023 from 7% in fiscal 2022.
RPO general and administrative expenses increased by $0.9 million, or 4%, to $21.3 million in fiscal 2023 from $20.4 million in fiscal 2022. The increase in general and administrative expenses was primarily due to increases in marketing and business development expenses of $1.0 million, legal and other professional fees of $0.4 million, as well as a foreign
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exchange losses of $1.2 million in fiscal 2023 as opposed to foreign exchange gains of $0.8 million in fiscal 2022. This increase was partially offset by a lower bad debt expense of $2.5 million in fiscal 2023 compared to fiscal 2022. RPO general and administrative expenses, as a percentage of fee revenue, was 5% in both fiscal 2023 and fiscal 2022.
Corporate general and administrative expenses increased by $9.5$6.6 million, or 25%12%, to $47.0$60.1 million in fiscal 20202023 compared to $37.5$53.5 million in fiscal 2019.2022. The increase in general and administrative expenses was primarily due to integration/acquisition costs incurredincreases in fiscal 2020 related to the purchaselegal and other professional fees of the Acquired Companies and increases in$3.9 million, marketing and business development expenses of $3.8 million, as well as premise and office expense of $2.7 million, partially offset by an increase in foreign exchange gains of $2.3 million in fiscal 20202023 compared to the year-ago period.

fiscal 2022.

Cost of Services Expense

Cost of services expense consists primarily of contractor and product costs related to the delivery of various services and products primarily in RPO &through Consulting, Digital, Professional Search Consulting& Interim and Digital.RPO. Cost of services expense was $85.9$238.5 million in fiscal 20202023, an increase of $124.1 million, or 108%, compared to $75.5$114.4 million in fiscal 2019.2022. Professional Search & Interim accounts for $122.9 million of the increase primarily due to the acquisitions of the Acquired Companies which, includes a significant amount of interim business as part of the services they perform which has higher cost of services expense compared to other services Korn Ferry provides. As the interim business becomes an increasing portion of our fee revenue, we expect cost of services expense to continue to increase in future periods. The rest of the increase was from the Consulting segment driven by the increase in fee revenue in the segment. Cost of services expense, as a percentage of fee revenue, wasincreased to 8% in fiscal 2023 from 4% in both the fiscal 2020 and 2019.

Depreciation and Amortization Expenses

Depreciation and amortization expenses were $55.3 million in fiscal 2020, an increase of $8.8 million, or 19%, compared to $46.5 million in fiscal 2019. The increase was related primarily to the Acquired Companies and technology investments made in the current and prior year in software and computer equipment, in addition to increases in leasehold improvement and furniture and fixtures.

Restructuring Charges, Net

In November 2019, we implemented a restructuring plan to eliminate redundant positions that were created2022 due to investments made in our digital business and the acquisition of the Acquired Companies.

Depreciation and Amortization Expenses
Depreciation and amortization expenses were $68.3 million in fiscal 2023, an increase of $4.8 million, or 8%, compared to $63.5 million in fiscal 2022. The increase was primarily due to the amortization of intangible assets due to the acquisition of the Acquired Companies.
Restructuring Charges, Net
In April 2020,fiscal 2023, we implemented a second plan in responsethe Plan to the uncertainty caused by COVID-19 that resulted in reductions inrealign our workforce.workforce with our business needs and objectives. As a result, of these two plans, we recorded restructuring charges, net of $58.6$42.6 million of severance costs induring fiscal 2020.2023. There were no restructuring charges, net in fiscal 2019.

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Operating2022.

Net Income

Operating Attributable to Korn Ferry

Net income was $176.0attributable to Korn Ferry decreased by $116.9 million, to $209.5 million in fiscal 2020, an increase of $35.2 million,2023 compared to $140.8$326.4 million in fiscal 2019.2022. The increase in operating income was primarily driven by a decrease in general and administrative expenses of $93.0 million magnifiednet income attributable to Korn Ferry was driven by a one-time write-off of tradenames in the year-ago period, partially offset by restructuring charges of $58.6 million incurred in fiscal 2020.

Consulting operating income was $17.7 million in fiscal 2020, an increase of $51.8 million, compared to operating loss of $34.1 million in fiscal 2019. The change was primarily due to a decrease in general and administrative expenses of $79.1 million magnified by a one-time write-off of tradenames related to the Plan of $77.0 million in the year-ago period and a decrease of $17.8 million in compensation and benefits expense. The increase in operating income was partially offset by lower fee revenue of $25.2 million and restructuring charges of $24.5 million in fiscal 2020. Consulting operating income, as a percentage of fee revenue was 3% in fiscal 2020 compared to an operating loss, as a percentage of fee revenue of 6% in fiscal 2019. Excluding the tradename write-offs, operating income as a percentage of fee revenue was 3% in fiscal 2020 compared to 8% in fiscal 2019.

Digital operating income was $46.9 million in fiscal 2020, an increase of $7.2 million, or 18%, compared to $39.7 million in fiscal 2019. The increase in operating income was due to higher fee revenue of $39.7 million and a decrease in general and administrative expenses of $19.4 million magnified by a one-time write-off of tradenames related to the Plan in the year ago period. The increase in operating income was partially offset by restructuring charges of $10.5 million in fiscal 2020 and increases in compensation and benefits expense, cost of service and depreciation and amortizationservices expense, of $16.6 million, $18.3 million and $6.4 million, respectively. Digital operating income, as a percentage of fee revenue was 16% in both the fiscal 2020 and 2019. Excluding the tradename write-offs, operating income as a percentage of fee revenue was 16% in fiscal 2020 compared to 27% in fiscal 2019.

Executive Search operating income decreased by $22.2 million, or 12%, to $156.9 million in fiscal 2020 compared to $179.1 million in fiscal 2019. The decrease in Executive Search operating income was driven by a decrease in fee revenue of $42.3 million and restructuring charges of $17.5 million incurred in fiscal 2020 largely due to the impact of COVID-19 in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2020. The decrease in operating income was partially offset by decreases in compensation and benefits expense and general and administrative expenses, of $30.0 million and $7.2 million, respectively. Executive Search operating income, as a percentage of fee revenue, was 21% and 23% in the fiscal 2020 and 2019, respectively.

RPO & Professional Search operating income was $50.4 millionrestructuring charges, net in fiscal 20202023 compared to $50.9 million in fiscal 2019. The2022. This decrease in operating income was driven by higher compensation and benefits expense of $26.4 million, restructuring charges of $5.7 million incurred in fiscal 2020 and an increase in general and administrative expenses of $3.1 million. The decrease in operating income was partially offset by an increase in fee revenue, of $34.7 million.RPO & Professional Search operatinglower income as a percentage of fee revenue, was 14% in fiscal 2020 compared to 15% in fiscal 2019.

Net Income Attributable to Korn Ferry

Net income attributable to Korn Ferry increased by $2.2 million to $104.9 million in fiscal 2020 compared $102.7 million in fiscal 2019. The increase was primarily driven by lower operating expenses of $31.7 million, partially offset bytax provision and an increase in other income tax expense of $14.4 million and losses in the fair value of our marketable securities incurred(loss), net in fiscal 20202023 compared to gains in the year-ago period.fiscal 2022. Net income attributable to Korn Ferry, as a percentage of fee revenue, was 5%7% and 12% in both the fiscal 20202023 and 2019.

2022, respectively.

Adjusted EBITDA

Adjusted EBITDA decreased by $10.0a decrease of $81.6 million to $301.0$457.3 million in fiscal 20202023 compared to $311.0$538.9 million in fiscal 2019.2022. The decrease in Adjusted EBITDA was driven by increases in compensation and benefits expense (excluding integration/acquisition costs), cost of services expense, and general and administrative expenses (excluding integration/acquisition costs and impairment charges), partially offset by increases in fee revenue and other income (loss), net in fiscal 2023 compared to fiscal 2022. Adjusted EBITDA, as a percentage of fee revenue, was 16% in both the fiscal 20202023 compared to 21% in fiscal 2022. Adjusted EBITDA margin decreased primarily due to a change in fee revenue mix, with a decrease in fee revenue in Executive Search and 2019.

Permanent Placement, which have higher margins, and being replaced with fee revenue in Interim that has lower margins, but is more resilient to economic factors and in line with our strategy

Consulting Adjusted EBITDA was $61.1$108.5 million in fiscal 2020,2023, a decrease of $5.4$7.6 million, or 8%7%, compared to $66.5$116.1 million in fiscal 2019.2022. The decrease in Adjusted EBITDA was driven by lower fee revenue of $25.2 million largely due to the impact of COVID-19 in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2020. The decrease in adjusted EBITDA was partially offset by decreases of $12.5 millionincreases in compensation and benefits expense, (excluding integration/acquisition costs), $6.0 million in cost of services expense and $2.1 million in general and administrative expenses (excluding tradename write-offsimpairment charges), and cost of services expense, partially offset by an increase in fee revenue in fiscal 2019) in fiscal 20202023 compared to the year-ago period.fiscal 2022. Consulting Adjusted EBITDA, as a percentage of fee revenue, was 11%16% in fiscal 20202023 compared to 12%18% in the year-ago period.

fiscal 2022.

Digital Adjusted EBITDA was $83.1$97.5 million in fiscal 2020,2023, a decrease of $1.4$12.6 million, or 2%11%, compared to $84.5$110.1 million in fiscal 2019.2022. The decrease in Adjusted EBITDA was mainly driven by higherincreases in compensation and benefits expense (excluding integration/acquisition costs) of $15.5 million, higher cost of service expenses of $18.3 million and an increase of $6.7 million in general and administrative expenses (excluding integration/acquisition costs in fiscal 2020 and write-off of tradenames in fiscal 2019). This wasimpairment charges), partially offset by an increase of $39.7 million in fee revenue in fiscal 2020

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2023 compared to the year-ago period.fiscal 2022. Digital Adjusted EBITDA, as a percentage of fee revenue, was 28%27% in fiscal 2020 as2023 compared to 33%32% in fiscal 2019.

2022.

Executive Search North America Adjusted EBITDA decreased by $12.7$40.7 million, or 7%22%, to $181.1$140.9 million in fiscal 20202023 compared to $193.8$181.6 million in fiscal 2019.2022. The decrease in Adjusted EBITDA was primarily driven by lower fee revenue of $42.3 million in fiscal 2020 compared to the year-ago period largely due to the impact of COVID-19 in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2020 and losses in the fair value of our marketable securities incurred in fiscal 2020 compared to gains in the year-ago period. The decrease in adjusted EBITDA was partially offset by a decrease of $31.9 millionsegment, coupled with increases in compensation and benefits expense (excluding separation costs in fiscal 2020) and $7.2 million in general and administrative expenses.expenses,
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partially offset by an increase in other income (loss), net in fiscal 2023 compared to fiscal 2022. Executive Search North America Adjusted EBITDA, as a percentage of fee revenue, was 25% in both the fiscal 2020 and 2019.

RPO & Professional2023 compared to 30% in fiscal 2022.

Executive Search EMEA Adjusted EBITDA decreased by $0.4 million, or 1%, to $31.4 million in fiscal 2023 compared to $31.8 million in fiscal 2022. The decrease in Adjusted EBITDA was $60.2 million in fiscal 2020,driven by an increase of $5.8 million, or 11%, compared to $54.4 million in fiscal 2019. The increase was driven by higher fee revenue of $34.7 million driven by higher fee revenues in RPO and professional search of $26.4 million and $8.3 million, respectively. The increase in adjusted EBITDA was partially offset by increases of $26.4 million in compensation and benefits expense, partially offset by higher fee revenue in the segment and $3.1 milliona decrease in general and administrative expenses in fiscal 2020 compared to the year-ago period. RPO & Professional(excluding impairment charges). Executive Search EMEA Adjusted EBITDA, as a percentage of fee revenue, was 17% in both fiscal 2020 compared2023 and fiscal 2022.
Executive Search Asia Pacific Adjusted EBITDA decreased by $10.9 million, or 31%, to 16% in fiscal 2019.

Other (Loss) Income, Net

Other loss, net was $2.9$24.2 million in fiscal 20202023 compared to $35.1 million in fiscal 2022. The decrease in Adjusted EBITDA was primarily driven by lower fee revenue in the segment, partially offset by decreases in the compensation and benefits expense and general and administrative expenses in fiscal 2023 compared to fiscal 2022. Executive Search Asia Pacific Adjusted EBITDA, as a percentage of fee revenue, was 25% in fiscal 2023 compared to 30% in fiscal 2022.

Executive Search Latin America Adjusted EBITDA increased by $0.3 million, or 3%, to $9.4 million in fiscal 2023 compared to $9.1 million in fiscal 2022. The increase in Adjusted EBITDA was driven by higher fee revenue in the segment and an increase in other income (loss), net, partially offset by an increase in compensation and benefits expense in fiscal 2023 compared to fiscal 2022. Executive Search Latin America Adjusted EBITDA, as a percentage of $10.4fee revenue, was 30% in fiscal 2023 compared to 31% in fiscal 2022.
Professional Search & Interim Adjusted EBITDA was $110.9 million in fiscal 2023, an increase of $4.9 million, or 5%, compared to $106.0 million in fiscal 2022. The increase in Adjusted EBITDA was mainly driven by higher fee revenue in the year-ago period.segment as a result of the acquisition of the Acquired Companies, partially offset by increases in cost of services expense, compensation and benefits expense (excluding integration/acquisition costs) and general and administrative expenses (excluding impairment charges and integration/acquisition costs) in fiscal 2023 compared to fiscal 2022. Professional Search & Interim Adjusted EBITDA, as a percentage of fee revenue, was 22% in fiscal 2023 compared to 36% in fiscal 2022.
RPO Adjusted EBITDA was $52.6 million in fiscal 2023, a decrease of $6.5 million, or 11%, compared to $59.1 million in fiscal 2022. The change from otherdecrease in Adjusted EBITDA was mainly driven by increases in compensation and benefits expense and general and administrative expenses (excluding impairment charges), partially offset by higher fee revenue in the segment in fiscal 2023 compared to fiscal 2022. RPO Adjusted EBITDA, as a percentage of fee revenue, was 12% in fiscal 2023 compared to 15% in fiscal 2022.
Other Income (Loss), Net
Other income, net was $5.3 million in fiscal 2023 compared to other loss, net of $11.9 million in fiscal 2022. The difference was primarily due to losses ingains from the fair value of our marketable securities incurred in fiscal 20202023 compared to gains in the year-ago period. These losses were offset by the decreases in our deferred compensation liability that are recorded as decreases in compensation and benefits expense in fiscal 2020.

2022.

Interest Expense, Net

Interest expense, net primarily relates to the 4.625% Senior Unsecuredour Notes due 2027 (the “Notes”) issued in December 2019, our prior credit agreement, and borrowings under our COLI policies and interest cost related to our deferred compensation plans, which are partially offset by interest earned on cash and cash equivalent balances. Interest expense, net was $22.2$25.9 million in fiscal 20202023 compared to $16.9$25.3 million in the year-ago period. The increase in interest expense, net was related to the newly issued Notes, which have a higher interest rate and a higher principal balance than the revolver under our prior credit agreement.

fiscal 2022.

Income Tax Provision

The provision for income tax was $43.9$82.7 million in fiscal 20202023 compared to $29.5$102.1 million in the year-ago period.fiscal 2022. This reflects a 29% and 22%28% effective tax rate for fiscal 20202023 compared to a 24% effective tax rate for fiscal 2022. In addition to the impact of U.S. state income taxes and 2019, respectively. Thejurisdictional mix of earnings, which generally create variability in our effective tax rate over time, the higher effective tax rate in fiscal 2020 is partially attributable2023 was affected by a tax expense recorded for withholding taxes that are not eligible for credit. The fiscal 2022 effective tax rate was lower due to state income tax on a higher domestic income and a lower tax benefit recorded in connection with stock-based compensation than duringtax credits for eligible research and development expenditures incurred in fiscal 2019.

2022 and the four immediately preceding fiscal years.

Net Income Attributable to Noncontrolling Interest

Net income attributable to noncontrolling interest represents the portion of a subsidiary’s net earnings that are attributable to shares of such subsidiary not held by Korn Ferry that are included in the consolidated results of operations.income. Net income attributable to noncontrolling interest was $2.1$3.5 million and $4.5 million in both fiscal 20202023 and 2019.

fiscal 2022, respectively.

Fiscal 2019 Compared2022 compared to Fiscal 2018

2021

During fiscal 2020,2023, the Company changed the composition of its global segments. The DigitalProfessional Search & Interim segment and ConsultingRPO segment were previously included in the AdvisoryRPO & Professional Search segment. Segment data for fiscal 20192022 and 20182021 have been recast to reflect the division of the AdvisoryRPO & Professional Search segment into the ConsultingProfessional Search & Interim and DigitalRPO segments.

Fee Revenue

Fee Revenue. Fee revenue increased by $158.8$816.7 million, or 9%45.1%, to $1,926.0$2,626.7 million in fiscal 20192022 compared to $1,767.2$1,810.0 million in fiscal 2018.2021. Exchange rates unfavorably impacted fee revenue by $48.3$2.8 million, in fiscal 2022 compared to fiscal 2021. The higher fee revenue was attributable to increases in all lines of business primarily due to an increase in new
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business driven by the increased relevance of the Company’s solutions and the acquisition of The Lucas Group that closed on November 1 2021 and Patina that closed on April 1, 2022 ("Acquired Companies in fiscal 2022") in the Professional Search & Interim segment. Further, the coronavirus pandemic ("COVID-19") adversely impacted demand for the Company’s services on a worldwide basis in fiscal 2021.
Consulting. Consulting reported fee revenue of $650.2 million in fiscal 2022, an increase of $134.4 million, or 3%26%, compared to $515.8 million in fiscal 2019 compared to the year-ago period.2021. The increase in fee revenue was attributablepartially driven by our Organizational Strategy work in organization and job redesign, people strategy and culture transformation. In addition, our diversity, equity & inclusion (“DE&I”) business remained strong in fiscal 2022 as we helped clients move the needle on their diversity efforts. Also, greater expectations for organizations to organicbe a force for good in society more broadly has been increasing demand for our environmental and social governance (“ESG”) and sustainability offerings. Leadership Development continues to focus on the importance of increasing employee engagement through coaching and structured leadership workshops. Assessment and Succession increased as clients rely on Korn Ferry’s robust data, science and IP to fuel leadership and scaled workforce transformations. Finally, growth in Total Rewards was fueled by global compensation and retention challenges associated with labor market dislocation; merger & acquisition and IPO activity; and increased focus on executive pay and governance issues, all solution areas.

Consulting. Consulting reported fee revenue of $568.3 million, an increase of $27.8 million, or 5%, in fiscal 2019 comparedwhich increased pressure to $540.5 million in fiscal 2018.offer higher and more competitive compensation. Exchange rates unfavorably impacted fee revenue by $17.1$2.8 million, or 3%1%, compared to the year-ago period.fiscal 2021.

Digital. Digital reported fee revenue of $252.7$349.0 million in fiscal 2022, an increase of $8.2$61.7 million, or 3%21%, in fiscal 2019 compared to $244.5$287.3 million in fiscal 2018.2021. The increase in fee revenue was primarily due to Professional Development where we targeted new offerings and partnerships in fiscal 2022 to meet the growing need of companies focusing on sales effectiveness. We had double digit increases in fee revenue across our other solutions focusing on assessment, total rewards and organizational strategy as companies focused on retaining and rewarding key talent to reduce levels of attrition from dislocation in the labor markets. Exchange rates unfavorably impacted fee revenue by $7.7$1.8 million, or 3%1%, compared to the year-ago period.fiscal 2021.

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Executive Search.

Executive Search North America. Executive Search North America reported fee revenue of $774.8$605.7 million in fiscal 2022, an increase of $65.8$208.4 million, or 9%52%, compared to $397.3 million in fiscal 20192021. Exchange rates favorably impacted fee revenue by $1.3 million in fiscal 2022 compared to $709.0 million in the year-ago period. As detailed below, Executive Searchfiscal 2021. North America’s fee revenue was higher in all regions in fiscal 2019 compared to fiscal 2018. The higher fee revenue in Executive Search was mainly due to a 6%35% increase in the number of engagements billed and a 5%12% increase in the weighted-average fees billed per engagement (calculated using local currency) in fiscal 20192022 compared to the year-ago period.fiscal 2021.
Executive Search EMEA. Executive Search EMEA reported fee revenue of $182.2 million in fiscal 2022, an increase of $43.2 million, or 31%, compared to $139.0 million in fiscal 2021. Exchange rates unfavorably impacted fee revenue by $14.8$0.5 million or 2%, in fiscal 20192022 compared to the year-ago period.

North America reported fee revenue of $455.8 million, anfiscal 2021. The increase of $47.7 million, or 12%, in fiscal 2019 compared to $408.1 million in the year-ago period. North America’s fee revenue was higher due to a 9%15% increase in the number of engagements billed and a 3%14% increase in the weighted-average fees billed per engagement (calculated using local currency) in fiscal 20192022 compared to fiscal 2021.The performance in the year-ago period. Technology, industrialUnited Kingdom, France, the United Arab Emirates and financial servicesBelgium were the main sectors contributingprimary contributors to the increase in fee revenue in fiscal 20192022 compared to the year-ago period. The effectfiscal 2021, driving $31.0 million of exchange rates on fee revenue was minimal in fiscal 2019 compared to the year-ago period.

EMEAincreased revenue.

Executive Search Asia Pacific. Executive Search Asia Pacific reported fee revenue of $182.8$118.6 million in fiscal 2022, an increase of $9.1$35.3 million, or 5%42%, in fiscal 2019 compared to $173.7$83.3 million in fiscal 2018.2021. Exchange rates unfavorablyfavorably impacted fee revenue by $5.7$0.6 million, or 3%1%, in fiscal 2019,2022 compared to the year-ago period.fiscal 2021. The increase in fee revenue was due to a 5%27% increase in the number of engagements billed and a 4%an 11% increase in the weighted-average fees billed per engagement (calculated using local currency) in fiscal 20192022 compared to the year-ago period.fiscal 2021. The performance in the United Kingdom, Germany, United Arab Emirates,Australia, India, China and FranceSingapore were the primary contributors to the increase in fee revenue in fiscal 20192022 compared to the year-ago period. In termsfiscal 2021, contributing $28.8 million of business sectors, financial services, industrial and technology had the largest increase inincreased fee revenue in fiscal 2019 compared to the year-ago period, partially offset by a decrease in fee revenue in the life sciences/healthcare and consumer goods sectors.

Asia Pacificrevenue.

Executive Search Latin America. Executive Search Latin America reported fee revenue of $104.3$29.1 million in fiscal 2022, an increase of $7.7$11.6 million, or 8%66%, in fiscal 2019 compared to $96.6$17.5 million in fiscal 2018.2021. Exchange rates unfavorablyfavorably impacted fee revenue by $3.6$0.2 million, or 4%1%, in fiscal 2019,2022 compared to the year-ago period.fiscal 2021. The increase in fee revenue was due to a 10%34% increase in the number of engagements billed and a 2%22% increase in the weighted-average fees billed per engagement (calculated using local currency) in fiscal 20192022 compared to the year-ago period.fiscal 2021. The performance in Hong Kong, Australia, Singapore,Mexico, Brazil and New ZealandChile were the primary contributors to the increase in fee revenue in fiscal 20192022 compared to the year-ago period. Technology, education/non-profit, consumer goods, and financial services were the main sectors contributing to the increase in fee revenue in fiscal 2019 compared to the year-ago period.

Latin America2021, driving $9.4 million of increased revenue.

Professional Search & Interim. Professional Search & Interim reported fee revenue of $31.9$297.1 million in fiscal 2022, an increase of $1.3$166.3 million, or 4%127%, in fiscal 2019 compared to $30.6$130.8 million in fiscal 2018.2021. Exchange rates favorably impacted fee revenue by $0.3 million compared to fiscal 2021. The increase in Professional Search & Interim fee revenue was due to an 86% increase in engagements billed and a 21% increase in the weighted-average fees billed per engagement in fiscal 2022 compared to fiscal 2021. The increase in Professional Search fee revenue was also due to the acquisition of the Acquired Companies in fiscal 2022, which contributed $69.3 million and $4.1 million of fee revenue, respectively.
RPO. RPO reported fee revenue of $394.8 million in fiscal 2022, an increase of $155.8 million, or 65%, compared to $239.0 million in fiscal 2021. Exchange rates unfavorably impacted fee revenue by $4.6$0.1 million or 15%, in fiscal 2019, compared to the year-ago period.fiscal 2021. The increase in fee revenue was due to higher fee revenuethe wider adoption of RPO services in Peru, Colombia and Brazil in fiscal 2019, compared to the year-ago period. Consumer goods and financial services were the main sectors contributing to the increase in fee revenue in fiscal 2019, compared to the year-ago period, partially offset by a decrease in life sciences/healthcare and industrial sectors.

RPO & Professional Search. RPO & Professional Search reported fee revenue of $330.1 million, an increase of $56.9 million, or 21%, in fiscal 2019 compared to $273.2 million in fiscal 2018. Exchange rates unfavorably impacted fee revenue by $8.7 million, or 3%, compared to the year-ago period. Higher fee revenues in RPO and professional search of $33.0 million and $23.9 million, respectively, drove the increase in fee revenue.market.

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Compensation and Benefits

Compensation and benefits expense increased $112.1$443.6 million, or 9%,34% to $1,311.2$1,741.5 million in fiscal 20192022 from $1,199.1$1,297.9 million in fiscal 2018.2021. Exchange rates favorably impacted compensation and benefits by $29.6$0.3 million or 2%, in fiscal 20192022 compared to the year-ago period.fiscal 2021. The increase in compensation and benefits expense was primarily due to a 10% increaseincreases in average headcount, which contributed $41.4 million in higher salaries and related payroll taxes and a $13.5of $230.4 million, increase inperformance-related bonus expense of $160.3 million, amortization of long-term incentive awards. Also contributing to the increase was higher performance-related bonus expenseawards of $36.9$16.4 million, higher commission expenseemployer insurance of $5.5$13.8 million and an increase in the use of outside contractors of $5.5 million all$9.3 million. These increases were due to the needincrease in fee revenue combined with increases in overall profitability and average headcount. Also contributing to service higher fee revenues from increased business.compensation and benefits expense was an increase in commission expense of $28.5 million due to the Acquired Companies in fiscal 2022, partially offset by a decrease in deferred compensation expenses of $30.7 million as a result of decreases in the fair value of participants’ accounts in fiscal 2022 compared to fiscal 2021. Compensation and benefits expense, as a percentage of fee revenue, was 68%decreased to 66% in both fiscal 2019 and 2018.

2022 from 72% in fiscal 2021.

Consulting compensation and benefits expense increased by $9.4$90.5 million, or 3%25%, to $391.0$450.9 million in fiscal 20192022 from $381.6$360.4 million in fiscal 2018.2021. Exchange rates favorably impacted compensation and benefits expense by $10.9$1.2 million or 3%, in fiscal 20192022 compared to the year-ago period. fiscal 2021. The changeincrease in compensation and benefits expense was primarily due to $3.1increases in salaries and related payroll taxes of $48.9 million, in higher performance-related bonus expense an increase inof $24.5 million, amortization of long-term incentive awards of $3.7$5.0 million and employer insurance of $2.7 million due to an increase in severance expense of $2.1 million. fee revenue combined with increases in overall profitability and average headcount in fiscal 2022 compared to fiscal 2021. Consulting compensation and benefits expense, as a percentage of fee revenue, decreased to 69% in fiscal 20192022 from 71%70% in fiscal 2018.

2021.

Digital compensation and benefits expense increased by $17.4$31.1 million, or 15%21%, to $177.8 million in fiscal 2022 from $146.7 million in fiscal 2021. The impact of exchange rates was essentially flat in fiscal 2022 compared to fiscal 2021. The increase in compensation and benefits expense was primarily due to increases in performance-related bonus expense of $11.4 million, salaries and related payroll taxes of $7.9 million and commission expenses of $5.8 million in fiscal 2022 compared to fiscal 2021 as a result of an increase in fee revenue combined with increases in overall profitability and average headcount. Digital compensation and benefits expense, as a percentage of fee revenue, was 51% in both fiscal 2022 and fiscal 2021.
Executive Search North America compensation and benefits expense increased by $77.6 million, or 26%, to $377.1 million in fiscal 2022 compared to $299.5 million in fiscal 2021. Exchange rates unfavorably impacted compensation and benefits by $0.7 million in fiscal 2022 compared to fiscal 2021. The increase was primarily due to increases in performance-related bonus expense of $82.6 million and salaries and related payroll taxes of $24.6 million due to the increase in fee revenue combined with increases in overall profitability and average headcount in fiscal 2022 compared to fiscal 2021. The increases in compensation and benefits expense was partially offset by a decrease in the amounts owed under certain deferred compensation and retirement plans of $35.4 million due to a decrease in the fair market value of the participants accounts in fiscal 2022 compared to fiscal 2021. Executive Search North America compensation and benefits expense, as a percentage of fee revenue, decreased to 62% in fiscal 2022 from 75% in fiscal 2021.
Executive Search EMEA compensation and benefits expense increased by $22.0 million, or 20%, to $133.1 million in fiscal 2019 from $115.72022 compared to $111.1 million in fiscal 2018.2021. Exchange rates favorably impacted compensation and benefits expense by $3.3$0.5 million or 3%, in fiscal 20192022 compared to the year-ago period.fiscal 2021. The changeincrease was primarily due to an increase of $5.5 million in

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commission expense, $3.3 million in higher performance-related bonus expense, an increase of $3.0 million in outside contractors due to the need to accommodate the growth in fee revenue and $1.9 million more in salaries and related payroll taxes of $12.6 million and performance-related bonus expense of $8.2 million in fiscal 20192022 compared to fiscal 2021 due to the year-ago period.Digitalincrease in fee revenue combined with an increase in overall profitability. Executive Search EMEA compensation and benefits expense, as a percentage of fee revenue, decreased to 73% in fiscal 2022 from 80% in fiscal 2021.

Executive Search Asia Pacific compensation and benefits expense increased by $14.0 million, or 24%, to $72.3 million in fiscal 2022 compared to $58.3 million in fiscal 2021. Exchange rates unfavorably impacted compensation and benefits by $0.4 million, or 1%, in fiscal 2022 compared to fiscal 2021. The increase was primarily due to increases in performance-related bonus expense of $10.2 million and salaries and related payroll taxes of $6.2 million in fiscal 2022 compared to fiscal 2021 due to an increase in fee revenue combined with an increase overall profitability. Executive Search Asia Pacific compensation and benefits expense, as a percentage of fee revenue, decreased to 61% in fiscal 2022 from 70% in fiscal 2021.
Executive Search Latin America compensation and benefits expense increased by $4.3 million, or 30%, to $18.4 million in fiscal 2022 compared to $14.1 million in fiscal 2021. Exchange rates unfavorably impacted compensation and benefits by $0.3 million, or 2%, in fiscal 2022 compared to fiscal 2021. The increase was primarily due to higher salaries and related payroll taxes of $2.0 million and performance-related bonus expense of $1.4 million in fiscal 2022 compared to fiscal 2021 due to an increase in fee revenue combined with an increase in overall profitability. Executive Search Latin America compensation and benefits expense, as a percentage of fee revenue, decreased to 63% in fiscal 2022 from 80% in fiscal 2021.
Professional Search & Interim compensation and benefits expense increased by $63.0 million, or 73%, to $148.8 million in fiscal 2022 from $85.8 million in fiscal 2021. The impact of exchange rates was essentially flat in fiscal 2022 compared to fiscal 2021. The increase was due to higher salaries and related payroll taxes of $23.0 million, performance-related bonus of $14.7 million, employer insurance of $2.7 million and the use of outside contractors of $0.8 million due to the increase in fee revenue combined with increases in overall profitability and average headcount in fiscal 2022 compared to fiscal 2021. Also contributing to the increase in compensation and benefits was an increase in commission expenses of $22.7 million and
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integration and acquisition costs of $1.9 million driven by the acquisition of the Acquired Companies in fiscal 2022. Professional Search & Interim compensation and benefits expense, as a percentage of fee revenue, decreased to 50% in fiscal 2022 from 66% in fiscal 2021.
RPO compensation and benefits expense increased by $124.3 million, or $69%, to $303.2 million in fiscal 2022 from $178.9 million in fiscal 2021. The impact of exchange rates was essentially flat in fiscal 2022 compared to fiscal 2021. The increase was primarily due to higher salaries and related payroll taxes of $99.1 million, employer insurance of $5.7 million and the use of outside contractors of $4.2 million due to increases in revenue and average headcount in fiscal 2022 compared to fiscal 2021. RPO compensation and benefits expense, as a percentage of fee revenue, increased to 53%77% in fiscal 20192022 from 47%75% in fiscal 2018.

Executive Search2021.

Corporate compensation and benefits expense increased by $33.8$16.5 million, or 7%38%, to $502.4$59.7 million in fiscal 2019 compared to $468.62022 from $43.2 million in fiscal 2018. Exchange rates favorably impacted compensation and benefits by $9.4 million, or 2%, in fiscal 2019 compared to the year-ago period.2021. The increase of $7.2 million was due to higher performance-related bonus expensethe changes in CSV of $17.7 millionthe COLI contracts due to the increaselower death benefits recognized in fee revenue.fiscal 2022 compared to fiscal 2021. Also contributing to the increase was a 5% increase in average headcount, which contributed $13.0 million in higher salaries and related payroll taxes, and a $8.2 million increase in amortization of long-term incentive awards in fiscal 2019 compared to the year-ago period. Executive Search compensation and benefits expense, as a percentage of fee revenue, decreased to 65% in fiscal 2019 from 66% in fiscal 2018.

RPO & Professional Search compensation and benefits expense increased by $41.4 million, or 21%, to $234.6 million in fiscal 2019 from $193.2 million in fiscal 2018. Exchange rates favorably impacted compensation and benefits by $5.9 million, or 3%, in fiscal 2019 compared to the year-ago period. The increase was due to higher salaries and related payroll taxes of $23.9$6.0 million resulting from a 32%and performance-related bonus expense of $4.2 million due to an increase in theconsolidated fee revenue, combined with increases in overall profitability and average headcount in fiscal 20192022 compared to fiscal 2018. The higher average headcount and the $2.3 million increase in the use of outside contractors was primarily driven by the need to service an increase in fee revenue in the RPO business. Also contributing to the increase in compensation and benefits was a higher performance-related bonus expense of $10.7 million. RPO & Professional Search compensation and benefits expense, as a percentage of fee revenue, was 71% in both fiscal 2019 and 2018.

Corporate compensation and benefits expense increased by $10.1 million, or 25%, to $50.1 million in fiscal 2019 from $40.0 million in fiscal 2018. The increase was primarily due to higher performance-related bonus expense, higher salaries and related payroll taxes, an increase in the use of outside contractors, higher stock-based compensation expense and an increase in amortization of long-term incentive awards of $2.0 million, $2.2 million, $1.1 million, $0.9 million and $0.6 million, respectively, in fiscal 2019 compared to the year-ago period. The rest of the increase was due to a change in the 2021.

cash surrender value(“CSV”) of COLI that increased compensation and benefits expense by $1.6 million in fiscal 2019 compared to the year-ago period.

General and Administrative Expenses

General and administrative expenses increased $114.6$45.5 million, or 48%24%, to $352.0$237.3 million in fiscal 20192022 compared to $237.4$191.8 million in fiscal 2018.2021. Exchange rates favorably impacted general and administrative expenses by $8.3$0.9 million or 3%, in fiscal 20192022 compared to the year-ago period.fiscal 2021. The increase in general and administrative expenses was primarily due to the write-off of tradenames of $106.6 million related to the Plan, an increase of $3.0 million in legal and other professional expenses, higher marketing and business development expenses of $2.4$14.0 million, which contributed to the increase in fee revenue and new business in fiscal 2022, as well as an increase in premise and office expense of $1.2$6.9 million, bad debt expense of $5.8 million and legal and other professional fees of $5.3 million. In addition, the Company recorded impairment charges associated with the reduction of the Company’s real estate footprint of $9.3 million and integration and acquisition costs of $6.0 million incurred with the acquisition of the Acquired Companies in fiscal 2019 compared to the year-ago period.2022. General and administrative expenses, as a percentage of fee revenue, was 18%decreased to 9% in fiscal 20192022 from 11% in fiscal 2021.
Consulting general and administrative expenses increased by $2.9 million, or 6%, to $51.5 million in fiscal 2022 compared to 13%$48.6 million in fiscal 2021. The increase in general and administrative expenses was primarily due to impairment charges associated with the year-ago period. Excludingreduction of the tradename write-offs,Company’s real estate footprint of $2.8 million in fiscal 2022. Consulting general and administrative expenses, as a percentage of fee revenue, decreased to 8% in fiscal 2022 from 9% in fiscal 2021.
Digital general and administrative expenses increased by $1.9 million, or 7%, to $31.0 million in fiscal 2022 compared to $29.1 million in fiscal 2021. The increase in general and administrative expenses was primarily due to impairment charges associated with the reduction of the Company’s real estate footprint of $1.5 million in fiscal 2022. Digital general and administrative expenses, as a percentage of fee revenue, decreased to 9% in fiscal 2022 from 10% in fiscal 2021.
Executive Search North America general and administrative expenses increased by $3.9 million, or 14%, to $30.8 million in fiscal 2022 from $26.9 million in fiscal 2021. The increase in general and administrative expenses was primarily due to increases in business development expenses of $2.4 million and bad debt expense of $0.7 million. Executive Search North America general and administrative expenses, as a percentage of fee revenue, was 13%5% in fiscal 2019.

Consulting2022 compared to 7% in fiscal 2021.

Executive Search EMEA general and administrative expenses increased by $77.8$2.0 million, or 114%13%, to $146.2$18.0 million in fiscal 2019 compared to $68.42022 from $16.0 million in the year-ago period.fiscal 2021. The increase in general and administrative expenses was mainlyprimarily due to impairment charges associated with the write-offreduction of tradenamesthe Company’s real estate footprint of $77.0$1.1 million and the impact of foreign currency with foreign exchange losses of $0.7 million in fiscal 20192022 compared to the year-ago period. Consultingforeign currency gains of $0.3 million in fiscal 2021. Executive Search EMEA general and administrative expenses, as a percentage of fee revenue was 26%10% in fiscal 20192022 compared to 13% in fiscal 2018. Excluding the tradename write-offs, general and administrative expenses as a percentage of fee revenue was 12% in fiscal 2019 compared to 13% in fiscal 2018.

Digital2021.

Executive Search Asia Pacific general and administrative expenses increased by $28.1$2.4 million, or 94%28%, to $58.1$11.0 million in fiscal 2019 compared to $30.02022 from $8.6 million in the year-ago period.fiscal 2021. The increase in general and administrative expenses was mainlyprimarily due to the write-offhigher bad debt expense of tradenames of $29.6$1.0 million in fiscal 20192022 compared to the year-ago period. Digital general and administrative expenses, as a percentage of fee revenue, was 23% in fiscal 2019 compared to 12% in fiscal 2018. Excluding the tradename write-offs, general and administrative expenses as a percentage of fee revenue was 11% in fiscal 2019 compared to 12% in fiscal 2018.

2021. Executive Search general and administrative expenses increased by $4.4 million, or 6%, to $82.1 million in fiscal 2019 from $77.7 million in fiscal 2018. The increase in general and administrative expenses was mainly due to $1.8 million more in premise and office expense and an increase of $0.9 million in legal and other professional expenses. Also contributing to the increase were increases to travel-related expenses and marketing and business development expenses of $1.3 million and $0.7 million, respectively, in order to support the higher fee revenues generated in fiscal 2019 compared to the year-ago period. Executive Search general and administrative expenses, as a percentage of fee revenue, was 11% in both fiscal 2019 and 2018.

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RPO & Professional Search general and administrative expenses increased by $1.4 million, or 5%, to $28.1 million in fiscal 2019 from $26.7 million in fiscal 2018. The increase was due primarily to increases in premise and office expense of $1.1 million, in fiscal 2019 compared to the year-ago period. RPO & Professional SearchAsia Pacific general and administrative expenses, as a percentage of fee revenue, was 9% in fiscal 20192022 compared to 10% in fiscal 2021.

Executive Search Latin America general and administrative expenses decreased by $1.3 million, or 59%, to $0.9 million in fiscal 2022 from $2.2 million in fiscal 2021. The decrease in general and administrative expenses was primarily due to lower premise and office expenses of $1.4 million in fiscal 2022 compared to fiscal 2021. Executive Search Latin America general and administrative expenses, as a percentage of fee revenue, was 3% in fiscal 2022 compared to 12% in fiscal 2021.
Professional Search & Interim general and administrative expenses increased by $12.2 million, or 153%, to $20.2 million in fiscal 2022 from $8.0 million in fiscal 2021. The increase in general and administrative expenses was primarily due to an increase in premise and office expense of $4.4 million, impairment charges associated with the year-ago period.

reduction of the Company's real estate footprint of $2.3 million, higher bad debt expense of $2.1 million, and integration and acquisition costs of $1.8 million. Professional Search & Interim general and administrative expenses, as a percentage of revenue, was 7% in fiscal 2022 compared to 6% in fiscal 2021.

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RPO general and administrative expenses increased by $3.6 million, or 21%, to $20.4 million in fiscal 2022 from $16.8 million in fiscal 2021. The increase was primarily due to higher bad debt expense of $1.6 million, and impairment charges associated with the reduction of the Company's real estate footprint of $1.6 million. RPO general administrative expenses, as a percentage of revenue, was 5% in fiscal 2022 compared to 7% in fiscal 2021.
Corporate general and administrative expenses increased by $2.9$18.0 million, or 8%51%, to $37.5$53.5 million in fiscal 20192022 compared to $34.6$35.5 million in fiscal 2018.2021. The increase in general and administrative expenses was primarily due primarily to increaseshigher marketing expense of $7.2 million, integration and acquisition costs of $4.2 million due to the acquisition of the Acquired Companies in fiscal 2022, legal and other professional expenses and software licensesfees of $2.2$3.8 million and $1.7an increase of $1.5 million respectively,in charitable contributions in fiscal 20192022 compared to the year-ago period. This was offset by a foreign exchange gain of $1.0 million in fiscal 2019 compared to a foreign exchange loss of $1.2 million in fiscal 2018.

2021.

Cost of Services Expense

Cost of services expense consists primarily of non-billable contractor and product costs related to the delivery of various services and products, primarily in RPO & Professional Search & Interim, Consulting, Digital and Digital.RPO. Cost of services expense was $75.5$114.4 million in fiscal 20192022 compared to $73.7$72.0 million in fiscal 2018.2021. The increase was due to an increase in fee revenue and the acquisition of the Acquired Companies in fiscal 2022. Cost of services expense, as a percentage of fee revenue, was 4% in both fiscal 20192022 and 2018.

fiscal 2021.

Depreciation and Amortization Expenses

Depreciation and amortization expenses were $46.5 million, a decrease of $2.1 million, or 4%, in fiscal 2019 compared to $48.6$63.5 million in fiscal 2018. The decrease was due2022, an increase of $1.7 million, or 3%, compared to lower amortization expense associated with intangible assets as some of our intangible assets became fully amortized.

Operating Income

Operating income was $140.8 million, a decrease of $67.6$61.8 million in fiscal 2019 compared2021. The increase was primarily due to $208.4technology investments made in the current and prior year in software for our Digital business and the Acquired Companies in fiscal 2022 in the Professional Search & Interim segment.

Restructuring Charges, Net
There were no restructuring charges, net during fiscal 2022. In April 2020, we implemented a restructuring plan in response to the uncertainty caused by COVID-19 that resulted in reductions in our workforce in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2020. We continued the implementation of this plan in fiscal 2021 and as a result recorded restructuring charges, net of $30.7 million of severance costs in fiscal 2021.
Net Income Attributable to Korn Ferry
Net income attributable to Korn Ferry increased by $211.9 million to $326.4 million in fiscal 2018.2022 compared to $114.5 million in fiscal 2021. The decreaseincrease in operatingnet income attributable to Korn Ferry was primarily driven by the write-offincrease in fee revenue of tradenames$816.7 million, which was driven by the factors discussed above, and restructuring charges, net of $106.6$30.7 million an increase of $112.1 millionincurred in fiscal 2021. This was partially offset by increases in compensation and benefits expense and $8.0of $443.6 million, more incost of services expense of $42.4 million associated with the higher levels of business demand, a higher income tax provision of $54.0 million and general and an increase in administrative expenses (excluding write-off of tradenames), offset by higher fee revenue$45.5 million. The rest of $158.8 million.

Consulting operatingthe change is due to other loss, was $34.1 million, a decreasenet of $56.5$11.9 million in fiscal 20192022 compared to operatingother income, net of $22.4$37.2 million in fiscal 2018. The change was primarily due2021. Net income attributable to the write-off of tradenames of $77.0 million and an increase of $9.4 million in compensation and benefits expense in fiscal 2019 compared to the year-ago period, offset by higher fee revenue of $27.8 million and a decrease in depreciation and amortization expense of $2.8 million. Consulting operating loss,Korn Ferry, as a percentage of fee revenue, was 12% in fiscal 2022 as compared to 6% in fiscal 20192021.

Adjusted EBITDA
Adjusted EBITDA increased by $252.6 million to $538.9 million in fiscal 2022 compared to operating income, as a percentage of$286.3 million in fiscal 2021. The increase in Adjusted EBITDA was driven by the increase in fee revenue, partially offset by increases in compensation and benefits expense (excluding integration/acquisition costs), cost of 4% in fiscal 2018. Excluding the tradename write-offs, operating incomeservices expense, and general and administrative expenses (excluding integration/acquisition costs and impairment charges). Adjusted EBITDA, as a percentage of fee revenue, was 8%21% and 16% in fiscal 2019 compared to 4% in fiscal 2018.

Digital operating income2022 and 2021.

Consulting Adjusted EBITDA was $39.7 million, which decreased by $38.4 million, or 49% in fiscal 2019 compared to $78.1$116.1 million in fiscal 2018. The change was primarily due to the write-off of tradenames of $29.6 million and2022, an increase of $17.4$34.6 million, or 42%, compared to $81.5 million in fiscal 2021. The increase in Adjusted EBITDA was driven by higher fee revenue in the segment, as well as cost savings realized from work being conducted virtually. These changes were partially offset by increases in compensation and benefits expense in fiscal 2019 compared to the year-ago period, offset by higher fee revenueand cost of $8.2 million. Digital operating income,services expense. Consulting Adjusted EBITDA, as a percentage of fee revenue, was 18% in fiscal 2022 compared to 16% and 32%in fiscal 2021.
Digital Adjusted EBITDA was $110.1 million in fiscal 2022, an increase of $24.0 million, or 28%, compared to $86.1 million in fiscal 2021. The increase in Adjusted EBITDA was mainly driven by the increase in fee revenue in the segment, as well as cost savings realized from work being conducted virtually. These changes were partially offset by increases in compensation and benefits expense (excluding integration/acquisition costs) and cost of services expense in fiscal 2019 and 2018, respectively. Excluding the tradename write-offs, operating income2022 compared to fiscal 2021. Digital Adjusted EBITDA, as a percentage of fee revenue, was 27%32% in fiscal 20192022 as compared to 32%30% in the year-ago period.

fiscal 2021.

Executive Search operating incomeNorth America Adjusted EBITDA increased by $29.5$83.5 million, or 20%85%, to $179.1$181.6 million in fiscal 20192022 compared to $149.6$98.1 million in fiscal 2018.2021. The increase in Executive Search operating income was driven by higher fee revenue in the segment, partially offset by an increase in compensation and benefits expense and general and administrative expenses. Executive Search North America Adjusted EBITDA, as a percentage of fee revenue, of $65.8was 30% in fiscal 2022 compared to 25% in fiscal 2021.
Executive Search EMEA Adjusted EBITDA increased by $20.1 million, or 172%, to $31.8 million in fiscal 2022 compared to $11.7 million in fiscal 2021. The increase in Adjusted EBITDA was driven by higher fee revenue in the segment, partially
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offset by increases in compensation and benefits expense and general and administrative expenses of $33.8 million and $4.4 million, respectively.(excluding impairment charges). Executive Search operating income,EMEA Adjusted EBITDA, as a percentage of fee revenue, was 23% and 21%17% in fiscal 2019 and 2018, respectively.

RPO & Professional2022 compared to 8% in fiscal 2021.

Executive Search operating income was $50.9 million, an increase of $11.5Asia Pacific Adjusted EBITDA increased by $18.4 million, or 29%110%, in fiscal 2019 compared to $39.4$35.1 million in fiscal 2018.2022 compared to $16.7 million in fiscal 2021. The increase in operating incomeAdjusted EBITDA was driven by higher fee revenue in the segment, partially offset by increases in the compensation and benefits expense and general and administrative expenses. Executive Search Asia Pacific Adjusted EBITDA, as a percentage of $56.9fee revenue, was 30% in fiscal 2022 compared to 20% in fiscal 2021.
Executive Search Latin America Adjusted EBITDA increased by $7.8 million to $9.1 million in fiscal 2022 compared to $1.3 million in fiscal 2021. The increase in Adjusted EBITDA was driven by higher fee revenue in the segment, partially offset by an increase in compensation and benefits expense. Executive Search Latin America Adjusted EBITDA, as a percentage of fee revenue, was 31% in fiscal 2022 compared to 7% in fiscal 2021.
Professional Search & Interim Adjusted EBITDA was $106.0 million in fiscal 2022, an increase of $69.1 million, or 187%, compared to $36.9 million in fiscal 2021. The increase in Adjusted EBITDA was mainly driven by higher fee revenue, partially offset by increases in compensation and benefits expense (excluding integration/acquisition costs), cost of services expense and general and administrative expenses (excluding impairment charges and integration and acquisition costs). Professional Search & Interim Adjusted EBITDA, as a percentage of fee revenue, was 36% in fiscal 2022 compared to 28% in fiscal 2021.
RPO Adjusted EBITDA was $59.1 million in fiscal 2022, an increase of $26.6 million, or 82%, compared to $32.5 million in fiscal 2021. The increase in Adjusted EBITDA was mainly driven by higher fee revenue in the segment, partially offset by increases in compensation and benefits expense, cost of services expense and general and administrative expenses of $41.4 million, $2.4 million and $1.4 million, respectively.(excluding impairment charges). RPO & Professional Search operating income,Adjusted EBITDA, as a percentage of fee revenue, was 15% in fiscal 20192022 compared to 14% in the year-ago period.

Netfiscal 2021.

Other (Loss) Income, Attributable to Korn Ferry

Net income attributable to Korn Ferry decreased by $31.1 million to $102.7

Other loss, net was $11.9 million in fiscal 20192022 compared $133.8 million in fiscal 2018. The decrease was primarily driven by higher operating expenses of $221.9 million mainly due to the tradename write-off of $106.6 million and higher compensation and benefits expense of $112.1 million, partially offset by higher total revenue of $154.4 million and a lower income tax provision of $40.6 million compared to the year-ago period. Net income attributable to Korn Ferry, as a percentage of fee revenue, was 5% in fiscal 2019 compared to 8% in the year-ago period.

49


Adjusted EBITDA

Adjusted EBITDA increased by $33.0 million to $311.0 million in fiscal 2019 compared to $278.0 million in fiscal 2018. This increase was driven by higher fee revenue of $158.8 million, offset by an increases of $114.8 million in compensation and benefits expense (excluding integration costs), $8.0 million in general and administrative expenses (excluding write-off on tradenames), $1.8 million in cost of services and a decrease in other income, net of $1.0$37.2 million in fiscal 2021. The difference was primarily due to changes inlosses from the fair value of our marketable securities in fiscal 20192022 compared to the year-ago period. Adjusted EBITDA, as a percentage of fee revenue, was 16% in both fiscal 2019 and 2018.

Consulting Adjusted EBITDA was $66.5 million, an increase of $15.4 million, or 30%,gains in fiscal 2019 compared to $51.1 million in fiscal 2018. The increase was driven by higher fee revenue of $27.8 million, offset by increases of $11.9 million in compensation and benefits expense (excluding integration costs) in fiscal 2019 compared to the year-ago period.Consulting Adjusted EBITDA, as a percentage of fee revenue, was 12% fiscal 2019 compared to 9% in the year-ago period.

Digital Adjusted EBITDA was $84.5 million, decreased by $7.9 million, or 9%, in fiscal 2019 compared to $92.4 million in fiscal 2018. The decrease was driven by increases of $17.5 million in compensation and benefits expense (excluding integration costs) offset by higher fee revenue of $8.2 million and a decrease in general and administrative expenses  (excluding tradename write-offs) of $1.5 million in fiscal 2019 compared to the year-ago period.Digital Adjusted EBITDA, as a percentage of fee revenue, was 33% in fiscal 2019 compared to 38% in the fiscal 2018.

Executive Search Adjusted EBITDA increased by $34.5 million, or 22%, to $193.8 million in fiscal 2019 compared to $159.3 million in fiscal 2018. The increase was driven by higher fee revenue of $65.8 million and an increase in other income, net of $5.9 million, primarily due to changes in the fair value of our marketable securities in fiscal 2019 compared to the year-ago period, offset by increases of $33.8 million in compensation and benefits expense, $4.4 million in general and administrative expenses. Executive Search Adjusted EBITDA, as a percentage of fee revenue, was 25% in fiscal 2019 compared to 22% in the year-ago period.

RPO & Professional Search Adjusted EBITDA was $54.4 million, an increase of $11.8 million, or 28%, in fiscal 2019 compared to $42.6 million in fiscal 2018. The increase was driven by higher fee revenue of $56.9 million, offset by increases of $41.4 million in compensation and benefits expense, $2.4 million in cost of services and $1.4 million in general and administrative expenses, in fiscal 2019 compared to the year-ago period. RPO & Professional Search Adjusted EBITDA, as a percentage of fee revenue, was 16% in both fiscal 2019 and 2018.

Other Income, Net

Other income, net was $10.1 million in the fiscal 2019 compared to $11.1 million in the year-ago period. The decrease was primarily due to smaller gains in the fair value of our marketable securities in fiscal 2019 compared to the year-ago period.

2021.

Interest Expense, Net

Interest expense, net primarily relates to our credit agreementNotes issued in December 2019 and borrowings under our COLI policies, which wasare partially offset by interest earned on cash and cash equivalent balances. Interest expense, net was $16.9$25.3 million in the fiscal 20192022 compared to $13.8$29.3 million in fiscal 2021. Interest expense, net decreased due to interest income earned on the year-ago period.

death benefits received from our COLI policies in fiscal 2022 and lower interest expense on borrowings under our COLI policies in fiscal 2022 compared to fiscal 2021 due to the lower amount of borrowings outstanding.

Income Tax Provision

The provision for income tax was $29.5$102.1 million in the fiscal 20192022 compared to $70.1$48.1 million in the year-ago period.fiscal 2021. This reflects a 22% and 34%24% effective tax rate for fiscal 2019 and 2018, respectively. The difference in the2022 compared to a 29% effective tax rate is primarilyfor fiscal 2021. In addition to the impact of U.S. state income taxes and jurisdictional mix of earnings, which generally create variability in our effective tax rate over time, the lower effective tax rate in fiscal 2022 was partially attributable to a tax benefit recorded in connection with tax credits claimed in the current year for eligible research and development expenditures. The fiscal 2021 effective tax rate was higher due to the enactment of the Tax Act which reduced the U.S. corporate federal statutory incomea tax rate from 35% to 21%, as well as the excess tax benefitexpense recorded for withholding taxes on intercompany dividends that are not eligible for credit and a shortfall recorded in connection with stock-based awards that vested in fiscal 2019.

2021. The shortfall is the amount by which the Company’s tax deduction for these awards, based on the fair market value of the awards on the date of vesting, is less than the expense recorded in the Company’s financial statements over the awards’ vesting period. Conversely, the Company recorded a tax benefit for a windfall in connection with stock-based awards that vested in fiscal 2022.

Net Income Attributable to Noncontrolling Interest

Net income attributable to noncontrolling interest represents the portion of a subsidiary’s net earnings that are attributable to shares of such subsidiary not held by Korn Ferry that are included in the consolidated results of operations.income. Net income attributable to noncontrolling interest was $2.1$4.5 million and $1.1 million in both fiscal 20192022 and 2018.

fiscal 2021, respectively.

Liquidity and Capital Resources

The Company and its Board of Directors endorse a balanced approach to capital allocation. The Company’s long-term priority is to invest in growth initiatives, such as the hiring of consultants, the continued development of IP and derivative products and services and the investment in synergistic, accretive merger and acquisition transactions that are expected to earn a return that is superior to the Company's cost of capital. Next, the Company’s capital allocation approach contemplates the return of a portion of excess capital to stockholders, in the form of a regular quarterly dividend, subject to the factors discussed below and in the “Risk Factors” section of this Annual Report on Form 10-K. Additionally, the Company considers share repurchases on an opportunistic basis and subject to the terms of our Amended Credit Agreement (defined below) and Notes, as well as using excess cash to repay the Notes.

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On NovemberFebruary 1, 2019,2023, we completed the acquisition of the Acquired Companies in the leadership development areaSalo for $108.6$155.4 million, net of cash acquiredacquired. Salo is a leading provider of finance, accounting and actual resultsHR interim talent, with a strong focus on serving organizations in healthcare, among other industries.
On August 1, 2022, we completed the acquisition of operationsICS for $99.3 million, net of cash acquired. ICS contributes interim professional placement offerings and expertise that are highly relevant for the Acquired Companiesnew world of work where more workplaces are hybrid or virtual. ICS is a highly regarded provider of senior-level IT interim professional solutions with additional expertise in the areas of compliance and legal, accounting and finance, and HR.
We believe the above acquisitions echo the commitment to scale our solutions and further increase our focus at the intersection of talent and strategy-wherever and however the needs of organizations-evolve and present real, tangible opportunity for us and our clients looking for the right talent, who are highly agile, with specialized skills and expertise, to help them drive superior performance, including on an interim basis. The addition of these acquisitions to our broader talent acquisition portfolio–spanning Executive Search, RPO, Professional Search and Interim services–has accelerated our ability to capture additional shares of this significant market. Both acquisitions are included in our consolidated financial statements from November 1, 2019, the effective date of the acquisition.On November 1, 2019, we also adopted a restructuring plan to rationalize our cost structure to realize the efficiencies and operational improvement that these investments have enabled us to, or positioned us to, realize, and during fiscal 2020, we recognized $18.1 million of restructuring charges associated with severance and recorded $2.8 million of integration/acquisition costs associated with abandonment of premises.

In light of the continuing uncertainty in worldwide economic conditions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and, as part of a broader program aimed at further enhancing our strong balance sheet and liquidity position, on April 20, 2020, we initiated a plan intended to adjust the Company’s cost base to the current economic environment and to position us to invest into the recovery. The plan includes (i) a reduction in workforce and resulted in restructuring charges of $40.5 million associated with severance), (ii) the temporary furlough of certain employees, (iii) subject to certain exceptions and legal requirements, salary reductions across the organization, and (iv) other cost saving measures relating to general and administrative expenses.

Professional Search & Interim segment.

On December 16, 2019, we completed a private placement of the Notes with a $400 million principal amount pursuant to Rule 144A and Regulation S under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended. The Notes were issued with a $4.5 million discount and will mature December 15, 2027, with interest payable semi-annually in arrears on June 15 and December 15 of each year, commencingthat commenced on June 15, 2020. The Notes represent senior unsecured obligations that rank equally in right of payment to all existing and future senior unsecured indebtedness. We may redeem the Notes prior to maturity, subject to certain limitations and premiums defined in the indenture governing the Notes. The Notes are guaranteed by each of our existing and future wholly owned domestic subsidiaries to the extent such subsidiaries guarantee our revolving credit facilityobligations under the Credit Agreement (defined below). The indenture governing the Notes requires that, upon the occurrence of both a Change of Control and a Rating Decline (each as defined in the indenture), we shall make an offer to purchase all of the Notes at 101% of their principal amount, and accrued and unpaid interest. We used the proceeds from the offering of the Notes to repay $276.9 million outstanding under our prior revolving credit facility (the “Prior Credit Agreement”) and to pay expenses and fees in connection therewith. As of April 30, 20202023, the fair value of the Notes is $372.5was $381.5 million, which is based on borrowing rates currently required of notes with similar terms, maturity and credit risk.

On June 24, 2022, we entered into an amendment (the "Amendment") to our December 16, 2019 we also entered into a senior secured $650.0 million credit agreementCredit Agreement (the “Credit"Credit Agreement"; as amended by the Amendment, the “Amended Credit Agreement”) with a syndicate of banksthe lenders party thereto and Bank of America, National Association as administrative agent, to, among other things (i) extend the existing maturity date of the revolving facility to June 24, 2027, (ii) provide for enhanceda new delayed draw term loan facility as described below, (iii) replace the London interbank offered rate with Term SOFR, and (iv) replace the existing financial flexibility. See Note 10—covenants with financial covenants described below.Long-Term Debt for a description of the The Amended Credit Agreement. We have a total of $646.0 million available under our $650.0 millionAgreement provides for five-year senior secured credit facilities in an aggregate amount of $1,150 million comprised of a $650.0 million revolving credit facility (the “Revolver”"Revolver") asand a $500 million delayed draw term loan facility with the delayed draw having an expiration date of April 30, 2020,June 23, 2023 (the "Delayed Draw Facility", and together with the Revolver, the "Credit Facilities"). The Amended Credit Agreement also provides that, under certain circumstances, the Company may incur term loans or increase the aggregate principal amount of revolving commitments by an aggregate amount of up to $250 million plus an unlimited amount subject to a consolidated secured net leverage ratio of 3.25 to 1.00. See Note 11 Long-Term Debt for a further description of the Amended Credit Agreement. The Company has a total of $1,145.4 million available under the Credit Facilities and had a total of $645.3 million available under the previous credit facilities after $4.0$4.6 million and $4.7 million of standby letters of credit hadhave been issued as of April 30, 2020. We had $4.02023 and 2022, respectively. Of the amount available under the Credit Facilities, the $500.0 million Delayed Draw Facility expired on June 24, 2023 and $2.9 million in standby lettersis no longer available as a source of credit issued under our long-term debt arrangements as of April 30, 2020 and 2019, respectively. Weliquidity. The Company had a total of $11.3$11.5 million and $8.5$10.0 million of standby letters of credits with other financial institutions as of April 30, 20202023 and 2019,2022, respectively. The standby letters of credits were generally issued as a result of entering into office premise leases.

The

On December 8, 2014, the Board of Directors has adopted a dividend policy to distribute to our stockholders a regular quarterly cash dividend of $0.10 per share. Every quarter since the adoption of the dividend policy, the Company has declared a quarterly dividend. On June 21, 2021 and 2022, the Board of Directors increased the quarterly dividend to $0.12 per share and $0.15 per share, respectively. On June 26, 2023, the Board of Directors approved an increase of 20% in the quarterly dividend, which increased the quarterly dividend to $0.18 per share. The Amended Credit Agreement permits us to pay dividends to our stockholders and make share repurchases so long as there is no default under the Amended Credit Agreement, our total funded debt to adjusted EBITDA ratio (as set forth in the Amended Credit Agreement, the “consolidated net leverage ratio”) is no greater than 5.00 to 1.00, and we are in pro forma compliance with our financial covenant. Furthermore, our Notes allow us to pay $25 million of dividends per fiscal year with no restrictions plus an unlimited amount of dividends so long as our consolidated total leverage ratio is not greater than 3.50 to 1.00, and there is no default under the indenture governing the Notes. The declaration and payment of future dividends under the quarterly dividend program will be at the discretion of the Board of Directors and will depend upon many factors, including our earnings, capital requirements, financial conditions, the terms of our indebtedness and other factors our Board of Directors may deem to be relevant. Our Board of Directors may, however, amend, revoke or suspend our dividend policy at any time and for any reason.

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On March 6, 2019,June 21, 2022, our Board of Directors approved an increase to the share repurchase program of approximately $200$300 million, which at the time brought our available capacity to repurchase shares in the open market or privately negotiated transactions to approximately $250$318 million. The Company repurchased approximately $92.4$93.9 million and $37.4$98.8 million of the Company’s stock during fiscal 20202023 and 2019,fiscal 2022, respectively. As of April 30, 2020, $158.32023, $235.2 million remained available for common stock repurchases under our share repurchase program. Any decision to continue to execute our currently outstanding share repurchase program will depend on our earnings, capital requirements, financial condition and other factors considered relevant by our Board of Directors. The Credit Agreement permits us to pay dividends to our stockholders and make share repurchases so long as there is no default under the Credit Agreement, the consolidated net leverage ratio, which used adjusted EBITDA is no greater than 4.25 to 1.00, and the pro forma
Our primarily source of liquidity is at least $50 million, including the revolving credit commitment minus amounts outstanding on the Revolver, issued letters of credit and swing loans. Furthermore,fee revenue generated from our Notes allow us to pay $25 million of dividends per fiscal year with no restrictions plus an unlimited amount of dividends so long asoperations, supplemented by our consolidated total leverage ratio is not greater than 3.50 to 1.00, and there is no defaultborrowing capacity under the indenture governing the Notes.

51


our Amended Credit Agreement. Our performance is subject to the general level of economic activity in the geographic regions and the industries we service. We believe, based on current economic conditions, that our cash on hand and funds from operations and the Amended Credit Agreement will be sufficient to meet anticipated working capital, capital expenditures, general corporate requirements, repayment of the debt repayments, share repurchases and dividend payments under our dividend policy during the next twelve12 months. However, if COVID-19 continues to persist or worsen, or the national or global economy, credit market conditions and/or labor markets were to deteriorate in the future, including as a result of ongoing macroeconomic uncertainty due to inflation and a potential recession, such changes have and could put further negative pressure on demand for our services and affect our operating cash flows. If these conditions were to persist over an extended period of time, we may incur negative cash flows and it might require us to access additional borrowings under the Amended Credit Agreement to meet our capital needs and/or discontinue our share repurchases and dividend policy.

Cash and cash equivalents and marketable securities were $863.3$1,067.9 million and $767.1$1,211.1 million as of April 30, 20202023 and 2019,2022, respectively. Net of amounts held in trust for deferred compensation plans and accrued bonuses, cash and cash equivalents and marketable securities were $531.9$488.2 million and $382.1$605.4 million at April 30, 20202023 and 2019,2022, respectively. As of April 30, 20202023 and 2019,2022, we held $308.2$395.2 million and $267.0$416.7 million, respectively of cash and cash equivalents in foreign locations, net of amounts held in trust for deferred compensation plans and to pay fiscal 2020 annualaccrued bonuses.Cash and cash equivalents consist of cash and highly liquid investments purchased with original maturities of three months or less. Marketable securities consist of mutual funds and investments in commercial paper, and corporate notes/bonds.bonds and U.S. Treasury and Agency securities. The primary objectives of our investment in mutual funds are to meet the obligations under certain of our deferred compensation plans, while the commercial paper, and corporate notes/bonds and U.S. Treasury and Agency securities are available for general corporate purposes.

purposes.

As of April 30, 20202023 and 2019,2022, marketable securities of $174.1$223.9 million and $140.8$233.0 million, respectively, included equity securities of $141.4$187.8 million (net of gross unrealized gains of $3.6$9.5 million and gross unrealized losses of $6.5$8.7 million) and $140.8$168.7 million (net of gross unrealized gains of $6.3$10.7 million and gross unrealized losses of $1.0$6.1 million), respectively, and were held in trust for settlement of our obligations under certain deferred compensation plans, of which $132.1$176.1 million and $132.5$158.7 million, respectively, are classified as non-current. These marketable securities were held to satisfy vested obligations totaling $124.6$172.2 million and $122.3$160.8 million as of April 30, 20202023 and 2019,2022, respectively. Unvested obligations under the deferred compensation plans totaled $21.7$21.9 million and $24.6$24.0 million as of April 30, 20202023 and 2019,2022, respectively.

The net increasedecrease in our working capital of $27.0$113.3 million as of April 30, 20202023 compared to April 30, 20192022 is primarily attributable to increasesdecreases in cash and cash equivalents, marketable securities and a decrease in compensation and benefits payable, partially offset an increase in other accrued liabilities and operating lease liability, current as a result of implementing the new lease accounting standard.equivalents. Cash and cash equivalents increased due to cash flows from operations and net borrowings of $168.6 million as a result of our December 2019 Notes offering, offset by the repayment of the amount outstanding under our prior revolving credit facility. The increase in marketable securities was due to purchases of debt securities during fiscal 2020, while the decrease in compensation and benefits wasdecreased primarily due to a decrease in bonus accrual duethe acquisitions of ICS and Salo, purchases of property and equipment, repurchases of common stock and dividends paid to lower fee revenue and profitability caused by the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on sales and demand The increase in other accrued liabilities was due to restructuring charges incurredshareholders during fiscal 2020 and not yet paid and deferred revenue from the Acquired Companies.2023. Cash provided by operating activities was $236.3$343.9 million in fiscal 2020,2023, a decrease of $22.5$157.8 million, compared to $258.8$501.7 million in fiscal 2019.

2022.

Cash used in investing activities was $198.8$323.5 million in fiscal 20202023 compared to $69.5$184.3 million in fiscal 2019. An2022. The increase in cash used in investing activities was primarily due to higher cash paid for the acquisitionacquisitions of the Acquired Companies of $108.6$254.8 million andin fiscal 2023 compared to $133.8 million in fiscal 2022, an increase in the purchasepurchases of property and equipment of $21.0 million coupled with a decrease in proceeds received from sales of marketable securities net of sale/maturities of $39.9$26.6 million, partially offset by a decrease in premiums paid on the COLI policiespurchases of $19.2marketable securities of $28.5 million in fiscal 20202023 compared to the year-ago period.

Cash provided by financing activities was $43.7 million in fiscal 2020 compared to cash2022.

Cash used in financing activities of $64.6was $152.2 million in fiscal 2019.2023 compared to $137.4 million in fiscal 2022. The change fromincrease in cash used to cash provided byin financing activities was primarily due to an increaseincreases in net proceeds from long term debtdividends paid to our shareholders of $180.7$6.2 million, in fiscal 2020 compareddividends paid to the year-ago period and lowernon controlling interest of $3.3 million, payments made on life insurance policies of $2.6 million, as well as higher cash used to repurchase shares of common stock to satisfy tax withholding requirements upon the vesting of restricted stock of $11.7 million. This was partially offset by $55.1 million more in common stock repurchases and a decrease in borrowings under COLI policies of $31.9$22.2 million in fiscal 20202023 compared to $18.5 million in fiscal 2019.

We had approximately $871.0 million of estimated remaining revenue under existing contracts as of April 30, 2020. However, this should not be considered the amount of our future revenue as it does not take into consideration contracts that will be originated and recognized within the same future reporting periods. Further, our contract terms and conditions allow for clients to increase or decrease the scope of services and such changes do not increase or decrease the estimated remaining revenue under contract until we have an enforceable right to payment.

52


2022.

Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements

We have no off-balance sheet arrangements and have not entered into any transactions involving unconsolidated, special purpose entities.

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Contractual Obligations

Contractual obligations represent future cash commitments and liabilities under agreements with third parties and exclude contingent liabilities for which we cannot reasonably predict future payment. The following table represents our contractual obligations as of April 30, 2020:

2023:
Payments Due in:
Note (1)
Total
Less Than
1 Year
1-3 Years3-5 Years
More Than
5 Years
(in thousands)
Operating lease commitments15$182,666 $51,760 $83,598 $31,013 $16,295 
Finance lease commitments154,828 1,545 2,248 1,035 — 
Accrued restructuring charges138,004 8,004 — — — 
Interest payments on COLI loans (2)
1131,698 4,507 9,011 8,440 9,740 
Long-term debt11400,000 — — 400,000 — 
Estimated interest on long-term debt (3)
1192,500 18,500 37,000 37,000 — 
Total $719,696 $84,316 $131,857 $477,488 $26,035 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Payments Due in:

 

 

 

Note (1)

 

 

Total

 

 

Less Than

1 Year

 

 

1-3 Years

 

 

3-5 Years

 

 

More Than

5 Years

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(in thousands)

 

Operating lease commitments

 

 

14

 

 

$

269,768

 

 

$

60,052

 

 

$

93,580

 

 

$

71,692

 

 

$

44,444

 

Finance lease commitments

 

 

14

 

 

 

3,040

 

 

 

1,325

 

 

 

1,385

 

 

 

330

 

 

 

 

Accrued restructuring charges

 

 

12

 

 

 

34,153

 

 

 

33,556

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

597

 

Interest payments on COLI loans (2)

 

 

10

 

 

 

46,270

 

 

 

5,184

 

 

 

10,361

 

 

 

10,308

 

 

 

20,417

 

Long-term debt

 

 

10

 

 

 

400,000

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

400,000

 

Estimated interest on long-term debt (3)

 

 

10

 

 

 

148,000

 

 

 

18,500

 

 

 

37,000

 

 

 

37,000

 

 

 

55,500

 

Total

 

 

 

 

 

$

901,231

 

 

$

118,617

 

 

$

142,326

 

 

$

119,330

 

 

$

520,958

 

(1)See the corresponding Note in the accompanying consolidated financial statements in Item 15.

See the corresponding Note in the accompanying consolidated financial statements in Item 15.

(2)Assumes COLI loans remain outstanding until receipt of death benefits on COLI policies and applies current interest rates on COLI loans ranging from 4.76% to 8.00% with total death benefits payable, net of loans under COLI contracts of $444.1 million at April 30, 2023.

Assumes COLI loans remain outstanding until receipt of death benefits on COLI policies and applies current interest rates on COLI loans ranging from 4.76% to 8.00% with total death benefits payable, net of loans under COLI contracts of $451.7 million at April 30, 2020.

(3)Interest on the Notes payable semi-annually in arrears on June 15 and December 15 of each year, commenced on June 15, 2020.

(3)

Interest on the Notes payable semi-annually in arrears on June 15 and December 15 of each year, commencing on June 15, 2020.

In addition to the contractual obligations above, we have liabilities related to certain employee benefit plans. These liabilities are recorded in our consolidated balance sheets. The obligations related to these employee benefit plans are described in Note 6—Deferred Compensation and Retirement Plans, in the Notes to our Consolidated Financial Statements in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Lastly, we have contingent commitments under certain employment agreements that are payable upon involuntary termination without cause, as described in Note 16—17—Commitments and Contingencies, in the Notes to our Consolidated Financial Statements in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Cash Surrender Value of Company Owned Life Insurance Policies, Net of Loans

We purchased COLI policies or contracts insuring the lives of certain employees eligible to participate in the deferred compensation and pension plans as a means of funding benefits under such plans. As of April 30, 20202023 and 2019,2022, we held contracts with gross CSVcash surrender value (“CSV”) of $238.7$275.1 million and $219.2$263.2 million, respectively. Total outstanding borrowings against the CSV of COLI contracts were $92.3$77.1 million and $93.2$79.8 million as of April 30, 20202023 and 2019,2022, respectively. Such borrowings do not require annual principal repayments, bear interest primarily at variable rates and are secured by the CSV of COLI contracts. At April 30, 20202023 and 2019,2022, the net cash value of these policies was $146.4$198.0 million and $126.0$183.3 million, respectively. Total death benefits payable, net of loans under COLI contracts, were $451.7$444.1 million and $223.6$449.3 million at April 30, 20202023 and 2019,2022, respectively. Total death benefits increased in fiscal 2020 as compared to fiscal 2019 as we entered into additional insurance policies in order to fund future obligations under certain deferred compensation plans.

Long-Term Debt

On December 16, 2019, we completed a private placement of the Notes with a $400 million principal amount. We may redeem the Notes prior to maturity, subject to certain limitations and premiums defined in the indenture governing the Notes. At any time prior to December 15, 2022, we may redeem at a redemption price equal to 100% of the principal plus the Applicable Premium (as defined in the indenture), and accrued and unpaid interest. At any time prior to December 15, 2022, we may use the proceeds of certain equity offerings to redeem up to 35% of the aggregate principal amount of the Notes, including any permitted additional Notes, at a redemption price equal to 104.625% of the principal amount and accrued and unpaid interest. At any time and from time to time on or after December 15, 2022, we may redeem the Notes at the applicable redemption prices set forth in the table below, plus accrued and unpaid interest, if redeemed during the twelve-month period beginning on December 15 of each of the years indicated:

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Year

 

Percentage

 

2022

 

102.313%

 

2023

 

101.156%

 

2024 and thereafter

 

100.000%

 

The fair value of the Notes is classified as a Level 2 measurement in the fair value hierarchy.

The pay-off of the term loan outstanding under our Prior Credit Agreement is considered a debt modification and therefore, the previously incurred unamortized and current debt issuance costs will be amortized over the life of the new issuance.

The principal balance of the Revolver is due on the date of its termination. The Revolver matures on December 16, 2024 and any unpaid principal balance is payable on this date. The Revolver may also be prepaid and terminated early by us at any time without premium or penalty (subject to customary LIBOR breakage fees).

At our option, loans issued under the Credit Agreement will bear interest at either LIBOR or an alternate base rate, in each case plus the applicable interest rate margin. The interest rate applicable to loans outstanding under the Credit Agreement may fluctuate between LIBOR plus 1.25% per annum to LIBOR plus 2.00% per annum, in the case of LIBOR borrowings (or between the alternate base rate plus 0.125% per annum and the alternate base rate plus 1.00% per annum, in the alternative), based upon our total funded debt to adjusted EBITDA ratio (as set forth in the Credit Agreement, the “consolidated net leverage ratio”) at such time. In addition, we will be required to pay to the lenders a quarterly commitment fee ranging from 0.175% to 0.35% per annum on the average daily unused amount of the Revolver, based upon our consolidated net leverage ratio at such time, and fees relating to the issuance of letters of credit. During fiscal 2020, the average interest rate on amounts outstanding under the current Revolver and the prior revolver was 3.34%. The average interest rate on amounts outstanding under the prior revolver was 3.50% for fiscal 2019.

As of April 30, 2020, there was no outstanding liability under the Revolver compared to $226.9 million as of April 30, 2019 under the prior revolver. The unamortized debt issuance costs associated with the Credit Agreement were $4.2 million as of April 30, 2020 and $4.0 million under the Prior Credit Agreement as of April 30, 2019. As of April 30, 2020, we were in compliance with our debt covenants.

We had a total of $646.0 million available under the Revolver after $4.0 million of standby letters of credit had been issued as of April 30, 2020. We had a total of $420.2 million available under the Prior Credit Agreement after we drew down $226.9 million and after $2.9 million of standby letters of credit had been issued as of April 30, 2019. We had a total of $11.3 million and $8.5 million of standby letters of credits with other financial institutions as of April 30, 2020 and 2019, respectively. The standby letters of credits were generally issued as a result of entering into office premise leases.

Other than the factors discussed in this section, and the potential impacts of the COVID-19 on our business, we are not aware of any other trends, demands or commitments that would materially affect liquidity or those that relate to our resources as of April 30, 2020.

2023.

Accounting Developments

Recently Adopted Accounting Standards

In February 2016, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued guidance (Accounting Standard Codification 842 – Leases) on accounting for leases that generally requires all leases to be recognized on the consolidated balance sheet. The guidance became effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2018. On July 30, 2018, the FASB issued an amendment that allows entities to apply the provisions at the effective date without adjusting comparative periods. We adopted this guidance as of May 1, 2019 using a modified retrospective approach without restatement of comparative periods. As such, periods prior to the date of adoption are presented in accordance with Accounting Standard Codification 840 - Leases. The FASB also issued subsequent related Accounting Standards Updates (“ASUs”), which detail amendments to the ASU, implementation considerations, narrow-scope improvements and practical expedients. We elected to apply the group of practical expedients which allows us to carry forward our identification of contracts that are or contain leases, our historical lease classification and our initial direct costs for existing leases. We also elected to combine lease and non-lease components for all asset classes and recognize leases with an initial term of 12 months or less on a straight-line basis without recognizing a ROU asset or operating lease liability.

The adoption of this standard had a material impact on the consolidated balance sheet as of May 1, 2019 due to the recognition of ROU assets and operating lease liabilities, but an immaterial impact on our consolidated statements of income, consolidated statements of comprehensive income, consolidated statements of stockholders’ equity, and consolidated statements of cash flows. Upon adoption we recognized total ROU assets of $236.1 million with a corresponding liability of $272.3 million. The ROU asset balance was adjusted by the reclassification of pre-existing

54


prepaid expenses and other assets and deferred rent balances of $5.1 million and $41.3 million, respectively.

In August 2017, the FASB issued guidance amending and simplifying the accounting for hedging activities. The guidance refined and expanded strategies that qualify for hedge accounting and simplify the application of hedge accounting in certain situations. The guidance is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2018. We adopted this guidance as of May 1, 2019. The adoption of this guidance did not have an impact on the consolidated financial statements.

Recently Proposed Accounting Standards - Not Yet Adopted

In June 2016,October 2021, the FASB issued guidance onan amendment in accounting for measurementcontract assets and contract liabilities from contracts with customers, which clarifies that an acquirer of credit losses on financial Instruments, which amends the impairment model by requiring entities to use a forward-looking approach based on expected losses to estimate credit losses on certain typesbusiness should recognize and measure contract assets and contract liabilities in a business combination in accordance with Accounting Standards Codification ("ASC 606"), Revenue from Contracts with Customers. The amendment of financial instruments, including trade receivables. Thethis standard isbecomes effective forin fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2019.2022. The amendment should be applied prospectively to business combinations that occur after the effective date. We will adopt this guidance in our fiscal year beginning May 1, 2020. The adoption of2023. We do not anticipate that this accounting guidance is not anticipated towill have a material impact on the consolidated financial statements.

In January 2017, the FASB issued guidance simplifying the test for goodwill impairment. The new guidance simplifies the test for goodwill impairment by removing Step 2 from the goodwill impairment test. Companies will now perform the goodwill impairment test by comparing the fair value of a reporting unit with its carrying amount, recognizing an impairment charge for the amount by which the carrying amount exceeds the reporting unit’s fair value not to exceed the total amount of goodwill allocated to that reporting unit. An entity still has the option to perform the qualitative assessment for a reporting unit to determine if the quantitative impairment test is necessary. The amendments of this standard are effective for goodwill impairment tests in fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2019, with early adoption permitted for goodwill impairment tests performed after January 1, 2017. We will adopt this guidance in our fiscal year beginning May 1, 2020. The adoption of this guidance is not anticipated to have a material impact on the consolidated financial statements.

In August 2018, the FASB issued guidance amending the disclosure requirements for fair value measurements. The amendment removes and modifies disclosures that are currently required and adds additional disclosures that are deemed relevant. The amendments of this standard are effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2019. We will adopt this guidance in our fiscal year beginning May 1, 2020.

We are currently evaluating the impact of adopting this guidance and do not anticipate the guidance to have a material impact on the consolidated financial statements.

In August 2018, the FASB issued guidance amending accounting for internal-use software. The new guidance will align the requirements for capitalizing implementation costs incurred in a hosting arrangement that is a service contract with developing or obtaining internal-use software. The amendments of this standard are effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2019 with early adoption permitted. We will adopt this guidance in our fiscal year beginning May 1, 2020. The adoption of this guidance is not anticipated to have a material impact on the consolidated financial statements.

In December 2019, the FASB issued guidance on Simplifying the Accounting for Income Taxes. This update eliminates certain exceptions related to the approach for intra-period tax allocation, the methodology for calculating income taxes in an interim period and the recognition of deferred tax liabilities for outside basis differences. The update also simplifies aspects of the accounting for franchise taxes and enacted changes in tax laws or rates and clarifies the accounting for transactions that result in a step-up in the tax basis of goodwill. The amendments of this standard are effective for fiscal year beginning after December 15, 2020, with early adoption permitted. We will adopt this guidance in our fiscal year beginning May 1, 2021. The adoption of this guidance is not anticipated to have a material impact on the consolidated financial statements.

Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk

As a result of our global operating activities, we are exposed to certain market risks, including foreign currency exchange fluctuations and fluctuations in interest rates. We manage our exposure to these risks in the normal course of our business as described below.

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Foreign Currency Risk

Substantially all our foreign subsidiaries’ operations are measured in their local currencies. Assets and liabilities are translated into U.S. dollars at the rates of exchange in effect at the end of each reporting period and revenue and expenses are translated at averagedaily rates of exchange during the reporting period. Resulting translation adjustments are reported as a component of accumulated other comprehensive loss, net on our consolidated balance sheets.

Transactions denominated in a currency other than the reporting entity’s functional currency may give rise to foreign currency gains or losses that impact our results of operations. Historically, we have not realized significant foreign currency gains or losses on such transactions. During fiscal 2020, 20192023, 2022 and 2018,2021, we recorded foreign currency losses of $4.1$2.0 million, $1.7$1.2 million and $3.3$2.7 million, respectively, in general and administrative expenses in the

55


consolidated statements of income.

Our exposure to foreign currency exchange rates is primarily driven by fluctuations involving the following currencies—currencies — U.S. Dollar, Canadian Dollar, Pound Sterling, Canadian Dollar, Singapore Dollar, Euro, Swiss Franc, Brazilian RealDanish Krone, Polish Zloty, Singapore Dollar, and Mexican Peso. Based on balances exposed to fluctuation in exchange rates between these currencies as of April 30, 2020,2023, a 10% increase or decrease equally in the value of these currencies could result in a foreign exchange gain or loss of $13.4$10.2 million. We have a program that primarily utilizes foreign currency forward contracts to offset the risks associated with the effects of certain foreign currency exposures. These foreign currency forward contracts are neither used for trading purposes nor are they designated as hedging instruments pursuant to ASC 815, Derivatives and Hedging.

Interest Rate Risk

Our

Our exposure to interest rate risk is limited to our Revolver andCredit Facilities, borrowings against the CSV of COLI contracts.contracts and to a lesser extent, our fixed income debt securities. As of April 30, 2020,2023, there were no amounts outstanding under the Revolver.Credit Facilities. At our option, loans issued under the Amended Credit Agreement bear interest at either LIBORTerm Secured Overnight Financing Rate ("SOFR") or an alternate base rate, in each case plus the applicable interest rate margin. The interest rate applicable to loans outstanding under the Amended Credit Agreement may fluctuate between LIBORTerm SOFR plus a SOFR adjustment of 0.10%, plus 1.125% per annum to LIBOR plus 2.00% per annum, in the case of LIBORTerm SOFR borrowings (or between the alternate base rate plus 0.125% per annum and the alternate base rate plus 1.00% per annum, in the alternative), based upon our total funded debt to adjusted EBITDA ratio (as set forth in the Amended Credit Agreement, the “consolidated net leverage ratio”) at such time. In addition, we are required to pay the lenders a quarterly commitment fee ranging from 0.175% to 0.35%0.300% per annum on the average daily unused amount of the Revolver, based upon our consolidated net leverage ratio at such time, a ticking fee of 0.20% per annum on the actual daily unused portion of the Delayed Draw Facility during the availability period of the Delayed Draw Facility, and fees relating to the issuance of letters of credit. A 100-basis point increase in LIBOR rates would have increased our interest expense by approximately $1.6 million for fiscal 2020. During fiscal 2020, the average interest rate on current and previous term loans was 3.34%. The average interest rate on our previous term loan for 2019 and 2018 was 3.50% and 2.60%, respectfully.

To mitigate the interest rate risk under our former Revolver, we entered into an interest rate swap contract in March 2017 with an initial notional amount of $129.8 million to hedge the variability to changes in cash flows attributable to interest rate risks caused by changes in interest rates related to our variable rate debt. We designated the swap as a cash flow hedge. On December 16, 2019, in conjunction with the payoff of the Prior Credit Agreement, the Company terminated the interest rate swap and recorded $0.5 million in interest expense, net.

We had $92.3$77.1 million and $93.2$79.8 million of borrowings against the CSV of COLI contracts as of April 30, 20202023 and 2019,2022, respectively, bearing interest primarily at variable rates. TheWe have sought to minimize the risk of fluctuations in these variable rates is minimized by the fact that we receive a corresponding adjustment to our borrowed funds crediting rate, which has the effect of increasing the CSV on our COLI contracts.

Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data

See Consolidated Financial Statements beginning on page F-1 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Supplemental Financial Information regarding quarterly results is contained in Note 17—

Quarterly Results, in the Notes to our Consolidated Financial Statements in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Item 9. Changes in and Disagreements With Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosure

Not applicable.

Item 9A. Controls and Procedures

a)Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures.

Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures.

As of the end of the period covered by this Annual Report on Form 10-K, management, our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer evaluated the effectiveness of the design and operation of our disclosure controls and procedures and internal controls over financial reporting. Based on their evaluation of our disclosure controls and procedures conducted as of the end of the period covered by this Annual Report on Form 10-K, our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer have concluded that our disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) under the Exchange Act of 1934 (the “Exchange Act”)) arewere effective as of April 30, 2020.

2023.

b)Changes in Internal Control over Financial Reporting.

Changes in Internal Control over Financial Reporting.

There were no changes in our internal control over financial reporting during the fourth fiscal quarter that have materially affected or are reasonably likely to materially affect our internal control over financial reporting. See Management’s Report on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting and Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting on pages F-2 and F-3, respectively.

Item 9B. Other Information

None.
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Item 9C. Disclosures Regarding Foreign Jurisdictions that Prevent Inspections
Not applicable.

56

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PART III.

Item 10. Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance

The information required by this Item will be included under the captions “The Board of Directors”Directors,” "Culture of Integrity and
“Delinquent
Code of Business Conduct and Ethics," "Board Committees," and, when applicable, “Delinquent Section 16(a) Reports” and elsewhere in our 20202023 Proxy Statement and is incorporated herein by reference. The information under the heading “Information about our Executive Officers” in Part I of this Annual Report on Form 10-K is also incorporated by reference in this section.

We have adopted a “Code of Business Conduct and Ethics” that applies to all of our directors, officers and employees, including our principal executive officer (who is our Chief Executive Officer), principal financial officer, and principal accounting officer (who is our Chief Financial Officer) and senior financial officers, or persons performing similar functions. The Code of Business Conduct and Ethics is available on the Investor Relations portion of our website at http://ir.kornferry.com. If, or when, applicable we will disclose amendments to certain provisions of the Code of Business Conduct and Ethics and waivers of the Code of Business Conduct and Ethics granted to executive officers and directors on our website within four business days following the date of the amendment or waiver.

Item 11. Executive Compensation

The information required by this Item will be included under the captions “Compensation Discussion and Analysis” andAnalysis,” “Compensation of Executive Officers and Directors” and elsewhere in our 2020 Proxy StatementDirectors,” "Assessment of Risk Related to Compensation Programs," and is incorporated herein by reference.

Item 12. Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters

The information required by this Item will be included under the captioncaptions “Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management” and elsewhere in our 2020 Proxy Statement"Equity Compensation Plan Information" and is incorporated herein by reference.

Item 13. Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence

The information required by this Item will be included under the captioncaptions “Certain Relationships and Related Transactions”Transactions," "Related Person Transaction Approval Policy," "Director Independence," and elsewhere in our 2020 Proxy Statement"Board Committees," and is incorporated herein by reference.

Item 14. Principal Accountant Fees and Services

The information required by this Item will be included under the captions “Fees Paid to Ernst & Young LLP”Young” and “Audit Committee Pre-Approval Policies and Procedures,” and elsewhere in our 2020 Proxy Statement,Procedures” and is incorporated herein by reference.

57

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PART IV.

Item 15. Exhibits and Financial Statement Schedules

Financial Statements.

a)

The following documents are filed as part of this report:

1.

Index to Financial Statements:

Page

See Consolidated Financial Statements included as part of this Annual Report on Form 10-K and Schedule II — Valuation and Qualifying Accounts. Pursuant10-K.

F-1
2.Index to Rule 7-05 of Regulation S-X, the otherFinancial Statement Schedules:
All schedules have been omitted asbecause the required information to be set forth therein is included in the financial statements or notes of the audited consolidated financial statements.

thereto, or because it is not required.

F-1

_
3.Index to Exhibits:
See exhibits listed under Part (b) below.

b)Exhibits:

Exhibit

Number

Description

2.1+

Exhibit
Number

Description

2.1+

2.2+

2.3+

3.1+

3.2+

4.1+

4.2+

4.3+

10.1*+

10.2*+

10.3*+

10.4*+

10.5*+

10.6*+

10.7*+

10.8*+

10.9*+

52

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10.10*+

58


10.11*+

10.12*+

10.13*+

10.14*+

10.15*+

10.16*+

10.17*+

10.18*+

Second Amended and Restated Korn/Ferry International 2008 Stock Incentive Plan, filed as Exhibit 10.1 to the Company’s Form 8-K, filed October 2, 2012.

10.19*10.18*+

10.20*10.19*+

10.21*10.20*+

10.22*+

Amended and Restated Korn Ferry Executive Capital Accumulation Plan, as of January 1, 2019, filed as Exhibit 10.23 to the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K, filed June 28, 2019.

10.23*10.21*+

10.24*10.22*+

10.25*10.23*+

10.26*+

Korn Ferry Long Term Performance Unit Plan, filed as Exhibit 10.26 to the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K, filed June 28, 2019.

10.27*10.24*+

10.28*10.25*+

10.29*10.26*+

10.30*10.27*+

10.31*10.28*+

10.32*10.29*+

10.33*+

Form of Restricted Stock Unit Award Agreement to Non-Employee Directors under the 2008 Stock Incentive Plan, filed as Exhibit 10.31 to the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K, filed June 28, 2019.

10.34*10.30*+

10.35*10.31*+

10.36*10.32*+

59


10.37*+

Amended and Restated Employment Agreement dated March 30, 2018 between the Company and Gary Burnison, filed as Exhibit 10.1 to the Company’s Form 8-K, filed April 4, 2018.

10.38+

10.33+

10.39+

Credit Agreement, dated December 16, 2019, by and among Korn Ferry, Bank of America, N.A., as administrative agent, and other lender parties thereto, filed as Exhibit 10.1 to the Company’s Form 8-K, filed December 16, 2019.

10.40*10.34*+

10.41*+

Amendment to Employment Agreement dated February 6, 2012 between the Company and Robert Rozek, as amended by that Amendment thereto dated December 28, 2015, filed as Exhibit 10.2 to the Company’s Form 8-K, filed April 17, 2020.

10.42*+

Amendment to Employment Letter dated June 26, 2014 between the Company and Byrne Mulrooney, filed as Exhibit 10.3 to the Company’s Form 8-K, filed April 17, 2020.

10.43*+

Amendment to Employment Letter dated March 17,2017 between the Company and Mark Arian, filed as Exhibit 10.4 to the Company’s Form 8-K, filed April 17, 2020.

10.44*

Amended and Restated Korn Ferry Long Term Performance Unit Plan, effective June 1, 2020, filed as Exhibit 10.44 to the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K, filed July 15, 2020.

10.45*

10.35*+

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10.46*10.36*+

10.37*+
10.38*+
10.39*+
10.40*+
10.41*+
10.42*+
10.43+
10.44*+
10.45*+
10.46*+
10.47*+
10.48*+
10.49*+
10.50*+

10.47*+

10.51*

10.48*+

21.1

10.49*+

Amendment to Employment Letter dated March 17, 2017 between the Company and Mark Arian and the Letter Agreement dated as of April 14, 2020, filed as Exhibit 10.4 to the Company’s Form 8-K, filed July 10, 2020.

21.1

Subsidiaries of Korn Ferry.

23.1

24.1

31.1

31.2

32.1

101.INS

Inline XBRL Instance Document – the instance document does not appear in the Interactive Data File because XBRL tags are embedded within the Inline XBRL document.

101.SCH

Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Schema Document.

101.CAL

Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Calculation Linkbase Document.

101.DEF

Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Definition Linkbase Document.

101.LAB

Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Label Linkbase Document.

101.PRE

Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Presentation Linkbase Document.

104

This cover page from the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended April 30, 2020,2023, had been formatted in Inline XBRL and included as Exhibit 101.

*

*    Management contract, compensatory plan or arrangement.

+    Incorporated herein by reference.

+

Incorporated herein by reference.

Item 16. Form 10-K Summary

None

60

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SIGNATURES

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

Korn Ferry

By: /s/ Robert P. Rozek

Robert P. Rozek

Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Corporate Officer

Korn Ferry
By:/s/ Robert P. Rozek
Robert P. Rozek
Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Corporate Officer
Date: July 15, 2020

June 28, 2023

POWER OF ATTORNEY

KNOW ALL MEN BY THESE PRESENTS, that each of the undersigned officers and directors of the registrant hereby constitutes and appoints Jonathan M. Kuai and Gary D. Burnison, and each of them, as lawful attorney-in-fact and agent for each of the undersigned (with full power of substitution and resubstitution, for and in the name, place and stead of each of the undersigned officers and directors), to sign and file with the Securities and Exchange Commission under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, any and all amendments, supplements and exhibits to this report and any and all other documents in connection therewith, hereby granting unto said attorneys-in-fact, and each of them, full power and authority to do and perform each and every act and thing necessary or desirable to be done in order to effectuate the same as fully and to all intents and purposes as each of the undersigned might or could do if personally present, hereby ratifying and confirming all that said attorneys-in-fact and agents, or any of them, or any of their substitutes, may do or cause to be done by virtue hereof.

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

Signature

Title

Date

Signature

Title

Date

/s/ CHRISTINA A. GOLDJERRY P. LEAMON

Christina A. Gold

Chairman of the Board and Director

July 15, 2020

June 28, 2023

Jerry P. Leamon

/s/ GARY D. BURNISON

Gary D. Burnison

President & Chief Executive Officer

(Principal Executive Officer) and Director

July 15, 2020

June 28, 2023

Gary D. Burnison

/s/ ROBERT P. ROZEK

Robert P. Rozek

Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and

Chief Corporate Officer

(Principal Financial Officer and Principal Accounting Officer)

July 15, 2020

June 28, 2023

Robert P. Rozek

/s/ DOYLE N. BENEBY

DirectorJune 28, 2023
Doyle N. Beneby

Director

July 15, 2020

/s/ JLAURA M. BISHOPERRY LEAMON

Jerry Leamon

Director

July 15, 2020

June 28, 2023

Laura M. Bishop

/s/ ACHARLES L. HARRINGTONNGEL MARTINEZ

Angel Martinez

Director

July 15, 2020

June 28, 2023

Charles L. Harrington

/s/ DANGEL R. MARTINEZEBRADirectorJune 28, 2023
Angel R. Martinez
/s/ DEBRA J. PERRY

DirectorJune 28, 2023
Debra J. Perry

Director

July 15, 2020

/s/ LORILORI J. ROBINSON

Lori Robinson

Director

July 15, 2020

June 28, 2023

/s/ GLori J. RobinsonEORGE T. SHAHEEN

George T. Shaheen

Director

July 15, 2020

61

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KORN FERRY AND SUBSIDIARIES

INDEX TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

APRIL 30, 2020

Page

2023

Page

F-2

F-2

F-3

F-3

F-4

F-4

Consolidated Balance Sheets as of April 30, 20202023 and 20192022

F-6

F-6

F-7

F-7

F-8

F-8

F-9

F-9

F-10

F-10

F-11

F-48

F-1


korn.jpg
MANAGEMENT’S REPORT ON INTERNAL CONTROL OVER FINANCIAL REPORTING

Management of Korn Ferry (the “Company”) is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting and for the assessment of the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting. As defined by the Securities and Exchange Commission, internal control over financial reporting is a process designed by, or supervised by, the issuer’s principal executive and principal financial officers, and effected by the issuer’s board of directors, management and other personnel, to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles.

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

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

In connection with the preparation of the Company’s annual financial statements, management of the Company has undertaken an assessment of the effectiveness of the Company’s internal control over financial reporting as of April 30, 20202023 based on criteria established in Internal Control – Integrated Framework (2013) issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission. Management’s assessment included an evaluation of the design of the Company’s internal control over financial reporting and testing of the operational effectiveness of the Company’s internal control over financial reporting.

Based on this assessment, management did not identify any material weakness in the Company’s internal control over financial reporting, and management has concluded that the Company’s internal control over financial reporting was effective as of April 30, 2020.

2023.

Ernst & Young LLP, the independent registered public accounting firm that audited the Company’s financial statements for the year ended April 30, 20202023 included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, has issued an audit report on the effectiveness of the Company’s internal control over financial reporting as of April 30, 2020,2023, a copy of which is included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

July 15, 2020

June 28, 2023
F-2


korn.jpg
REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM ON INTERNAL CONTROL OVER FINANCIAL REPORTING

To the Stockholders and the Board of Directors of Korn Ferry:

Ferry

Opinion on Internal Control over Financial Reporting

We have audited Korn Ferry and subsidiaries’ internal control over financial reporting as of April 30, 2020,2023, based on criteria established in Internal Control— Integrated Framework issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (2013 framework) (the COSO criteria). In our opinion, Korn Ferry and subsidiaries (the Company) maintained, in all material respects, effective internal control over financial reporting as of April 30, 2020,2023, based on the COSO criteria.

We also have audited, in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (PCAOB), the consolidated balance sheets of the Companyas of April 30, 20202023 and 2019,2022, the related consolidated statements of income, comprehensive income, stockholders' equity and cash flows for each of the three years in the period ended April 30, 20202023, and the related notes and the financial statement schedule listed in the index at Item 15(a) and our report dated July 15, 2020June 28, 2023 expressed an unqualified opinion thereon.

Basis for Opinion

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

We conducted our audit in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether effective internal control over financial reporting was maintained in all material respects.

Our audit included obtaining an understanding of internal control over financial reporting, assessing the risk that a material weakness exists, testing and evaluating the design and operating effectiveness of internal control based on the assessed risk, and performing such other procedures as we considered necessary in the circumstances. We believe that our audit provides a reasonable basis for our opinion.

Definition and Limitations of Internal Control Over Financial Reporting

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

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

/s/ Ernst & Young LLP

Los Angeles, California

July 15, 2020

June 28, 2023
F-3


korn.jpg
REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED

PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM

To the Stockholders and the Board of Directors of Korn Ferry

Opinion on the Financial Statements

We have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheets of Korn Ferry and subsidiaries (the “Company”)Company) as of April 30, 20202023 and 2019,2022, the related consolidated statements of income, comprehensive income, stockholders' equity and cash flows for each of the three years in the period ended April 30, 20202023, and the related notes and the financial statement schedule listed in the index at Item 15(a) (collectively referred to as the “consolidated financial statements”). In our opinion, the consolidated financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Company at April 30, 20202023 and 2019,2022, and the results of its operations and its cash flows for each of the three years in the period ended April 30, 2020,2023, in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles.

We also have audited, in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (PCAOB), the Company's internal control over financial reporting as of April 30, 2020,2023, based on criteria established in Internal Control-Integrated Framework issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (2013 framework), and our report dated July 15, 2020June 28, 2023 expressed an unqualified opinion thereon.

Adoption of New Accounting Standards

As discussed in Note 1 to the financial statements, the Company has changed its method of accounting for leases in fiscal year 2020 due to the adoption of the new leasing standard. The Company adopted the new leasing standard using the modified retrospective approach.

Basis for Opinion

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

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

Critical Audit Matters

Matter

The critical audit mattersmatter communicated below are mattersis a matter arising from the current period audit of the financial statements that werewas communicated or required to be communicated to the audit committee and that: (1) relaterelates to accounts or disclosures that are material to the financial statements and (2) involved our especially challenging, subjective or complex judgments. The communication of the critical audit mattersmatter does not alter in any way our opinion on the consolidated financial statements, taken as a whole, and we are not, by communicating the critical audit mattersmatter below, providing a separate opinionsopinion on the critical audit mattersmatter or on the accounts or disclosures to which they relate.

it relates.

Revenue recognition

F-4


Revenue recognition
Description of the Matter

As described in Note 1 to the consolidated financial statements, the Company recognizes revenue when control of the goods and services are transferred to the customer. Revenue recognition includes management estimates of uptick fee variable consideration for Search engagements and estimates of the total hours at completion used to recognize revenue as services are rendered under Consulting contracts.

Auditing revenue recognition was complex due to the volume of transactions within the various revenue streams with each revenue stream representing a different pattern of revenue recognition. Auditing revenue recognition also incorporates testing the underlying data

supporting management estimates mentioned above that are used in recognizing revenues under Search and Consulting contracts.

F-4

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How We Addressed the Matter in Our Audit

We obtained an understanding, evaluated the design and tested the operating effectiveness of the Company’s processes and controls related to the recognition of each revenue stream, including, among others, controls over management review of contractual terms, management’s determination of when control of goods and services are transferred to customers as well as management’s review of the accuracy and completeness of underlying data used in the estimates mentioned above.

Our audit procedures included, among others, testing a sample of contracts to determine whether terms that may affect revenue recognition were identified and properly considered, performance obligations were appropriately identified in the Company’s evaluation of the accounting for the contracts and revenue was recognized when control of the goods or services is transferred to the customer. In addition, we tested management estimates mentioned above. For Search contracts, we compared the estimates of uptick fee revenues to historical actual data for a portfolio of similar contracts. For Consulting contracts, we compared the data used in the estimate of the total hours at completion to time reports for work completed to date, recalculated the percentage of completion and assessed the reasonableness of management’s estimates to complete based on an understanding of the current status of the contracts. We also performed analysis over contracts completed during the year to determine whether there are significant changes in the estimate from initiation to completion of contracts.

Goodwill - Consulting Reporting Unit

Description of the Matter

At April 30, 2020, the goodwill recorded in the Consulting reporting unit was $173 million. As discussed in Note 1 to the consolidated financial statements, goodwill is tested by the Company’s management for impairment at least annually at the reporting unit level and more frequently when indicators of potential impairment are identified. During the fourth quarter of fiscal 2020, management performed a quantitative impairment test of goodwill due to the identification of potential COVID-19 related impairment indicators.

Auditing the Company’s annual goodwill impairment test was complex due to the significant judgment in estimating the fair value of the reporting units when the fair value is at or near carrying value. In particular, the Consulting reporting unit’s fair value estimate was sensitive to assumptions including the discount rate and revenue growth rates which are affected by expectations about future market or economic conditions.

How We Addressed the Matter in Our Audit

We obtained an understanding, evaluated the design and tested the operating effectiveness of controls over the Company’s goodwill impairment review process. This includes controls over management’s review of the significant assumptions described above.

To test the estimated fair value of the Company’s Consulting reporting unit, we performed audit procedures with the assistance of our valuation specialists that included, among others, assessing methodologies and testing the significant assumptions discussed above and the underlying data used by the Company in its analysis. We compared the significant assumptions used by management to current industry and economic trends. We assessed the historical accuracy of management’s estimates and performed sensitivity analyses of significant assumptions to evaluate the changes in the fair value of the Consulting reporting unit that would result from changes in the assumptions.

/s/ Ernst & Young LLP

We have served as the Company’s auditor since 2002.

Los Angeles, California

July 15, 2020 

June 28, 2023
F-5


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KORN FERRY AND SUBSIDIARIES

CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS

April 30,

 

April 30,

 

20232022

 

2020

 

 

2019

 

 

(in thousands,

except per share data)

 

(in thousands, except per share data)

ASSETS

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ASSETS

Cash and cash equivalents

 

$

689,244

 

 

$

626,360

 

Cash and cash equivalents$844,024 $978,070 

Marketable securities

 

 

41,951

 

 

 

8,288

 

Marketable securities44,837 57,244 

Receivables due from clients, net of allowance for doubtful accounts of $23,795 and $21,582 at April 30, 2020 and 2019, respectively

 

 

397,165

 

 

 

404,857

 

Receivables due from clients, net of allowance for doubtful accounts of $44,377 and $36,384 at April 30, 2023 and 2022, respectivelyReceivables due from clients, net of allowance for doubtful accounts of $44,377 and $36,384 at April 30, 2023 and 2022, respectively569,601 590,260 

Income taxes and other receivables

 

 

38,755

 

 

 

26,767

 

Income taxes and other receivables67,512 31,884 

Unearned compensation

 

 

43,117

 

 

 

42,003

 

Unearned compensation63,476 60,749 

Prepaid expenses and other assets

 

 

26,851

 

 

 

28,535

 

Prepaid expenses and other assets49,219 41,763 

Total current assets

 

 

1,237,083

 

 

 

1,136,810

 

Total current assets1,638,669 1,759,970 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Marketable securities, non-current

 

 

132,134

 

 

 

132,463

 

Marketable securities, non-current179,040 175,783 

Property and equipment, net

 

 

142,728

 

 

 

131,505

 

Property and equipment, net161,876 138,172 

Operating lease right-of-use assets, net

 

 

195,077

 

 

 

 

Operating lease right-of-use assets, net142,690 167,734 

Cash surrender value of company-owned life insurance policies, net of loans

 

 

146,408

 

 

 

126,000

 

Cash surrender value of company-owned life insurance policies, net of loans197,998 183,308 

Deferred income taxes

 

 

55,479

 

 

 

43,220

 

Deferred income taxes102,057 84,712 

Goodwill

 

 

613,943

 

 

 

578,298

 

Goodwill909,491 725,592 

Intangible assets, net

 

 

111,926

 

 

 

82,948

 

Intangible assets, net114,426 89,770 

Unearned compensation, non-current

 

 

79,510

 

 

 

80,924

 

Unearned compensation, non-current103,607 118,238 

Investments and other assets

 

 

29,540

 

 

 

22,684

 

Investments and other assets24,590 21,267 

Total assets

 

$

2,743,828

 

 

$

2,334,852

 

Total assets$3,574,444 $3,464,546 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY

Accounts payable

 

$

45,684

 

 

$

39,156

 

Accounts payable$53,386 $50,932 

Income taxes payable

 

 

21,158

 

 

 

21,145

 

Income taxes payable19,969 34,450 

Compensation and benefits payable

 

 

280,911

 

 

 

328,610

 

Compensation and benefits payable532,934 547,826 

Operating lease liability, current

 

 

54,851

 

 

 

 

Operating lease liability, current45,821 48,609 

Other accrued liabilities

 

 

221,603

 

 

 

162,047

 

Other accrued liabilities324,150 302,408 

Total current liabilities

 

 

624,207

 

 

 

550,958

 

Total current liabilities976,260 984,225 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Deferred compensation and other retirement plans

 

 

289,136

 

 

 

257,635

 

Deferred compensation and other retirement plans396,534 357,175 

Operating lease liability, non-current

 

 

180,766

 

 

 

 

Operating lease liability, non-current119,220 151,212 

Long-term debt

 

 

394,144

 

 

 

222,878

 

Long-term debt396,194 395,477 

Deferred tax liabilities

 

 

1,056

 

 

 

1,103

 

Deferred tax liabilities5,352 2,715 

Other liabilities

 

 

30,828

 

 

 

58,891

 

Other liabilities27,879 24,153 

Total liabilities

 

 

1,520,137

 

 

 

1,091,465

 

Total liabilities1,921,439 1,914,957 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Commitments and contingencies

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Commitments and contingencies

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stockholders' equity

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stockholders' equity

Common stock: $0.01 par value, 150,000 shares authorized, 73,205 and 72,442 shares issued and 54,450 and 56,431 shares outstanding at April 30, 2020 and 2019, respectively

 

 

585,560

 

 

 

656,463

 

Common stock: $0.01 par value, 150,000 shares authorized, 76,693 and 75,409 shares issued and 52,269 and 53,190 shares outstanding at April 30, 2023 and 2022, respectivelyCommon stock: $0.01 par value, 150,000 shares authorized, 76,693 and 75,409 shares issued and 52,269 and 53,190 shares outstanding at April 30, 2023 and 2022, respectively429,754 502,008 

Retained earnings

 

 

742,993

 

 

 

660,845

 

Retained earnings1,311,081 1,134,523 

Accumulated other comprehensive loss, net

 

 

(107,172

)

 

 

(76,652

)

Accumulated other comprehensive loss, net(92,764)(92,185)

Total Korn Ferry stockholders' equity

 

 

1,221,381

 

 

 

1,240,656

 

Total Korn Ferry stockholders' equity1,648,071 1,544,346 

Noncontrolling interest

 

 

2,310

 

 

 

2,731

 

Noncontrolling interest4,934 5,243 

Total stockholders' equity

 

 

1,223,691

 

 

 

1,243,387

 

Total stockholders' equity1,653,005 1,549,589 

Total liabilities and stockholders' equity

 

$

2,743,828

 

 

$

2,334,852

 

Total liabilities and stockholders' equity$3,574,444 $3,464,546 

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

F-6


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KORN FERRY AND SUBSIDIARIES

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF INCOME

Year Ended April 30,

 

Year Ended April 30,

 

202320222021

 

2020

 

 

2019

 

 

2018

 

 

(in thousands, except per share data)

 

(in thousands, except per share data)

Fee revenue

 

$

1,932,732

 

 

$

1,926,033

 

 

$

1,767,217

 

Fee revenue$2,835,408 $2,626,718 $1,810,047 

Reimbursed out-of-pocket engagement expenses

 

 

44,598

 

 

 

47,829

 

 

 

52,302

 

Reimbursed out-of-pocket engagement expenses28,428 16,737 9,899 

Total revenue

 

 

1,977,330

 

 

 

1,973,862

 

 

 

1,819,519

 

Total revenue2,863,836 2,643,455 1,819,946 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Compensation and benefits

 

 

1,297,994

 

 

 

1,311,240

 

 

 

1,199,057

 

Compensation and benefits1,901,203 1,741,452 1,297,880 

General and administrative expenses

 

 

258,957

 

 

 

351,991

 

 

 

237,390

 

General and administrative expenses268,458 237,272 191,776 

Reimbursed expenses

 

 

44,598

 

 

 

47,829

 

 

 

52,302

 

Reimbursed expenses28,428 16,737 9,899 

Cost of services

 

 

85,886

 

 

 

75,487

 

 

 

73,658

 

Cost of services238,499 114,399 72,030 

Depreciation and amortization

 

 

55,311

 

 

 

46,489

 

 

 

48,588

 

Depreciation and amortization68,335 63,521 61,845 

Restructuring charges, net

 

 

58,559

 

 

 

 

 

 

78

 

Restructuring charges, net42,573 — 30,732 

Total operating expenses

 

 

1,801,305

 

 

 

1,833,036

 

 

 

1,611,073

 

Total operating expenses2,547,496 2,173,381 1,664,162 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Operating income

 

 

176,025

 

 

 

140,826

 

 

 

208,446

 

Operating income316,340 470,074 155,784 

Other (loss) income, net

 

 

(2,879

)

 

 

10,405

 

 

 

11,416

 

Other income (loss), netOther income (loss), net5,261 (11,880)37,194 

Interest expense, net

 

 

(22,184

)

 

 

(16,891

)

 

 

(13,832

)

Interest expense, net(25,864)(25,293)(29,278)

Income before provision for income taxes

 

 

150,962

 

 

 

134,340

 

 

 

206,030

 

Income before provision for income taxes295,737 432,901 163,700 

Income tax provision

 

 

43,945

 

 

 

29,544

 

 

 

70,133

 

Income tax provision82,683 102,056 48,138 

Net income

 

 

107,017

 

 

 

104,796

 

 

 

135,897

 

Net income213,054 330,845 115,562 

Net income attributable to noncontrolling interest

 

 

(2,071

)

 

 

(2,145

)

 

 

(2,118

)

Net income attributable to noncontrolling interest(3,525)(4,485)(1,108)

Net income attributable to Korn Ferry

 

$

104,946

 

 

$

102,651

 

 

$

133,779

 

Net income attributable to Korn Ferry$209,529 $326,360 $114,454 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Earnings per common share attributable to Korn Ferry:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Earnings per common share attributable to Korn Ferry:

Basic

 

$

1.91

 

 

$

1.84

 

 

$

2.39

 

Basic$3.98 $6.04 $2.11 

Diluted

 

$

1.90

 

 

$

1.81

 

 

$

2.35

 

Diluted$3.95 $5.98 $2.09 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Weighted-average common shares outstanding:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Weighted-average common shares outstanding:

Basic

 

 

54,342

 

 

 

55,311

 

 

 

55,426

 

Basic51,48252,80752,928

Diluted

 

 

54,767

 

 

 

56,096

 

 

 

56,254

 

Diluted51,88353,40153,405

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cash dividends declared per share:

 

$

0.40

 

 

$

0.40

 

 

$

0.40

 

Cash dividends declared per share:$0.60 $0.48 $0.40 

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

F-7


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KORN FERRY AND SUBSIDIARIES

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF COMPREHENSIVE INCOME

Year Ended April 30,

 

Year Ended April 30,

 

202320222021

 

2020

 

 

2019

 

 

2018

 

 

(in thousands)

 

(in thousands)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net income

 

$

107,017

 

 

$

104,796

 

 

$

135,897

 

Net income$213,054 $330,845 $115,562 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Other comprehensive (loss) income:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Other comprehensive (loss) income:

Foreign currency translation adjustments

 

 

(23,764

)

 

 

(28,038

)

 

 

22,900

 

Foreign currency translation adjustments(3,256)(59,227)50,069 

Deferred compensation and pension plan adjustments, net of tax

 

 

(6,716

)

 

 

(5,369

)

 

 

6,054

 

Deferred compensation and pension plan adjustments, net of tax3,420 19,096 5,419 

Net unrealized gain on marketable securities, net of tax

 

 

34

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net unrealized (loss) gain on interest rate swap, net of tax

 

 

(456

)

 

 

(1,080

)

 

 

1,915

 

Net unrealized gain (loss) on marketable securities, net of taxNet unrealized gain (loss) on marketable securities, net of tax144 (410)(53)

Comprehensive income

 

 

76,115

 

 

 

70,309

 

 

 

166,766

 

Comprehensive income213,362 290,304 170,997 

Less: comprehensive income attributable to noncontrolling interest

 

 

(1,689

)

 

 

(1,978

)

 

 

(2,058

)

Less: comprehensive income attributable to noncontrolling interest(4,412)(4,309)(1,191)

Comprehensive income attributable to Korn Ferry

 

$

74,426

 

 

$

68,331

 

 

$

164,708

 

Comprehensive income attributable to Korn Ferry$208,950 $285,995 $169,806 

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

F-8


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KORN FERRY AND SUBSIDIARIES

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Accumulated

Other

 

 

Total

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Comprehensive

 

 

Korn Ferry

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total

 

Common StockRetained
Earnings
Accumulated
Other
Comprehensive
Loss, Net
Total
Korn Ferry
Stockholders'
Equity
Noncontrolling
Interest
Total
Stockholders'
Equity

Common Stock

 

 

Retained

 

 

(Loss) Income,

 

 

Stockholders'

 

 

Noncontrolling

 

 

Stockholder's

 

SharesAmount

Shares

 

 

Amount

 

 

Earnings

 

 

Net

 

 

Equity

 

 

Interest

 

 

Equity

 

(in thousands)

 

(in thousands)

Balance at May 1, 2017

 

56,938

 

 

$

692,527

 

 

$

461,976

 

 

$

(71,064

)

 

$

1,083,439

 

 

$

3,609

 

 

$

1,087,048

 

Balance at May 1, 2020Balance at May 1, 202054,450$585,560 $742,993 $(107,172)$1,221,381 $2,310 $1,223,691 

Net income

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

133,779

 

 

 

 

 

 

133,779

 

 

 

2,118

 

 

 

135,897

 

Net income— 114,454 — 114,454 1,108 115,562 

Other comprehensive income (loss)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

30,929

 

 

 

30,929

 

 

 

(60

)

 

 

30,869

 

Other comprehensive incomeOther comprehensive income— — 55,352 55,352 83 55,435 

Dividends paid to shareholders

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(22,955

)

 

 

 

 

 

(22,955

)

 

 

 

 

 

(22,955

)

Dividends paid to shareholders— (22,498)— (22,498)— (22,498)

Dividends paid to noncontrolling interest

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(2,659

)

 

 

(2,659

)

Dividends paid to noncontrolling interest— — — — (1,115)(1,115)

Purchase of stock

 

(1,092

)

 

 

(36,865

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(36,865

)

 

 

 

 

 

(36,865

)

Purchase of stock(1,146)(35,376)— — (35,376)— (35,376)

Issuance of stock

 

671

 

 

 

7,998

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

7,998

 

 

 

 

 

 

7,998

 

Issuance of stock7046,560 — — 6,560 — 6,560 

Stock-based compensation

 

 

 

 

20,282

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

20,282

 

 

 

 

 

 

20,282

 

Stock-based compensation26,516 — — 26,516 — 26,516 

Balance at April 30, 2018

 

56,517

 

 

 

683,942

 

 

 

572,800

 

 

 

(40,135

)

 

 

1,216,607

 

 

 

3,008

 

 

 

1,219,615

 

Net income

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

102,651

 

 

 

 

 

 

102,651

 

 

 

2,145

 

 

 

104,796

 

Other comprehensive loss

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(34,320

)

 

 

(34,320

)

 

 

(167

)

 

 

(34,487

)

Effect of adoption of accounting standards

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

8,853

 

 

 

(2,197

)

 

 

6,656

 

 

 

 

 

 

6,656

 

Dividends paid to shareholders

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(23,459

)

 

 

 

 

 

(23,459

)

 

 

 

 

 

(23,459

)

Dividends paid to noncontrolling interest

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(2,255

)

 

 

(2,255

)

Purchase of stock

 

(1,166

)

 

 

(58,070

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(58,070

)

 

 

 

 

 

(58,070

)

Issuance of stock

 

1,080

 

 

 

8,528

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

8,528

 

 

 

 

 

 

8,528

 

Stock-based compensation

 

 

 

 

22,063

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

22,063

 

 

 

 

 

 

22,063

 

Balance at April 30, 2019

 

56,431

 

 

 

656,463

 

 

 

660,845

 

 

 

(76,652

)

 

 

1,240,656

 

 

 

2,731

 

 

 

1,243,387

 

Balance at April 30, 2021Balance at April 30, 202154,008583,260 834,949 (51,820)1,366,389 2,386 1,368,775 

Net income

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

104,946

 

 

 

 

 

 

104,946

 

 

 

2,071

 

 

 

107,017

 

Net income— 326,360 — 326,360 4,485 330,845 

Other comprehensive loss

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(30,520

)

 

 

(30,520

)

 

 

(382

)

 

 

(30,902

)

Other comprehensive loss— — (40,365)(40,365)(176)(40,541)

Dividends paid to shareholders

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(22,798

)

 

 

 

 

 

(22,798

)

 

 

 

 

 

(22,798

)

Dividends paid to shareholders— (26,786)— (26,786)— (26,786)

Dividends paid to noncontrolling interest

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(2,110

)

 

 

(2,110

)

Dividends paid to noncontrolling interest— — — — (1,452)(1,452)

Purchase of stock

 

(2,839

)

 

 

(101,439

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(101,439

)

 

 

 

 

 

(101,439

)

Purchase of stock(1,743)(117,301)— — (117,301)— (117,301)

Issuance of stock

 

858

 

 

 

9,041

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

9,041

 

 

 

 

 

 

9,041

 

Issuance of stock9257,688 — — 7,688 — 7,688 

Stock-based compensation

 

 

 

 

21,495

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

21,495

 

 

 

 

 

 

21,495

 

Stock-based compensation28,361 — — 28,361 — 28,361 

Balance at April 30, 2020

 

54,450

 

 

$

585,560

 

 

$

742,993

 

 

$

(107,172

)

 

$

1,221,381

 

 

$

2,310

 

 

$

1,223,691

 

Balance at April 30, 2022Balance at April 30, 202253,190502,008 1,134,523 (92,185)1,544,346 5,243 1,549,589 
Net incomeNet income— 209,529 — 209,529 3,525 213,054 
Other comprehensive (loss) incomeOther comprehensive (loss) income— — (579)(579)887 308 
Dividends paid to shareholdersDividends paid to shareholders— (32,971)— (32,971)— (32,971)
Dividends paid to noncontrolling interestDividends paid to noncontrolling interest— — — — (4,721)(4,721)
Purchase of stockPurchase of stock(2,082)(116,139)— — (116,139)— (116,139)
Issuance of stockIssuance of stock1,1618,452 — — 8,452 — 8,452 
Stock-based compensationStock-based compensation35,433 — — 35,433 — 35,433 
Balance at April 30, 2023Balance at April 30, 202352,269$429,754 $1,311,081 $(92,764)$1,648,071 $4,934 $1,653,005 

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

F-9


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KORN FERRY AND SUBSIDIARIES

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS

Year Ended April 30,

 

Year Ended April 30,

 

202320222021

 

2020

 

 

2019

 

 

2018

 

 

(in thousands)

 

(in thousands)

Cash flows from operating activities:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cash flows from operating activities:

Net income

 

$

107,017

 

 

$

104,796

 

 

$

135,897

 

Net income$213,054 $330,845 $115,562 

Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash provided by operating activities:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash provided by operating activities:

Depreciation and amortization

 

 

55,311

 

 

 

46,489

 

 

 

48,588

 

Depreciation and amortization68,335 63,521 61,845 

Stock-based compensation expense

 

 

22,818

 

 

 

23,385

 

 

 

21,469

 

Stock-based compensation expense36,285 29,210 27,157 

Tradename write-offs

 

 

 

 

 

106,555

 

 

 

 

Write-off of long-lived assets

 

 

2,654

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Impairment of right-of-use assetsImpairment of right-of-use assets5,471 7,392 — 
Impairment of fixed assetsImpairment of fixed assets4,375 1,915 — 

Provision for doubtful accounts

 

 

14,644

 

 

 

14,260

 

 

 

13,675

 

Provision for doubtful accounts22,493 21,552 15,763 

Gain on cash surrender value of life insurance policies

 

 

(6,551

)

 

 

(6,160

)

 

 

(7,776

)

Gain on cash surrender value of life insurance policies(10,576)(5,819)(13,017)

Loss (gain) on marketable securities

 

 

2,066

 

 

 

(8,134

)

 

 

(10,278

)

(Gain) loss on marketable securities(Gain) loss on marketable securities(2,874)11,978 (38,529)

Deferred income taxes

 

 

(9,330

)

 

 

(27,796

)

 

 

(6,564

)

Deferred income taxes(14,403)(16,963)(14,140)

Change in other assets and liabilities:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Change in other assets and liabilities:

Deferred compensation

 

 

23,496

 

 

 

18,478

 

 

 

27,660

 

Deferred compensation52,291 27,197 64,005 

Receivables due from clients

 

 

34,152

 

 

 

(30,625

)

 

 

(53,357

)

Receivables due from clients33,483 (138,627)(67,331)

Income taxes and other receivables

 

 

(6,421

)

 

 

1,409

 

 

 

2,093

 

Income taxes and other receivables(25,615)3,969 5,798 

Prepaid expenses and other assets

 

 

(956

)

 

 

(148

)

 

 

(2,118

)

Prepaid expenses and other assets(5,884)(9,534)(3,902)

Unearned compensation

 

 

300

 

 

 

(7,299

)

 

 

(42,742

)

Unearned compensation11,904 (23,425)(32,935)

Income taxes payable

 

 

1,246

 

 

 

213

 

 

 

32,439

 

Income taxes payable(15,304)12,751 (1,824)

Accounts payable and accrued liabilities

 

 

(6,011

)

 

 

28,398

 

 

 

66,081

 

Accounts payable and accrued liabilities(27,821)191,447 122,687 

Other

 

 

1,914

 

 

 

(5,016

)

 

 

(5,942

)

Other(1,320)(5,751)10,294 

Net cash provided by operating activities

 

 

236,349

 

 

 

258,805

 

 

 

219,125

 

Net cash provided by operating activities343,894 501,658 251,433 

Cash flows from investing activities:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cash flows from investing activities:
Cash paid for acquisitions, net of cash acquiredCash paid for acquisitions, net of cash acquired(254,750)(133,802)— 

Purchase of property and equipment

 

 

(41,460

)

 

 

(46,682

)

 

 

(42,000

)

Purchase of property and equipment(70,382)(49,406)(31,122)

Purchase of marketable securities

 

 

(83,563

)

 

 

(9,476

)

 

 

(9,462

)

Purchase of marketable securities(53,530)(82,015)(103,499)

Proceeds from sales/maturities of marketable securities

 

 

47,936

 

 

 

13,781

 

 

 

2,642

 

Proceeds from sales/maturities of marketable securities65,878 92,472 69,683 

Cash paid for acquisition, net of cash acquired

 

 

(108,602

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Premium on company-owned life insurance policies

 

 

(15,699

)

 

 

(34,862

)

 

 

(1,614

)

Premium on company-owned life insurance policies(15,219)(15,218)(15,353)

Proceeds from life insurance policies

 

 

2,280

 

 

 

7,632

 

 

 

5,355

 

Proceeds from life insurance policies4,376 3,382 18,707 

Dividends received from unconsolidated subsidiaries

 

 

346

 

 

 

140

 

 

 

240

 

Dividends received from unconsolidated subsidiaries150 255 205 

Net cash used in investing activities

 

 

(198,762

)

 

 

(69,467

)

 

 

(44,839

)

Net cash used in investing activities(323,477)(184,332)(61,379)

Cash flows from financing activities:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cash flows from financing activities:

Proceeds from long term debt

 

 

1,045,500

 

 

 

226,875

 

 

 

 

Principal payments on long term debt

 

 

(876,875

)

 

 

(238,906

)

 

 

(20,625

)

Payment of debt issuance costs

 

 

(3,050

)

 

 

(2,181

)

 

 

 

Repurchases of common stock

 

 

(92,446

)

 

 

(37,372

)

 

 

(33,071

)

Repurchases of common stock(95,463)(96,258)(30,387)

Payments of tax withholdings on restricted stock

 

 

(8,993

)

 

 

(20,698

)

 

 

(3,794

)

Payments of tax withholdings on restricted stock(22,232)(18,532)(4,989)

Proceeds from issuance of common stock upon exercise of employee

stock options and in connection with an employee stock purchase plan

 

 

7,684

 

 

 

7,272

 

 

 

6,885

 

Proceeds from issuance of common stock upon exercise of employee stock options and in connection with an employee stock purchase plan7,606 6,919 5,706 

Borrowings under life insurance policies

 

 

 

 

 

31,870

 

 

 

 

Payments on life insurance policy loans

 

 

(943

)

 

 

(5,316

)

 

 

(554

)

Payments on life insurance policy loans(2,760)(178)(12,279)

Principal payments on finance leases

 

 

(1,833

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Principal payments on finance leases(1,639)(1,157)(1,324)

Dividends paid to shareholders

 

 

(22,798

)

 

 

(23,459

)

 

 

(22,955

)

Dividends paid to shareholders(32,971)(26,786)(22,498)

Dividends - noncontrolling interest

 

 

(2,110

)

 

 

(2,255

)

 

 

(2,659

)

Payment of contingent consideration from acquisitions

 

 

(455

)

 

 

(455

)

 

 

(485

)

Net cash provided by (used in) financing activities

 

 

43,681

 

 

 

(64,625

)

 

 

(77,258

)

Dividends paid to noncontrolling interestDividends paid to noncontrolling interest(4,721)(1,452)(1,115)
Net cash used in financing activitiesNet cash used in financing activities(152,180)(137,444)(66,886)

Effect of exchange rate changes on cash and cash equivalents

 

 

(18,384

)

 

 

(19,201

)

 

 

12,938

 

Effect of exchange rate changes on cash and cash equivalents(2,283)(52,590)38,366 

Net increase in cash and cash equivalents

 

 

62,884

 

 

 

105,512

 

 

 

109,966

 

Net (decrease) increase in cash and cash equivalentsNet (decrease) increase in cash and cash equivalents(134,046)127,292 161,534 

Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of year

 

 

626,360

 

 

 

520,848

 

 

 

410,882

 

Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of year978,070 850,778 689,244 

Cash and cash equivalents at end of the period

 

$

689,244

 

 

$

626,360

 

 

$

520,848

 

Cash and cash equivalents at end of the yearCash and cash equivalents at end of the year$844,024 $978,070 $850,778 

Supplemental cash flow information:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Supplemental cash flow information:

Cash used to pay interest

 

$

12,526

 

 

$

14,188

 

 

$

11,946

 

Cash used to pay interest$25,409 $24,607 $25,207 

Cash used to pay income taxes, net of refunds

 

$

54,914

 

 

$

58,408

 

 

$

37,486

 

Cash used to pay income taxes, net of refunds$134,741 $107,602 $55,317 



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

F-10


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KORN FERRY AND SUBSIDIARIES

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

April 30, 2020

2023

1. Organization and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

Nature of Business

Korn Ferry, a Delaware corporation, and its subsidiaries (the “Company”) is a global organizational consulting firm. The Company helps clients synchronize strategy and talent to drive superior performance. The Company works with organizations to design their structures, roles, and responsibilities. The Company helps organizations hire the right people to bring their strategy to life and advise them on how to reward, develop, and motivate their people.

The Company is pursuing a strategy that willdesigned to help Korn Ferry to focus on clients and collaborate intensively across the organization. This approach buildsis intended to build on the best of ourthe Company’s past and givesgive the Company a clear path to the future with focused initiatives to increase ourits client and commercial impact. Korn Ferry is transforming how clients address their talent management needs. The Company has evolved from a mono-line to a diversified business, giving ourits consultants more frequent and expanded opportunities to engage with clients.

In fiscal year 2023 and 2022, the Company acquired companies that have added critical mass to our existing professional search and interim operations, as described in Note 12. This provided the Company with the opportunity to reassess how it manages the Recruitment Process Outsourcing ("RPO") & Professional Search segment. Therefore, beginning in fiscal 2023, the Company separated RPO & Professional Search into two segments to align with the Company's strategy and the decisions of the Company's chief operating decision maker ("CODM"), who began to regularly make separate resource allocation decisions and assess performance separately between Professional Search & Interim and RPO.

The Company operatesnow has eight reportable segments that operate through 4 global segments:

the following five lines of business:

1.

Consulting helps clients synchronize their strategy and their talent by addressing four fundamental needs: Organizational Strategy, Assessment and Succession, Leadership and Professional Development, and Rewards and Benefits. This work is supported and underpinned by a comprehensive range of some of the world’s leading intellectual property (“lP”) and data.

2.

Digital leverages an artificial intelligence powered platform to identify structure, roles, capabilities and behaviours needed to drive business forward. This end to end system gives clients one enterprise-wide talent framework and delivers an achievable blueprint for success along with the guidance and tools to deliver it.

3.

Executive Search helps organizations recruit board level, chief executive and other senior executive and general management talent. Behavioral interviewing and proprietary assessments are used to determine ideal organizational fit, and salary benchmarking builds appropriate frameworks for compensation and retention.

4.

Recruitment Process Outsourcing (“RPO”) and Professional Search combines people, process expertise and IP-enabled technology to deliver enterprise talent acquisition solutions to clients. Transaction sizes range from single professional searches to team, department and line of business projects, and global outsource recruiting solutions.

1.Consulting aligns organizational structure, culture, performance and people to drive sustainable growth by addressing four fundamental needs: Organizational Strategy, Assessment and Succession, Leadership and Professional Development and Total Rewards. This work is enabled by a comprehensive set of Digital Performance Management Tools, based on some of the world’s leading intellectual property (“lP”) and data. The Consulting teams employ an integrated approach across core capabilities and integrated solutions, each one intended to strengthen the work and thinking in the next, to help clients execute their strategy in a digitally enabled world.

2.Digital are new reporting segments. Previously, these were tracked develops technology-enabled Performance Management Tools that empower our clients. The digital products give clients direct access to Korn Ferry proprietary data, client data and analytics to deliver clear insights with the training and tools needed to align organizational structure with business strategy.
3.Executive Search helps organizations recruit board level, chief executive and other senior executive and general management talent to deliver lasting impact. The Company’s approach to placing talent is bringing together research-based IP, proprietary assessments and behavioral interviewing with practical experience to determine ideal organizational fit. Salary benchmarking then helps the Company build appropriate frameworks for compensation and retention. This business is managed and reported together,on a geographic basis and represents four of the Company’s reportable segments (Executive Search North America, Executive Search Europe, the Middle East and Africa ("EMEA"), Executive Search Asia Pacific and Executive Search Latin America).
4.Professional Search & Interim delivers enterprise talent acquisition solutions for professional level middle and upper management. The Company helps clients source high-quality candidates at speed and scale globally, covering single-hire to multi-hire permanent placements and interim contractors.
5.RPO offers scalable recruitment outsourcing solutions leveraging customized technology and talent insights. The Company's scalable solutions, built on science and powered by best-in-class technology and consulting expertise, enable the Company to act as Korn Ferry Advisory (“Advisory”).

a strategic partner in clients’ quest for superior recruitment outcomes and better candidate fit.

Basis of Consolidation and Presentation

The consolidated financial statements include the accounts of the Company and its wholly and majority owned/controlled domestic and international subsidiaries. All intercompany balances and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation. The preparation of the consolidated financial statements conform with United States (“U.S.”) generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”) and prevailing practice within our different industries. The consolidated financial statements include all adjustments, consisting of normal recurring accruals and any other adjustments that management considers necessary for a fair presentation of the results for these periods.

Investments in affiliated companies, which are 50% or less owned and where the Company exercises significant influence over operations, are accounted for using the equity method. Dividends received from our unconsolidated subsidiaries were approximately $0.3 million, $0.1 million and $0.2 million during fiscal 2020, 2019 and 2018, respectively.

The Company has control of a Mexican subsidiary and consolidates the operations of this subsidiary. Noncontrolling interest, which represents the Mexican partners’ 51% interest in the Mexican subsidiary, is reflected on the Company’s consolidated financial statements.

F-11


 

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KORN FERRY AND SUBSIDIARIES

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

April 30, 20202023 (continued)

The Company considers events or transactions that occur after the balance sheet date but before the consolidated financial statements are issued to provide additional evidence relative to certain estimates or to identify matters that require additional disclosures.

Use of Estimates and Uncertainties

The preparation of the consolidated financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management 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 consolidated financial statements and the reported amounts of revenue and expenses during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from these estimates, and changes in estimates are reported in current operations as new information is learned or upon the amounts becoming fixed or determinable. The most significant areas that require management’s judgment are revenue recognition, deferred compensation, annual performance-related bonuses, evaluation of the carrying value of receivables, goodwill and other intangible assets, share-based payments, leases and the recoverability of deferred income taxes.

Revenue Recognition

Substantially all fee revenue is derived from talent and organizational consulting services and digital sales, stand-alone or as part of a solution, fees for professional services related to executive and professional recruitment performed on a retained basis, interim services and RPO, either stand-alone or as part of a solution.

Revenue is recognized when control of the goods and services are transferred to the customer in an amount that reflects the consideration the Company expects to be entitled to in exchange for those goods and services. Revenue contracts with customers are evaluated based on the five-step model outlined in Accounting StandardStandards Codification (“ASC”) 606 (“ASC 606”):, Revenue from Contracts with Customers: 1) identify the contract with a customer; 2) identify the performance obligation(s) in the contract; 3) determine the transaction price; 4) allocate the transaction price to the separate performance obligation(s); and 5) recognize revenue when (or as) each performance obligation is satisfied.

Consulting fee revenue is primarily recognized as services isare rendered, measured by total hours incurred as a percentage of the total estimated hours at completion. It is possible that updated estimates for consulting engagements may vary from initial estimates with such updates being recognized in the period of determination. Depending on the timing of billings and services rendered, the Company accrues or defers revenue as appropriate.

Digital fee revenue is generated from IP platforms enabling large-scale, technology-based talent programs for pay, talent development, engagement, and assessment and is consumed directly by an end user or indirectly through a consulting engagement. Revenue is recognized as services are delivered and the Company has a legally enforceable right to payment. Revenue also comes from the sale of ourthe Company’s proprietary IP subscriptions, which are considered symbolic IP due to the dynamic nature of the content. As a result, revenue is recognized over the term of the contract. Functional IP licenses grant customers the right to use IP content via the delivery of a flat file. Because the IP content license has significant stand-alone functionality, revenue is recognized upon delivery and when an enforceable right to payment exists. Revenue for tangible and digital products sold by the Company, such as books and digital files, is recognized when these products are shipped.

Fee revenue from executive and professional search activities is generally one-third of the estimated first-year cash compensation of the placed candidate, plus a percentage of the fee to cover indirect engagement-related expenses. In addition to the search retainer, an uptick fee is billed when the actual compensation awarded by the client for a placement is higher than the estimated compensation. In the aggregate, upticks have been a relatively consistent percentage of the original estimated fee; therefore, the Company estimates upticks using the expected value method based on historical data on a portfolio basis. In a standard search engagement, there is one performance obligation, which is the promise to undertake a search. The Company generally recognizes such revenue over the course of a search and when it is legally entitled to payment as outlined in the billing terms of the contract. Any revenues associated with services that are provided on a contingent basis are recognized once the contingency is resolved, as this is when control is transferred to the customer. These assumptions determine the timing of revenue recognition for the reported period.

In addition to talent acquisition for permanent placement roles, the Professional Search & Interim segment also offers recruitment services for interim roles. Interim roles are short term in duration, generally less than 12 months. Generally, each interim role is a separate performance obligation. The Company recognizes fee revenue over the duration that the interim resources' services are provided which also aligns to the contracted invoicing plan and enforceable right to payment.

RPO fee revenue is generated through two distinct phases: 1) the implementation phase and 2) the post-implementation recruitment phase. The fees associated with the implementation phase are recognized over the period that the related implementation services are provided. The post-implementation recruitment phase represents end-to-end recruiting services to clients for which there are both fixed and variable fees, which are recognized over the period that the related recruiting services are performed.

F-12


 

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KORN FERRY AND SUBSIDIARIES

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

April 30, 20202023 (continued)

Reimbursements

The Company incurs certain out-of-pocket expenses that are reimbursed by its clients, which are accounted for as revenue in the consolidated statements of income.

Allowance for Doubtful Accounts

An allowance is established for doubtful accounts by taking a charge to general and administrative expenses. The Company’s expected credit loss allowance methodology for accounts receivable is developed using historical collection experience, current and future economic and market conditions and a review of the current status of customers’ trade accounts receivable. Due to the short-term nature of such receivables, the estimate of the amount of the allowanceaccounts receivable that may not be collected is primarily based on historical loss experienceloss-rate experience. When required, the Company adjusts the loss-rate methodology to account for current conditions and assessment of the collectability of specific accounts, as well asreasonable and supportable expectations of future collections based upon trendseconomic and market conditions. The Company generally assesses future economic condition for a period of sixty to ninety days, which corresponds with the typecontractual life of work for which services are rendered.its accounts receivables. After the Company exhausts all collection efforts, the amount of the allowance is reduced for balances written off as uncollectible.

Cash and Cash Equivalents

The Company considers all highly liquid investments with original maturities of three months or less from the date of purchase to be cash equivalents. As of April 30, 2020,2023 and 2022, the Company’s investments in cash equivalents consisted of money market funds, and as of April 30, 2022 also consisted of commercial paper and corporate notes/bonds with initial maturity of less than 90 days for which market prices are readily available. As of April 30, 2019, cash equivalents consisted of money market funds for which market prices are readily available.

Marketable Securities

The Company currently has investments in marketable securities and mutual funds that are classified as either equity securities or available-for-sale debt securities. The classification of the investments in these marketable securities and mutual funds is assessed upon purchase and reassessed at each reporting period. These investments are recorded at fair value and are classified as marketable securities in the accompanying consolidated balance sheets. The investments that the Company may sell within the next twelve12 months are carried as current assets.

The Company invests in mutual funds (for which market prices are readily available) that are held in trust to satisfy obligations under the Company’s deferred compensation plans. Such investments are classified as equity securities and mirror the employees’ investment elections in their deemed accounts in the Executive Capital Accumulation Plan and similar plans in Asia Pacific and Canada (“ECAP”) from a pre-determined set of securities. Realized gains (losses) on marketable securities are determined by specific identification. Interest is recognized on an accrual basis; dividends are recorded as earned on the ex-dividend date. Interest, dividend income and the changes in fair value in marketable securities are recorded in the accompanying consolidated statements of income in other (loss) income (loss), net.

The Company also invests cash in excess of its daily operating requirements and capital needs primarily in marketable fixed income (debt) securities in accordance with the Company’s investment policy, which restricts the type of investments that can be made. The Company’s investment portfolio includes commercial paper and corporate notes/ bonds.bonds as of April 30, 2023 and 2022 and also included US Treasury and Agency securities as of April 30, 2022. These marketable fixed income (debt) securities are classified as available-for-sale securities based on management’s decision, at the date such securities are acquired, not to hold these securities to maturity or actively trade them. The Company carries these marketable debt securities at fair value based on the market prices for these marketable debt securities or similar debt securities whose prices are readily available. The changes in fair values, net of applicable taxes, are recorded as unrealized gains or losses as a component of comprehensive income. When, inincome unless the opinion of management, a decline in the fair value of an investment below its amortized costchange is considereddue to be “other-than-temporary,” acredit loss. A credit loss is recorded in the statementstatements of income in other income (loss) income,, net; any amount in excess of the credit loss is recorded as unrealized gains or losses as a component of comprehensive income. Generally, the amount of the loss is the difference between the cost or amortized cost and its then current fair value; a credit loss is the difference between the discounted expected future cash flows to be collected from the debt security and the cost or amortized cost of the debt security. The determination of the other-than-temporary decline includes, in addition to other relevant factors, a presumption that if the market value is below cost by a significant amount for a period, a write-down may be necessary. During fiscal 2020, 20192023, 2022 and 2018, 0 other-than-temporary impairment2021, no amount was recognized.

F-13


 

KORN FERRY AND SUBSIDIARIES

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

April 30, 2020 (continued)

recognized as a credit loss for the Company’s available for sales debt securities.

Fair Value of Financial Instruments

Fair value is the price the Company would receive to sell an asset or transfer a liability (exit price) in an orderly transaction between market participants. For those assets and liabilities recorded or disclosed at fair value, the Company determines the fair value based upon the quoted market price, if available. If a quoted market price is not available for identical assets, the fair value is based upon the quoted market price of similar assets. The fair values are assigned a level within the fair value hierarchy as defined below:

Level 1: Observable inputs such as quoted prices (unadjusted) in active markets that are accessible at the measurement date for identical, unrestricted assets or liabilities.

Level 1: Observable inputs such as quoted prices (unadjusted) in active markets that are accessible at the measurement date for identical, unrestricted assets or liabilities.

Level 2:Inputs other than quoted prices that are observable for the asset or liability, either directly or indirectly. These include quoted prices for similar assets or liabilities in active markets and quoted prices for identical or similar assets or liabilities in markets that are not active.

Level 3: Unobservable inputs that reflect the reporting entity’s own assumptions.

F-13


korn.jpg
KORN FERRY AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
April 30, 2023 (continued)
Level 2:Inputs other than quoted prices that are observable for the asset or liability, either directly or indirectly. These include quoted prices for similar assets or liabilities in active markets and quoted prices for identical or similar assets or liabilities in markets that are not active.
Level 3: Unobservable inputs that reflect the reporting entity’s own assumptions.
As of April 30, 20202023 and 2019,2022, the Company held certain assets that are required to be measured at fair value on a recurring basis. These included cash, cash equivalents, accounts receivable, marketable securities and foreign currency forward contracts and an interest rate swap.contracts. The carrying amount of cash, cash equivalents and accounts receivable approximates fair value due to the short-term maturity of these instruments. The fair values of marketable securities classified as equity securities are obtained from quoted market prices, and the fair values of marketable securities classified as available-for-sale and foreign currency forward contracts and interest rate swap are obtained from a third party, which are based on quoted prices or market prices for similar assets and financial instruments.

Derivative Financial Instruments

On December 16, 2019, in conjunction with the payoff of the credit facility, the Company terminated its interest rate swap. The Company had entered into the interest rate swap agreement to effectively convert its variable debt to a fixed-rate basis. The principal objective was to eliminate or reduce the variability of the cash flows in interest payments associated with the Company’s long-term debt, thus reducing the impact of interest rate changes on future interest payment cash flows. The Company determined that the interest rate swap qualified as a cash flow hedge in accordance with Accounting Standards Codification 815, Derivatives and Hedging (“ASC 815”). Changes in the fair value of an interest rate swap agreement designated as a cash flow hedge were recorded as a component of accumulated other comprehensive loss within stockholders’ equity and were amortized to interest expense over the term of the related debt.

Foreign Currency Forward Contracts Not Designated as Hedges

The Company has established a program that primarily utilizes foreign currency forward contracts to offset the risks associated with the effects of certain foreign currency exposures primarily originating from intercompany balances due to cross border work performed in the ordinary course of business. These foreign currency forward contracts are neither used for trading purposes nor are they designated as hedging instruments pursuant to ASC 815.815, Derivatives and Hedging. Accordingly, the fair value of these contracts is recorded as of the end of the reporting period in the accompanying consolidated balance sheets, while the change in fair value is recorded to the accompanying consolidated statements of income.

Business Acquisitions

Business acquisitions are accounted for under the acquisition method. The acquisition method requires the reporting entity to identify the acquirer, determine the acquisition date, recognize and measure the identifiable assets acquired, the liabilities assumed and any noncontrolling interest in the acquired entity, and recognize and measure goodwill or a gain from the purchase. The acquiree’s results are included in the Company’s consolidated financial statements from the date of acquisition. Assets acquired and liabilities assumed are recorded at their fair values and the excess of the purchase price over the amounts assigned is recorded as goodwill, or if the fair value of the assets acquired exceeds the purchase price consideration, a bargain purchase gain is recorded. Adjustments to fair value assessments are generally recorded to goodwill over the measurement period (not longer than twelve12 months). The acquisition method also requires that acquisition-related transaction and post-acquisition restructuring costs be charged to expense as committed and requires the Company to recognize and measure certain assets and liabilities including those arising from contingencies and contingent consideration in a business combination.

F-14


 

KORN FERRY AND SUBSIDIARIES

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

April 30, 2020 (continued)

Leases

The Company determines if an arrangement is a lease at inception. Operating leases are included in operating lease right of useright-of-use (“ROU”) assets and current and non-current operating lease liability, in the consolidated balance sheets. Finance leases are included in property and equipment, net, other accrued liabilities and other liabilities in the consolidated balance sheets.

ROU assets represent the Company's right to use an underlying asset for the lease term, and the lease liabilities represent the Company's obligation to make lease payments arising from the lease. Operating lease ROU assets and operating lease liabilities are recognized based on the present value of the future minimum lease payments over the lease term aton the commencement date. As most of the Company’s leases do not provide an implicit rate, the Company uses its estimated incremental borrowing rate based on the information available at commencement date in determining the present value of future payments. The operating lease ROU asset also includes any lease payments made and excludes lease incentives and initial direct costs incurred. Lease terms may include options to extend or terminate the lease when it is reasonably certain that the Company will exercise that option. Lease expense for minimum lease payments is recognized on a straight-line basis over the lease term, with variable lease payments recognized in the periods in which they are incurred.

The Company has lease agreements with lease and non-lease components. For all leases with non-lease components the Company accounts for the lease and non-lease components as a single lease component.

Property and Equipment, Net

Property and equipment is carried at cost less accumulated depreciation. Leasehold improvements are amortized on a straight-line basis over the estimated useful life of the asset, or the lease term, whichever is shorter. Software development costs incurred for internal use projects are capitalized and once placed in service, amortized using the straight-line method over the estimated useful life, generally three to seventen years. All other property and equipment is depreciated or amortized on a straight-line basis over the estimated useful lives of three to ten years.

F-14

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KORN FERRY AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
April 30, 2023 (continued)
Impairment of Long-Lived Assets

Long-lived assets include property, equipment, ROU assets and software developed or obtained for internal use. In accordance with Accounting Standard CodificationASC 360, Property, Plant and Equipment (“ASC 360”), management reviews the Company’s recorded long-lived assets for impairment annually or whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of an asset may not be fully recoverable. Events relating to recoverability may include significant unfavorable changes in business conditions, recurring losses, or a forecasted inability to achieve break-even operating results over an extended period. The Company determines the extent to which an asset may be impaired based upon its expectation of the asset’s future usability, as well as on a reasonable assurance that the future cash flows associated with the asset will be in excess of its carrying amount. If the total of the expected undiscounted future cash flows is less than the carrying amount of the asset, a loss is recognized for the difference between fair value and the carrying value of the asset. During fiscal 2020,2023, the Company decided that it would exit 16 office leasesreduced its real estate footprint and as part ofa result, the integration of the acquisition of Miller Heiman Group, AchieveForum and Strategy Execution (“Acquired Companies”). This resulted inCompany took an impairment charge of the ROU assetassets of $2.3$5.5 million and an impairment charge of leasehold improvements and furniture and fixtures of $0.4$4.4 million, both recorded in the consolidated statements of income in general and administrative expenses. InDuring fiscal 2022, the Company reduced its real estate footprint and as a result, the Company took an impairment charge of ROU assets of $7.4 million and an impairment of leasehold improvements and furniture and fixtures of $1.9 million, both recorded in the consolidated statements of income in general and administrative expenses. During fiscal 2019 and 2018,2021, there were 0 suchno impairment charges recorded.

Goodwill and Intangible Assets

Goodwill represents the excess of the purchase price over the fair value of assets acquired. The goodwillGoodwill is tested for impairment annually and more frequently if events or changes in circumstances indicate that it is more likely than not that the asset is impaired. Results of the annual qualitative impairment test compares the fair valueperformed as of a reporting unit with its carrying amount, including goodwill. If the carrying amount of a reporting unit exceeds its fair value, goodwill of the reporting unit would be considered impaired. To measure the amount of the impairment loss, the implied fair value of a reporting unit’s goodwill is compared to the carrying amount ofJanuary 31, 2023, indicated that goodwill. The implied fair value of goodwill is determined in the same manner as the amount of goodwill recognized in a business combination. If the carrying amount of a reporting unit’s goodwill exceeds the implied fair value of that goodwill, an impairment loss is recognized in an amount equal to that excess. For each of these tests, the fair value of each of the Company’s reporting units is determined usingexceeded its carrying amount and no reporting units were at risk of failing the impairment test. As a combinationresult, no impairment charge was recognized. There was also no indication of valuation techniques, including a discounted cash flow methodology. To corroborate the discounted cash flow analysis performed at each reporting unit, a market approach is utilized using observable market data such as comparable companies in similar lines of business that are publicly traded or which are part of a public or private transaction (to the extent available). The Company performs anpotential impairment test annually as of January 31, or more frequently if impairment indicators arise. The qualitative test performed as of January 31, 2020 did not indicate any impairment.

F-15


 

KORN FERRY AND SUBSIDIARIES

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

April 30, 2020 (continued)

Duringduring the fourth quarter of fiscal 2020, the rapid and severe impacts of the global coronavirus pandemic (“COVID-19”), and more specifically the need to support global social distancing efforts, mitigating the spread of the virus, and complying with restrictions put in place by various governmental entities, led to a decline for our products and services. These actions have a material impact on our business. Therefore, we performed a quantitative review as of March 31, 2020, to assess whether these actions caused the fair value of any of our reporting units to fall below its carrying value. This quantitative review included sensitivity analyses of each reporting unit’s discounted cash flow models considering updated discount rates, financial results and forecasts, market multiples and terminal value revenue growth rates. While fair value exceeded carrying value for all reporting units the excess of the fair value over carrying value of the Consulting segment had the smallest buffer. As of April 30, 2020, goodwill in the Consulting segment was $173.0 million. The conclusion for all reporting units was2023 that 0 impairment existed as of March 31, 2020. As of April 30, 2020, there were nowould require further indicators of impairment with respect to the Company’s goodwill. We are unable to predict how long COVID-19 will impact our operations or what additional restrictions may be imposed by governments in the regions the Company operates. Significant variations from current expectations could impact future assessments and result in an impairment charge.

testing.

Intangible assets primarily consist of customer lists, non-compete agreements, proprietary databases and IP. Intangible assets are recorded at their estimated fair value at the date of acquisition and are amortized in a pattern in which the asset is consumed if that pattern can be reliably determined, or using the straight-line method over their estimated useful lives, which range from one to 24 years. For intangible assets subject to amortization, an impairment loss is recognized if the carrying amount of the intangible assets is not recoverable and exceeds fair value. The carrying amount of the intangible assets is considered not recoverable if it exceeds the sum of the undiscounted cash flows expected to result from use of the asset. As noted above COVID-19 impacted the Company’s fourth quarter business and will impact the business going forward. The Company reviewed its intangible assets and noted 0no impairment as of April 30, 2020. As of April 30, 2019, there were no further indicators of impairment with respect to the Company’s intangible assets.

On June 12, 2018, the Company’s Board of Directors voted to approve a plan to go to market under a single, master brand architecture2023, 2022 and to simplify the Company’s organizational structure by eliminating and/or consolidating certain legal entities and implementing a rebranding of the Company to offer the Company’s current products and services using the “Korn Ferry” name, branding and trademarks. As a result, the Company discontinued the use of all sub-brands. Two of the Company’s former sub-brands, Hay Group and Lominger, came to Korn Ferry through acquisitions. In connection with the accounting for these acquisitions, $106.6 million of the purchase price was allocated to indefinite-lived tradename intangible assets. As a result of the decision to discontinue their use, the Company took a non-cash intangible asset write-off of $106.6 million in fiscal 2019, recorded in general and administrative expenses in the consolidated statement of income.

2021.

Compensation and Benefits Expense

Compensation and benefits expense in the accompanying consolidated statements of income consist of compensation and benefits paid to consultants (employees who originate business), executive officers and administrative and support personnel. The most significant portions of this expense are salaries and the amounts paid under the annual performance-related bonus plan to employees. The portion of the expense applicable to salaries is comprised of amounts earned by employees during a reporting period. The portion of the expenses applicable to annual performance-related bonuses refers to the Company’s annual employee performance-related bonus with respect to a fiscal year, the amount of which is communicated and paid to each eligible employee following the completion of the fiscal year.

Each quarter, management makes its best estimate of its annual performance-related bonuses, which requires management to, among other things, project annual consultant productivity (as measured by engagement fees billed and collected by executive searchExecutive Search and Professional Search consultants and revenue and other performance/profitability metrics for Consulting, Digital, Interim and RPO & Professional Search consultants), the level of engagements referred by a consultant in one line of business to a different line of business, and Company performance, including profitability, competitive forces and future economic conditions and their impact on the Company’s results. At the end of each fiscal year, annual performance relatedperformance-related bonuses take into account final individual consultant productivity (including referred work), Company/line of business results, including profitability, the achievement of strategic objectives, the results of individual performance appraisals and the current economic landscape. Accordingly, each quarter the Company reevaluates the assumptions used to estimate annual performance relatedperformance-related bonus liability and adjusts the carrying amount of the liability recorded on the consolidated balance sheet and reports any changes in the estimate in current operations.

F-16


 

KORN FERRY AND SUBSIDIARIES

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

April 30, 2020 (continued)

Because annual performance-based bonuses are communicated and paid only after the Company reports its full fiscal year results, actual performance-based bonus payments may differ from the prior year’s estimate. Such changes in the bonus estimate historically have been immaterial and are recorded in current operations in the period in which they are determined. The performance-related bonus expense was $197.1$409.4 million, $257.3$447.6 million and $220.4$287.3 million for the years ended April 30, 2020, 20192023, 2022 and 2018,2021, respectively, included in compensation and benefits expense in the consolidated statements of income.

F-15

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KORN FERRY AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
April 30, 2023 (continued)
Other expenses included in compensation and benefits expense are due to changes in deferred compensation and pension plan liabilities, changes in cash surrender value (“CSV”) of company-owned life insurance (“COLI”) contracts, amortization of stock basedstock-based compensation awards, commissions, payroll taxes and employee insurance benefits. Unearned compensation on the consolidated balance sheets includes long-term retention awards that are generally amortized over four-to-fivefour-to-five years.

Deferred Compensation and Pension Plans

For financial accounting purposes, the Company estimates the present value of the future benefits payable under the deferred compensation and pension plans as of the estimated payment commencement date. The Company also estimates the remaining number of years a participant will be employed by the Company. Then, each year during the period of estimated employment, the Company accrues a liability and recognizes expense for a portion of the future benefit using the unit credit cost method for the Senior Executive Incentive Plan (“SEIP”), Wealth Accumulation Plan (“WAP”), Enhanced Wealth Accumulation Plan (“EWAP”) and Worldwide Executive Benefit Plan (“WEB”) and the pension plan acquired under Hay Group, while the medical and life insurance plan and Long Term Performance Unit Plan (“LTPU Plan”) uses the projected unit credit cost method. The amounts charged to operations are made up of service and interest costs and the expected return on plan assets. Actuarial gains and losses are initially recorded in accumulated other comprehensive income (loss).loss. The actuarial gains/losses included in accumulated other comprehensive incomeloss are amortized to the consolidated statements of income, if at the beginning of the year, the amount exceeds 10% of the greater of the projected benefit obligation and market-related plan assets. The amortization included in periodic benefit cost is divided by the average remaining service of inactive plan participants, or the period for which benefits will be paid, if shorter. The expected return on plan assets takes into account the current fair value of plan assets and reflects the Company���sCompany’s estimate for trust asset returns given the current asset allocation and any expected changes to the asset allocation and current and future market conditions.

In calculating the accrual for future benefit payments, management has made assumptions regarding employee turnover, participant vesting, violation of non-competition provisions and the discount rate. Management periodically reevaluates all assumptions. If assumptions change in future reporting periods, the changes may impact the measurement and recognition of benefit liabilities and related compensation expense.

Executive Capital Accumulation Plan

The Company, under the ECAP, makes discretionary contributions and such contributions may be granted to key employees annually based on the employee’s performance. Certain key management may also receive Company contributions upon commencement of employment. The Company amortizes these contributions on a straight-line basis as they vest, generally over a four to five-year period. The amounts that are expected to be paid to employees over the next 12 months are classified as a current liability included in compensation and benefits payable in the accompanying consolidated balance sheets.

The ECAP is accounted for whereby the changes in the fair value of the vested amounts owed to the participants are adjusted with a corresponding charge (or credit) to compensation and benefits costs.

Cash Surrender Value of Life Insurance

The Company purchased COLI policies or contracts insuring the lives of certain employees eligible to participate in certain of the deferred compensation and pension plans as a means of funding benefits under such plans. The Company purchased both fixed and variable life insurance contracts and does not purchase “split-dollar” life insurance policy contracts. The Company only holds contracts or policies that provide for a fixed or guaranteed rate of return. The CSV of these COLI contracts are carried at the amounts that would be realized if the contract were surrendered at the balance sheet date, net of the outstanding loans from the insurer. The Company has the intention and ability to continue to hold these COLI policies and contracts. Additionally, the loans secured by the policies do not have any scheduled payment terms and the Company also does not intend to repay the loans outstanding on these policies until death benefits under the policy have been realized. Accordingly, the investment in COLI is classified as long-term in the accompanying consolidated balance sheets.

F-17


 

KORN FERRY AND SUBSIDIARIES

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

April 30, 2020 (continued)

The change in the CSV of COLI contracts, net of insurance premiums paid and gains realized, is reported net in compensation and benefits expense. As of April 30, 20202023 and 2019,2022, the Company held contracts with net CSV of $146.4$198.0 million and $126.0$183.3 million, respectively. If the issuing insurance companies were to become insolvent, the Company would be considered a general creditor; therefore, these assets are subject to credit risk. Management, together with its outside advisors, routinely monitors the claims paying abilities of these insurance companies.

Restructuring Charges, Net

The Company accounts for its restructuring charges as a liability when the obligations are incurred and records such charges at fair value. Changes in the estimates of the restructuring charges are recorded in the period the change is determined.

F-16

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KORN FERRY AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
April 30, 2023 (continued)
Stock-Based Compensation

The Company has employee compensation plans under which various types of stock-based instruments are granted. These instruments principally include restricted stock units, restricted stock and an Employee Stock Purchase Plan (“ESPP”). The Company recognizes compensation expense related to restricted stock units, restricted stock and the estimated fair value of stock purchases under the ESPP on a straight-line basis over the service period for the entire award.

Reclassification
Certain reclassifications have been made to the amounts in the prior periods in order to conform to the current period's presentation.
Translation of Foreign Currencies

Generally, financial results of the Company’s foreign subsidiaries are measured in their local currencies. Assets and liabilities are translated into U.S. dollars at exchange rates in effect at the balance sheet date, while revenue and expenses are translated at weighted-averageusing the daily exchange rates during the fiscal year. Resulting translation adjustments are recorded as a component of accumulated comprehensive income.loss. Gains and losses from foreign currency transactions of the Company’s foreign subsidiaries and the translation of the financial results of subsidiaries operating in highly inflationary economies are included in general and administrative expense in the period incurred. During fiscal 2020, 20192023, 2022 and 2018,2021, the Company recorded foreign currency losses of $4.1$2.0 million, $1.7$1.2 million and $3.3$2.7 million respectively, in general and administrative expenses in the consolidated statements of income.

Income Taxes

There are two components of income tax expense: current and deferred. Current income tax expense (benefit) approximates taxes to be paid or refunded for the current period. Deferred income tax expense (benefit) results from changes in deferred tax assets and liabilities between periods. These gross deferred tax assets and liabilities represent decreases or increases in taxes expected to be paid in the future because of future reversals of temporary differences in the basis of assets and liabilities as measured by tax laws and their basis as reported in the consolidated financial statements. Deferred tax assets are also recognized for tax attributes such as net operating loss carryforwards and tax credit carryforwards. Deferred tax assets and deferred tax liabilities are presented net on the consolidated balance sheets by tax jurisdiction. Valuation allowances are then recorded to reduce deferred tax assets to the amounts management concludes are more likely than not to be realized.

Income tax benefits are recognized and measured based upon a two-step model: (1) a tax position must be more-likely-than-not to be sustained based solely on its technical merits in order to be recognized and (2) the benefit is measured as the largest dollar amount of that position that is more-likely-than-not to be sustained upon settlement. The difference between the benefit recognized for a position and the tax benefit claimed on a tax return is referred to as an unrecognized tax benefit. The Company records income tax-related interest and penalties within income tax expense.

Concentration of Credit Risk

Financial instruments that potentially subject the Company to concentrations of credit risk consist principally of cash, cash equivalents, investments, foreign currency forward contracts, receivables due from clients and net CSV due from insurance companies, which are discussed above. Cash equivalents include investments in money market securities and may include commercial papers and corporate notes/bonds while investments include mutual funds, commercial papers, and corporate notes/bonds.bonds and may include US Treasury and Agency securities. Investments are diversified throughout many industries and geographic regions. The Company maintains its cash and cash equivalents in bank accounts that exceed federally insured FDIC limits. The Company has not experiences any losses in such accounts. The Company conducts periodic reviews of its customers’ financial condition and customer payment practices to minimize collection risk on accounts receivable. AtAs of April 30, 20202023 and 2019,2022, the Company had no other significant credit concentrations.

F-18


 

KORN FERRY AND SUBSIDIARIES

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

April 30, 2020 (continued)

Reclassifications

Certain reclassifications have been made to the amounts in prior periods in order to conform to the current period’s presentation.

Recently Adopted Accounting Standards

In February 2016, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued guidance (Accounting Standard Codification 842 – Leases) on accounting for leases that generally requires all leases to be recognized on the consolidated balance sheet. The guidance is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2018. On July 30, 2018, the FASB issued an amendment that allows entities to apply the provisions at the effective date without adjusting comparative periods. The Company adopted this guidance as of May 1, 2019 using a modified retrospective approach without restatement of comparative periods. As such, periods prior to the date of adoption are presented in accordance with Accounting Standard Codification 840 - Leases. The FASB also issued subsequent related Accounting Standards Updates (“ASUs”), which detail amendments to the ASU, implementation considerations, narrow-scope improvements and practical expedients. The Company elected to apply the group of practical expedients which allows the Company to carry forward its identification of contracts that are or contain leases, its historical lease classification and its initial direct costs for existing leases. The Company has also elected to combine lease and non-lease components for all asset classes and recognize leases with an initial term of 12 months or less on a straight-line basis without recognizing a ROU asset or operating lease liability.

The adoption of this standard had a material impact on the consolidated balance sheet as of May 1, 2019 due to the recognition of ROU assets and operating lease liabilities, but an immaterial impact on the Company’s consolidated statements of income, consolidated statements of comprehensive income, consolidated statements of stockholders’ equity, and consolidated statements of cash flows. Upon adoption the Company recognized total ROU assets of $236.1 million with a corresponding liability of $272.3 million. The ROU asset balance was adjusted by the reclassification of pre-existing prepaid expenses and other assets and deferred rent balances of $5.1 million and $41.3 million, respectively.

In August 2017, the FASB issued guidance amending and simplifying accounting for hedging activities. The guidance refined and expanded strategies that qualify for hedge accounting and simplified the application of hedge accounting in certain situations. The guidance is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2018. The Company adopted this guidance as of May 1, 2019. The adoption of this guidance did not have an impact on the consolidated financial statements.

Recently Proposed Accounting Standards - Not Yet Adopted

In June 2016,October 2021, the FASB issued guidance onan amendment in accounting for measurementcontract assets and contract liabilities from contracts with customers, which clarifies that an acquirer of credit losses on financial Instruments, which amends the impairment model by requiring entities to use a forward-looking approach based on expected losses to estimate credit losses on certain typesbusiness should recognize and measure contract assets and contract liabilities in a business combination in accordance with ASC 606, Revenue from Contracts with Customers. The amendment of financial instruments, including trade receivables. Thethis standard isbecomes effective forin fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2019.2022. The amendment should be applied prospectively to business combinations that occur after the effective date. The Company will adopt this guidance in its fiscal year beginning May 1, 2020.2023. The adoption ofCompany does not anticipate this accounting guidance is not anticipated towill have a material impact on the consolidated financial statements.

In January 2017, the FASB issued guidance simplifying the test for goodwill impairment. The new guidance simplifies the test for goodwill impairment by removing Step 2 from the goodwill impairment test. Companies will now perform the goodwill impairment test by comparing the fair value of a reporting unit with its carrying amount, recognizing an impairment charge for the amount by which the carrying amount exceeds the reporting unit’s fair value not to exceed the total amount of goodwill allocated to that reporting unit. An entity still has the option to perform the qualitative assessment for a reporting unit to determine if the quantitative impairment test is necessary. The amendments of this standard are effective for goodwill impairment tests in fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2019, with early adoption permitted for goodwill impairment tests performed after January 1, 2017. The Company will adopt this guidance in its fiscal year beginning May 1, 2020. The adoption of this guidance is not anticipated to have a material impact on the consolidated financial statements.

F-19

F-17

 

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KORN FERRY AND SUBSIDIARIES

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

April 30, 20202023 (continued)

In August 2018, the FASB issued guidance amending the disclosure requirements for fair value measurements. The amendment removes and modifies disclosures that are currently required and adds additional disclosures that are deemed relevant. The amendments of this standard are effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2019. The Company will adopt this guidance in its fiscal year beginning May 1, 2020.The Company is currently evaluating the impact of adopting this guidance and doesn’t anticipate the guidance to have a material impact on the consolidated financial statements.

In August 2018, the FASB issued guidance amending accounting for internal-use software. The new guidance will align the requirements for capitalizing implementation costs incurred in a hosting arrangement that is a service contract with developing or obtaining internal-use software. The amendments of this standard are effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2019 with early adoption permitted. The Company will adopt this guidance in its fiscal year beginning May 1, 2020. The adoption of this guidance is not anticipated to have a material impact on the consolidated financial statements.

In December 2019, the FASB issued guidance on Simplifying the Accounting for Income Taxes. This update eliminates certain exceptions related to the approach for intra-period tax allocation, the methodology for calculating income taxes in an interim period and the recognition of deferred tax liabilities for outside basis differences. The update also simplifies aspects of the accounting for franchise taxes and enacted changes in tax laws or rates and clarifies the accounting for transactions that result in a step-up in the tax basis of goodwill. The amendments of this standard are effective for fiscal year beginning after December 15, 2020, with early adoption permitted. The Company will adopt this guidance in its fiscal year beginning May 1, 2021. The adoption of this guidance is not anticipated to have a material impact on the consolidated financial statements.

2. Basic and Diluted Earnings Per Share

Accounting Standards Codification

ASC 260, Earnings Per Share, requires companies to treat unvested share-based payment awards that have non-forfeitable rights to dividends prior to vesting as a separate class of securities in calculating earnings per share. The Company has granted and expects to continue to grant to certain employees under its restricted stock agreements, grants that contain non-forfeitable rights to dividends. Such grants are considered participating securities. Therefore, the Company is required to apply the two-class method in calculating earnings per share. The two-class method of computing earnings per share is an earnings allocation formula that determines earnings per share for each class of common stock and participating security according to dividends declared (or accumulated) and participation rights in undistributed earnings. The dilutive effect of participating securities is calculated using the more dilutive of the treasury method or the two-class method.

Basic earnings per common share was computed using the two-class method by dividing basic net earnings attributable to common stockholders by the weighted-average number of common shares outstanding. Diluted earnings per common share was computed using the two-class method by dividing diluted net earnings attributable to common stockholders by the weighted-average number of common shares outstanding plus dilutive common equivalent shares. Dilutive common equivalent shares include all in-the-money outstanding options or other contracts to issue common stock as if they were exercised or converted. Financial instruments that are not in the form of common stock, but when converted into common stock increase earnings per share, are anti-dilutive and are not included in the computation of diluted earnings per share.

During fiscal 2020, 20192023, 2022 and 2018,2021, restricted stock awards of 0.71.2 million shares, 0.61.2 million shares and 0.61.3 million shares, respectively, were outstanding but not included in the computation of diluted earnings per share because they were anti-dilutive.

F-20


 

KORN FERRY AND SUBSIDIARIES

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

April 30, 2020 (continued)

The following table summarizes basic and diluted earnings per common share attributable to common stockholders:

Year Ended April 30,

 

Year Ended April 30,

 

202320222021

 

2020

 

 

2019

 

 

2018

 

 

(in thousands, except per share data)

 

(in thousands, except per share data)

Net income attributable to Korn Ferry

 

$

104,946

 

 

$

102,651

 

 

$

133,779

 

Net income attributable to Korn Ferry$209,529 $326,360 $114,454 

Less: distributed and undistributed earnings to nonvested restricted stockholders

 

 

1,140

 

 

 

1,066

 

 

 

1,426

 

Less: distributed and undistributed earnings to nonvested restricted stockholders4,618 7,343 2,763 

Basic net earnings attributable to common stockholders

 

 

103,806

 

 

 

101,585

 

 

 

132,353

 

Basic net earnings attributable to common stockholders204,911 319,017 111,691 

Add: undistributed earnings to nonvested restricted stockholders

 

 

901

 

 

 

831

 

 

 

1,187

 

Add: undistributed earnings to nonvested restricted stockholders3,912 6,750 2,185 

Less: reallocation of undistributed earnings to nonvested restricted stockholders

 

 

894

 

 

 

820

 

 

 

1,169

 

Less: reallocation of undistributed earnings to nonvested restricted stockholders3,882 6,676 2,165 

Diluted net earnings attributable to common stockholders

 

$

103,813

 

 

$

101,596

 

 

$

132,371

 

Diluted net earnings attributable to common stockholders$204,941 $319,091 $111,711 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Weighted-average common shares outstanding:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Weighted-average common shares outstanding:

Basic weighted-average number of common shares outstanding

 

 

54,342

 

 

 

55,311

 

 

 

55,426

 

Basic weighted-average number of common shares outstanding51,48252,80752,928

Effect of dilutive securities:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Effect of dilutive securities:   

Restricted stock

 

 

367

 

 

 

750

 

 

 

822

 

Restricted stock384580476

ESPP

 

 

58

 

 

 

34

 

 

 

5

 

ESPP17141

Stock options

 

 

 

 

 

1

 

 

 

1

 

Diluted weighted-average number of common shares outstanding

 

 

54,767

 

 

 

56,096

 

 

 

56,254

 

Diluted weighted-average number of common shares outstanding51,88353,40153,405

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net earnings per common share:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net earnings per common share:

Basic earnings per share

 

$

1.91

 

 

$

1.84

 

 

$

2.39

 

Basic earnings per share$3.98 $6.04 $2.11 

Diluted earnings per share

 

$

1.90

 

 

$

1.81

 

 

$

2.35

 

Diluted earnings per share$3.95 $5.98 $2.09 

F-18

korn.jpg
KORN FERRY AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
April 30, 2023 (continued)
3. Comprehensive Income

Comprehensive income is comprised of net income and all changes to stockholders’ equity, except those changes resulting from investments by stockholders (changes in paid-in capital) and distributions to stockholders (dividends) and is reported in the accompanying consolidated statements of comprehensive income. Accumulated other comprehensive income (loss),loss, net of taxes, is recorded as a component of stockholders’ equity.

The components of accumulated other comprehensive income (loss)loss, net were as follows:

April 30,

 

April 30,

 

20232022

 

2020

 

 

2019

 

 

(in thousands)

 

(in thousands)

Foreign currency translation adjustments

 

$

(83,652

)

 

$

(60,270

)

Foreign currency translation adjustments$(96,860)$(92,717)

Deferred compensation and pension plan adjustments, net of taxes

 

��

(23,554

)

 

 

(16,838

)

Deferred compensation and pension plan adjustments, net of taxes4,381 961 

Marketable securities unrealized gain, net of tax

 

 

34

 

 

 

 

Interest rate swap unrealized gain, net of taxes

 

 

 

 

 

456

 

Marketable securities unrealized loss, net of taxMarketable securities unrealized loss, net of tax(285)(429)

Accumulated other comprehensive loss, net

 

$

(107,172

)

 

$

(76,652

)

Accumulated other comprehensive loss, net$(92,764)$(92,185)

F-21


 

KORN FERRY AND SUBSIDIARIES

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

April 30, 2020 (continued)

The following table summarizes the changes in each component of accumulated other comprehensive income (loss):

loss, net:
Foreign
Currency
Translation
Deferred
Compensation
and Pension
Plan (1)
Unrealized Gains
(Losses) on Marketable
Securities (2)
Accumulated
Other
Comprehensive
Loss
(in thousands)
Balance as of May 1, 2020$(83,652)$(23,554)$34 $(107,172)
Unrealized gains (losses) arising during the period49,986 2,660 (53)52,593 
Reclassification of realized net losses to net income— 2,759 — 2,759 
Balance as of April 30, 2021(33,666)(18,135)(19)(51,820)
Unrealized (losses) gains arising during the period(59,051)17,747 (411)(41,715)
Reclassification of realized net losses to net income— 1,349 1,350 
Balance as of April 30, 2022(92,717)961 (429)(92,185)
Unrealized (losses) gains arising during the period(4,143)3,211 144 (788)
Reclassification of realized net losses to net income— 209 — 209 
Balance as of April 30, 2023$(96,860)$4,381 $(285)$(92,764)

 

 

Foreign

Currency

Translation

 

 

Deferred

Compensation

and Pension

Plan (1)

 

 

Unrealized Gain on Marketable Securities

 

 

Unrealized

(Losses)

Gains on

Interest Rate

Swap (2)

 

 

Accumulated

Other

Comprehensive

Income (Loss)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(in thousands)

 

 

 

 

 

Balance as of May 1, 2017

 

$

(55,359

)

 

$

(15,127

)

 

$

 

 

$

(578

)

 

$

(71,064

)

Unrealized gains arising during the period

 

 

22,960

 

 

 

4,813

 

 

 

 

 

 

1,465

 

 

 

29,238

 

Reclassification of realized net losses to net income

 

 

 

 

 

1,241

 

 

 

 

 

 

450

 

 

 

1,691

 

Balance as of April 30, 2018

 

 

(32,399

)

 

 

(9,073

)

 

 

 

 

 

1,337

 

 

 

(40,135

)

Unrealized losses arising during the period

 

 

(27,871

)

 

 

(6,461

)

 

 

 

 

 

(800

)

 

 

(35,132

)

Reclassification of realized net losses (gains) to net income

 

 

 

 

 

1,092

 

 

 

 

 

 

(280

)

 

 

812

 

Effect of adoption of accounting standard

 

 

 

 

 

(2,396

)

 

 

 

 

 

199

 

 

 

(2,197

)

Balance as of April 30, 2019

 

 

(60,270

)

 

 

(16,838

)

 

 

 

 

 

456

 

 

 

(76,652

)

Unrealized (losses) gains arising during the period

 

 

(23,382

)

 

 

(8,883

)

 

 

37

 

 

 

(678

)

 

 

(32,906

)

Reclassification of realized net losses (gains) to net income

 

 

 

 

 

2,167

 

 

 

(3

)

 

 

222

 

 

 

2,386

 

Balance as of April 30, 2020

 

$

(83,652

)

 

$

(23,554

)

 

$

34

 

 

$

 

 

$

(107,172

)

(1)The tax effects on unrealized gains were $1.1 million, $6.0 million and $1.1 million as of April 30, 2023, 2022 and 2021, respectively. The tax effects on reclassifications of realized net losses were $0.1 million, $0.5 million and $1.0 million as of April 30, 2023, 2022 and 2021, respectively.

The tax effects on unrealized (losses) gains were $(3.1) million, $(2.3) million and $2.5 million as of April 30, 2020, 2019 and 2018, respectively. The tax effects on reclassifications of realized net losses were $0.8 million, $0.4 million and $0.8 million as of April 30, 2020, 2019 and 2018, respectively.

(2)The tax effects on unrealized gain (losses) were $0.1 million and $(0.1) million as of April 30, 2023 and 2022, respectively.

The tax effects on unrealized (losses) gains were $(0.2) million, $(0.3) million and $0.8 million as of April 30, 2020, 2019 and 2018, respectively. The tax effect on the reclassification of realized net (losses) gains to net income was $(0.1) million, $0.1 million and $(0.3) million as of April 30, 2020 2019 and 2018, respectively.


F-19

korn.jpg
KORN FERRY AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
April 30, 2023 (continued)
4. Employee Stock Plans

Stock-Based Compensation

The following table summarizes the components of stock-based compensation expense recognized in the Company’s consolidated statements of income for the periods indicated:

 

 

Year Ended April 30,

 

 

 

2020

 

 

2019

 

 

2018

 

 

 

(in thousands)

 

Restricted stock

 

$

21,495

 

 

$

22,063

 

 

$

20,282

 

ESPP

 

 

1,323

 

 

 

1,322

 

 

 

1,187

 

Total stock-based compensation expense, pre-tax

 

 

22,818

 

 

 

23,385

 

 

 

21,469

 

Tax benefit from stock-based compensation expense

 

 

(6,642

)

 

 

(5,155

)

 

 

(7,319

)

Total stock-based compensation expense, net of tax

 

$

16,176

 

 

$

18,230

 

 

$

14,150

 

Year Ended April 30,
202320222021
(in thousands)
Restricted stock$35,433 $28,361 $26,516 
ESPP852 849 641 
Total stock-based compensation expense$36,285 $29,210 $27,157 

Stock Incentive Plan

At the Company’s 20192022 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, held on October 3, 2019,September 22, 2022, the Company’s stockholders approved an amendment and restatement to the Korn Ferry Amended and Restated 20082022 Stock Incentive Plan (the 2019 amendment and restatement being the “Fourth A&R 2008 Plan”"2022 Plan"), which, among other things, eliminated the fungible share counting provision and decreasedincreased the total number of shares of the Company’s common stock available for stock-based awards by 2,141,8071,700,000 shares, leaving 3,600,0002,248,284 shares available for issuance, subject to certain changes in the Company’s capital structure and other extraordinary events. The Fourth A&R 20082022 Plan was also amended to generally requirerequires a minimum one-year vesting for all future awards, and provides for the grant of awards to eligible participants, designated as either nonqualified or incentive stock options, restricted stock and restricted stock units, any of which are market-based, and incentive bonuses, which may be paid in cash or stock or a combination thereof.

F-22


 

KORN FERRY AND SUBSIDIARIES

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

April 30, 2020 (continued)

Restricted Stock

The Company grants time-based restricted stock awards to executive officers and other senior employees that generally vestingvest over a four-year period. In addition, certain key management members typically receive time-based restricted stock awards upon commencement of employment and may receive them annually in conjunction with the Company’s performance review. Time-based restricted stock awards are granted at a price equal to fair value, which is determined based on the closing price of the Company’s common stock on the grant date. The Company recognizes compensation expense for time-based restricted stock awards on a straight-line basis over the vesting period.

The Company also grants market-based and performance-based restricted stock units to executive officers and other senior employees. The market-based units vest after three years depending upon the Company’s total stockholder return over the three-year performance period relative to other companies in its selected peer group. The fair value of these market-based restricted stock units are determined by using extensive market data that is based on historical Company and peer group information. The Company recognizes compensation expense for market-based restricted stock units on a straight-line basis over the vesting period.

Performance-based restricted stock units vest after three years, depending upon the Company meeting certain objectives that are set at the time the restricted stock unit is issued. Performance-based restricted stock units are granted at a price equal to fair value, which is determined based on the closing price of the Company’s common stock on the grant date. At the end of each reporting period, the Company estimates the number of restricted stock units expected to vest, based on the probability that certain performance objectives will be met, exceeded, or fall below target levels, and the Company takes into account these estimates when calculating the expense for the period. As of April 30, 2020 and 2019, 0 performance-based shares were outstanding.

Restricted stock activity is summarized below:

April 30,

 

April 30,

 

202320222021

 

2020

 

 

2019

 

 

2018

 

SharesWeighted-
Average
Grant Date
Fair Value
SharesWeighted-
Average
Grant Date
Fair Value
SharesWeighted-
Average
Grant Date
Fair Value

 

Shares

 

 

Weighted-

Average

Grant Date

Fair Value

 

 

Shares

 

 

Weighted-

Average

Grant Date

Fair Value

 

 

Shares

 

 

Weighted-

Average

Grant Date

Fair Value

 

 

(in thousands, except per share data)

 

(in thousands, except per share data)

Non-vested, beginning of year

 

 

1,460

 

 

$

38.42

 

 

 

1,730

 

 

$

33.45

 

 

 

1,581

 

 

$

29.74

 

Non-vested, beginning of year1,980$40.32 2,370$34.34 1,365$44.59 

Granted

 

 

608

 

 

$

38.38

 

 

 

671

 

 

$

40.93

 

 

 

650

 

 

$

37.60

 

Granted1,143$49.12 483$65.05 1,606$27.63 

Vested

 

 

(638

)

 

$

25.42

 

 

 

(904

)

 

$

36.41

 

 

 

(431

)

 

$

26.13

 

Vested(1,006)$37.72 (821)$43.76 (516)$39.78 

Forfeited

 

 

(65

)

 

$

33.48

 

 

 

(37

)

 

$

32.26

 

 

 

(70

)

 

$

33.26

 

Forfeited(54)$52.58 (52)$34.30 (85)$22.35 

Non-vested, end of year

 

 

1,365

 

 

$

44.59

 

 

 

1,460

 

 

$

38.42

 

 

 

1,730

 

 

$

33.45

 

Non-vested, end of year2,063$50.12 1,980$40.32 2,370$34.34 

As of April 30, 2020,2023, there were 0.50.4 million shares outstanding relating to market-based restricted stock units with total unrecognized compensation totaling $10.5$17.7 million.

F-20

korn.jpg
KORN FERRY AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
April 30, 2023 (continued)
As of April 30, 2020,2023, there was $34.7$69.8 million of total unrecognized compensation cost related to all non-vested awards of restricted stock, which is expected to be recognized over a weighted-average period of 2.32.4 years. During fiscal 20202023 and 2019, 232,6182022, 372,556 shares and 356,879271,794 shares of restricted stock totaling $9.0totalling $22.2 million and $20.7$18.5 million, respectively, were repurchased by the Company, at the option of the employee, to pay for taxes related to the vesting of restricted stock.

Employee Stock Purchase Plan

The Company has an ESPP that, in accordance with Section 423 of the Internal Revenue Code, allows eligible employees to authorize payroll deductions of up to 15% of their salary to purchase shares of the Company’s common stock atstock. On June 3, 2020, the Company amended the plan so that the purchase price of the shares purchased could not be less than 85% or more than 100% of the fair market price of the common stock on the last day of the enrollment period. This amendment became effective July 1, 2020. At the Company's 2022 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, held on September 22, 2022, the Company's stockholders approved the Korn Ferry Amended and Restated Employee Stock Purchase Plan, which, among other things, increased the total number of shares of the Company's common stock that may be purchased thereunder by 1,500,000 shares. Employees may not purchase more than $25,000 in stock during any calendar year. The maximum number of shares that may be issued under the ESPP is 3.04.5 million shares. During fiscal 2020, 2019,2023, 2022, and 2018,2021, employees purchased 220,161154,720 shares at $34.90an average price of $49.16 per share, 169,299103,826 shares at $42.05an average price of $66.64 per share and 198,749188,608 shares at $31.77an average price of $30.25 per share, respectively. As of April 30, 2020,2023, the ESPP had approximately 0.71.8 million shares remaining available for future issuance.

F-23


 

KORN FERRY AND SUBSIDIARIES

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

April 30, 2020 (continued)

Common Stock

During fiscal 2020, there were 0 stock options exercised. During fiscal 20192023, 2022 and 2018, the Company issued 6,720 shares and 41,075 shares of common stock, respectively, because of the exercise of stock options, with cash proceeds from the exercise of $0.2 million and $0.6 million, respectively.

During fiscal 2020, 2019 and 2018,2021, the Company repurchased (on the open market or privately negotiated transactions) 2,606,8611,709,867 shares 809,074 shares and 984,079 shares, respectively, of the Company’s common stock for $92.4$93.9 million, $37.41,470,983 shares for $98.8 million and $33.1973,451 shares for $30.4 million, respectively.

5. Financial Instruments

The following tables show the Company’s financial instruments and balance sheet classification as of April 30, 20202023 and 2019:

2022:
April 30, 2023

 

April 30, 2020

 

Fair Value MeasurementBalance Sheet Classification

 

Fair Value Measurement

 

 

Balance Sheet Classification

 

CostUnrealized
Gains
Unrealized
Losses
Fair
Value
Cash and
Cash
Equivalents
Marketable
Securities,
Current
Marketable
Securities,
Non-current
Income Taxes & Other
Receivables

 

Cost

 

 

Unrealized

Gains

 

 

Unrealized

Losses

 

 

Fair

Value

 

 

Cash and

Cash

Equivalents

 

 

Marketable

Securities,

Current

 

 

Marketable

Securities,

Non-current

 

 

Income

Taxes &

Other

Receivables

 

 

(in thousands)

 

(in thousands)

Changes in Fair Value Recorded in

Changes in Fair Value Recorded in

 

Changes in Fair Value Recorded in

Other Comprehensive Income

 

Other Comprehensive LossOther Comprehensive Loss

Level 2:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Level 2:

Commercial paper

 

$

19,132

 

 

$

39

 

 

$

 

 

$

19,171

 

 

$

4,785

 

 

$

14,386

 

 

$

 

 

$

 

Commercial paper$11,751 $— $(30)$11,721 $— $11,721 $— $— 

Corporate notes/bonds

 

 

19,181

 

 

 

26

 

 

 

(19

)

 

 

19,188

 

 

 

901

 

 

 

18,287

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Corporate notes/bonds24,754 — (355)24,399 — 21,492 2,907 — 

Total debt investments

 

$

38,313

 

 

$

65

 

 

$

(19

)

 

$

38,359

 

 

$

5,686

 

 

$

32,673

 

 

$

 

 

$

 

Total debt investments$36,505 $— $(385)$36,120 $— $33,213 $2,907 $— 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Changes in Fair Value Recorded in

Changes in Fair Value Recorded in

 

Changes in Fair Value Recorded in

Net Income

Net Income

 

Net Income

Level 1:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Level 1:

Mutual funds (1)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

$

141,412

 

 

$

 

 

$

9,278

 

 

$

132,134

 

 

$

 

Mutual funds (1)
$187,757 $— $11,624 $176,133 $— 

Total equity investments

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

$

141,412

 

 

$

 

 

$

9,278

 

 

$

132,134

 

 

$

 

Total equity investments$187,757 $— $11,624 $176,133 $— 

Cash

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

$

611,795

 

 

$

611,795

 

 

$

 

 

$

 

 

$

 

Cash$696,180 $696,180 $— $— $— 

Money market funds

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

71,763

 

 

 

71,763

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Money market funds147,844 147,844 — — — 

Level 2:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Level 2:     

Foreign currency forward contracts

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2,634

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2,634

 

Foreign currency forward contracts2,133 — — — 2,133 

Total

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

$

865,963

 

 

$

689,244

 

 

$

41,951

 

 

$

132,134

 

 

$

2,634

 

Total$1,070,034 $844,024 $44,837 $179,040 $2,133 

F-24

F-21

 

korn.jpg
KORN FERRY AND SUBSIDIARIES

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

April 30, 20202023 (continued)

April 30, 2022
Fair Value MeasurementBalance Sheet Classification
CostUnrealized
Gains
Unrealized
Losses
Fair
Value
Cash and
Cash
Equivalents
Marketable
Securities,
Current
Marketable
Securities,
Non-current
Other Accrued
Liabilities
(in thousands)
Changes in Fair Value Recorded in
Other Comprehensive Loss
Level 2:
Commercial paper$41,627 $— $(126)$41,501 $15,489 $26,012 $— $— 
Corporate notes/bonds37,736 — (450)37,286 — 20,242 17,044 — 
U.S. Treasury and Agency Securities995 — (8)987 — 987 — — 
Total debt investments$80,358 $— $(584)$79,774 $15,489 $47,241 $17,044 $— 
Changes in Fair Value Recorded in
Net Income
Level 1:
Mutual funds (1)
$168,742 $— $10,003 $158,739 $— 
Total equity investments$168,742 $— $10,003 $158,739 $— 
Cash$874,490 $874,490 $— $— $— 
Money market funds88,091 88,091 — — — 
Level 2:
Foreign currency forward contracts(204)— — — (204)
Total$1,210,893 $978,070 $57,244 $175,783 $(204)

 

 

April 30, 2019

 

 

 

Fair Value Measurement

 

 

Balance Sheet Classification

 

 

 

Cost

 

 

Unrealized

Gains

 

 

Unrealized

Losses

 

 

Fair

Value

 

 

Cash and

Cash

Equivalents

 

 

Marketable

Securities,

Current

 

 

Marketable

Securities,

Non-

current

 

 

Income

Taxes &

Other

Receivables

 

 

 

(in thousands)

 

Changes in Fair Value Recorded in

 

Other Comprehensive Income

 

Level 2:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Interest rate swap

 

$

 

 

$

619

 

 

$

 

 

$

619

 

 

$

 

 

$

 

 

$

 

 

$

619

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Changes in Fair Value Recorded in

 

Net Income

 

Level 1:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mutual funds (1)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

$

140,751

 

 

$

 

 

$

8,288

 

 

$

132,463

 

 

$

 

Total equity investments

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

$

140,751

 

 

$

 

 

$

8,288

 

 

$

132,463

 

 

$

 

Cash

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

$

579,998

 

 

$

579,998

 

 

$

 

 

$

 

 

$

 

Money market funds

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

46,362

 

 

 

46,362

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Level 2:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Foreign currency forward contracts

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

99

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

99

 

Total

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

$

767,829

 

 

$

626,360

 

 

$

8,288

 

 

$

132,463

 

 

$

718

 

(1)These investments are held in trust for settlement of the Company’s vested obligations of $172.2 million and $160.8 million as of April 30, 2023 and 2022, respectively, under the ECAP (see Note 6 — Deferred Compensation and Retirement Plans). Unvested obligations under the deferred compensation plans totaled $21.9 million and $24.0 million as of April 30, 2023 and 2022, respectively. During fiscal 2023 and 2021, the fair value of the investments increased; therefore, the Company recognized income of $2.9 million and $38.5 million, respectively, which was recorded in other income (loss), net. During fiscal 2022, the fair value of the investments decreased; therefore, the Company recognized a loss of $12.0 million which was recorded in other income (loss), net.

(1)

These investments are held in trust for settlement of the Company’s vested obligations of $124.6 million and $122.3 million as of April 30, 2020 and 2019, respectively, under the ECAP (see Note 6 — Deferred Compensation and Retirement Plans). Unvested obligations under the deferred compensation plans totaled $21.7 million and $24.6 million as of April 30, 2020 and 2019, respectively. During fiscal 2020, the fair value of the investments decreased; therefore, the Company recognized loss of $1.8 million, which was recorded in other (loss) income, net. During fiscal 2019 and 2018, the fair value of the investments increased; therefore, the Company recognized income of $8.1 million, and $10.3 million, respectively, which was recorded in other (loss) income, net.

Investments in marketable securities classified as available-for-sale securities are made based on the Company’s investment policy, which restricts the types of investments that can be made. As of April 30, 2020,2023 and 2022 marketable securities classified as available-for-sale consisted of commercial paper and corporate notes/bonds, and also included US Treasury and Agency securities as of April 30, 2022, for which market prices for similar assets are readily available. Investments that have an original maturity of 90 days or less and are considered highly liquid investments are classified as cash equivalents. As of April 30, 2020,2023, available-for-sale marketable securities had remaining maturities ranging from one1 month to twelve13 months. During fiscal 2020,2023, 2022 and 2021, there were $4.8$58.6 million, $79.3 million and $60.6 million in sales/maturities of available-for-sale marketable securities.securities, respectively. Investments in marketable securities that are held in trust for settlement of the Company’s vested obligations under the ECAP are equity securities and are based upon the investment selections the employee elects from a pre-determined set of securities in the ECAP and the Company invests in equity securities to mirror these elections. As of April 30, 20202023 and 2019,2022, the Company’s investments in equity securities consisted of mutual funds for which market prices are readily available. Unrealized losslosses that relatesrelate to equity securities still held as of April 30, 20202023 and 20192022, was $8.2$3.8 million and $4.7$27.3 million, respectively. Unrealizedrespectively, while unrealized gains that relatesrelate to equity securities still held as of April 30, 20182021, was $3.9$32.7 million.

Designated Derivatives - Interest Rate Swap Agreement

In March 2017, the Company entered into an interest rate swap contract with a notional amount of $129.8 million to hedge the variability to changes in cash flows attributable to interest rate risks caused by changes in interest rates related to its variable rate debt. The interest rate swap agreement locked the interest rates on a portion of the debt outstanding at 1.919%, exclusive of the credit spread on the debt. The Company designated the swap as a cash flow hedge. On December 16, 2019, in conjunction with the payoff of the credit facility, the Company terminated the interest rate swap and recorded $0.5 million in interest expense, net.

F-25

F-22

 

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KORN FERRY AND SUBSIDIARIES

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

April 30, 20202023 (continued)

The fair value of the derivative designated as a cash flow hedge instrument is as follows:

 

 

April 30,

 

 

 

2020

 

 

2019

 

 

 

(in thousands)

 

Derivative asset:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Interest rate swap contract

 

$

 

 

$

619

 

During fiscal 2020, 2019 and 2018, the Company recognized the following gains and losses on the interest rate swap:

 

 

Year Ended April 30,

 

 

 

2020

 

 

2019

 

 

2018

 

 

 

(in thousands)

 

(Losses) gains recognized in other comprehensive income (net of tax effects of $(238), $(281), and $828, respectively)

 

$

(678

)

 

$

(800

)

 

$

1,465

 

(Losses) gains reclassified from accumulated other comprehensive income into interest (expense) income, net

 

$

(297

)

 

$

376

 

 

$

(730

)

The cash flows related to interest rate swap contracts are included in net cash provided by operating activities.

Foreign Currency Forward Contracts Not Designated as Hedges

The fair value of derivatives not designated as hedge instruments are as follows:

April 30,

 

April 30,

 

20232022

 

2020

 

 

2019

 

 

(in thousands)

 

(in thousands)

Derivative assets:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Derivative assets:

Foreign currency forward contracts

 

$

3,034

 

 

$

821

 

Foreign currency forward contracts$2,813 $1,639 

Derivative liabilities:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Derivative liabilities:

Foreign currency forward contracts

 

$

400

 

 

$

722

 

Foreign currency forward contracts$680 $1,843 

As of April 30, 2020,2023, the total notional amounts of the forward contracts purchased and sold were $91.2$112.7 million and $41.8$41.1 million, respectively. As of April 30, 2019,2022, the total notional amounts of the forward contracts purchased and sold were $51.4$89.7 million and $40.0$35.8 million, respectively. The Company recognizes forward contracts as a net asset or net liability on the consolidated balance sheets as such contracts are covered by master netting agreements. During fiscal 20202023 and 2018,2021, the Company incurred lossesgains of $0.3$2.1 million and $3.7$2.7 million, respectively, related to forward contracts which is recorded in general and administrative expenses in the accompanying consolidated statements of income. These foreign currency losses offset foreign currency gains that result from transactions denominated in a currency other than the Company’s functional currency. During fiscal 2019,2022, the Company incurred gainslosses of $1.2$0.2 million, related to forward contracts which is recorded in general and administrative expenses in the accompanying consolidated statements of income. These foreign currency gainsgains/losses offset foreign currency losseslosses/gains that result from transactions denominated in a currency other than the Company’s functional currency. The cash flows related to foreign currency forward contracts are included in cash flows from operating activities.

6. Deferred Compensation and Retirement Plans

The Company has several deferred compensation and retirement plans for eligible consultants and vice presidents that provide defined benefits to participants based on the deferral of current compensation or contributions made by the Company subject to vesting and retirement or termination provisions.

F-26


 

KORN FERRY AND SUBSIDIARIES

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

April 30, 2020 (continued)

The total benefit obligations for these plans were as follows:

Year Ended April 30,
20232022
(in thousands)
Deferred compensation and pension plans$227,255 $189,608 
Medical and Life Insurance plan4,838 5,365 
International retirement plans13,617 14,395 
Executive Capital Accumulation Plan178,043 166,723 
Total benefit obligation423,753 376,091 
Less: current portion of benefit obligation (1)
(27,219)(18,916)
Non-current benefit obligation$396,534 $357,175 

 

 

Year Ended April 30,

 

 

 

2020

 

 

2019

 

 

 

(in thousands)

 

Deferred compensation and pension plans

 

$

156,586

 

 

$

123,238

 

Medical and Life Insurance plan

 

 

7,527

 

 

 

7,310

 

International retirement plans

 

 

14,851

 

 

 

14,744

 

Executive Capital Accumulation Plan

 

 

129,315

 

 

 

130,161

 

Total benefit obligation

 

 

308,279

 

 

 

275,453

 

Less: current portion of benefit obligation

 

 

(19,143

)

 

 

(17,818

)

Non-current benefit obligation

 

$

289,136

 

 

$

257,635

 

(1)Current portion of benefit obligation is included in Compensation and benefits payable in the consolidated balance sheet.

Deferred Compensation and Pension Plans

The EWAP was established in fiscal 1994, which replaced the WAP. Certain vice presidents elected to participate in a “deferral unit” that required the participant to contribute a portion of their compensation for an eight year period, or in some cases, make an after-tax contribution, in return for defined benefit payments from the Company over a fifteen year period at retirement age of 65 or later. Participants were able to acquire additional “deferral units” every five years. Vice presidents who did not choose to roll over their WAP units into the EWAP continue to be covered under the earlier version in which participants generally vest and commence receipt of benefit payments at retirement age of 65. In June 2003, the Company amended the EWAP and WAP, so as not to allow new participants or the purchase of additional deferral units by existing participants.

F-23

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KORN FERRY AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
April 30, 2023 (continued)
In conjunction with the acquisition of Hay Group, the Company acquired multiple pension and savings plans covering certain of its employees worldwide. Among these plans is a defined benefit pension plan for certain employees in the U.S. The assets of this plan are held separately from the assets of the sponsors in self-administered funds. The plan is funded consistent with local statutory requirements. In response to the impact of COVID-19, the Company will take advantage of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (the “CARES Act’). Under the CARES Act, minimum required contributions for Hay qualified pension plans, including quarterly contributions, that are otherwise due during calendar year 2020 are instead deferred until January 1, 2021.

On July 8, 2016, the Company established the LTPU Plan in order to promote the success of the Company by providing a select group of management and highly compensated employees with nonqualified supplemental retirement benefits as an additional means to attract, motivate and retain such employees. A unit award has a base value of either $25,000 or $50,000 for the purpose of determining the payment that would be made upon early termination for a partially vested unit award. The units vest 25% on each anniversary date with the unit becoming fully vested on the fourth anniversary of the grant date, subject to the participant’s continued service as of each anniversary date. Each vested unit award will pay out an annual benefit of either $12,500 or $25,000 for each of five years commencing on the seventh anniversary of the grant date.

F-27


 

KORN FERRY AND SUBSIDIARIES

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

April 30, 2020 (continued)

Deferred Compensation and Pension Plans

The following tables reconcile the benefit obligation for the deferred compensation and pension plans:

Year Ended April 30,
20232022
(in thousands)
Change in benefit obligation:
Benefit obligation, beginning of year$211,598 $205,740 
Service cost40,843 37,952 
Interest cost9,511 4,028 
Actuarial gain(6,083)(25,757)
Administrative expenses paid(168)(196)
Benefits paid from plan assets(1,901)(2,543)
Benefits paid from cash(7,460)(7,626)
Benefit obligation, end of year246,340 211,598 
Change in fair value of plan assets:
Fair value of plan assets, beginning of year21,990 26,746 
Actual return on plan assets(836)(2,113)
Benefits paid from plan assets(1,901)(2,543)
Administrative expenses paid(168)(196)
Employer contributions— 96 
Fair value of plan assets, end of year19,085 21,990 
Funded status and balance, end of year (1)
$(227,255)$(189,608)
Current liability$15,447 $8,833 
Non-current liability211,808 180,775 
Total liability$227,255 $189,608 
Plan Assets - weighted-average asset allocation:
Debt securities44 %42 %
Equity securities52 %55 %
Other%%
Total100 %100 %

 

 

Year Ended April 30,

 

 

 

2020

 

 

2019

 

 

 

(in thousands)

 

Change in benefit obligation:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Benefit obligation, beginning of year

 

$

148,369

 

 

$

126,494

 

Service cost

 

 

24,939

 

 

 

17,281

 

Interest cost

 

 

5,433

 

 

 

5,044

 

Actuarial loss

 

 

13,427

 

 

 

7,803

 

Administrative expenses paid

 

 

(155

)

 

 

(272

)

Benefits paid from plan assets (1)

 

 

(3,932

)

 

 

(1,877

)

Benefits paid from cash

 

 

(6,652

)

 

 

(6,104

)

Plan amendment

 

 

(608

)

 

 

 

Benefit obligation, end of year

 

 

180,821

 

 

 

148,369

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Change in fair value of plan assets:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fair value of plan assets, beginning of year

 

 

25,131

 

 

 

26,090

 

Actual return on plan assets

 

 

2,726

 

 

 

1,160

 

Benefits paid from plan assets (1)

 

 

(3,932

)

 

 

(1,877

)

Administrative expenses paid

 

 

(155

)

 

 

(272

)

Employer contributions

 

 

465

 

 

 

30

 

Fair value of plan assets, end of year

 

 

24,235

 

 

 

25,131

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Funded status and balance, end of year (2)

 

$

(156,586

)

 

$

(123,238

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Current liability

 

$

8,887

 

 

$

8,331

 

Non-current liability

 

 

147,699

 

 

 

114,907

 

Total liability

 

$

156,586

 

 

$

123,238

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Plan Assets - weighted-average asset allocation:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Debt securities

 

 

43

%

 

 

54

%

Equity securities

 

 

56

%

 

 

45

%

Other

 

 

1

%

 

 

1

%

Total

 

 

100

%

 

 

100

%

(1)The Company purchased COLI contracts insuring the lives of certain employees eligible to participate in the deferred compensation and pension plans as a means of funding benefits under such plans. As the COLI contracts are held in trust and are not separated from

The Company amended the Hay Group qualified plan in fiscal 2020 to allow participants that have yet not received benefits to elect a lump-sum payment rather than an annuity payment.  As a result of this plan amendment the benefits paid from plan assets include $2.0 million in payments related to participants making this election. The plan amendment also reduced the Company’s benefit obligation by $0.6 million against other comprehensive income.

(2)

The Company purchased COLI contracts insuring the lives of certain employees eligible to participate in the deferred compensation and pension plans as a means of funding benefits under such plans. As of April 30, 2020 and 2019, the Company held contracts with gross CSV of $238.7 million and $219.2 million, offset by outstanding policy loans of $92.3 million and $93.2 million, respectively.

F-24

F-28


 

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KORN FERRY AND SUBSIDIARIES

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

April 30, 20202023 (continued)

Significant changes affecting

our general corporate assets, they are not included in the funded status. As of April 30, 2023 and 2022, the Company held contracts with gross CSV of $275.1 million and $263.2 million, offset by outstanding policy loans of $77.1 million and $79.8 million, respectively.
The pension obligation in fiscal 2023 increased compared to fiscal 2022 due to the ongoing accruals for the LTPU Plan for additional awards issued in fiscal 2023. Additionally, the actual return on plan assets was lower than the expected return and this caused our funded position to decrease. The increase in pension benefit obligations in fiscal 2020 compared to fiscal 2019 primarily included actuarial loss in 2020 due to a decrease in discount rates,was partially offset by the actuarial gain which was primarily due to an update of census data and changeincrease in the mortality assumption that affect the assumptions used to value liabilities. The mortality assumption reflects a change from the use of the MP-2018 improvement scale to MP-2019 improvement scale, a change from RP-2006 base mortality table to Pri-2012 base mortality, and a change from the use of “top quartile” to white-collar base tables for some of our plans.discount rates. The fair value measurements of the defined benefit plan assets fall within the following levels of the fair value hierarchy as of April 30, 20202023 and 2019:

2022:

 

Level 1

 

 

Level 2

 

 

Level 3

 

 

Total

 

 

(in thousands)

 

Level 1Level 2Level 3Total

April 30, 2020:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(in thousands)
April 30, 2023:April 30, 2023:

Mutual funds

 

$

 

 

$

24,041

 

 

$

 

 

$

24,041

 

Mutual funds$— $18,350 $— $18,350 

Money market funds

 

 

194

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

194

 

Money market funds735 — — 735 

Total

 

$

194

 

 

$

24,041

 

 

$

 

 

$

24,235

 

Total$735 $18,350 $— $19,085 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

April 30, 2019:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

April 30, 2022:April 30, 2022:

Mutual funds

 

$

 

 

$

24,931

 

 

$

 

 

$

24,931

 

Mutual funds$— $21,353 $— $21,353 

Money market funds

 

 

200

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

200

 

Money market funds637 — — 637 

Total

 

$

200

 

 

$

24,931

 

 

$

 

 

$

25,131

 

Total$637 $21,353 $— $21,990 

Plan assets are invested in various asset classes that are expected to produce a sufficient level of diversification and investment return over the long term. The investment goal is a return on assets that is at least equal to the assumed actuarial rate of return over the long term within reasonable and prudent levels of risk. Investment policies reflect the unique circumstances of the respective plans and include requirements designed to mitigate risk including quality and diversification standards. Asset allocation targets are reviewed periodically with investment advisors to determine the appropriate investment strategies for acceptable risk levels. Our target allocation ranges are as follows: equity securities 50%40% to 60%, and debt securities 35%40% to 45% and other assets of 1% to 11%60%. We establish our estimated long‑term return on plan assets considering various factors, including the targeted asset allocation percentages, historic returns and expected future returns.

The components of net periodic benefits costs are as follows:

Year Ended April 30,
202320222021
(in thousands)
Service cost$40,843 $37,952 $31,947 
Interest cost9,511 4,028 4,035 
Amortization of actuarial loss945 2,170 4,117 
Net prior service credit amortization(97)(97)(97)
Expected return on plan assets(1,156)(1,554)(1,404)
Net periodic benefit cost (1)
$50,046 $42,499 $38,598 

 

 

Year Ended April 30,

 

 

 

2020

 

 

2019

 

 

2018

 

 

 

(in thousands)

 

Service cost

 

$

24,939

 

 

$

17,281

 

 

$

11,373

 

Interest cost

 

 

5,433

 

 

 

5,044

 

 

 

3,787

 

Amortization of actuarial loss

 

 

3,261

 

 

 

1,798

 

 

 

2,308

 

Net prior service credit amortization

 

 

(24

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Expected return on plan assets

 

 

(1,452

)

 

 

(1,568

)

 

 

(1,594

)

Net periodic benefit cost (1)

 

$

32,157

 

 

$

22,555

 

 

$

15,874

 

(1)The service cost, interest cost and other components of net periodic benefit costs are included in compensation and benefits expense, interest expense, net and other income (loss), net, respectively, on the consolidated statements of income.

(1)

The service cost, interest cost and other components of net periodic benefit costs are included in compensation and benefits expense, interest expense, net and other (loss) income, net, respectively, on the consolidated statements of income.

F-25


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KORN FERRY AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
April 30, 2023 (continued)
The weighted-average assumptions used in calculating the benefit obligations were as follows:

 

Year Ended April 30,

 

Year Ended April 30,

 

2020

 

 

2019

 

 

2018

 

202320222021

Discount rate, beginning of year

 

 

3.57

%

 

 

3.93

%

 

 

3.57

%

Discount rate, beginning of year4.08 %2.17 %2.29 %

Discount rate, end of year

 

 

2.29

%

 

 

3.57

%

 

 

3.93

%

Discount rate, end of year4.77 %4.08 %2.17 %

Rate of compensation increase

 

 

0.00

%

 

 

0.00

%

 

 

0.00

%

Rate of compensation increase0.00 %0.00 %0.00 %

Expected long-term rates of return on plan assets

 

 

6.00

%

 

 

6.00

%

 

 

6.25

%

Expected long-term rates of return on plan assets6.00 %5.50 %6.00 %

F-29


 

KORN FERRY AND SUBSIDIARIES

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

April 30, 2020 (continued)

Benefit payments, which reflect expected future service, as appropriate, are expected to be paid over the next ten years as follows:

Year Ending April 30,

 

Deferred Retirement Plans

 

 

 

(in thousands)

 

2021

 

$

11,208

 

2022

 

 

10,788

 

2023

 

 

9,934

 

2024

 

 

14,801

 

2025

 

 

25,058

 

2026-2030

 

 

196,477

 

Year Ending April 30,Deferred Retirement Plans
(in thousands)
2024$17,219 
202526,151 
202634,713 
202743,306 
202852,563 
2029-2033237,542 

Medical and Life Insurance Plan

In conjunction with the acquisition of Hay Group, the Company inherited a benefit plan which offers medical and life insurance coverage to 125107 participants. The medical and life insurance benefit plan is closed to new entrants and is unfunded.

The following table reconciles the benefit obligation for the medical and life insurance plan:

Year End April 30,

 

Year End April 30,

 

20232022

 

2020

 

 

2019

 

 

(in thousands)

 

(in thousands)

Change in benefit obligation:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Change in benefit obligation:

Benefit obligation, beginning of year

 

$

7,310

 

 

$

7,157

 

Benefit obligation, beginning of year$5,365 $6,584 

Interest cost

 

 

227

 

 

 

243

 

Interest cost195 110 

Actuarial loss

 

 

458

 

 

 

520

 

Actuarial gainActuarial gain(93)(857)

Benefits paid

 

 

(468

)

 

 

(610

)

Benefits paid(629)(472)

Benefit obligation, end of year

 

$

7,527

 

 

$

7,310

 

Benefit obligation, end of year$4,838 $5,365 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Current liability

 

$

666

 

 

$

643

 

Current liability$563 $585 

Non-current liability

 

 

6,861

 

 

 

6,667

 

Non-current liability4,275 4,780 

Total liability

 

$

7,527

 

 

$

7,310

 

Total liability$4,838 $5,365 

F-26

korn.jpg
KORN FERRY AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
April 30, 2023 (continued)
The components of net periodic benefits costs are as follows:

Year Ended April 30,
202320222021
(in thousands)
Service cost$— $— $— 
Interest cost195 110 140 
Net periodic service credit amortization(308)(308)(308)
Amortization of actuarial gain(74)— — 
Net periodic benefit cost (1)
$(187)$(198)$(168)

 

 

Year Ended April 30,

 

 

 

2020

 

 

2019

 

 

2018

 

 

 

(in thousands)

 

Service cost

 

$

 

 

$

 

 

$

91

 

Interest cost

 

 

227

 

 

 

243

 

 

 

369

 

Net periodic service credit amortization

 

 

(308

)

 

 

(308

)

 

 

(308

)

Amortization of actuarial gain

 

 

 

 

 

(14

)

 

 

 

Net periodic benefit cost (1)

 

$

(81

)

 

$

(79

)

 

$

152

 

(1)The service cost, interest cost and the other components of net periodic benefit costs are included in compensation and benefits expense, interest expense, net and other income (loss), net, respectively, on the consolidated statements of income.

(1)

The service cost, interest cost and the other components of net periodic benefit costs are included in compensation and benefits expense, interest expense, net and other income (loss), net, respectively, on the consolidated statements of income.

The weighted-average assumptions used in calculating the medical and life insurance plan were as follows:

 

Year Ended April 30,

 

Year Ended April 30,

 

2020

 

 

2019

 

 

2018

 

202320222021

Discount rate, beginning of year

 

 

3.67

%

 

 

3.94

%

 

 

3.75

%

Discount rate, beginning of year4.25 %2.54 %2.45 %

Discount rate, end of year

 

 

2.45

%

 

 

3.67

%

 

 

3.94

%

Discount rate, end of year4.85 %4.25 %2.54 %

Healthcare care cost trend rate

 

 

6.50

%

 

 

6.50

%

 

 

7.00

%

Healthcare care cost trend rate6.50 %6.00 %6.25 %

F-30


 

KORN FERRY AND SUBSIDIARIES

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

April 30, 2020 (continued)

Benefit payments, which reflect expected future service, as appropriate, are expected to be paid over the next ten years as follows:

Year Ending April 30,

 

Medical and Life Insurance

 

 

 

(in thousands)

 

2021

 

$

669

 

2022

 

 

652

 

2023

 

 

631

 

2024

 

 

608

 

2025

 

 

579

 

2026-2030

 

 

2,390

 

Year Ending April 30,Medical and Life Insurance
(in thousands)
2024$577 
2025551 
2026525 
2027486 
2028450 
2029-20331,869 

International Retirement Plans

The Company also maintains various retirement plans and other miscellaneous deferred compensation arrangements in 2325 foreign jurisdictions. The aggregate of the long-term benefit obligation accrued at April 30, 20202023 and 20192022 is $14.9$13.6 million for 2,9914,058 participants and $14.7$14.4 million for 2,7773,568 participants, respectively. The Company’s contribution to these plans was $14.4$16.4 million and $13.3$14.8 million in fiscal 20202023 and 2019,2022, respectively.

Executive Capital Accumulation Plan

The Company’s ECAP is intended to provide certain employees an opportunity to defer their salary and/or bonus on a pre-tax basis. In addition, the Company, as part of its compensation philosophy, makes discretionary contributions into the ECAP and such contributions may be granted to key employees annually based on the employee’s performance. Certain key management may also receive Company ECAP contributions upon commencement of employment. The Company amortizes these contributions on a straight-line basis over the service period, generally a four-to-fivefive year period. Participants have the ability to allocate their deferrals among a number of investment options and may receive their benefits at termination, retirement or ‘in service’ either in a lump sum or in quarterly installments over one-to-15one-to-15 years. The ECAP amounts that are expected to be paid to employees over the next 12 months are classified as a current liability included in compensation and benefits payable on the accompanying consolidated balance sheets.

F-27

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KORN FERRY AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
April 30, 2023 (continued)
The Company issued ECAP awards during fiscal 2020, 20192023, 2022 and 20182021 of $9.0$6.5 million, $8.5$7.5 million and $6.2$8.2 million, respectively.

The ECAP is accounted for whereby the changes in the fair value of the vested amounts owed to the participants are adjusted with a corresponding charge (or credit) to compensation and benefits costs. During both fiscal 2020,2023 and 2021, the deferred compensation liability increased; therefore, the Company recognized a compensation expense of $3.5 million and $37.3 million, respectively. Offsetting the increase in compensation and benefits expense in fiscal 2023 and 2021 was an increase in the fair value of marketable securities (held in trust to satisfy obligations of the ECAP liabilities) of $2.9 million and $38.5 million in fiscal 2023 and 2021, respectively, recorded in other income (loss), net on the consolidated statements of income. During fiscal 2022, deferred compensation liability decreased; therefore, the Company recognized a reduction in compensation expense of $0.8$10.6 million. During both fiscal 2019 and 2018, the deferred compensation liability increased; therefore, the Company recognized compensation expense of $8.7 million and $11.1 million, respectively. Offsetting the decrease in compensation and benefits expense in fiscal 20202022 was a decrease in the fair value of marketable securities (held in trust to satisfy obligations of the ECAP liabilities) of $1.8$12.0 million in fiscal 2020,2022, recorded in other income (loss) income,, net on the consolidated statement of income. Offsetting the increases in compensation and benefits expense in both fiscal 2019 and 2018 was increases in the fair value of marketable securities (held in trust to satisfy obligations of the ECAP liabilities) of $8.1 million and $10.3 million in fiscal 2019 and 2018, respectively, recorded in other (loss) income, net on the consolidated statements of income.  

Changes in ECAP liability were as follows:

Year Ended April 30,

 

Year Ended April 30,

 

20232022

 

2020

 

 

2019

 

 

(in thousands)

 

(in thousands)

Balance, beginning of year

 

$

130,161

 

 

$

128,430

 

Balance, beginning of year$166,723 $163,582 

Employee contributions

 

 

8,215

 

 

 

4,852

 

Employee contributions17,046 8,541 

Amortization of employer contributions

 

 

6,074

 

 

 

9,573

 

Amortization of employer contributions5,886 7,060 

(Loss) gain on investment

 

 

(826

)

 

 

8,697

 

Gain (loss) on investmentGain (loss) on investment3,464 (10,602)

Employee distributions

 

 

(13,911

)

 

 

(20,891

)

Employee distributions(14,306)(10,880)
Acquisition of Lucas GroupAcquisition of Lucas Group— 9,620 

Exchange rate fluctuations

 

 

(398

)

 

 

(500

)

Exchange rate fluctuations(770)(598)

Balance, end of year

 

 

129,315

 

 

 

130,161

 

Balance, end of year178,043 166,723 

Less: current portion

 

 

(9,590

)

 

 

(8,844

)

Less: current portion(11,209)(9,498)

Non-current portion

 

$

119,725

 

 

$

121,317

 

Non-current portion$166,834 $157,225 

F-31


 

KORN FERRY AND SUBSIDIARIES

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

April 30, 2020 (continued)

As of April 30, 20202023 and 2019,2022, the unamortized portion of the Company contributions to the ECAP was $17.0$16.1 million and $16.8$18.2 million, respectively.

Defined Contribution Plan

The Company has a defined contribution plan (“401(k) plan”) for eligible employees. Participants may contribute up to 50% of their base compensation as defined in the plan agreement. In addition, the Company has the option to make matching contributions. DueBeginning in fiscal 2022, the Company began to match 10% of the employee contributions each pay period up to the impact of COVID-19,IRS limit (excluding catch-up contributions) and then making an additional discretionary match after the fiscal year. The Company made $3.5 million in matching contributions during fiscal 2023. In addition, the Company has temporarily suspendedintends to make an additional matching contribution relating to fiscal 2023 of $3.1 million in fiscal 2024, which are accrued in compensation and benefits payable on the consolidated balance sheet. The Company made $2.1 million matching contributions during fiscal 2022 and an additional $2.7 million matching contribution in fiscal 2023 related to contributions made by employees in fiscal 2020.2022. The Company made a $3.0 million matching contribution in fiscal 20202022 related to contributions made by employees in fiscal 2019 and a $2.7 million matching contribution in fiscal 2019 related to contributions made by employees in fiscal 2018.

2021.

Company Owned Life Insurance

The Company purchased COLI contracts insuring the lives of certain employees eligible to participate in the deferred compensation and pension plans as a means of funding benefits under such plans. The gross CSV of these contracts of $238.7$275.1 million and $219.2$263.2 million as of April 30, 20202023 and 2019,2022, respectively, is offset by outstanding policy loans of $92.3$77.1 million and $93.2$79.8 million in the accompanying consolidated balance sheets as of April 30, 20202023 and 2019,2022, respectively. Total death benefits payable, net of loans under COLI contracts, were $451.7$444.1 million and $223.6$449.3 million at April 30, 20202023 and 2019,2022, respectively. Management intends to use the future death benefits from these insurance contracts to fund the deferred compensation and pension arrangements; however, there may not be a direct correlation between the timing of the future cash receipts and disbursements under these arrangements. The CSV value of the underlying COLI investments increased by $6.6$10.6 million, $6.2$5.8 million and $7.8$13.0 million during fiscal 2020, 20192023, 2022 and 2018,2021, respectively, recorded as a decrease in
F-28

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KORN FERRY AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
April 30, 2023 (continued)
compensation and benefits expense. In addition, certainCertain of the policies are held in trusts to provide additional benefit security for the deferred compensation and pension plans. As of April 30, 2020,2023, COLI contracts with a net CSV of $117.2$173.9 million and death benefits, net of loans, of $178.8$393.3 million were held in trust for these purposes. Total death benefits increased in fiscal 2020 as compared to fiscal 2019 as we entered into additional insurance policies in order to fund future obligations under certain deferred compensation plans.

7. Fee Revenue

Contract Balances

A contract asset (unbilled receivables) is recorded when the Company transfers control of products or services before there is an unconditional right to payment. A contract liability (deferred revenue) is recorded when cash is received in advance of performance of the obligation. Deferred revenue represents the future performance obligations to transfer control of products or services for which we have already received consideration. Deferred revenue is presented in other accrued liabilities on the consolidated balance sheet.sheets.

The following table outlines our the Company’s contract asset and liability balances as of April 30, 20202023 and 2019:

2022:
April 30,

 

April 30,

 

20232022

 

2020

 

 

2019

 

 

(in thousands)

 

(in thousands)

Contract assets-unbilled receivables

 

$

65,370

 

 

$

60,595

 

Contract assets-unbilled receivables$99,442 $100,652 

Contract liabilities-deferred revenue

 

$

133,128

 

 

$

112,999

 

Contract liabilities-deferred revenue$257,067 $244,149 

During the year ended April 30, 2020fiscal 2023, 2022, and 2019,2021 we recognized revenue of $94.1$181.7 million, $131.3 million and $97.0$92.4 million, respectively, that were included in the contract liabilities balance at the beginning of the period.

F-32


 

KORN FERRY AND SUBSIDIARIES

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

April 30, 2020 (continued)

Performance Obligations

The Company has elected to apply the practical expedient to exclude the value of unsatisfied performance obligations for contracts with a duration of one year or less, which applies to all executive search, and professional search and to most of the fee revenue.revenue from the interim business. As of April 30, 2020,2023, the aggregate transaction price allocated to the performance obligations that are unsatisfied for contracts with an expected duration of greater than one year at inception was $608.5$1,118.0 million. Of the $608.5$1,118.0 million of remaining performance obligations, we expectthe Company expects to recognize approximately $307.7$600.7 million in fiscal 2021, $158.62024, $325.4 million in fiscal 2022, $77.32025, $138.5 million in fiscal 20232026 and the remaining $64.9 $53.4 million in fiscal 20242027 and thereafter. However, this amount should not be considered an indication of the Company’s future revenue as contracts with an initial term of one year or less are not included. Further, our contract terms and conditions allow for clients to increase or decrease the scope of services and such changes do not increase or decrease a performance obligation until the Company has an enforceable right to payment.

Disaggregation of Revenue

The Company disaggregates its revenue by line of business and further by region for Executive Search. This information is presented in Note 11—Segments.

12—Segments.

The following table provides further disaggregation of fee revenue by industry:

Year Ended April 30,

 

Year Ended April 30,

 

202320222021

 

2020

 

 

2019

 

 

2018

 

Dollars%Dollars%Dollars%

 

Dollars

 

 

%

 

 

Dollars

 

 

%

 

 

Dollars

 

 

%

 

 

(dollars in thousands)

 

(dollars in thousands)

Industrial

 

$

556,189

 

 

 

28.8

%

 

$

557,284

 

 

 

28.9

%

 

$

529,188

 

 

 

30.0

%

Industrial$805,241 28.4 %$688,902 26.2 %$490,863 27.1 %

Life Sciences/Healthcare

 

 

343,955

 

 

 

17.8

 

 

 

322,574

 

 

 

16.7

 

 

 

295,300

 

 

 

16.7

 

Life Sciences/Healthcare522,372 18.4 501,463 19.1 355,668 19.7 

Financial Services

 

 

334,433

 

 

 

17.3

 

 

 

348,460

 

 

 

18.1

 

 

 

306,216

 

 

 

17.3

 

Financial Services494,299 17.4 475,326 18.1 331,976 18.3 
TechnologyTechnology483,787 17.1 456,498 17.4 275,510 15.2 

Consumer Goods

 

 

285,927

 

 

 

14.8

 

 

 

295,900

 

 

 

15.4

 

 

 

277,904

 

 

 

15.7

 

Consumer Goods386,409 13.6 372,720 14.2 239,457 13.2 

Technology

 

 

285,562

 

 

 

14.8

 

 

 

261,176

 

 

 

13.6

 

 

 

226,004

 

 

 

12.8

 

Education/NonProfit/General

 

 

126,666

 

 

 

6.5

 

 

 

140,639

 

 

 

7.3

 

 

 

132,605

 

 

 

7.5

 

Education/Non–Profit/GeneralEducation/Non–Profit/General143,300 5.1 131,809 5.0 116,573 6.5 

Fee Revenue

 

$

1,932,732

 

 

 

100.0

%

 

$

1,926,033

 

 

 

100.0

%

 

$

1,767,217

 

 

 

100.0

%

Fee Revenue$2,835,408 100.0 %$2,626,718 100.0 %$1,810,047 100.0 %

F-29

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KORN FERRY AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
April 30, 2023 (continued)
8. Credit Losses
The Company is exposed to credit losses primarily through the services it provides. The Company’s expected credit loss allowance methodology for accounts receivable is developed using historical collection experience, current and future economic and market conditions and a review of the current status of customers' trade accounts receivables. Due to the short-term nature of such receivables, the estimate of the amount of accounts receivable that may not be collected is primarily based on historical loss-rate experience. When required, the Company adjusts the loss-rate methodology to account for current conditions and reasonable and supportable expectations of future economic and market conditions. The Company generally assesses future economic conditions for a period of sixty to ninety days, which corresponds with the contractual life of its accounts receivables. Additionally, specific allowance amounts are established to record the appropriate provision for customers that have a higher probability of default. The Company’s monitoring activities include timely account reconciliation, dispute resolution, payment confirmation, consideration of customers' financial condition and macroeconomic conditions. Balances are written off when determined to be uncollectible.
The activity in the allowance for credit losses on the Company's trade receivables is as follows:
(in thousands)
Balance at May 1, 2020$23,795 
Provision for credit losses15,763 
Write-offs(12,073)
Recoveries of amounts previously written off311 
Foreign currency translation1,528 
Balance at April 30, 202129,324 
Provision for credit losses21,552 
Write-offs(14,052)
Recoveries of amounts previously written off702 
Foreign currency translation(1,142)
Balance at April 30, 202236,384 
Provision for credit losses22,493 
Write-offs(15,806)
Recoveries of amounts previously written off585 
Foreign currency translation721 
Balance at April 30, 2023$44,377 
F-30

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KORN FERRY AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
April 30, 2023 (continued)
The fair value and unrealized losses on available for sale debt securities, aggregated by investment category and the length of time the security has been in an unrealized loss position as of April 30, 2023 and 2022, are as follows:
Less Than 12 Months12 Months or longerBalance Sheet Classification
Fair ValueUnrealized LossesFair ValueUnrealized LossesCash and Cash
Equivalents
Marketable Securities,
Current
Marketable
Securities, Non-
Current
(in thousands)
Balance at April 30, 2022
Commercial paper$37,002 $125 $4,499 $$15,489 $26,012 $— 
Corporate notes/bonds$32,186 $446 $3,800 $$— $18,942 $17,044 
U.S. Treasury and Agency Securities$987 $$— $— $— $987 $— 
Balance at April 30, 2023       
Commercial paper$8,229 $26 $3,492 $$— $11,721 $— 
Corporate notes/bonds$9,581 $123 $13,815 $232 $— $20,489 $2,907 
The unrealized losses on 7 and 27 investments in commercial paper securities, 16 and 23 investments in corporate notes/bonds, and no investment and 1 investment in U.S treasury and agency securities on April 30, 2023 and 2022, respectively, were caused by fluctuations in market interest rates. The Company only purchases high grade bonds that have a maturity from the date of purchase of no more than two years. The Company monitors the credit worthiness of its investments on a quarterly basis. The Company does not intend to sell the investments and does not believe it will be required to sell the investments before the investments mature and therefore recover the amortized cost basis.
9. Income Taxes

Income (loss) from continuing operations before provision for income taxes was as follows:

Year Ended April 30,

 

Year Ended April 30,

 

 

2020

 

 

2019

 

 

2018

 

202320222021

 

(in thousands)

 

(in thousands)

Domestic

 

$

40,736

 

 

$

(22,039

)

 

$

47,164

 

Domestic$136,269 $184,877 $34,661 

Foreign

 

 

110,226

 

 

 

156,379

 

 

 

158,866

 

Foreign159,468 248,024 129,039 

Income before provision for income taxes

 

$

150,962

 

 

$

134,340

 

 

$

206,030

 

Income before provision for income taxes$295,737 $432,901 $163,700 

F-31

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KORN FERRY AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
April 30, 2023 (continued)
The provision (benefit) for domestic and foreign income taxes was as follows:

Year Ended April 30,

 

Year Ended April 30,

 

202320222021

 

2020

 

 

2019

 

 

2018

 

 

(in thousands)

 

(in thousands)

Current income taxes:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Current income taxes:

Federal

 

$

14,336

 

 

$

6,152

 

 

$

29,400

 

Federal$39,188 $43,993 $16,913 

State

 

 

4,974

 

 

 

9,097

 

 

 

2,863

 

State15,879 15,962 4,719 

Foreign

 

 

33,965

 

 

 

42,091

 

 

 

44,434

 

Foreign42,019 59,064 40,646 

Current provision for income taxes

 

 

53,275

 

 

 

57,340

 

 

 

76,697

 

Current provision for income taxes97,086 119,019 62,278 

Deferred income taxes:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Deferred income taxes:   

Federal

 

 

(6,862

)

 

 

(16,211

)

 

 

(3,530

)

Federal(13,228)(13,858)(5,809)

State

 

 

(784

)

 

 

(7,682

)

 

 

(317

)

State(5,723)(3,936)(5,025)

Foreign

 

 

(1,684

)

 

 

(3,903

)

 

 

(2,717

)

Foreign4,548 831 (3,306)

Deferred benefit for income taxes

 

 

(9,330

)

 

 

(27,796

)

 

 

(6,564

)

Deferred benefit for income taxes(14,403)(16,963)(14,140)

Total provision for income taxes

 

$

43,945

 

 

$

29,544

 

 

$

70,133

 

Total provision for income taxes$82,683 $102,056 $48,138 

F-33


 

KORN FERRY AND SUBSIDIARIES

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

April 30, 2020 (continued)

The reconciliation of the statutory federal income tax rate to the effective consolidated tax rate is as follows:

 

Year Ended April 30,

 

Year Ended April 30,

 

2020

 

 

2019

 

 

2018

 

202320222021

U.S. federal statutory income tax rate

 

 

21.0

%

 

 

21.0

%

 

 

30.4

%

U.S. federal statutory income tax rate21.0 %21.0 %21.0 %

State tax, net of federal effect

 

 

2.2

 

 

 

1.1

 

 

 

1.0

 

State tax, net of federal effect2.8 2.5 1.0 

Foreign tax rates differential

 

 

4.5

 

 

 

5.0

 

 

 

(2.3

)

Foreign tax rates differential4.0 2.5 4.5 

Transition tax

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

9.0

 

Deferred tax remeasurement

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(2.4

)

Non-deductible officers compensation

 

 

0.5

 

 

 

1.1

 

 

 

 

Excess tax benefit on stock-based compensation

 

 

(1.0

)

 

 

(3.1

)

 

 

 

Non-deductible officer's compensationNon-deductible officer's compensation1.0 0.7 2.3 
Excess tax (benefit) expense on stock-based compensationExcess tax (benefit) expense on stock-based compensation(0.9)(0.6)0.8 

Change in valuation allowance

 

 

 

 

 

(2.0

)

 

 

(2.3

)

Change in valuation allowance0.3 (0.7)0.3 
COLI increase, netCOLI increase, net(0.8)(0.3)(1.7)
Change in uncertain tax positionsChange in uncertain tax positions0.1 0.3 1.1 
R&D tax creditR&D tax credit(0.6)(1.3)(0.9)

Other

 

 

1.9

 

 

 

(1.1

)

 

 

0.6

 

Other1.1 (0.5)1.0 

Effective income tax rate

 

 

29.1

%

 

 

22.0

%

 

 

34.0

%

Effective income tax rate28.0 %23.6 %29.4 %

The 21% corporate income tax rate enacted as part of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (the “Tax Act”) went fully into effect in our fiscal 2019. In fiscal 2018, the Company was subject to a federal blended rate of 30.4% (35% in the eight months prior to enactment and 21% in the four months after). Our higher effective tax rate in fiscal 2020 as compared to fiscal 2019 is partially attributable to state income tax on higher domestic income and a lower tax benefit recorded in connection with stock-based compensation. Also, in fiscal 2019 and 2018, the Company recorded an income tax benefit from the reversal of valuation allowances previously recorded against deferred tax assets, including net operating losses, of certain foreign subsidiaries that had returned to profitability and were more-likely-than-not to realize those deferred tax assets.

In fiscal 2018, the Company recorded a provisional tax charge of $18.4 million for the one-time tax on accumulated foreign earnings (the “Transition Tax”) and a provisional tax benefit of $5.9 million from the remeasurement of our U.S. federal deferred tax assets and liabilities at the rate at which we expected these deferred tax balances to be realized. In accordance with Staff Accounting Bulletin No. 118 (“SAB 118”), we finalized our computation of the Transition Tax and remeasurement of deferred tax balances in fiscal 2019 and determined that the provisional estimates recorded in the fiscal 2018 do not require adjustment. Although the SAB 118 measurement period has closed, and the Company did not make any adjustments to its provisional estimates recorded in prior periods, further technical guidance on a broad range of topics related to the Tax Act is expected. When applicable, we will recognize the effects of such guidance in the period in which it is issued.

The Tax Act also introduced a tax on Global Intangible Low-Taxed Income (“GILTI”) which first became effective in fiscal 2019. The Company elected to treat taxes due on future U.S. inclusions in taxable income related to GILTI as an expense when incurred (the “period cost method”) as opposed to factoring such amounts in the Company’s measurement of its deferred taxes (the “deferred method”).

F-34

F-32

 

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KORN FERRY AND SUBSIDIARIES

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

April 30, 20202023 (continued)

Components of deferred tax assets and liabilities were as follows:

April 30,

 

April 30,

 

20232022

 

2020

 

 

2019

 

 

(in thousands)

 

(in thousands)

Deferred tax assets:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Deferred tax assets:

Deferred compensation

 

$

86,479

 

 

$

75,521

 

Deferred compensation$120,361 $111,133 

Operating lease liability

 

 

37,934

 

 

 

 

Operating lease liability26,952 35,158 

Loss carryforwards

 

 

27,845

 

 

 

22,467

 

Loss carryforwards28,707 33,360 

Reserves and accruals

 

 

14,211

 

 

 

12,954

 

Reserves and accruals21,140 20,887 

Deferred rent

 

 

 

 

 

7,652

 

Allowance for doubtful accountsAllowance for doubtful accounts7,272 5,645 

Deferred revenue

 

 

1,187

 

 

 

1,090

 

Deferred revenue6,436 6,207 

Allowance for doubtful accounts

 

 

4,029

 

 

 

3,217

 

Other

 

 

1,516

 

 

 

 

Gross deferred tax assets

 

 

173,201

 

 

 

122,901

 

Gross deferred tax assets210,868 212,390 

Deferred tax liabilities:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Deferred tax liabilities:

Operating lease, right-of-use, assets

 

 

(29,998

)

 

 

 

Operating lease, right-of-use, assets(22,056)(27,513)

Intangibles and Goodwill

 

 

(29,006

)

 

 

(28,958

)

Intangibles and goodwillIntangibles and goodwill(26,310)(28,388)

Property and equipment

 

 

(22,332

)

 

 

(15,883

)

Property and equipment(15,953)(24,063)

Prepaid expenses

 

 

(19,567

)

 

 

(20,152

)

Prepaid expenses(20,037)(24,453)

Other

 

 

 

 

 

(1,759

)

Other(4,581)(1,951)

Gross deferred tax liabilities

 

 

(100,903

)

 

 

(66,752

)

Gross deferred tax liabilities(88,937)(106,368)

Valuation allowances

 

 

(17,875

)

 

 

(14,032

)

Valuation allowances(25,226)(24,025)

Net deferred tax asset

 

$

54,423

 

 

$

42,117

 

Net deferred tax asset$96,705 $81,997 

Deferred tax assets are reduced by a valuation allowance if it is more-likely-than-not that some portion or all of the deferred tax assets will not be realized. Management believes uncertainty exists regarding the realizability of certain deferred tax assets and has, therefore, established a valuation allowance foroffsetting deferred tax assets that are not more-likely-than-not to be realized. The increase in valuation allowance from fiscal 2019 to fiscal 2020 is largely attributable to the valuation allowance recorded against deferred tax assets of the Acquired Companies which management believes are not more-likely-than-not to be realized. As such, this increase in valuation allowance did not impact the fiscal 2020 provision for income taxes. Realization of the deferred tax asset is dependent on the Company generating enough taxable income of the appropriate nature in future years. Although realization is not assured, management believes that it is more likely than-notmore-likely-than-not that the net deferred tax assets will be realized. In fiscal 2023, the Company’s valuation allowance increased by $1.2 million primarily due to increases in deferred tax asset balances, including net operating loss carryforwards, in certain foreign jurisdictions that were not more-likely-than-not to be realized. In fiscal 2022 and 2021, the Company’s valuation allowance decreased by $1.1 million and increased by $7.3 million, respectively, primarily due to changes in deferred tax asset balances, including net operating loss carryforwards in certain foreign jurisdictions that were not more-likely-than-not to be realized. Deferred tax assets and deferred tax liabilities are presented net on the consolidated balance sheets by tax jurisdiction.

As of April 30, 2020,2023, the Company had U.S. federal net operating loss carryforwards of $2.5 million, which the Company anticipates will be fully utilized by fiscal 2028. The Company has state net operating loss carryforwards of $46.3$8.2 million, which if unutilized, will begin to expire in fiscal 2021.2036. The Company has state net operating loss carryforwards of $32.1 million, which, if unutilized, will begin to expire in fiscal 2024. The Company also has foreign net operating loss carryforwards of $106.1$103.7 million, which, if unutilized, will begin to expire in fiscal 2021.

2024.

We continue to consider approximately $522.5$730.9 million of undistributed earnings of our foreign subsidiaries to be indefinitely reinvested, and, accordingly, have provided no state, local or foreign withholding income taxes on such earnings other than the Transition Tax.earnings. While we do not anticipate a need to repatriate funds to the U.S. to satisfy domestic liquidity needs, we review our cash positions regularly and, to the extent we determine that all or a portion of our foreign earnings are not indefinitely reinvested, we provide additional taxes, if applicable, includingstate, local and foreign withholding taxes and U.S. state income taxes.

Under current U.S. federal tax law, we do not expect to incur a U.S. federal income tax liability on the undistributed earnings in the event they are repatriated to the United States.

The Company elected to treat taxes due on future U.S. inclusions in taxable income related to Global Intangible Low-Taxed Income as an expense when incurred (the “period cost method”) as opposed to factoring such amounts in the Company’s measurement of its deferred taxes (the “deferred method”).
The Company and its subsidiaries file federal and state income tax returns in the U.S. as well as in foreign jurisdictions. These income tax returns are subject to audit by the Internal Revenue Service (the “IRS”) and various state and foreign tax
F-33

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KORN FERRY AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
April 30, 2023 (continued)
authorities. In fiscal 2019, the IRS concluded its audit of our fiscal year 2016 federal tax return. In fiscal 2020, the State of New York and the City of New York concluded their audits of the Company’s income tax returns resulting in an immaterial amount of additional tax. Outside the U.S.,Currently, income tax returns of the Company’s subsidiaries are under audit in Brazil, Germany, Switzerland, Japan, and India. The Company’s income tax returns are not otherwise under examination in any material jurisdictions. The statute of limitations varies by jurisdiction in which the Company operates. With few exceptions, however, the Company’s tax returns for years prior to fiscal 20142017 are no longer open to examination by tax authorities (including U.S. federal, state and foreign).

F-35


 

KORN FERRY AND SUBSIDIARIES

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

April 30, 2020 (continued)

Unrecognized tax benefits are the differences between the amount of benefits of tax positions taken, or expected to be taken, on a tax return and the amount of benefits recognized for financial reporting purposes. As of April 30, 2020,2023, the Company had a liability of $6.0$10.6 million for unrecognized tax benefits. A reconciliation of the beginning and ending balances of the unrecognized tax benefits is as follows:

Year Ended April 30,

 

Year Ended April 30,

 

202320222021

 

2020

 

 

2019

 

 

2018

 

 

(in thousands)

 

(in thousands)

Unrecognized tax benefits, beginning of year

 

$

7,794

 

 

$

3,674

 

 

$

2,478

 

Unrecognized tax benefits, beginning of year$10,682 $9,954 $6,037 

Settlement with tax authority

 

 

(1,767

)

 

 

(1,771

)

 

 

(708

)

Additions based on tax positions related to the current year

 

 

10

 

 

 

1,775

 

 

 

1,116

 

Additions based on tax positions related to the current year1,257 456 1,716 

Additions based on tax positions related to prior years

 

 

 

 

 

4,116

 

 

 

788

 

Additions based on tax positions related to prior years28 272 2,201 
Settlement with tax authoritySettlement with tax authority(545)— — 
Lapse of applicable statute of limitationsLapse of applicable statute of limitations(856)— — 

Unrecognized tax benefits, end of year

 

$

6,037

 

 

$

7,794

 

 

$

3,674

 

Unrecognized tax benefits, end of year$10,566 $10,682 $9,954 

The full amount of unrecognized tax benefits would impact the effective tax rate if recognized. In the next 12 months, it is reasonably possible that the Company’s unrecognized tax benefits could change due to the resolution of certain tax matters either because the tax positions are sustained on audit or the Company agrees to their disallowance. These resolutions could reduce the Company’s liability for unrecognized tax benefits by approximately $1.5$1.4 million. The Company does not expect a change in the amount of unrecognized tax benefits to have a material financial statement impact.

The Company classifies interest and penalties related to unrecognized tax benefits as a component of the provision for income taxes. The Company had accruals of $0.6$1.8 million, $0.4$1.4 million, and $0.3$0.9 million for interest related to unrecognized tax benefits as of April 30, 2020, 2019,2023, 2022, and 20182021 respectively. The Company had 0an accrual for fiscal 2020, 2019of $0.5 million and 2018$0.5 million as of April 30, 2023 and 2022, respectively, for penalties related to unrecognized tax benefits. The Company recognized interesttax expense of $0.4 million, $0.1$0.4 million, and $0.3$0.8 million for interest and penalties related to unrecognized tax benefits during the years ended April 30, 2020, 2019,fiscal 2023, 2022, and 2018,2021, respectively.

9.

10. Property and Equipment, Net

Property and equipment include the following:

April 30,
20232022
(in thousands)
Computer equipment and software (1)
$383,701 $331,371 
Leasehold improvements73,980 81,743 
Furniture and fixtures37,844 41,999 
Automobiles3,346 3,460 
498,871 458,573 
Less: accumulated depreciation and amortization(336,995)(320,401)
Property and equipment, net$161,876 $138,172 

 

 

April 30,

 

 

 

2020

 

 

2019

 

 

 

(in thousands)

 

Computer equipment and software (1)

 

$

261,970

 

 

$

220,894

 

Leasehold improvements

 

 

85,208

 

 

 

84,368

 

Furniture and fixtures

 

 

42,741

 

 

 

42,318

 

Automobiles

 

 

3,065

 

 

 

1,022

 

 

 

 

392,984

 

 

 

348,602

 

Less: accumulated depreciation and amortization

 

 

(250,256

)

 

 

(217,097

)

Property and equipment, net

 

$

142,728

 

 

$

131,505

 

(1)Depreciation expense for capitalized software was $29.3 million, $28.0 million and $25.4 million during fiscal 2023, 2022 and 2021, respectively. The net book value of the Company’s computer software costs included in property and equipment, net was $121.9 million and $94.7 million as of April 30, 2023 and 2022, respectively.

(1)

Depreciation expense for capitalized software was $18.8 million, $14.6 million and $12.8million during fiscal 2020, 2019 and 2018, respectively. The net book value of the Company’s computer software costs included in property and equipment, net was $86.3 million and $65.8 million as of April 30, 2020 and 2019, respectively.

Depreciation expense for property and equipment was $39.0$44.6 million, $33.0$43.2 million and $33.8$42.6 million during fiscal 2020, 20192023, 2022 and 2018,2021, respectively.

F-36

F-34

 

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KORN FERRY AND SUBSIDIARIES

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

April 30, 20202023 (continued)

10.

11. Long-Term Debt

4.625% Senior Unsecured Notes due 2027

On December 16, 2019, the Company completed a private placement of 4.625% Senior Unsecured Notes due 2027 (the “Notes”) with a $400 million principal amount pursuant to Rule 144A and Regulation S under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended. The Notes were issued with a $4.5 million discount and will mature December 15, 2027, with interest payable semi-annually in arrears on June 15 and December 15 of each year, commencing on June 15, 2020. The Notes represent senior unsecured obligations that rank equally in right of payment to all existing and future senior unsecured indebtedness. The Company may redeem the Notes prior to maturity, subject to certain limitations and premiums defined in the indenture governing the Notes. At any time priorPrior to December 15, 2022, the Company maywas permitted to redeem the Notes at a redemption price equal to 100% of the principal plus the Applicable Premium (as defined in the indenture governing the Notes), and accrued and unpaid interest. At any timeAlso, prior to December 15, 2022, the Company maywas permitted to use the proceeds of certain equity offerings to redeem up to 35% of the aggregate principal amount of the Notes, including any permitted additional notes, at a redemption price equal to 104.625% of the principal amount and accrued and unpaid interest. At any time and from time to time on or afterSince December 15, 2022, the Company may redeem the Notes at the applicable redemption prices set forth in the table below, plus accrued and unpaid interest, if redeemed during the twelve-month12-month period beginning on December 15 of each of the years indicated:

YearPercentage
2022102.313%
2023101.156%
2024 and thereafter100.000%

The Notes allow the Company to pay $25 million of dividends per fiscal year with no restrictions, plus an unlimited amount of dividends so long as the Company’s consolidated total leverage ratio is not greater than 3.50 to 1.00, and the Company is not in default under the indenture governing the Notes. The Notes are guaranteed by each of the Company's existing and future wholly owned domestic subsidiaries to the extent such subsidiaries guarantee the Company's revolving credit facility.facilities. The indenture governing the Notes requires that, upon the occurrence of both a Change of Control and a Rating Decline (each as defined in the indenture), the Company shall make an offer to purchase all of the Notes at 101% of their principal amount, and accrued and unpaid interest. The Company used the proceeds from the offering of the Notes to repay $276.9 million outstanding under the Company’s prior revolving credit facility (the “Prior Credit Agreement”) and to pay expenses and fees in connection therewith. The remainder of the proceeds will bewere used for general corporate requirements. The effective interest rate on the Notes iswas 4.86%. as of April 30, 2023. As of April 30, 2020,2023 and 2022, the fair value of the Notes was $372.5$381.5 million and $379.5 million, respectively, based on borrowing rates then required of notes with similar terms, maturity and credit risk. The fair value of the Notes was classified as a Level 2 measurement in the fair value hierarchy.

Long-term debt, at amortized cost, consisted of the following:

In thousands

 

April 30, 2020

 

 

April 30, 2019

 

In thousandsApril 30, 2023April 30, 2022

Senior Unsecured Notes

 

$

400,000

 

 

$

 

Senior Unsecured Notes$400,000 $400,000 

Revolver

 

 

 

 

 

226,875

 

Less: Unamortized discount and issuance costs

 

 

(5,856

)

 

 

(3,997

)

Less: Unamortized discount and issuance costs(3,806)(4,523)

Long-term borrowings, net of unamortized discount and debt issuance costs

 

$

394,144

 

 

$

222,878

 

Long-term borrowings, net of unamortized discount and debt issuance costs$396,194 $395,477 

Credit Facility

Facilities

On December 16, 2019,June 24, 2022, the Company entered into aan amendment (the “Amendment”) to its December 16, 2019 Credit Agreement (the “Credit Agreement”; as amended by the Amendment, the “Amended Credit Agreement”) with a syndicate of banks and Bank of America, National Association as administrative agent, to, among other things, (i) extend the existing maturity date of the revolving facility to June 24, 2027, (ii) provide for enhanceda new delayed draw term loan facility as described below, (iii) replace the London interbank offered rate with forward-looking SOFR term rate (“Term SOFR”) as described below, and (iv) replace the existing financial flexibility.covenants with the financial covenant described below. The Amended Credit Agreement provides for five-year senior secured credit facilities in an aggregate amount of $1,150.0 million comprised of a $650.0 millionfive-year senior secured revolving credit facility (the “Revolver”) and a $500.0 million delayed draw term loan facility (the “Delayed Draw Facility”, and together with the Revolver, the “Credit Facilities”). The Amended Credit Agreement also provides that, under certain circumstances, the Company may incur term loans or increase the aggregate principal amount of revolving commitments by an aggregate amount up to $250.0 million plus an unlimited amount subject to a consolidated secured net leverage ratio of 3.25 to 1.00.
F-35

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KORN FERRY AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
April 30, 2023 (continued)
Extensions of credit under the Delayed Draw Facility were available to the Company in up to two advances through June 24, 2023. Any amounts undrawn under the Delayed Draw Facility as of June 24, 2023 are no longer available to the Company. The Amended Credit Agreement contains certain customary affirmative and negative covenants includingthat, among other things, restrict the Company’s ability to incur additional indebtedness, grant liens and make certain acquisitions, investments, asset dispositions and restricted payments. In addition, the Amended Credit Agreement contains a maximum consolidated net leverage ratio,covenant that requires the Company to maintain a maximum consolidated secured net leverage ratio and a minimum interest coverage ratio. The Credit Agreement permits the payment of dividends to stockholders and Company share repurchases so long as there is no default under the Credit Agreement, the consolidated net leverage ratio, which uses adjusted EBITDA is no greater than 4.253.50 to 1.00 and the pro forma liquidity is at least $50.0 million. (which may be temporarily increased to 4.00 following certain material acquisitions under certain circumstances) (the “Financial Covenant”).
The payoffprincipal balance of the Delayed Draw Facility, if any, is subject to annual term loan underamortization of 2.5% for the Prior Credit Agreement is considered a debt modificationfiscal quarters ending September 30, 2022 through June 30, 2024, and therefore,5.0% for the previously incurred unamortized and current debt issuance costs will be amortized overfiscal quarter ending September 30, 2024 through June 30, 2027, with the life of the new issuance.

F-37


 

KORN FERRY AND SUBSIDIARIES

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

April 30, 2020 (continued)

remaining principal due at maturity. The principal balance of the Revolver, if any, is due at maturity. The Credit Facilities mature on the date of its termination. The Revolver matures on December 16, 2024June 24, 2027 and any unpaid principal balance is payable on this date. The RevolverCredit Facilities may also be prepaid and terminated early by the Company at any time without premium or penalty (subject to customary LIBOR breakage fees).

At

Amounts outstanding under the Company’s option, loans issued under theAmended Credit Agreement will bear interest at a rate equal to, at the Company’s election, either LIBOR orTerm SOFR plus a SOFR adjustment of 0.10%, plus an alternate base rate, in each case plus the applicable interest rate margin. The interest rate applicable to loans outstanding under the Credit Agreement may fluctuatemargin between LIBOR plus 1.125% per annum to LIBOR plusand 2.00% per annum, independing on the case of LIBOR borrowings (or between the alternateCompany’s consolidated net leverage ratio, or base rate plus an interest rate margin between 0.125% per annum and the alternate base rate plus 1.00% per annum in the alternative), based upondepending on the Company’s total funded debt to adjusted EBITDA ratio (as set forth in the Credit Agreement, the “consolidatedconsolidated net leverage ratio”) at such time.ratio. In addition, the Company will be required to pay to the lenders a ticking fee of 0.20% per annum on the actual daily unused portion of the Delayed Draw Facility, and a quarterly commitment fee ranging from 0.175% to 0.35%0.300% per annum on the averageactual daily unused amount of the Revolver, based upon the Company’s consolidated net leverage ratio at such time, and fees relating to the issuance of letters of credit. During fiscal 2020 the average interest rate incurred on the current and previous term loans was 3.34%. The average interest rate on our previous term loan for 2019 and 2018 was 3.50% and 2.60%, respectively.

As of April 30, 2020,2023 and 2022, there was 0no outstanding liability under the Revolver compared to $226.9 million as of April 30, 2019Credit Facilities and the credit facilities under the Credit Agreement prior revolver.to the Amendment (the “Prior Credit Facility”), respectively. The unamortized debt issuance costs associated with the Amended Credit Agreement was $4.2 million as of April 30, 20202023 and $4.0$2.4 million under the Prior Credit Agreement as of April 30, 2019. As of April 30, 2020,2022. The debt issuance costs were included in other current assets and other non-current assets on the consolidated balance sheet.sheets. As of April 30, 2020,2023, the Company was in compliance with its debt covenants.

The Company hadhas a total of $646.0$1,145.4 million available under the RevolverCredit Facilities and had a total $645.3 million available under the Prior Credit Facility after $4.0$4.6 million and $4.7 million of standby letters of credit were issued as of April 30, 2020.2023 and 2022, respectively. Of the amount available under the Credit Facilities, $500.0 million is under the Delayed Draw Facility that expired on June 24, 2023. The Company had a total of $420.2 million available under the prior revolver after the Company drew down $226.9$11.5 million and after $2.9 million of standby letters of credit had been issued as of April 30, 2019. The Company had a total of $11.3 million and $8.5$10.0 million of standby letters with other financial institutions as of April 30, 20202023 and 2019,2022, respectively. The standby letters of creditscredit were generally issued as a result of entering into office premise leases.

The Company has outstanding borrowings against the CSV of COLI contracts of $92.3$77.1 million and $93.2$79.8 million at April 30, 20202023 and 2019,2022, respectively. CSV reflected in the accompanying consolidated balance sheets is net of the outstanding borrowings, which are secured by the CSV of the life insurance policies. Principal payments are not scheduled and interest is payable at least annually at various fixed and variable rates ranging from 4.76% to 8.00%.

11.

12. Segments

Over

In the past yeartwo years, the Company invested in its digital business in order to digitize and harmonize the structure of its IP content and data andhas allocated capital to build a technology platform forout its Professional Search and Interim operations through the efficient deliveryacquisition of these assets directly to an end consumer or indirectly through a consulting engagement.Lucas Group, Patina Solutions Group ("Patina"), Infinity Consulting Solutions ("ICS") and Salo LLC ("Salo"). These investments combinedacquisitions provided the Company with the recent acquisition of the Acquired Companies resulted in reassessingopportunity to reassess how the Companyit manages its Advisory business.RPO & Professional Search segment. Given the Company’s strategy and development of separate financial and operational metrics for the ConsultingProfessional Search & Interim and Digital businessesRPO operations, the Company’s chief operating decision maker (“CODM”) had begunbegan to regularly make separate resource allocation decisions between Professional Search & Interim and assess performance separately between Consulting and Digital.RPO. Therefore, on NovemberMay 1, 2019,2022, the Company changed the composition of its global segments and under the new reporting format, the AdvisoryRPO & Professional Search segment washas been separated into two segments, Consultingsegments: Professional Search & Interim and Digital.RPO. Revenues are directly attributed to a segment and expenses not directly associated with a specific segment are allocated based on the most relevant measures applicable, including revenues, headcount and other factors. Due to this change, the Company completed a qualitativequantitative assessment for any potential goodwill impairment both prior and immediately subsequent to the aforementioned change and determined thatthere was no impairment indicators were present. Operatinggoodwill impairment. The presentation of operating results by segment prior to NovemberMay 1, 2019 have2022 has been recastrevised to conform to the new segment reporting.

The Company operates through 4 globalnow has eight reportable segments:

Consulting, Digital, Executive Search North America, Executive Search EMEA, Executive Search Asia Pacific, Executive Search Latin America, Professional Search & Interim and RPO.

1.

Consulting helps clients synchronize their strategy and their talent by addressing four fundamental needs: Organizational Strategy, Assessment and Succession, Leadership and Professional Development, and Rewards and Benefits. This work is supported and underpinned by a comprehensive range of some of the world’s leading lP and data.

F-36

F-38


 

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KORN FERRY AND SUBSIDIARIES

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

April 30, 20202023 (continued)

2.

Digital leverages an artificial intelligence powered platform to identify structure, roles, capabilities and behaviours needed to drive business forward. This end to end system gives clients one enterprise-wide talent framework and delivers an achievable blueprint for success along with the guidance and tools to deliver it.

The Company’s eight reportable segments operate through the following five lines of business:

3.1.Consulting aligns organizational structure, culture, performance and people to drive sustainable growth by addressing four fundamental needs: Organizational Strategy, Assessment and Succession, Leadership and Professional Development and Total Rewards. This work is enabled by a set of Digital Performance Management Tools, based on some of the world’s leading lP and data. The Consulting teams employ an integrated approach across our core capabilities and integrated solutions, each one intended to strengthen the work and thinking in the next, to help clients execute their strategy in a digitally enabled world.

Executive Search helps organizations recruit board level, chief executive and other senior executive and general management talent. Behavioral interviewing and proprietary assessments are used to determine ideal organizational fit, and salary benchmarking builds appropriate frameworks for compensation and retention.

4.2.Digital develops technology-enabled Performance Management Tools that empower our clients. The digital products give clients direct access to Korn Ferry proprietary data, client data and analytics to deliver clear insights with the training and tools needed to align organizational structure with business strategy.

RPO and Professional Search combines people, process expertise and IP-enabled technology to deliver enterprise talent acquisition solutions to clients. Transaction sizes range from single professional searches to team, department and line of business projects, and global outsource recruiting solutions.

3.Executive Search helps organizations recruit board level, chief executive and other senior executive and general management talent to deliver lasting impact. The Company’s approach to placing talent is bringing together research-based IP, proprietary assessments and behavioral interviewing with practical experience to determine the ideal organizational fit. Salary benchmarking then helps the Company build appropriate frameworks for compensation and retention. This business is managed and reported on a geographic basis and represents four of the Company’s reportable segments (Executive Search North America, Executive Search EMEA, Executive Search Asia Pacific, and Executive Search Latin America).
4.Professional Search & Interim delivers enterprise talent acquisition solutions for professional level middle and upper management. The Company helps clients source high-quality candidates at speed and scale globally, covering single-hire to multi-hire permanent placements and interim contractors.
5.RPO offers scalable recruitment outsourcing solutions leveraging customized technology and talent insights. The Company's scalable solutions, built on science and powered by best-in-class technology and consulting expertise, enables the Company to act as a strategic partner in clients’ quest for superior recruitment outcomes and better candidate fit.
Executive Search is managed by geographic regional leaders. Worldwide operations for Consulting, Digital, Professional Search & Interim and RPO and Professional Search are managed by their Chief Executive Officers. The Executive Search geographic regional leaders and the Chief Executive Officers of Consulting, Digital, Professional Search & Interim and RPO & Professional Search report directly to the Chief Executive Officer of the Company. The Company also operates a Corporate segment to record global expenses.

The Company evaluates performance and allocates resources based on the Company’s CODM review of (1) fee revenue and (2) adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (“Adjusted EBITDA”). To the extent that such costs or charges occur, Adjusted EBITDA excludes restructuring charges, integration/acquisition costs, certain separation costs and certain non-cash charges (goodwill, intangible asset and other than temporary impairment)impairment charges). The accounting policies for the reportable segments are the same as those described in the summary of significant accounting policies in Note 1—Organization and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies, except the items described above are excluded from EBITDA to arrive at Adjusted EBITDA. The CODM is not provided asset information by reportable segment.

Financial highlights by operating segment are as follows:

 

 

Year Ended April 30, 2020

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Executive Search

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Consulting

 

 

Digital

 

 

North

America

 

 

EMEA

 

 

Asia

Pacific

 

 

Latin

America

 

 

Subtotal

 

 

RPO &

Professional

Search

 

 

Corporate

 

 

Consolidated

 

 

 

(in thousands)

 

Fee revenue

 

$

543,095

 

 

$

292,366

 

 

$

434,624

 

 

$

170,314

 

 

$

98,132

 

 

$

29,400

 

 

$

732,470

 

 

$

364,801

 

 

$

 

 

$

1,932,732

 

Total revenue

 

$

557,255

 

 

$

294,261

 

 

$

447,528

 

 

$

172,978

 

 

$

99,209

 

 

$

29,493

 

 

$

749,208

 

 

$

376,606

 

 

$

 

 

$

1,977,330

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net income attributable to Korn Ferry

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

$

104,946

 

Net income attributable to noncontrolling interest

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2,071

 

Other loss, net

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2,879

 

Interest expense, net

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

22,184

 

Income tax provision

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

43,945

 

Operating income (loss)

 

$

17,695

 

 

$

46,909

 

 

$

113,080

 

 

$

21,085

 

 

$

17,914

 

 

$

4,860

 

 

$

156,939

 

 

$

50,438

 

 

$

(95,956

)

 

$

176,025

 

Depreciation and amortization

 

 

17,567

 

 

 

19,261

 

 

 

3,452

 

 

 

1,713

 

 

 

1,311

 

 

 

1,182

 

 

 

7,658

 

 

 

3,906

 

 

 

6,919

 

 

 

55,311

 

Other income (loss), net

 

 

1,326

 

 

 

485

 

 

 

(3,051

)

 

 

139

 

 

 

11

 

 

 

51

 

 

 

(2,850

)

 

 

82

 

 

 

(1,922

)

 

 

(2,879

)

EBITDA

 

 

36,588

 

 

 

66,655

 

 

 

113,481

 

 

 

22,937

 

 

 

19,236

 

 

 

6,093

 

 

 

161,747

 

 

 

54,426

 

 

 

(90,959

)

 

 

228,457

 

Integration/acquisition costs

 

 

 

 

 

5,937

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

6,215

 

 

 

12,152

 

Restructuring charges, net

 

 

24,504

 

 

 

10,481

 

 

 

7,244

 

 

 

6,347

 

 

 

3,649

 

 

 

309

 

 

 

17,549

 

 

 

5,742

 

 

 

283

 

 

 

58,559

 

Separation costs

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1,783

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1,783

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1,783

 

Adjusted EBITDA

 

$

61,092

 

 

$

83,073

 

 

$

120,725

 

 

$

31,067

 

 

$

22,885

 

 

$

6,402

 

 

$

181,079

 

 

$

60,168

 

 

$

(84,461

)

 

$

300,951

 

F-37

F-39


 

korn.jpg
KORN FERRY AND SUBSIDIARIES

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

April 30, 20202023 (continued)

Financial highlights are as follow:
Year Ended April 30,
202320222021
Consolidated
(in thousands)
Fee revenue$2,835,408 $2,626,718 $1,810,047 
Total revenue$2,863,836 $2,643,455 $1,819,946 
Net income attributable to Korn Ferry$209,529 $326,360 $114,454 
Net income attributable to noncontrolling interest3,525 4,485 1,108 
Other (income) loss, net(5,261)11,880 (37,194)
Interest expense, net25,864 25,293 29,278 
Income tax provision82,683 102,056 48,138 
Operating income316,340 470,074 155,784 
Depreciation and amortization68,335 63,521 61,845 
Other income (loss), net5,261 (11,880)37,194 
Integration/acquisition costs14,922 7,906 737 
Impairment of fixed assets4,375 1,915 — 
Impairment of right of use assets5,471 7,392 — 
Restructuring charges, net42,573 — 30,732 
Adjusted EBITDA(1)
$457,277 $538,928 $286,292 

 

 

Year Ended April 30, 2019

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Executive Search

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Consulting

 

 

Digital

 

 

North

America

 

 

EMEA

 

 

Asia

Pacific

 

 

Latin

America

 

 

Subtotal

 

 

RPO &

Professional

Search

 

 

Corporate

 

 

Consolidated

 

 

 

(in thousands)

 

Fee revenue

 

$

568,321

 

 

$

252,727

 

 

$

455,826

 

 

$

182,829

 

 

$

104,291

 

 

$

31,896

 

 

$

774,842

 

 

$

330,143

 

 

$

 

 

$

1,926,033

 

Total revenue

 

$

585,893

 

 

$

252,727

 

 

$

469,743

 

 

$

186,131

 

 

$

105,543

 

 

$

31,960

 

 

$

793,377

 

 

$

341,865

 

 

$

 

 

$

1,973,862

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net income attributable to Korn Ferry

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

$

102,651

 

Net income attributable to noncontrolling interest

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2,145

 

Other income, net

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(10,405

)

Interest expense, net

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

16,891

 

Income tax provision

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

29,544

 

Operating (loss) income

 

$

(34,115

)

 

$

39,732

 

 

$

120,754

 

 

$

29,974

 

 

$

24,364

 

 

$

3,998

 

 

$

179,090

 

 

$

50,884

 

 

$

(94,765

)

 

$

140,826

 

Depreciation and amortization

 

 

16,172

 

 

 

12,885

 

 

 

3,890

 

 

 

1,254

 

 

 

1,428

 

 

 

410

 

 

 

6,982

 

 

 

3,255

 

 

 

7,195

 

 

 

46,489

 

Other income (loss), net

 

 

2,203

 

 

 

995

 

 

 

6,699

 

 

 

432

 

 

 

281

 

 

 

322

 

 

 

7,734

 

 

 

268

 

 

 

(795

)

 

 

10,405

 

EBITDA

 

 

(15,740

)

 

 

53,612

 

 

 

131,343

 

 

 

31,660

 

 

 

26,073

 

 

 

4,730

 

 

 

193,806

 

 

 

54,407

 

 

 

(88,365

)

 

 

197,720

 

Integration/acquisition costs

 

 

5,304

 

 

 

1,255

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

187

 

 

 

6,746

 

Tradename write-offs

 

 

76,967

 

 

 

29,588

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

106,555

 

Adjusted EBITDA

 

$

66,531

 

 

$

84,455

 

 

$

131,343

 

 

$

31,660

 

 

$

26,073

 

 

$

4,730

 

 

$

193,806

 

 

$

54,407

 

 

$

(88,178

)

 

$

311,021

 

(1)Adjusted EBITDA refers to earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization and further excludes integration/acquisition costs, impairment of fixed assets, impairment of right-of-use assets, and restructuring charges, net.
Financial highlights by reportable segments are as follows:
Year Ended April 30, 2023
Fee revenueTotal revenue
Adjusted EBITDA(1)
(in thousands)
Consulting$677,001 $686,979 $108,502 
Digital354,651 354,967 97,458 
Executive Search:
North America562,139 568,212 140,850 
EMEA187,014 188,114 31,380 
Asia Pacific95,598 95,956 24,222 
Latin America31,047 31,054 9,370 
Professional Search & Interim503,395 507,058 110,879 
RPO424,563 431,496 52,588 
Corporate— — (117,972)
Consolidated$2,835,408 $2,863,836 $457,277 

F-40

(1)Adjusted EBITDA refers to earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization and further excludes integration/acquisition costs, impairment of fixed assets, impairment of right-of-use assets, and restructuring charges, net.

F-38

 

korn.jpg
KORN FERRY AND SUBSIDIARIES

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

April 30, 20202023 (continued)

Year Ended April 30, 2022
Fee revenueTotal revenue
Adjusted EBITDA(1)
(in thousands)
Consulting$650,204 $654,199 $116,108 
Digital349,025 349,437 110,050 
Executive Search:
North America605,704 609,258 181,615 
EMEA182,192 182,866 31,804 
Asia Pacific118,596 118,705 35,105 
Latin America29,069 29,079 9,089 
Professional Search & Interim297,096 297,974 106,015 
RPO394,832 401,937 59,126 
Corporate— — (109,984)
Consolidated$2,626,718 $2,643,455 $538,928 

 

 

Year Ended April 30, 2018

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Executive Search

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Consulting

 

 

Digital

 

 

North

America

 

 

EMEA

 

 

Asia

Pacific

 

 

Latin

America

 

 

Subtotal

 

 

RPO &

Professional

Search

 

 

Corporate

 

 

Consolidated

 

 

 

(in thousands)

 

Fee revenue

 

$

540,529

 

 

$

244,484

 

 

$

408,098

 

 

$

173,725

 

 

$

96,595

 

 

$

30,624

 

 

$

709,042

 

 

$

273,162

 

 

$

 

 

$

1,767,217

 

Total revenue

 

$

556,521

 

 

$

244,484

 

 

$

421,260

 

 

$

177,234

 

 

$

98,062

 

 

$

30,717

 

 

$

727,273

 

 

$

291,241

 

 

$

 

 

$

1,819,519

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net income attributable to Korn Ferry

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

$

133,779

 

Net income attributable to noncontrolling interest

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2,118

 

Other income, net

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(11,416

)

Interest expense, net

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

13,832

 

Income tax provision

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

70,133

 

Operating income (loss)

 

$

22,408

 

 

$

78,127

 

 

$

100,397

 

 

$

26,768

 

 

$

18,425

 

 

$

4,022

 

 

$

149,612

 

 

$

39,396

 

 

$

(81,097

)

 

$

208,446

 

Depreciation and amortization

 

 

18,954

 

 

 

12,573

 

 

 

3,930

 

 

 

1,689

 

 

 

1,408

 

 

 

455

 

 

 

7,482

 

 

 

3,054

 

 

 

6,525

 

 

 

48,588

 

Other income, net

 

 

2,127

 

 

 

374

 

 

 

1,142

 

 

 

168

 

 

 

373

 

 

 

181

 

 

 

1,864

 

 

 

152

 

 

 

6,899

 

 

 

11,416

 

EBITDA

 

 

43,489

 

 

 

91,074

 

 

 

105,469

 

 

 

28,625

 

 

 

20,206

 

 

 

4,658

 

 

 

158,958

 

 

 

42,602

 

 

 

(67,673

)

 

 

268,450

 

Restructuring (recoveries) charges, net

 

 

(122

)

 

 

(119

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

313

 

 

 

 

 

 

313

 

 

 

6

 

 

 

 

 

 

78

 

Integration/acquisition costs

 

 

7,724

 

 

 

1,427

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

279

 

 

 

9,430

 

Adjusted EBITDA

 

$

51,091

 

 

$

92,382

 

 

$

105,469

 

 

$

28,625

 

 

$

20,519

 

 

$

4,658

 

 

$

159,271

 

 

$

42,608

 

 

$

(67,394

)

 

$

277,958

 

(1)Adjusted EBITDA refers to earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization and further excludes integration/acquisition costs, impairment of fixed assets and impairment of right-of-use assets.
Year Ended April 30, 2021
Fee revenueTotal revenue
Adjusted EBITDA(1)
(in thousands)
Consulting$515,844 $517,046 $81,522 
Digital287,306 287,780 86,095 
Executive Search:
North America397,275 399,104 98,099 
EMEA138,954 139,213 11,742 
Asia Pacific83,306 83,463 16,676 
Latin America17,500 17,500 1,289 
Professional Search & Interim130,831 131,080 36,934 
RPO239,031 244,760 32,477 
Corporate— — (78,542)
Consolidated$1,810,047 $1,819,946 $286,292 

(1)Adjusted EBITDA refers to earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization and further excludes, integration/acquisition costs and restructuring charges, net.
F-39

korn.jpg
KORN FERRY AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
April 30, 2023 (continued)
Fee revenue attributed to an individual customer or country, other than the U.S. in fiscal year 2023 and 2022, and the U.S and United Kingdom in fiscal year 2021, did not account for more than 10% of the total fee revenue in those fiscal 2020, 2019 or 2018.years. Fee revenue classified by country in which the Company derives revenues are as follows:

Year Ended April 30,

 

Year Ended April 30,

 

202320222021

 

2020

 

 

2019

 

 

2018

 

 

(in thousands)

 

(in thousands)

U.S.

 

$

875,605

 

 

$

859,969

 

 

$

778,470

 

U.S.$1,568,119 $1,348,377 $837,682 

United Kingdom

 

 

204,271

 

 

 

202,055

 

 

 

176,091

 

United Kingdom255,797 247,617 189,893 

Other countries

 

 

852,856

 

 

 

864,009

 

 

 

812,656

 

Other countries1,011,492 1,030,724 782,472 

Total fee revenue

 

$

1,932,732

 

 

$

1,926,033

 

 

$

1,767,217

 

Total fee revenue$2,835,408 $2,626,718 $1,810,047 

Other than the U.S. in fiscal 2023 and 2022, and the U.S. and United Kingdom in fiscal 2021, no single country had over 10% of the total long-lived assets, excluding financial instruments and tax assets. Long-lived assets, excluding financial instruments and tax assets, classified by location of the controlling statutory country are as follows:

Year Ended April 30,
202320222021
(in thousands)
U.S.(1)
$186,220 $185,228 $182,218 
United Kingdom22,893 26,711 34,081 
Other countries95,453 93,967 89,600 
Total long-lived assets$304,566 $305,906 $305,899 

 

 

Year Ended April 30,

 

 

 

2020

 

 

2019

 

 

2018

 

 

 

(in thousands)

 

U.S. (1)

 

$

169,928

 

 

$

98,455

 

 

$

80,424

 

United Kingdom

 

 

35,739

 

 

 

6,466

 

 

 

7,792

 

Other countries

 

 

132,138

 

 

 

26,584

 

 

 

31,685

 

Total long-lived assets

 

$

337,805

 

 

$

131,505

 

 

$

119,901

 

(1)Includes Corporate long-lived assets

(1)

Includes Corporate long-lived assets

12.

13. Restructuring Charges, Net

On April 20,

In light of the Company’s evolution to an organization that is selling larger integrated solutions in a world where there are shifts in global trade lanes and persistent inflationary pressures, on January 11, 2023, the Company initiated a plan (the “Plan”) intended to realign its workforce with its business needs and objectives, namely, to invest in areas of potential growth and implement reductions where there is excess capacity. Due to the implementation of the Plan, the Company recorded restructuring charges of $42.6 million during fiscal 2023 across all lines of business related to severance for positions that were eliminated. There were no restructuring charges in fiscal 2022.
In the fourth quarter of fiscal 2020, in light of the continuing uncertainty in worldwide economic conditions caused by the COVID-19coronavirus pandemic and, as part of a broader program aimed at further enhancing Korn Ferry’s strong balance sheet and liquidity position, the Company adopted a restructuring plan intended to adjust its cost base to the currentthen-current economic environment and to position the Company to invest intoin its recovery. The Company continued the recovery. Thisimplementation of this restructuring plan in the first quarter of fiscal 2021 and this resulted in restructuring charges, net of $40.5$30.7 million during fiscal 2021 across all lines of business relating to severance for positions that have beenwere eliminated.

F-41

F-40

 

korn.jpg
KORN FERRY AND SUBSIDIARIES

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

April 30, 20202023 (continued)

Earlier in fiscal 2020, the Company had also adopted a restructuring plan to rationalize its cost structure to realize the efficiencies and operational improvement that the investments in the Digital business, as discussed in Note 11—Segments, have enabled, or position us to realize. The restructuring plan impacts both the Consulting and Digital segments and includes the elimination of redundant positions, which resulted in restructuring charges, net of $18.1 million in fiscal 2020, relating to severance for positions that have been eliminated.

Changes in the restructuring liability were as follows:

 

 

Restructuring Liability

 

 

 

(in thousands)

 

As of April 30, 2018

 

$

1,051

 

Restructuring charges, net

 

 

 

Reductions for cash payments

 

 

(284

)

Non-cash payments

 

 

(171

)

Exchange rate fluctuations

 

 

(65

)

As of April 30, 2019

 

 

531

 

Restructuring charges, net

 

 

58,559

 

Reductions for cash payments

 

 

(16,737

)

Non-cash payments

 

 

(8,053

)

Exchange rate fluctuations

 

 

(147

)

As of April 30, 2020

 

$

34,153

 

Restructuring Liability
(in thousands)
As of May 1, 2020$34,153 
Restructuring charges, net30,732 
Reductions for cash payments(56,387)
Non-cash payments(3,968)
Exchange rate fluctuations2,455 
As of April 30, 20216,985 
Reductions for cash payments(4,829)
Exchange rate fluctuations(654)
As of April 30, 20221,502 
Restructuring charges, net42,573 
Reductions for cash payments(24,485)
Non-cash payments(10,827)
Exchange rate fluctuations(759)
As of April 30, 2023$8,004 

As of April 30, 20202023 and 2019,2022, the restructuring liability is included in the current portion of other accrued liabilities on the consolidated balance sheets, except for $0.6 million and $0.5 million respectively,as of April 30, 2022, which arewas included in other long-term liabilities.

13.

Restructuring charges incurred by segment were as follows:
Year Ended April 30
202320222021
(in thousands)
Consulting$11,613 $— $14,223 
Digital2,856 — 2,947 
Executive Search:
North America4,515 — 958 
EMEA12,732 — 8,868 
Asia Pacific2,129 — 181 
Latin America697 — 405 
Professional Search & Interim4,835 — 1,543 
RPO3,097 — 1,607 
Corporate99 — — 
Consolidated$42,573 $— $30,732 

F-41

korn.jpg
KORN FERRY AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
April 30, 2023 (continued)
14. Goodwill and Intangible Assets

Changes in the carrying value of goodwill by reportable segment were as follows:
ConsultingDigitalExecutive Search
Professional
Search & Interim (1)
RPO (1)
Consolidated
North
America
EMEAAsia
Pacific
(in thousands)
Balance as of May 1, 2021$173,410 $326,628 $48,498 $47,449 $972 $15,705 $14,007 $626,669 
Additions (2)
— — — — — 55,480 49,482 104,962 
Exchange rate fluctuations(440)(1,274)(934)(877)— (1,329)(1,185)(6,039)
Balance as of April 30, 2022172,970 325,354 47,564 46,572 972 69,856 62,304 725,592 
Additions (3)
— — — — — 184,519 — 184,519 
Exchange rate fluctuations123 204 (1,327)(171)— 291 260 (620)
Balance as of April 30, 2023$173,093 $325,558 $46,237 $46,401 $972 $254,666 $62,564 $909,491 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Executive Search

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Consulting

 

 

Digital

 

 

North

America

 

 

EMEA

 

 

Asia

Pacific

 

 

Subtotal

 

 

RPO &

Professional

Search

 

 

Consolidated

 

 

 

(in thousands)

 

Balance as of May 1, 2018

 

$

173,453

 

 

$

284,716

 

 

$

47,757

 

 

$

47,501

 

 

$

972

 

 

$

96,230

 

 

$

29,823

 

 

$

584,222

 

Exchange rate fluctuations

 

 

(306

)

 

 

(502

)

 

 

(1,186

)

 

 

(2,021

)

 

 

 

 

 

(3,207

)

 

 

(1,909

)

 

 

(5,924

)

Balance as of April 30, 2019

 

 

173,147

 

 

 

284,214

 

 

 

46,571

 

 

 

45,480

 

 

 

972

 

 

 

93,023

 

 

 

27,914

 

 

 

578,298

 

Additions

 

 

 

 

 

38,926

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

38,926

 

Exchange rate fluctuations

 

 

(133

)

 

 

(413

)

 

 

(850

)

 

 

(986

)

 

 

 

 

 

(1,836

)

 

 

(899

)

 

 

(3,281

)

Balance as of April 30, 2020

 

$

173,014

 

 

$

322,727

 

 

$

45,721

 

 

$

44,494

 

 

$

972

 

 

$

91,187

 

 

$

27,015

 

 

$

613,943

 

(1)Segment data for FY'22has been recast to reflect the division of the RPO & Professional Search segment into the RPO segment and Professional Search & Interim segment.

(2)Additions to goodwill in fiscal 2022 were due to $76.8 million and $28.2 million from the acquisition of the Lucas Group and Patina, respectively.
(3)Additions to goodwill in fiscal 2023 were due to $68.3 million and $116.2 million from the acquisition of the ICS and Salo, respectively.
Tax deductible goodwill from the acquisitions of Salo and ICS were $114.3 million and $64.9 million, respectively, as of April 30, 2023. Tax deductible goodwill from the Miller Heiman acquisition was $34.9 $16.3 million and $22.7 million as of April 30, 2020.2023 and 2022, respectively. Tax deductible goodwill from the PIVOT Leadership acquisition was $7.2$5.2 million and $7.1 $5.9 million as of April 30, 20202023 and 2019,2022, respectively.

F-42


 

KORN FERRY AND SUBSIDIARIES

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

April 30, 2020 (continued)

Intangible assets include the following:

April 30, 2023April 30, 2022
(in thousands)
Amortized intangible assets:GrossAccumulated
Amortization
NetGrossAccumulated
Amortization
Net
Customer lists$192,099 $(104,429)$87,670 $146,799 $(89,024)$57,775 
Intellectual property69,100 (47,187)21,913 69,100 (40,720)28,380 
Proprietary databases4,256 (4,256)— 4,256 (4,256)— 
Non-compete agreements910 (910)— 910 (910)— 
Trademarks12,086 (7,123)4,963 8,986 (5,261)3,725 
Total (1)
$278,451 $(163,905)114,546 $230,051 $(140,171)89,880 
Exchange rate fluctuations(120)(110)
Total Intangible assets$114,426 $89,770 

 

 

April 30, 2020

 

 

April 30, 2019

 

 

 

(in thousands)

 

Amortized intangible assets:

 

Gross

 

 

Accumulated

Amortization

 

 

Net

 

 

Gross

 

 

Accumulated

Amortization

 

 

Net

 

Customer lists

 

$

131,299

 

 

$

(64,762

)

 

$

66,537

 

 

$

125,099

 

 

$

(53,352

)

 

$

71,747

 

Intellectual property

 

 

69,100

 

 

 

(26,548

)

 

 

42,552

 

 

 

33,100

 

 

 

(22,045

)

 

 

11,055

 

Proprietary databases

 

 

4,256

 

 

 

(4,202

)

 

 

54

 

 

 

4,256

 

 

 

(4,053

)

 

 

203

 

Non-compete agreements

 

 

910

 

 

 

(910

)

 

 

 

 

 

910

 

 

 

(893

)

 

 

17

 

Trademarks

 

 

7,186

 

 

 

(4,236

)

 

 

2,950

 

 

 

3,986

 

 

 

(3,986

)

 

 

 

Total

 

$

212,751

 

 

$

(100,658

)

 

 

112,093

 

 

$

167,351

 

 

$

(84,329

)

 

 

83,022

 

Exchange rate fluctuations

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(167

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(74

)

Total Intangible assets

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

$

111,926

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

$

82,948

 

(1)In fiscal 2023 there were intangible assets additions of $16.4 million and $32.0 million from the acquisition of the ICS and Salo, respectively. In fiscal 2022 there were intangible assets additions of $11.6 million and $5.7 million from the acquisition of the Lucas Group and Patina, respectively.


Acquisition-related intangible assets acquired in fiscal 20202023 consists of IP,of customer relationships and tradenames of $36.0$45.3 million $6.2 million, and $3.2$3.1 million, respectively, with weighted-average useful lives from the date of purchase of seven years tenand two years, respectively. Acquisition-related intangible assets acquired in fiscal 2022 consists of customer relationships and tradenames of $15.5 million and $1.8 million, respectively, with weighted-average useful lives from the date of purchase of seven years and ninetwo years, respectively.

During fiscal 2019, the Company decided to further integrate our go-to-market activities under one master brand —Korn Ferry, and discontinued the use of all sub-brands. Two of the Company’s sub-brands, Hay Group and Lominger, were acquired by Korn Ferry through acquisitions. As a result of the decision to discontinue their use, the Company took a non-cash intangible asset impairment charge of $106.6 million during the year ended

F-42

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KORN FERRY AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
April 30, 2019, recorded in general and administrative expenses on the accompanying statement of income.

2023 (continued)

Amortization expense for amortized intangible assets was $16.3$23.7 million, $13.5$20.3 million and $14.7$19.2 million during fiscal 2020, 20192023, 2022 and 2018,2021, respectively. Estimated annual amortization expense related to amortizing intangible assets is as follows:

Year Ending April 30,

 

Estimated

Annual

Amortization

Expense

 

Year Ending April 30,Estimated
Annual
Amortization
Expense

 

(in thousands)

 

(in thousands)

2021

 

$

19,256

 

2022

 

 

19,101

 

2023

 

 

17,271

 

2024

 

 

14,794

 

2024$25,604 

2025

 

 

14,696

 

202524,256 
2026202622,859 
2027202717,106 
2028202810,080 

Thereafter

 

 

26,975

 

Thereafter14,521 

 

$

112,093

 

$114,426 

All amortizable intangible assets will be fully amortized by the end of fiscal 2032.

14.

15. Leases

The Company’s lease portfolio is comprised of operating leases for office space and equipment and finance leases for equipment. Equipment leases are comprised of vehicles and office equipment. The majority of the Company’s leases include both lease and non-lease components. Non-lease components primarily include maintenance, insurance, taxes and other utilities. The Company has decided to combinecombines fixed payments for non-lease components with its lease payments and accountaccounts for them as a single lease component, which increases its ROU assets and lease liabilities. Some of the leases include one or more options to renew or terminate the lease at the Company’s discretion. Generally, the renewal and termination options are not included in the ROU assets and lease liabilities as they are not reasonably certain of exercise. The Company has elected not to recognize a ROU asset or lease liability for leases with an initial term of 12 months or less.

F-43


 

KORN FERRY AND SUBSIDIARIES

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

April 30, 2020 (continued)

As most of the Company’s leases do not provide an implicit rate, the Company uses its incremental borrowing rate based on the information available at commencement date in determining the present value of the future minimum lease payments. The Company applies the portfolio approach when determining the incremental borrowing rate since it has a centrally managed treasury function. The Company’s incremental borrowing rate is estimated to approximate the interest rate on a collateralized basis with similar terms and payments in a similar economic environment.

Operating leases contain both office and equipment leases and have remaining terms that range from less than one year to 10nine years, some of which also include options to extend or terminate the lease. Finance leases are comprised of equipment leases and have remaining terms that range from less than one year to 5six years. Finance lease assets are included in property and equipment, net while finance lease liabilities are included in other accrued liabilities and other liabilities.

As a result of the acquisition of the Acquired Companies,

During fiscal 2023 and 2022, the Company recognized ROU assets of $3.2 million with a corresponding liability of $6.7 million. The ROU asset balance was adjusted by reclassification of pre-existing prepaid expenses, restructuring liabilities and deferred rent totaling $3.5 million. As part of the plan for integrating the Acquired Companies, the Company decided to exit 16 office leasesreduced its real estate footprint and as a result recorded an impairment charge of the ROU assets of $2.3$5.5 million recordedand $7.4 million, respectively, in the consolidated statementstatements of income.

In fiscal 2023, the Company acquired ICS and Salo and as a result recognized ROU assets of $0.8 million and $2.1 million, respectively, with corresponding liabilities of $1.0 million and $2.9 million, respectively. In fiscal 2022, the Company acquired Lucas Group and Patina and as a result recognized ROU assets of $3.8 million and $0.2 million, respectively, with corresponding liabilities of $9.4 million and $0.7 million, respectively. In these acquisitions, the ROU assets were adjusted to reflect unfavorable lease terms when compared with current market rates.
F-43

korn.jpg
KORN FERRY AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
April 30, 2023 (continued)
The components of lease expense were as follows:

Year Ended April 30,
202320222021

 

Year Ended

April 30, 2020

 

 

(in thousands)

 

(in thousands)

Finance lease cost

 

 

 

 

Finance lease cost

Amortization of ROU assets

 

$

1,820

 

Amortization of ROU assets$1,479 $1,065 $1,221 

Interest on lease liabilities

 

 

149

 

Interest on lease liabilities190 84 114 

 

 

1,969

 

1,669 1,149 1,335 

Operating lease cost

 

 

57,683

 

Operating lease cost48,901 53,092 56,166 

Short-term lease cost

 

 

1,111

 

Short-term lease cost833 966 474 

Variable lease cost

 

 

13,562

 

Variable lease cost11,157 10,986 11,592 

Lease impairment cost

 

 

2,282

 

Lease impairment cost5,471 7,392 — 

Sublease income

 

 

(447

)

Sublease income(3,420)(1,119)(657)

Total lease cost

 

$

76,160

 

Total lease cost$64,611 $72,466 $68,910 

Rent expense, as previously defined under ASC 840, which includes the Company leased office premises and certain office equipment leases for the years ended April 30, 2019, and 2018, was $58.2 million and $57.6 million, respectively.  

Supplemental cash flow information related to leases was as follows:

Year Ended April 30,
202320222021

 

Year Ended

April 30, 2020

 

 

(in thousands)

 

(in thousands)

Cash paid for amounts included in the measurement of lease liabilities:

 

 

 

 

Cash paid for amounts included in the measurement of lease liabilities:

Operating cash flows from operating leases

 

$

59,631

 

Operating cash flows from operating leases$63,496 $62,996 $66,991 

Financing cash flows from finance leases

 

$

1,833

 

Financing cash flows from finance leases$1,639 $1,157 $1,324 

 

 

 

 

ROU assets obtained in exchange for lease obligations:

 

 

 

 

ROU assets obtained in exchange for lease obligations:

Operating leases

 

$

15,246

 

Operating leases$19,015 $49,235 $13,638 

Finance leases

 

$

1,333

 

Finance leases$3,123 $1,586 $516 

F-44


 

korn.jpg
KORN FERRY AND SUBSIDIARIES

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

April 30, 20202023 (continued)

Supplemental balance sheet information related to leases was as follows:

Year Ended April 30,
20232022

 

April 30, 2020

 

 

(in thousands)

 

(in thousands)

Finance Leases:

 

 

 

 

Finance Leases:

 

 

 

 

Property and equipment, at cost

 

$

4,281

 

Property and equipment, at cost$7,103 $5,770 

Accumulated depreciation

 

 

(1,485

)

Accumulated depreciation(2,741)(3,085)

Property and equipment, net

 

$

2,796

 

Property and equipment, net$4,362 $2,685 

 

 

 

 

Other accrued liabilities

 

$

1,241

 

Other accrued liabilities$1,372 $1,049 

Other liabilities

 

 

1,634

 

Other liabilities3,053 1,657 

Total finance lease liabilities

 

$

2,875

 

Total finance lease liabilities$4,425 $2,706 

 

 

 

 

Weighted average remaining lease terms:

 

 

 

 

Weighted average remaining lease terms:

Operating leases

 

5.5 years

 

Operating leases4.5 years5.1 years

Finance leases

 

2.9 years

 

Finance leases3.8 years3.3 years

 

 

 

 

Weighted average discount rate:

 

 

 

 

Weighted average discount rate:

Operating leases

 

 

4.8

%

Operating leases4.5 %4.3 %

Finance leases

 

 

4.1

%

Finance leases4.7 %3.2 %

Maturities of lease liabilities are as follows:

Year Ending April 30,

 

Operating

 

 

Financing

 

Year Ending April 30,OperatingFinancing

 

(in thousands)

 

2021

 

$

60,052

 

 

$

1,325

 

2022

 

 

50,246

 

 

 

940

 

2023

 

 

43,334

 

 

 

445

 

(in thousands)

2024

 

 

40,091

 

 

 

245

 

2024$51,760 $1,545 

2025

 

 

31,601

 

 

 

85

 

202544,050 1,313 
2026202639,548 935 
2027202720,888 597 
2028202810,125 438 

Thereafter

 

 

44,444

 

 

 

 

Thereafter16,295 — 

Total lease payments

 

 

269,768

 

 

 

3,040

 

Total lease payments182,666 4,828 

Less: imputed interest

 

 

34,151

 

 

 

165

 

Less: imputed interest17,625 403 

Total

 

$

235,617

 

 

$

2,875

 

Total$165,041 $4,425 

Future minimum commitments under non-cancelable operating leases with lease terms in excess of one year, excluding commitments accrued in the restructuring liability under ASC 840 at April 30, 2019, are as follows:

Year Ending April 30,

 

Lease

Commitments

 

 

 

(in thousands)

 

2020

 

$

55,351

 

2021

 

 

52,567

 

2022

 

 

45,465

 

2023

 

 

38,582

 

2024

 

 

34,008

 

Thereafter

 

 

74,764

 

 

 

$

300,737

 

F-45

F-45


 

korn.jpg
KORN FERRY AND SUBSIDIARIES

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

April 30, 20202023 (continued)

15.

16. Acquisition

On November 1, 2019, the Company completed its acquisition of the Acquired Companies for $108.6 million, net of cash acquired.

The Acquired Companies contribute a world-class portfolio of learning, development and performance improvement offerings and expertise to Korn Ferry and bolster the Company’s substantial leadership development capabilities. These companies are included in the new Digital segment which, working closely with the new Consulting segment, will provide clients with direct access to data, insights and analytics from one of the world’s most comprehensive people and organizational databases. The addition of the Acquired Companies further expands Korn Ferry’s vast IP and content and leverages the firm’s digital delivery platforms. Actual results of operations of the Acquired Companies are included in the Company’s consolidated financial statements from November 1, 2019, the effective date of the acquisition.

The following table provides a summary of the net assets acquired in fiscal 2020 (as nothe periods indicated (no acquisitions were completed in fiscal 20192021).
Year Ended April 30
2023 (2)
2022 (3)
(in thousands)
Current assets (1)
$37,586 $36,071 
Long-term assets5,736 9,351 
Intangible assets48,400 17,300 
Current liabilities18,327 17,672 
Long-term liabilities3,164 16,210 
Net assets acquired70,231 28,840 
Purchase price254,750 133,802 
Goodwill$184,519 $104,962 

(1)Included in current assets is acquired receivables in the amount of $35.3 million and $24.5 million for acquisitions completed in fiscal 2023 and 2022, respectively.
(2)On February 1, 2023, the Company completed its acquisition of Salo for $155.4 million, net of cash acquired. Salo is a leading provider of finance, accounting and HR interim talent, with a strong focus on serving organizations in healthcare, among other industries. Actual results of operations of Salo are included in the Company's consolidated financial statements from February 1, 2023, the effective date of the acquisition.
On August 1, 2022, the Company completed its acquisition of ICS for $99.3 million, net of cash acquired. ICS contributes interim professional placement offerings and expertise that are highly relevant for the new world of work where more workplaces are hybrid or 2018):

virtual. ICS is a highly regarded provider of senior-level IT interim professional solutions with additional expertise in the areas of compliance and legal, accounting and finance, and human resources. Actual results of operations of ICS are included in the Company's consolidated financial statements from August 1, 2022, the effective date of the acquisition.

 

 

Year Ended

April 30, 2020

 

 

 

(in thousands)

 

Current assets (1)

 

$

44,475

 

Long-term assets

 

 

15,024

 

Intangibles assets

 

 

45,400

 

Current liabilities

 

 

29,503

 

Long-term liabilities

 

 

5,720

 

Net assets acquired

 

 

69,676

 

Purchase price

 

 

108,602

 

Goodwill

 

$

38,926

 

(3)On April 1, 2022, the Company completed its acquisition of Patina for $42.9 million, net of cash acquired. Patina brought the Company interim executive solutions expertise across multiple industry verticals as well as offers ideal solutions for today’s nomadic labor market. Patina’s vast network of C-suite, top-tier, and professional interim talent spanned functional areas of expertise such as finance, operations, legal, human resources, IT and more. Actual results of operation of Patina are included in the Company’s consolidated financial statement from April 1, 2022, the effective date of the acquisition.

(1)

Included in current assets is acquired receivablesOn November 1, 2021, the Company completed its acquisition of Lucas Group for $90.9 million, net of cash acquired. Lucas Group contributed a substantial professional search and interim expertise that has enhanced the Company’s search portfolio. Actual results of operations of Lucas Group are included in the Company’s consolidated financial statements from November 1, 2021, the effective date of the acquisition.

We believe the above acquisitions echo the commitment to scale the Company's solutions and further increase the Company's focus at the intersection of talent and strategy-wherever and however the needs of organizations evolve-and present real, tangible opportunities for Korn Ferry and our clients, looking for the right talent, that is highly agile, with specialized skills and expertise, to drive superior performance, including on an interim basis. The addition of these acquisitions to Korn Ferry’s broader talent acquisition portfolio–spanning Executive Search, RPO, Professional Search and Interim services–has accelerated Korn Ferry’s ability to capture additional shares of this significant market. All of the acquisitions in fiscal 2023 and 2022 are included in the Professional Search & Interim segment.
For each acquisition, the amount of $41.1 million.

The aggregate purchase price was allocated on a preliminary basis to the assets acquired and liabilities assumed on their estimated fair values at the date of acquisition. As of April 30, 2020, these2023, the aggregate purchase price allocations remainedfor Salo and ICS remain preliminary with regard to income taxes. taxes. The measurement period for purchase price allocation ends as soon as information on the facts and circumstances becomesbecome available, not to exceed 12 months.

16.

17. Commitments and Contingencies

Employment Agreements

The Company has a policy of entering into offer letters of employment or letters of promotion with vice presidents, which provide for an annual base salary and discretionary and incentive bonus payments. Certain key vice presidents who typically
F-46

korn.jpg
KORN FERRY AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
April 30, 2023 (continued)
have been employed by the Company for several years may also have a standard form employment agreement. Upon termination without cause, the Company is required to pay the amount of severance due under the employment agreement, if any. The Company also requires its vice presidents to agree in their employment letters and their employment agreement, if applicable, not to compete with the Company during the term of their employment and for a certain period after their employment ends.

F-46


 

KORN FERRY AND SUBSIDIARIES

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

April 30, 2020 (continued)

Litigation

From time to time, the Company has been and is involved in litigation incidental to its business. The Company is currently not a party to any litigation which, if resolved adversely against the Company, would, in the opinion of management, after consultation with legal counsel, have a material adverse effect on the Company’s business, financial position or results of operations.

17. Quarterly Results (Unaudited)

The following table sets forth certain unaudited consolidated statements of income data for the quarters in fiscal 2020 and 2019. The unaudited quarterly information has been prepared on the same basis as the annual financial statements and, in management’s opinion, includes all adjustments necessary to present fairly the information for the quarters presented.

 

 

Quarters Ended

 

 

 

Fiscal 2020

 

 

Fiscal 2019

 

 

 

April 30

 

 

January 31

 

 

October 31

 

 

July 31

 

 

April 30

 

 

January 31

 

 

October 31

 

 

July 31

 

 

 

(in thousands, except per share data)

 

Fee revenue

 

$

440,469

 

 

$

515,325

 

 

$

492,389

 

 

$

484,549

 

 

$

490,756

 

 

$

474,504

 

 

$

495,205

 

 

$

465,568

 

Operating income (loss)

 

$

22,227

 

 

$

31,595

 

 

$

61,869

 

 

$

60,334

 

 

$

62,275

 

 

$

62,683

 

 

$

70,987

 

 

$

(55,119

)

Net (loss) income

 

$

(621

)

 

$

20,956

 

 

$

43,032

 

 

$

43,650

 

 

$

50,627

 

 

$

45,444

 

 

$

47,317

 

 

$

(38,592

)

Net (loss) income attributable to Korn Ferry

 

$

(802

)

 

$

19,993

 

 

$

42,804

 

 

$

42,951

 

 

$

50,264

 

 

$

44,964

 

 

$

46,034

 

 

$

(38,611

)

Net (loss) earnings per common share:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Basic

 

$

(0.02

)

 

$

0.37

 

 

$

0.78

 

 

$

0.77

 

 

$

0.90

 

 

$

0.81

 

 

$

0.82

 

 

$

(0.70

)

Diluted

 

$

(0.02

)

 

$

0.36

 

 

$

0.77

 

 

$

0.76

 

 

$

0.89

 

 

$

0.80

 

 

$

0.81

 

 

$

(0.70

)

18. Subsequent Event

Quarterly Dividend Declaration

On July 1, 2020,June 26, 2023, the Board of Directors of the Company declared a cashapproved an increase of 20% in the Company's quarterly dividend of $0.10policy to $0.18 per share and declared an $0.18 per share dividend with a payment date of July 31, 20202023 to holders of the Company’s common stock of record at the close of business on July 15, 2020.7, 2023. The declaration and payment of future dividends under the quarterly dividend policy will be at the discretion of the Board of Directors and will depend upon many factors, including the Company’s earnings, capital requirements, financial conditions,condition, the terms of the Company’s indebtedness and other factors that the Board of Directors may deem to be relevant. The Board of Directors may amend, revoke or suspend the dividend policy at any time and for any reason.


KORN FERRY AND SUBSIDIARIES

SCHEDULE II – VALUATION AND QUALIFYING ACCOUNTS

April 30, 2020

Column A

 

Column B

 

 

Column C

 

 

Column D

 

 

Column E

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Additions

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Description

 

Balance at

Beginning

of Period

 

 

Charges to

Cost and

Expenses

 

 

Recoveries

(Charges)

to Other

Accounts (1)

 

 

Deductions (2)

 

 

Balance at

End of

Period

 

 

 

(in thousands)

 

Allowance for doubtful accounts:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Year Ended April 30, 2020

 

$

21,582

 

 

$

14,644

 

 

$

(311

)

 

$

(12,120

)

 

$

23,795

 

Year Ended April 30, 2019

 

$

17,845

 

 

$

14,260

 

 

$

(826

)

 

$

(9,697

)

 

$

21,582

 

Year Ended April 30, 2018

 

$

15,455

 

 

$

13,675

 

 

$

551

 

 

$

(11,836

)

 

$

17,845

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Deferred tax asset valuation allowance:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Year Ended April 30, 2020

 

$

14,032

 

 

$

886

 

 

$

3,939

 

 

$

(982

)

 

$

17,875

 

Year Ended April 30, 2019

 

$

15,682

 

 

$

5,170

 

 

$

 

 

$

(6,820

)

 

$

14,032

 

Year Ended April 30, 2018

 

$

21,278

 

 

$

3,421

 

 

$

 

 

$

(9,017

)

 

$

15,682

 

(1)

Exchange rate fluctuations and for Deferred tax asset includes amount acquired from Acquired Companies.

(2)

Allowance for doubtful accounts represents accounts written-off, net of recoveries and deferred tax asset valuation represents release of prior valuation allowances.

F-48

F-47