ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS
You should carefully consider each of the following risk factors and all of the other information set forth in this Annual Report on Form
10-K
or incorporated by reference herein. Based on the information currently known to us, we believe that the following information identifies the most significant risk factors affecting our company. However, additional risks and uncertainties not currently known to us or that we currently believe to be immaterial may also adversely impact our business.
If any of the following risks and uncertainties develop into actual events, these events could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations.
Risks Related to the Company’s Business and Operation
We are unable to predict the extent to which the global
COVID-19
pandemic may adversely impact our business operations, financial performance and results of operations.
The
COVID-19
pandemic and efforts to control its spread have significantly curtailed the movement of people and goods and services worldwide in regions where we sell our services and conduct our business operations. The pandemic has resulted in a global slowdown of economic activity, including travel restrictions and prohibitions of
non-essential
activities in some cases. Our revenues and operations were affected by a range of external factors in 2020 and 2021 related to the
COVID-19
pandemic. Although we believe the immediate impact of the
COVID-19
pandemic has been assessed and largely reflected in our 2021 financial results, the long-term magnitude and duration of the disruption and resulting decline in business activity is still highly uncertain and cannot currently be predicted. While the
roll-out
of global vaccination programs is an encouraging sign for the future, the
COVID-19
variants and efforts to control their spread could still continue to adversely affect our business, impact the demand for our services and alter the way we conduct our business, and we cannot predict the magnitude or duration of these effects.
To the extent the
COVID-19
pandemic or the efforts taken to control its spread adversely affects our business and financial results, it may also have the effect of heightening many of the other risks described in this “Risk Factors” section. Because developments concerning the
COVID-19
pandemic have been and continue to be constantly evolving, additional impacts and risks may arise that we are not aware of or that we may not be able to appropriately or timely address.
Lack of success in recruitment and retention of IT and data and analytics professionals may decrease our revenues and increase the costs needed to maintain our workforce.
Our business involves the delivery of professional services and is labor-intensive. Our success depends upon our ability to attract, develop, motivate and retain highly skilled professionals who possess the skills and experience necessary to deliver our services. Qualified IT and data and analytics professionals are in demand worldwide and are likely to remain a limited resource for the foreseeable future. There can be no assurance that these qualified professionals will be available to us in sufficient numbers, or that we will be successful in retaining current or future employees. Failure to attract and retain qualified professionals in sufficient numbers may have a material adverse effect on our business, operating results and financial condition. Historically, we have done much of our recruiting from outside of the country where the client work is performed. Accordingly, any perception among our IT professionals, whether or not well founded, that our ability to assist them in obtaining temporary work visas and permanent residency status has been diminished, could lead to significant
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employee attrition. Any significant employee attrition will increase expenses necessary to replace and retrain our professionals and could decrease our revenues if we are not able to provide sufficient numbers of these resources to our clients.
We may have difficulty maintaining client relationships if the trend towards utilizing Managed Service Providers continues.
Within our IT Staffing Services segment, many large users of staffing services are employing MSP’s to manage their contractor expenses in an effort to drive down overall costs. The general impact of this shift towards the MSP model has been to lower our gross margins. Should this trend towards utilizing the MSP model continue, it is likely that our gross margins will be pressured in the future. In addition, if large users of staffing services continue to employ MSPs, the relationship between us and those large users may be primarily conducted through MSPs, in which case we may have difficulty maintaining those client relationships because the MSP model uses the MSP as an intermediary between the staffing service provider and the
end-user,
and reduces our direct contact with the
end-user.
We are dependent upon our Indian operations and there can be no assurance that our Indian operations will support our growth strategy and historical cost structure.
Our Indian recruitment and delivery centers depend greatly upon business and technology transfer laws in India, and upon the continued development of technology infrastructure. There can be no assurance that our Indian operations will support our growth strategy. The risks inherent in our Indian business activities include:
• unexpected changes in regulatory environments;
• foreign currency fluctuations;
• tariffs and other trade barriers;
• difficulties in managing international operations; and
• the burden of complying with a wide variety of foreign laws and regulations.
Our failure to manage growth, attract and retain personnel or a significant interruption in our ability to transmit data and voice efficiently, could have a material adverse impact on our ability to successfully maintain and develop our global recruitment and delivery centers and could have a material adverse effect on our business, operating results and financial condition.
The Indian rupee may increase in value relative to the dollar, increasing our costs. Although, we receive the vast majority of our revenues in U.S. dollars, we maintain a significant portion of our recruiting and delivery workforces in India, and those employees are paid in rupees. Therefore, any increase in the value of the rupee versus the dollar would increase our expenses, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, operating results and financial condition.
Our quarterly operating results may be subject to significant variations.
Our revenues and operating results have historically been subject to significant variations from quarter to quarter depending on a number of factors, including the timing and number of client projects commenced and completed during the quarter, the number of working days in a quarter, employee hiring and attrition, and utilization rates during the quarter.
Our multi-year Center of Excellence service offering may be early terminated with a short-notice from the client, which could materially impact our backlog and adversely affect our business and future revenues.
Our Data and Analytics Services segment markets a multi-year service offering known as a Center of Excellence. This service provides our clients with a virtual extension of their internal team to assist with their
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data and analytics business strategies and objectives. These engagements are generally multi-year and provide added flexibility to the client by adjusting dedicated readily-available and appropriately skilled resources on an as needed basis. While these engagements provide opportunities to partner with and deeply understand a client’s data management and analytics longer-term objectives, these contracts generally can be early terminated by the client with a short-term notice. Should a client terminate an engagement early, this termination could materially impact our backlog of orders and adversely affect our business and future revenues.
Our acquisition AmberLeaf Partners, Inc. may not provide us with the long-term business advantages that we expected which may result in the slower growth of our business and reduced operating margins.
Our October 1, 2020 acquisition of AmberLeaf Partners, Inc., and the purchase prices of such acquisitions, were based on a series of long-term assumptions and estimates. There can be no assurance that these long-term expectations will be completely realized and could result in a material adverse effect on our business, operating results and financial condition.
Our strategy of expansion through the acquisition of additional companies may not be successful and may result in slower growth of our business and reduced operating margins.
We plan to gradually expand our operations through the acquisition of, or investment in, additional businesses and companies. We may be unable to identify businesses that complement our strategy for growth. If we do succeed in identifying a company with such a business, we may not be able to acquire the company, its relevant business or an interest in the company for many reasons, including:
• a failure to agree on the terms of the acquisition or investment;
• competition from other potential acquirers;
• a lack of capital to make the acquisition or investment; or
• the unwillingness of the company to partner with us.
If we are unable to acquire and invest in attractive businesses, our strategy for growth may be impaired. Even if we are able to complete one or more acquisitions, there can be no assurance that those completed acquisitions will result in successful growth, and the costs of completing an acquisition may reduce our margins.
We have made in the past, and may make in the future, acquisitions which could require significant management attention, disrupt our existing business, result in dilution to our shareholders, deplete our cash reserves, increase our debt levels and adversely affect our financial results.
Acquisitions, such as our acquisitions of Hudson IT, the services division of InfoTrellis, Inc., and AmberLeaf Partners, Inc., involve numerous risks, including the possibility that:
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In addition to the foregoing, acquisitions may also cause us to:
• use a substantial portion of our cash reserves or incur debt;
• assume liabilities, including potentially unknown liabilities;
• incur amortization expenses related to certain intangible assets;
• become subject to intellectual property litigation or other litigation.
Acquisitions of technology companies and assets are inherently risky and subject to many factors outside of our control and no assurance can be given that our recently completed or future acquisitions will be successful and will not materially adversely affect our business, operating results, or financial condition. Failure to manage and successfully integrate acquisitions could materially harm our business and operating results.
Our revenues are highly concentrated, and the loss of a significant client would adversely affect our business and revenues.
Our revenues are highly dependent on clients located in North America, as well as clients concentrated in certain industries. Economic slowdowns, changes in law and other restrictions or factors that affect the economic health of these industries may affect our business. For the year ended December 31, 2021, approximately 48% of our revenues were derived from our top ten clients. Consequently, if our clients reduce or postpone their spending significantly, this may lower the demand for our services and negatively affect our revenues and profitability. Further, any significant decrease in the rate of economic growth may reduce the demand for our services and negatively affect our revenues and profitability.
We have in the past, and may in the future, derive a significant portion of our revenues from a relatively limited number of clients. These contracts are terminable without penalty, as are most of our contracts. The loss of any significant client or major project, or an unanticipated termination of a major project, could result in the loss of substantial anticipated revenues.
Our leverage could materially and adversely affect our financial condition or operating flexibility and prevent us from fulfilling our obligations under our Credit Agreement.
At December 31, 2021, we had outstanding borrowings of $13.1 million under our Credit Agreement with PNC Bank and certain other financial institution lenders (the “Credit Agreement”), which amount consists of $13.1 million of outstanding borrowings under the term loan and no outstanding borrowings under the revolving credit facility. Our level of indebtedness could have important consequences on our future operations, including the following:
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In addition, we may incur additional indebtedness in the future and, if we incur new debt or other liabilities, the related risks that we face could intensify.
Our ability to make required payments or to refinance our indebtedness depends on our future performance, which will be affected by financial, business and economic conditions and other factors, many of which are not within our control. If our cash flows and capital resources are insufficient to fund our debt service obligations, we may be forced to reduce or delay investments and capital expenditures, or to sell assets, seek additional capital, or restructure or refinance our indebtedness. These alternative measures may not be successful and may not permit us to meet our scheduled debt service obligations. In addition, the terms of existing or future debt agreements and other factors may restrict us from pursuing any of these alternatives.
If we are in default under our Credit Agreement due to our inability to make the required payments, or if we otherwise fail to comply with the financial and other covenants contained therein, all of our debt thereunder could be accelerated and the lenders under our Credit Agreement could be permitted to foreclose on our assets securing such debt.
The covenants in our Credit Agreement impose restrictions that may limit our operating and financial flexibility.
The Credit Agreement contains financial covenants, including but not limited to, covenants related to the Company’s senior leverage ratio and fixed charge ratio (as defined under the Credit Agreement), and limitations on liens, indebtedness, guarantees and contingent liabilities, loans and investments, distributions, leases, asset sales, stock repurchases and mergers and acquisitions. These covenants and limitations may limit our ability to, among other things:
• create, incur or assume liens;
• make investments and loans;
• create, incur, assume or guarantee additional indebtedness;
• pay dividends, or redeem or repurchase our capital stock;
• alter the business that we conduct;
• engage in certain transactions with officers, directors and affiliates;
• prepay, redeem or purchase other indebtedness;
• enter into certain agreements; and
• make material changes to accounting and reporting practices.
Operating results below current levels or other adverse factors, including increases in interest rates, could result in us being unable to comply with certain covenants contained in our Credit Agreement. If we violate these covenants and are unable to obtain waivers, our debt under the Credit Agreement would be in default, could be accelerated and could permit our lenders to foreclose on our assets securing the debt thereunder. If the indebtedness is accelerated, we may not be able to repay our debt or borrow sufficient funds to refinance it. Even
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if we are able to obtain new financing, it may not be on commercially reasonable terms or on terms that are acceptable to us. If our debt is in default for any reason, our cash flows, operating results, or financial condition could be materially and adversely affected. In addition, complying with these covenants may also cause us to take actions that may make it more difficult for us to successfully execute our business strategy and compete against companies that are not subject to such restrictions.
We must keep pace with the rapid technological changes that characterize the IT and data and analytics industries and our failure to do so could result in lower demand for services.
The IT staffing and data analytics services industries are characterized by rapid technological change, evolving industry standards, changing client preferences and new product introductions. Our success will depend in part on our ability to keep pace with industry developments. There can be no assurance that we will be successful in addressing these developments on a timely basis or that, if these developments are addressed, we will be successful in the marketplace. In addition, there can be no assurance that products or technologies developed by others will not render our services noncompetitive or obsolete. Our failure to address these developments could have a material adverse effect on our business, operating results and financial condition.
A significant number of organizations are attempting to migrate their IT business applications to advanced technologies, such as cloud services, data scientists, mobility, and social analytics. As a result, our ability to remain competitive depends on several factors, including our ability to develop, train and hire employees with skills in advanced technologies. Our failure to hire, train and retain employees with such skills could have a material adverse impact on our future revenues.
Our “preferred vendor” contracts generally result in lower margins. In addition, we may not be able to maintain “preferred vendor” status with existing clients or obtain that status with new clients, which may lead to a decrease in the volume of business we obtain from these clients.
In our IT Staffing Services segment, we are party to several “preferred vendor” contracts, and we are seeking additional similar contracts in order to obtain new or additional business from large and
medium-sized
clients. Clients enter into these contracts to reduce their number of vendors and obtain better pricing in return for a potential increase in the volume of business to the preferred vendor. While these contracts are expected to generate higher volumes, they generally carry lower margins. Although we attempt to lower costs to maintain margins, there can be no assurance that we will be able to sustain margins on such contracts. In addition, the failure to be designated as a preferred vendor, or the loss of such status, may preclude us from providing services to existing or potential clients, except as a subcontractor, which could have a material adverse effect on the volume of business obtained from such clients.
Our success depends upon the maintenance and protection of our intellectual property rights and processes, and any substantial costs incurred protecting such rights and processes may decrease our operating margins.
Our success depends in part upon certain methodologies and tools we use in designing, developing and implementing application systems and other proprietary intellectual property rights. We rely upon a combination of nondisclosure and other contractual arrangements and trade secrets, copyright and trademark laws to protect our proprietary rights and the proprietary rights of third parties from whom we license intellectual property. We enter into confidentiality agreements with our employees and limit distribution of proprietary information. There can be no assurance that the steps we take in this regard will be adequate to deter misappropriation of proprietary information or that we will be able to detect unauthorized use and take appropriate steps to enforce our intellectual property rights. In the event of an unfavorable resolution of a dispute over our intellectual property rights, we may incur substantial costs or liabilities, which would decrease our operating margins.
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Our business is certified as a minority-owned business, and loss of that certification may impact our ability to gain new customers or expand our business with existing customers.
We are a large minority-owned staffing and data analytics services firm and have been certified as minority-owned by the National Minority Supplier Development Council (the “NMSDC”). NMSDC certification has helped us to expand our business with existing clients as well as obtain new customers. While we cannot quantify the effect of the loss of this status, its loss could adversely affect our ability to expand our business or cause us to lose existing business.
Because the NMSDC certification relies in large part upon Messrs. Wadhwani and Trivedi maintaining their positions as the collective majority holders of our common stock, any decrease in their collective ownership may jeopardize our status as a minority-owned business. There can be no assurance that Messrs. Wadhwani and Trivedi will maintain their majority position in the Company.
Existing and potential customers may consider outsourcing their IT requirements to foreign countries, which could have an adverse effect on our ability to obtain new customers or retain existing customers.
In the past years, more companies started to use
low-cost
offshore outsourcing centers to perform technology-related work. Should this shift towards moving technology-related work to offshore outsourcing centers continue, our business, operating results and financial condition could be adversely affected.
We may be subject to liability to clients arising from our engagements.
Many of our engagements involve projects that are critical to the operations of our clients’ businesses and provide benefits that may be difficult to quantify. Although we attempt to contractually limit our liability for damages arising from errors, mistakes, omissions or negligent acts in rendering our services, there can be no assurance that our attempts to limit liability will be successful. Our failure or inability to meet a client’s expectations in the performance of our services could result in a material adverse change to the client’s operations and, therefore, could give rise to claims against us or damage our reputation, adversely affecting our business, operating results and financial condition.
Security breaches and other disruptions could compromise our information and expose us to liability, which would cause our business and reputation to suffer.
In the ordinary course of our business, we collect and store sensitive data, including intellectual property, our proprietary business information and that of our customers, suppliers and business partners, and personally identifiable information of our customers and employees, in our data center and on our networks. The secure processing, maintenance and transmission of this information is critical to our operations and business strategy. In response to the pandemic, our move to a work-from-home business model may heighten risks of security breaches. Despite our security measures, our information technology and infrastructure may be vulnerable to attacks by hackers or breached due to employee error, malfeasance or other disruptions. Any such breach could compromise our networks and the information stored there could be accessed, publicly disclosed, lost or stolen. Any such access, disclosure or other loss of information could result in legal claims or proceedings, liability under laws that protect the privacy of personal information, and regulatory penalties, disrupt our operations and the services we provide to customers, and damage our reputation, and cause a loss of confidence in our services, which could adversely affect our operating results and competitive position. We maintain cyber risk insurance, but this insurance may not be sufficient to cover all of our losses from any breaches of our networks.
We depend on the proper functioning of our information systems.
We are dependent on the proper functioning of information systems in operating our business. Critical information systems are used in every aspect of our daily operations, perhaps most significantly, in the
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identification and matching of staffing resources to client assignments and in the client billing and consultant or vendor payment functions. Our information systems may not perform as expected and are vulnerable to damage or interruption including natural disasters, fire or casualty theft, technical failures, terrorist acts, cybersecurity breaches, power outages, telecommunications failures, physical or software intrusions, computer viruses, employee errors or other events. Failure or interruption of our critical information systems may require significant additional capital and management resources to resolve, which could have a material adverse effect on our business. Additionally, many of our information technology systems and networks are cloud-based or managed by third parties, whose future performance and reliability we cannot control. The risk of a cyber-attack or security breach on a third party carries the same risks to us as those associated with our internal systems. There can be no assurance that such parties will not experience cybersecurity breaches that could adversely affect our employees, customers and businesses or that our audit or diligence processes will successfully deter or prevent such breach.
If our clients are subjected to cyber-attacks or data security breaches, it may result in damage to our business and the disclosure of our confidential information.
In addition to cybersecurity threats posed directly against us, our clients’ information systems are also vulnerable to an increasing threat of continually evolving cybersecurity risks. There is no guarantee that our clients have implemented procedures that are adequate to safeguard against all data security breaches. The failure of our clients to adequately safeguard against data security breaches could have a material adverse effect on our business and operations. The theft and/or breach of our clients’ data security could cause the disclosure and/or loss of our confidential information and data and result in significant costs. In addition, any cybersecurity damage to the networks or computer systems used by us or our clients could result in a claim for substantial damages against us and significant reputational harm, regardless of our responsibility for the failure.
If our insurance costs increase significantly, these incremental costs could negatively affect our financial results.
We purchase various insurance policies to limit or transfer certain risks inherent in our operations. These costs largely relate to obtaining and maintaining professional and general liability insurance policies. If the costs of carrying these insurance policies increase significantly, due to poor claims history or changes in market conditions, this could have an adverse impact on our profitability and financial condition.
Any disruption in the supply of power, IT infrastructure and telecommunications lines to our facilities could disrupt our business process or subject us to additional costs.
Any disruption in basic infrastructure, including the supply of power, could negatively impact our ability to provide timely or adequate services to our clients. We rely on a number of telecommunication services and other infrastructure providers to maintain communications between our various facilities and clients. Telecommunications networks are subject to failures and periods of service disruption which can adversely affect our ability to maintain active voice and data communications among our facilities and with our clients. This could disrupt our business process or subject us to additional costs, materially adversely affecting our business, results of operations and financial condition.
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, pandemic, 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
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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, pandemic 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. 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 or pandemic, 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. For example, the
COVID-19
pandemic and governmental actions taken to curtail the spread of the virus during 2020 and 2021 had a material impact on our employees, customers and third-party providers and impacted the level of economic activity. Any such disaster or other business continuity problem could have a material adverse impact on our revenues and profitability.
Risks posed by climate change may materially increase our compliance costs and adversely impact our profitability.
Climate change vulnerability is posing new threats and opportunities in the global economy. Climate change and measures adopted to address it can affect us, our clients and suppliers in myriad ways, depending on the nature and location of the businesses, the near-term capital expenditure needs, the regulatory environments where they operate and their strategic plans. Generally, climate risks and opportunities for companies and their investors fall into four categories:
• Physical risk from climate change;
• Litigation risks for emitters of greenhouse gases.
Unmitigated climate change is likely to have severe physical impacts on companies with exposed assets or business operations, including Mastech Digital. Major environmental risks and liabilities can significantly impact future earnings. To the extent we are unable to comply with applicable regulations related to climate change, and such failure to comply results in material increases in compliance costs or litigation expenses, those costs or expenses will have an adverse effect on our profitability.
Our success depends upon retaining the services of its management team and key operating employees.
We are highly dependent on our management team and expect that continued success will depend largely upon their efforts, expertise and abilities. The loss of the services of any key executive for any reason could have a material adverse effect on our business. To attract and retain executives and other key employees in a competitive marketplace, we must provide a competitive compensation package, including cash-based and equity-based compensation. The loss or any sustained attrition of our key operating employees could have a material adverse effect on our business, including our ability to establish and maintain client, consultant and candidate, professional and technical relationships.
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Risks Related to Governmental Regulations, Laws and Taxation
Government regulation of
H1-B
visas may materially affect our workforce and limit our supply of qualified IT professionals, or increase our cost of securing workers.
We recruit IT professionals on a global basis and, therefore, must comply with the immigration laws in the countries in which we operate, particularly the U.S. As of December 31, 2021, approximately 26% of our workforce was working under Mastech Digital sponsored
H1-B
temporary work permits. Statutory law limits the number of new
H1-B
petitions that may be approved in a fiscal year, and if we are unable to obtain
H1-B
visas for our employees in sufficient quantities or at a sufficient rate for a significant period of time, our business, operating results and financial condition could be adversely affected. Additionally, legislation could be enacted limiting
H1-B
visa holders’ employment with staffing and data analytics companies, which could result in reduced revenues and/or a higher cost of recruiting.
In recent years, the vast majority of our
H1-B
hires were not subject to the annual quota limiting
H1-B
visas because they were already in the U.S. under
H1-B
visa status with other employers. As a result, the negative impact on recruiting due to the exhaustion of recent
H1-B
quotas was not substantial. However, the subject of
H1-B
visas has recently become a major political discussion point and there are indications that the entire
H1-B
visa program may be significantly overhauled. If a new or revised
H1-B
visa program is implemented, there could be elements of the new/revised
H1-B
visa program that may not be advantageous to our business model thus adversely impacting our business, operating results or financial condition.
Reclassification of our independent contractors by tax or regulatory authorities could have a material adverse effect on our business model and/or could require us to pay significant retroactive wages, taxes and penalties.
We utilize individuals to provide certain services in connection with our business as qualified third-party independent contractors rather than as direct employees. Heightened state and federal scrutiny of independent contractor relationships could adversely affect us given that we utilize independent contractors to perform certain services. An adverse determination related to the independent contractor status of these subcontracted personnel could result in substantial taxes or other liabilities to us, which could result in a material adverse effect upon our business.
Restrictions on immigration or unjustified or discriminatory enforcement of immigration laws could increase our cost of doing business, cause us to change the way we conduct our business or otherwise disrupt our operations.
The success of our business is dependent on our ability to recruit IT and data and analytics professionals and to mobilize them to meet our clients’ needs. Immigration laws in the countries in which we operate are subject to legislative changes, as well as variations in the standards of application and enforcement due to political forces and economic conditions. It is difficult to predict the political and economic events that could affect immigration laws, or the restrictive impact they could have on obtaining or renewing work visas for our professionals.
Immigration change continues to attract significant attention in the public arena and in the current U.S. administration and Congress. If new immigration legislation is enacted in the U.S. or in the other jurisdictions in which we do business, such legislation may contain provisions that could make it more difficult or costly for us to recruit and retain IT professionals, and to a lesser extent data and analytics professionals. Additionally, there is uncertainty as to the position the U.S. will take with respect to immigration under the Biden administration or any new administration. As a result, we may incur additional costs to run our business or may have to change the way we conduct our operations, either of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, operating results and financial condition. Also, if the enforcement of immigration laws by governmental authorities is unjustified or discriminatory, such enforcement could have the effect of disrupting our workforce.
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The U.S. Congress and Biden administration may make substantial changes to fiscal, tax, and other federal policies that may adversely affect our business.
In 2017, U.S. Congress and the Trump administration made substantial changes to U.S. policies, which included comprehensive corporate and individual tax reform. In addition, the Trump administration called for significant changes to U.S. trade, healthcare, immigration and government regulatory policy. With the transition to the Biden administration in early 2021, changes to U. S. policy have occurred and further U.S. policy changes are possible, if not likely. Changes to U.S. policy implemented by the U.S. Congress or the Biden administration may impact, among other things, the U.S. and global economy, international trade relations, unemployment, immigration, healthcare, taxation, the U.S. regulatory environment, inflation and other areas. Although we cannot predict the impact, if any, of these changes to our business, they could adversely affect our business. Until we know what policy changes are made and how those changes impact our business and the business of our competitors over the long term, we will not know if, overall, we will benefit from them or be negatively affected by them.
Adverse results in tax audits or interpretations of tax laws could have an adverse impact on our business.
We are subject to periodic federal, state and local tax audits for various tax years. We also need to comply with new, evolving or revised tax laws and regulations. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 continues to require interpretation, and the Biden administration has indicated that it intends to modify key aspects of the tax code, which could materially affect our tax obligations and effective tax rate. Although we attempt to comply with all taxing authority regulations, adverse findings or assessments made by taxing authorities as the result of an audit could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Requirements of the Affordable Care Act may continue to increase our employee benefits costs and could negatively affect our operating results, cash flows and financial condition if such costs aren’t recovered with increases in client bill rates.
We provide healthcare coverage to our U.S.-based employees that are subject to the Affordable Care Act (“ACA”). Additional provisions of the ACA and the compliance of such may result in higher overall costs to the Company, which could have a negative impact on our operating results, cash flows and financial condition
.
Risks Related to Economic and Financial Conditions
We make estimates and assumptions in connection with the preparation of our consolidated financial statements and any changes to those estimates and assumptions could adversely affect our financial results.
Our financial statements have been prepared in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles. The application of these principles require us to make estimates and assumptions about certain items and future events that may affect our reported financial statements and our accompanying disclosure with respect to, among other things, revenue recognition, purchase accounting fair value measurements, contingent consideration and taxation related items. We base our estimates on historical experience and on various other assumptions that we believe are reasonable at the time they are made. These estimates and assumptions involve the use of judgment and can be subject to uncertainties, some of which are beyond our control. If our estimates or the assumptions underlying such estimates are incorrect, actual results may differ materially from our estimates and we may need to, among other things, revise revenues or recognize additional charges that could adversely impact our results of operations and our financial condition.
Negative economic conditions in North America may adversely affect demand for our services.
Approximately 99% of our revenues are generated from clients located in North America. Our business depends on the overall demand for IT and data and analytics professionals and on the economic health of our clients. Weak economic conditions may force companies to reduce their IT staffing and data and analytics budgets and adversely affect demand for our services, thus reducing our revenues.
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Our industries are highly competitive and fragmented, which may limit our ability to increase our prices for services.
The IT staffing services and data analytics services industries are highly competitive and served by numerous global, national, regional and local firms. Primary competitors include participants from a variety of market segments, including the major consulting firms, systems consulting and implementation firms, U.S.-based staffing services companies, data and analytics service companies, applications software firms, service groups of computer equipment companies, specialized consulting firms, programming companies and temporary staffing firms. Many of these competitors have substantially greater financial, technical and marketing resources and greater name recognition than we have. There are relatively few barriers to entry into many of our markets, and as such we may face additional competition from new entrants into our markets. In addition, there is a risk that clients may elect to increase their internal resources to satisfy their staffing and data and analytics needs. There can be no assurance that we will compete successfully with existing or new competitors in the staffing and data analytics services markets.
Regional conflicts in South Asia could adversely affect the Indian economy, disrupt our operations and cause our business to suffer.
South Asia has, from time to time, experienced instances of civil unrest and hostilities among neighboring countries, such as between India and Pakistan, India and China, and even within India. There have been military confrontations along the India-Pakistan and India-China borders from time to time. The potential for hostilities between India and Pakistan is high due to past terrorist incidents in India, troop mobilizations along the border, and the geopolitical situation in the region. Military activity or terrorist attacks in the future could influence the Indian economy by disrupting communications and making travel more difficult. This, in turn, could have a material adverse effect on our business, operating results and financial condition.
Wage costs in India may increase, which may reduce our operating margins and reduce a competitive advantage of ours.
Our wage costs in India have historically been significantly lower than wage costs in the U.S. for comparably skilled professionals, and this has been one of our competitive advantages with respect to the costs of our Indian recruiting and delivery offices. However, wage increases in India may prevent us from sustaining this competitive advantage and may negatively affect our operating margins. We may need to increase the levels of our employee compensation more rapidly than in the past to retain talent. Unless we are able to continue to increase the efficiency and productivity of our employees, wage increases in the long term may reduce our overall margins.
Negative economic or business conditions brought on by a global health pandemic, epidemic or outbreak may adversely affect demand for our services.
Our business depends on the overall demand for IT and data and analytics professionals and on the economic health of our clients. Our business could be adversely affected by the effects of the
COVID-19
virus or another pandemic, epidemic or outbreak on the economic and business climate. For example, the spread of the
COVID-19
virus and the efforts taken to control its spread may cause companies to reduce their staffing and data and analytics budgets and adversely affect demand for our services, thus reducing our revenues. Furthermore, the impact of the
COVID-19
virus outbreak and the actions taken to curtail the spread of the virus could disrupt or materially impair the ability of our clients to operate their businesses. Any such disruption or impairment could lower the demand for our services, result in collection issues on our outstanding accounts receivable and have a material adverse impact on our revenues and profitability.
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If our clients are adversely affected by climate change or related compliance costs, this may reduce their spending and demand for our services, leading to a decrease in revenue.
In addition to emissions and climate change risks posed directly to Mastech Digital, we also have clients in varied industries such as healthcare, consumer products, manufacturing, technology, and retail, among others. Some of the clients may be significantly affected by climate change resulting in greater physical risk. This may lead to a reduction of demand and loss of business from such clients, which would impact our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Risks Related to Our Stock
The price of our common stock may fluctuate substantially, and your investment may decline in value.
The market price of our common stock may be highly volatile and may fluctuate substantially due to many factors, including:
• actual or anticipated fluctuations in our results of operations;
• our ability to integrate acquisitions;
• announcements of significant contracts by us or our competitors;
• changes in our pricing policies or the pricing policies of our competitors;
• loss of one or more of our significant customers;
• legislation;
• changes in market valuation or earnings of our competitors;
• the trading volume of our common stock;
• general economic conditions.
Our ownership is highly concentrated in two individuals and the interests of those individual shareholders may not coincide with yours.
Sunil Wadhwani and Ashok Trivedi,
co-founders
of the Company, beneficially own approximate 60% of Mastech Digital’s outstanding common stock. Accordingly, Messrs. Wadhwani and Trivedi together have sufficient voting power to elect all the members of the Board of Directors and to effect transactions without the approval of our other shareholders, except for those limited transactions that require a supermajority vote under our bylaws or articles of incorporation. The interests of Messrs. Wadhwani and Trivedi may from time to time diverge from our interests. Mastech Digital’s Audit Committee consists of independent directors and addresses certain potential conflicts of interest and related party transactions that may arise between us and our directors, officers or our other affiliates. However, there can be no assurance that any conflicts of interest will be resolved in our favor.
Our results of operations and share price could be adversely affected if we are unable to maintain effective internal controls.
Internal controls related to the operation of our business are critical to our ability to provide accurate financial statements and an appropriate internal control environment. We are required to provide a report from
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management on our internal controls over financial reporting that includes an assessment of the effectiveness of these controls. Internal control over financial reporting has inherent limitations, including human error, the possibility that controls could be circumvented or become inadequate because of changing conditions. Because of these limitations, internal control over financial reporting might not prevent or detect all misstatements or fraud. Also, while the Company remediated over the course of the 2021 fiscal year two material weaknesses identified in 2020, the completion of this remediation does not provide assurance that the Company’s remediation or other controls will continue to operate properly. Furthermore, management’s report on the Company’s internal controls over financial reporting
was not subject to attestation by the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm pursuant to rules of the SEC that permit the Company to provide only management’s report in this Annual Report on Form
10-K.
If we cannot maintain and execute adequate internal control over financial reporting or implement necessary new or improved controls that provide reasonable assurance of the reliability of our financial reporting and preparation of our financial statements for external use, we could suffer harm of our reputation, fail to meet our public reporting requirements on a timely basis, be unable to properly report our financial results, or be required to restate our financial statements, which could result in the loss of investor confidence and may adversely impact our stock price.
ITEM 1B. UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS
None.
ITEM 2. PROPERTIES
Information regarding the principal properties leased by us and our subsidiaries as of December 31, 2021 is set forth below:
Location Principal Use Occupying Business Segment ApproximateSquareFootage
Waltham, Massachusetts Sales office IT Staffing 1,700
Chicago, Illinois Executive, sales and recruiting IT Staffing 2,300
Atlanta, Georgia Executive, sales and marketing Data and Analytics 2,700
NOIDA, India Sales and recruiting office IT Staffing 39,900
Chennai, India Sales and delivery center Data and Analytics 35,400
ITEM 3. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS
In the ordinary course of our business, we are involved in a number of lawsuits and administrative proceedings. While uncertainties are inherent in the final outcome of these matters, management believes, after consultation with legal counsel, that the disposition of these proceedings should not have a material adverse effect on our financial position, results of operations or cash flows.
ITEM 4. MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURES
Not applicable.
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PART II
Our common stock is traded on the NYSE American under the symbol “MHH”. We began trading “regular way” on the former American Stock Exchange (“AMEX”) on October 1, 2008.
On March 1, 2022, we had 84 registered holders of record of our common stock. This figure excludes an estimate of the indeterminate number of beneficial holders whose shares may be held by brokerage firms and clearing agencies. We currently do not pay recurring dividends on our common stock.
Currently, we do not have an active share repurchase program. However, we do from time to time purchase shares to satisfy employee tax obligations related to the vesting of restricted shares, in accordance with the Company’s Stock Incentive Plan provisions. During 2021 and 2020, the Company did not purchase any shares to satisfy such employee tax obligations.
In October 2018, the Board of Directors of the Company approved the Mastech Digital, Inc. 2019 Employee Stock Purchase Plan (the “Stock Purchase Plan”). The Stock Purchase Plan is intended to meet the requirements of Section 423 of the Code and required the approval of the Company’s shareholders to be qualified under Section 423 of the Code. On May 15, 2019, the Company’s shareholders approved the Stock Purchase Plan. Under the Stock Purchase Plan, 600,000 shares of Common Stock (subject to adjustment upon certain changes in the Company’s capitalization) are available for purchase by eligible employees who become participants in the Stock Purchase Plan. The purchase price per share is 85% of the lesser of (i) the fair market value per share of Common Stock on the first day of the offering period, or (ii) the fair market value per share of Common Stock on the last day of the offering period. For the year ended December 31, 2021 and December 31, 2020, stock purchases under the Stock Purchase Plan totaled 23,492 and 20,459 shares at an average purchase price of $12.84 and $10.91, respectively. At December 31, 2021, there were 515,549 shares available for purchase under the Plan.
ITEM 6. RESERVED
This Management’s Discussion and Analysis should be read in conjunction with our Consolidated Financial Statements and accompanying Notes included in this Annual Report on Form
10-K.
This Management’s Discussion and Analysis contains forward-looking statements that involve risks, uncertainties, and assumptions as described under the heading “Forward-Looking Statements” included in Part I of this Annual Report on Form
10-K.
Our actual results could differ materially from those anticipated by these forward-looking statements as a result of many factors, including those discussed under “Item 1A. Risk Factors” and elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form
10-K.
Overview:
We are a provider of Digital Transformation IT Services to mostly large and
medium-sized
organizations.
Our portfolio of offerings includes data management and analytics services; other digital transformation services such as digital learning services; and IT staffing services.
We operate in two reporting segments – Data and Analytics Services and IT Staffing Services. Our data and analytics services are marketed on a global basis under the brand Mastech InfoTrellis and are delivered largely
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on a project basis with
on-site
and
off-shore
resources. These capabilities and expertise were acquired through our acquisition of InfoTrellis and enhanced and expanded subsequent to the acquisition. In October 2020, we acquired AmberLeaf Partners, Inc. (“AmberLeaf”), a Chicago-based customer experience consulting firm. This acquisition enhances our capabilities in customer experience strategy and managed services offerings for a variety of Cloud-based enterprise applications across sales, marketing and customer services organizations. Our IT staffing business combines technical expertise with business process experience to deliver a broad range of staffing services in digital and mainstream technologies, as well as our other digital transformation services.
Both business segments provide their services across various industry verticals, including: financial services; government; healthcare; manufacturing; retail; technology; telecommunications; and transportation. In our Data and Analytics Services segment we evaluate our revenues and gross profits largely by service line. In our IT Staffing Services segment, we evaluate our revenues and gross profits largely by sales channel responsibility. This analysis within both our reporting segments is multi-purposed and includes technologies employed, client relationships, and geographic locations.
Economic Trends and Outlook
Generally, our business outlook is highly correlated to general North American economic conditions, particularly with respect to our IT Staffing Services segment. During periods of increasing employment and economic expansion, demand for our services tends to increase. Conversely, during periods of contracting employment and / or a slowing global economy, demand for our services tends to decline. As the economy slowed in 2007 and recessionary conditions emerged in 2008 and 2009, we experienced less demand for our IT staffing services. With economic expansion in 2010 through 2019 activity levels improved. However, as economic conditions strengthened, we experience increased tightness in the supply-side (skilled IT professionals) of our businesses. These supply-side challenges pressured resource costs and to some extent gross margins. As we entered 2020, we were encouraged by continued growth in the domestic job markets and expanding U.S. and global economies. However, with the
COVID-19
pandemic surfacing in the first quarter of 2020, we realized that economic growth would quickly turn into recessionary conditions, which had a material impact on activity levels in both of our business segments. In 2021, we were encouraged by the global
roll-out
of vaccination programs and signs of economic improvement, however, the proliferation of
COVID-19
variants have caused some uncertainty and disruption in the global markets. As we enter 2022, we are hopeful that both
COVID-19-related
concerns and economic uncertainty subsides and conditions improve throughout the year.
In addition to tracking general economic conditions in the markets that we service, a large portion of our revenues is generated from a limited number of clients (see Item 1A, the Risk Factor entitled “Our revenues are highly concentrated, and the loss of a significant client would adversely affect our business and revenues”). Accordingly, our trends and outlook are additionally impacted by the prospects and well-being of these specific clients. This “account concentration” factor may result in our results of operations deviating from the prevailing economic trends from time to time.
Within our IT Staffing Services segment, a larger portion of our revenues has come from strategic relationships with systems integrators and other staffing organizations. Additionally, many large end users of IT staffing services are employing MSP’s to manage their contractor spending. Both of these dynamics may pressure our IT staffing gross margins in the future.
Recent growth in advanced technologies (social, cloud, analytics, mobility, automation) is providing opportunities within our IT Staffing Services segment. However, supply side challenges have proven to be acute with respect to many of these technologies. We believe these challenges will remain in 2022.
Results of Operations
We operate in two reporting segments – Data and Analytics Services and IT Staffing Services. The 2020 results of operations for our Data and Analytics Services segment include the operating results of AmberLeaf from the October 1, 2020 acquisition date through December 31, 2020.
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Below is a tabular presentation of revenues and gross profit margins by segment for the periods discussed:
Revenues & Gross Margin by Segment
(Revenues in millions)
Years Ended December 31,
Data and Analytics Services $ 38.3 $ 30.2 $ 26.7
Gross Margin %
Data and Analytics Services 48.4 % 50.5 % 46.7 %
Below is a tabular presentation of operating expenses by sales and marketing operations, amortization of acquired intangible assets, acquisition transaction expenses, revaluation of contingent consideration and general and administrative categories for the periods discussed:
Selling, General & Administrative (“S,G&A”) Expense Details
(Amounts in millions)
Years Ended December 31,
Data and Analytics Services Segment
Sales and Marketing $ 6.2 $ 4.9 $ 3.4
Amortization of Acquired Intangible Assets 2.5 2.1 2.0
Acquisition Transaction Expenses 0.1 0.6 (0.1 )
Revaluation of Contingent Consideration (2.9 ) — (6.1 )
General & Administrative 4.5 3.0 2.5
Subtotal Data and Analytics Services $ 13.0 $ 12.5 $ 2.7
IT Staffing Services Segment
Sales and Marketing $ 7.8 $ 7.1 $ 8.6
Amortization of Acquired Intangible Assets 0.7 0.7 0.7
General & Administrative 11.2 9.7 8.8
Subtotal IT Staffing Services $ 28.8 $ 25.6 $ 28.3
2021 Compared to 2020
Revenues
Revenues for the year ended December 31, 2021 totaled $222.0 million, compared to $194.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2020. This 14% increase in total revenues reflected revenue growth of 27% (approximately 11% organic) in our Data and Analytics Services segment and a 12% revenue increase in our IT
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Staffing Services segment. In our Data and Analytics Services segment, activity levels improved from COVID-impacted market conditions in 2020. However, in 2021 we continued to see some client reluctance to start new projects, albeit on a much smaller scale than in 2020. Bookings in 2021 approximated $55 million, a marked improvement over 2020 and pipeline opportunities were elevated from a year ago as well. Revenue growth in our IT Staffing Services segment reflected a
198-consultant
increase during the year compared to a
104-consultant
decline in 2020. We ended 2021 with 1,261
consultants-on-billing
versus 1,063
consultants-on-billing
at
year-end
2020. Our average IT staffing bill rate for 2021 totaled $75.66 per hour compared to $76.60 per hour in 2020. This bill rate decrease was due to lower rates on new assignments and was reflective of the type of skill-sets that we deployed. Permanent placement / fee revenues totaled $1.2 million in 2021, up over 60% from a year ago.
In both 2021 and 2020, we had one client that exceeded 10% of total revenues (CGI = 15.0% in both periods, respectively). Our top ten clients represented 48% of total revenues in 2021 compared to 47% of total revenues in 2020.
Gross Margin
Gross profit increased to $59.4 million in 2021 compared to $51.5 million in 2020, an increase of 15% on a year-over-basis. Gross profit as a percentage of revenue totaled 26.8% in 2021 compared to 26.6% in 2020. The improvement in our gross margin percentage largely reflected a favorable mix of revenues between our D&A and IT Staffing segments. In our Data and Analytics Services segment, gross margins declined by
210-basis
points from a record 50.5% in 2020. This decrease in margins reflected a lower margin profile in our acquired AmberLeaf business. Gross margins in our IT Staffing Services segment were 22.3% in 2021 compared to 22.1% in 2020. This
20-basis
point improvement was largely due to better margins on new assignments and higher permanent placement revenues in 2021.
Selling, General and Administrative (“S,G&A”) Expenses
S,G&A expenses in 2021 totaled $41.8 million and represented 18.8% of total revenues, compared to $38.1 million or 19.6% of revenues in 2020. When excluding acquisition transaction expenses; the revaluation of contingent consideration; and the amortization of acquired intangible assets, adjusted S,G&A expenses related to operations, as a percentage of revenues was 18.6% in 2021 versus 17.9% in 2020. The increase in S,G&A as a percentage of revenues excluding these items was largely due to investments made to our Data and Analytics Services segment.
Fluctuations within S,G&A expense components during 2021 compared to 2020 included the following:
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Other Income / (Expense) Components
In 2021, other income / (expense) consisted of interest expense of ($675,000) and foreign exchange losses of ($49,000). In 2020, other income / (expense) consisted of interest expense of ($866,000) and foreign exchange gains of $96,000. The decline in interest expense was largely due to lower average outstanding borrowings. Net foreign exchange losses in 2021 compared to 2020 reflected exchange rate variations between the Indian rupee and the Canadian dollar compared to the U.S. dollar.
Income Tax Expense
Income tax expense for 2021 was $4.7 million and represented an effective tax rate on
pre-tax
income of 27.6% compared to $2.8 million in 2020, which represented an effective tax rate on
pre-tax
income of 21.9%. The lower 2020 effective tax rate was largely due to excess tax benefits related to the exercise of stock options and the vesting of restricted shares.
2020 Compared to 2019
Revenues
Revenues for the year ended December 31, 2020 totaled $194.1 million, compared to $193.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2019. This slight increase in revenues reflected revenue growth of 13% (approximately 6% organic) in our Data and Analytics Services segment and a 2% revenue decline in our IT Staffing Services segment. In our Data and Analytics Services segment, existing client projects continued largely uninterrupted, resulting in revenue growth during the year. However, the pandemic clearly impacted new assignments and pipeline opportunities with project start delays, which resulted in curtailed revenue growth in 2020. Revenue declined in our IT Staffing Services segment resulting in a
104-consultant
decline during the year, as we ended 2020 with 1,063
consultants-on-billing.
This decline in IT Staffing Services segment revenues was the direct result of the
COVID-19
pandemic and its impact on activity levels and early assignment ends, particularly in the first-half of the year. Our average IT staffing bill rate for 2020 increased to $76.60 per hour compared to $74.97 per hour in 2019 — an increase of about 2%. This bill rate increase was primarily the result of our continued focus on advanced technology skill-sets.
In both 2020 and 2019, we had one client that exceeded 10% of total revenues (CGI = 15.0% and 11.3%, respectively). Our top ten clients represented 47% of total revenues in 2020 compared to 45% of total revenues in 2019.
Gross Margin
Gross profit increased to $51.5 million in 2020 compared to $48.0 million in 2019. Gross profit as a percentage of revenue totaled 26.6% in 2020 compared to 24.8% in 2019. The improvement in our gross margin percentage reflected margin expansion in both of our business segments. In our Data and Analytics Services segment, gross margins increased by
380-basis
points to a record 50.5%. This increase was due to higher-valued
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assignments, improved utilization and very little reimbursable travel expense revenues due to the pandemic (pass-through revenues with no gross margin content). Gross margins in our IT Staffing Services segment were 22.1% in 2020 compared to 21.3% in 2019. This
80-basis
point improvement was largely due to better margins on new assignments and reflected our continued focus on advanced technology skill-sets.
Selling, General and Administrative (“S,G&A”) Expenses
S,G&A expenses in 2020 totaled $38.1 million and represented 19.6% of total revenues, compared to $31.0 million or 16.0% of revenues in 2019. When excluding acquisition transaction expenses; the revaluation of contingent consideration; goodwill impairment; and the amortization of acquired intangible assets, adjusted S,G&A expenses related to operations, as a percentage of revenues was 17.9% in 2020 versus 17.8% in 2019. The slight increase in S,G&A as a percentage of revenues excluding these items was largely due to investments made to our Data and Analytics Services segment, including expenses related to the integration of the AmberLeaf business following the acquisition.
Fluctuations within S,G&A expense components during 2020 compared to 2019 included the following:
Other Income / (Expense) Components
In 2020, other income / (expense) consisted of interest expense of ($866,000) and foreign exchange gains of $96,000. In 2019, other income / (expense) consisted of interest expense of ($1.8 million) and foreign exchange gains of $11,000. The decline in interest expense was due to lower average outstanding borrowings resulting from debt repayments made during the year and a lower effective interest rate. Net foreign exchange gains in 2020 and 2019 largely reflected exchange rate variations between the Indian rupee and the Canadian dollar compared to the U.S. dollar.
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Income Tax Expense
Income tax expense for 2020 was $2.8 million and represented an effective tax rate on
pre-tax
income of 21.9% compared to $4.1 million in 2019, which represented an effective tax rate on
pre-tax
income of 26.8%. The lower 2020 effective tax rate was largely due to excess tax benefits related to the exercise of stock options and the vesting of restricted shares.
Liquidity and Capital Resources
Financial Conditions and Liquidity
At December 31, 2021, we had outstanding bank debt, net of cash balances on hand, of $6.5 million and approximately $32.4 million of borrowing capacity under our existing credit facility. During 2021, our outstanding bank debt, net of cash balances on hand, declined by approximately $3.3 million, despite investments in operating working capital of $12 million and capital expenditures of $1.9 million – largely due to facility upgrades to our Chennai delivery center and upgrades to our IT Systems environment. The increase in operating working capital levels reflected higher revenues in 2021 and the repayment of $2.3 million related to the
COVID-19
payroll tax deferment program. (See Note 8 for further details).
Historically, we have funded our business needs with cash generation from operating activities. In the data and analytics services and IT staffing services industries, investment in operating working capital levels (defined as current assets excluding cash and cash equivalents minus current liabilities, excluding short-term borrowings) is a significant use of cash. Controlling our operating working capital levels by closely managing our accounts receivable balance is an important element of cash preservation. Our accounts receivable “days sales outstanding” measurement (“DSO”) was
61-days
at
year-end
2021 and
60-days
at
year-end
2020. The slightly higher DSO measurement in 2021 is due to a higher DSO measurement in our solution-based data and analytics business. As data and analytics revenues increase as a percentage of total revenues, we would expect a natural increase in our overall DSO measurement.
Cash provided by operating activities, our cash and cash equivalent balances on hand at December 31, 2021 and current availability under our existing credit facility are expected to be adequate to fund our business needs over the next 12 months, absent any major acquisition-related activities.
Below is a tabular presentation of cash flow activities for the periods discussed:
Years Ended December 31,
(Amounts in millions)
Investing activities (2.1 ) (9.6 ) (0.9 )
Financing activities (4.1 ) (6.7 ) (13.4 )
Operating Activities
Cash provided by (used in) operating activities for the years ended December 31, 2021, 2020 and 2019 totaled $5.2 million, $21.2 million and $16.1 million, respectively. In 2021, cash flows from operating activities included net income of $12.2 million,
non-cash
charges of $4.7 million and increases in operating working capital of ($11.7 million). In 2020, cash flows from operating activities included net income of $9.9 million,
non-cash
charges of $4.0 million and reductions in operating working capital of $7.3 million. In 2019, cash flows from operating activities included net income of $11.1 million,
non-cash
charges of ($0.1 million) and reductions in operating working capital of $5.1 million. The 2021 increase in operating working capital reflected higher accounts receivable due to higher revenue levels and a $2.3 million repayment of the
COVID-19
payroll tax deferment program. The 2020 reduction in operating working capital was due to lower accounts receivable,
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reflecting revenue declines in the second half of the year and $4.6 million related to the
COVID-19
payroll tax deferment program. The 2019 decline in operating working capital was reflective of the resolution of cash conversion disruptions related to our 2018 Cloud-based ERP platform implementation.
We would expect operating working capital levels to increase should revenue grow in 2022. Accordingly, an increase in operating working capital would result in a reduction in cash generated from operating activities. We believe DSO’s will remain at current levels or increase marginally should data and analytics revenues grow disproportionately to total revenues. Additionally, the $4.6 million payroll tax deferment in 2020 will require a final payment of $2.3 million in 2022, which will negatively impact cash flows from operating activities in 2022.
Investing Activities
Cash (used in) investing activities for the years ended December 31, 2021, 2020 and 2019 totaled ($2.1million), ($9.6 million) and ($0.9 million), respectively. In 2021, cash (used in) investing activities consisted of ($1.9 million) of capital expenditures and ($0.2 million) of
non-current
deposits (office lease deposits). In 2020, cash (used in) investing activities related to the acquisition of AmberLeaf of ($9.3 million) and capital expenditures of ($0.3 million). In 2019, cash (used in) investing activities included capital expenditures of ($1.0 million), partially offset by $0.1 million of recoveries of
non-current
deposits. In 2021, capital expenditures were largely related to system upgrade expenditures and improvements to our data and analytics delivery center in Chennai, India.
Financing Activities
In 2021, cash (used in) financing activities totaled ($4.1 million) and included debt repayments of ($4.4 million) and the payment of deferred financing costs of ($0.2 million) related to our credit facility amendment, partially offset by proceeds from the exercise of stock options and the issuance of common stock related to the Company’s employee stock purchase plan of $0.5 million. In 2020, cash (used in) financing activities totaled ($6.7 million) and consisted of debt repayments, net of term-loan refinancing associated the AmberLeaf acquisition of ($8.0 million) and the payment of deferred financing costs of ($0.3 million), partially offset by $1.4 million proceeds from the exercise of stock options and the issuance of common stock of $0.2 million. In 2019, cash (used in) financing activities totaled ($13.4 million) and largely consisted of net debt repayments of ($13.6 million), partially offset by $0.2 million of proceeds from the issuance of common stock.
“Shelf” Registration Statement
In 2020, we put into place an effective shelf registration statement that allows us to offer and sell common stock, preferred stock, debt and other securities, either individually or in combination, up to a total dollar amount of $35 million in one or more offerings. These securities may be issued, from time to time, at our discretion based on our needs and market conditions. We believe that this shelf registration statement currently provides us flexibility with regard to potential financings that we may undertake when market conditions permit or as our financial condition may require. As of the date of this Form
10-K,
we have not completed any offerings under our shelf registration statement, and we make no assurance that we can or will issue and sell any securities under our shelf registration statement.
Other than the factors discussed in this section and the potential further impacts of the pandemic on our business, we are not aware of any other trends, demands or commitments that would materially affect liquidity or our financial resources.
Off-Balance
Sheet Arrangements
We do not have any
off-balance
sheet arrangements.
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Inflation
We do not believe that inflation had a significant impact on our results of operations for the periods presented. On an ongoing basis, we attempt to minimize any effects of inflation on our operating results by controlling operating costs and, whenever possible, seek to ensure that billing rates reflect increases in costs due to inflation. However, high levels of inflation may result in higher interest rates which would increase our cost of borrowings.
Seasonality
Our operations are generally not affected by seasonal fluctuations. However, our consultants’ billable hours are affected by national holidays and vacation patterns. Accordingly, we typically have lower utilization rates and higher benefit costs during the fourth quarter. Additionally, assignment completions tend to be higher near the end of the calendar year, which largely impacts our revenue and gross profit performance during the subsequent quarter.
Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates
Certain accounting policies are particularly important to the portrayal of our financial position, results of operations and cash flows and require the application of significant judgment by management, and as a result, are subject to an inherent degree of uncertainty. In applying these policies, our management uses judgment to determine the appropriate assumptions to be used in the determination of certain estimates. These estimates are based on our historical experience, terms of existing contracts, observances of industry trends and other available information from outside sources, as appropriate. The following explains our most critical accounting policies. See the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements, contained in Item 8, of this Annual Report on
Form 10-K
for a complete description of our significant accounting policies.
Revenue Recognition
The Company recognizes revenue on
time-and-material
over time contracts as services are performed and expenses are incurred.
Time-and-material
contracts typically bill at an agreed-upon hourly rate, plus
out-of-pocket
expense reimbursement.
Out-of-pocket
expense reimbursement amounts vary by assignment, but historically on average represent less than 2% of total revenues. Revenue is earned when the Company’s consultants are working on projects. Revenue recognition is negatively impacted by holidays and consultant vacation and sick days.
The Company recognizes revenue on fixed price contracts over time as services are rendered and uses a cost-based input method to measure progress. Determining a measure of progress requires management to make judgments that affect the timing of recognizing revenue. Under the cost-based input method, the extent of progress towards completion is measured based on the ratio of costs incurred to date to the total estimated costs at completion of the performance obligation. Revenues, including estimated fees or profits, are recorded proportionally as costs are incurred. The Company has determined that the cost-based input method provides a faithful depiction of the transfer of goods or services to the customer. Estimated losses are recognized immediately in the period in which current estimates indicate a loss. We record deferred revenues when cash payments are received or due in advance of our performance, including amounts which may be refundable.
The Company’s
time-and-material
and fixed price revenue streams are recognized over time as the customer receives and consumes the benefits of the Company’s performance as the work is performed.
In certain situations related to client direct hire assignments, where the Company’s fee is contingent upon the hired resources’ continued employment with the client, revenue is not fully recognized until such employment conditions are satisfied.
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Accounts Receivable and Allowance for Uncollectible Accounts
The Company extends credit to clients based upon management’s assessment of their creditworthiness. A substantial portion of the Company’s revenue, and the resulting accounts receivable, are from Fortune 1000 companies, major systems integrators and other staffing organizations. The Company does not generally charge interest on delinquent accounts receivable.
Unbilled receivables represent amounts recognized as revenues based on services performed and, in accordance with the terms of the client contract, will be invoiced in a subsequent period.
Accounts receivable are reviewed periodically to determine the probability of loss. The Company records an allowance for uncollectible accounts when it is probable that the related receivable balance will not be collected based on historical collection experience, client-specific collection issues, and other matters the Company identifies in its collection monitoring.
Goodwill and Intangible Assets
Identifiable intangible assets are recorded at fair value as of the closing date when acquired in a business combination. Identifiable intangible assets related to acquisitions consisted of client relationships, covenants
not-to-compete,
trade names and technology, which are being amortized using the straight-line method over their estimated useful lives ranging from three years to twelve years, as more fully described in Note 3 “Business Combinations” and Note 4 “Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets, net” to the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements.
Excess purchase price over the fair value of net tangible assets and identifiable intangible assets acquired are recorded as goodwill. Goodwill is not amortized but is tested for impairment at least on an annual basis. If impairment is indicated, a write-down to fair value is recorded based on the excess of the carrying value of the reporting unit over its fair market value.
We review goodwill and intangible assets for impairment annually as of October 1
st
or more frequently if events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying value of the assets may not be recoverable. The impairment test is performed at the reporting unit (business segment) level. Determination of recoverability is based on the lowest level of identifiable estimated future discounted cash flows resulting from use of the assets and their eventual disposition. Measurement of any impairment loss is based on the excess carrying value of the reporting unit over their fair market value.
In conducting our annual impairment testing, we have the option to first assess qualitative factors to determine whether the existence of events or circumstances leads to a determination that it is more likely than not (more than 50%) that the estimated fair value of a reporting unit is less than its carrying amount. If not, no further goodwill impairment testing is required. If it is more likely than not that a reporting unit’s fair value is less than its carrying amount, we are then required to perform a quantitative impairment test. We also may elect not to perform the qualitative assessment, and instead, proceed directly to the quantitative impairment test.
Leases
Leases
Right-of-use
(“ROU”) assets represent our right to use an underlying asset for the lease term and lease liabilities represent our obligation to make lease payments arising from the lease. Operating lease ROU assets and liabilities are recognized at commencement date based on the present value of lease payments over the lease term. Since most of the Company’s leases do not have an implicit borrowing rate, we use our incremental borrowing rate based on the information available at commencement date in determining the present value of lease payments. Our leases may include options allowing us in our sole discretion to extend or terminate the lease, and when it is reasonably certain that we will exercise those options, we will include those periods in our lease term. Variable costs, such as payments for insurance and tax payments, are expensed when the obligation for those payments is incurred.
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Business Combinations
The Company accounts for acquisitions in accordance with guidance found in ASC 805,
Business Combinations
(“ASC 805”). This guidance requires consideration given (including contingent consideration), assets acquired and liabilities assumed to be valued at their fair market values at the acquisition date. The guidance further provides that:
(1) in-process
research and development will be recorded at fair value as an indefinite-lived intangible asset; (2) acquisition-related transaction costs will generally be expensed as incurred; (3) restructuring costs associated with a business combination will generally be expensed subsequent to the acquisition date; and (4) changes in deferred tax asset valuation allowances and income tax uncertainties after the acquisition date generally will effect income tax expense.
ASC 805 requires that any excess purchase price over fair value of assets acquired (including identifiable intangibles) and liabilities assumed be recognized as goodwill. Additionally, any excess fair value of acquired net assets over acquisition consideration results in a bargain purchase gain. Prior to recording a gain, the acquiring entity must reassess whether all acquired assets and assumed liabilities have been identified and must perform
re-measurements
to verify that the consideration paid, assets acquired and liabilities assumed have all been properly valued.
The AmberLeaf financial results are included in the Company’s Consolidated Financial Statements from the October 1, 2020 acquisition date.
Stock-Based Compensation
Effective October 1, 2008, the Company adopted a Stock Incentive Plan (the “Plan”) which, as amended, provides that up to 4,900,000 shares of the Company’s common stock shall be allocated for issuance to directors, executive management and key personnel. Grants under the Plan can be made in the form of stock options, stock appreciation rights, performance shares or stock awards. The Plan is administered by the Compensation Committee of the Board of Directors. Stock options are granted at an exercise price equal to the closing share price of the Company’s common stock at the grant date and generally vest over a three to five-year period.
In October 2018, the Board of Directors of the Company approved the Mastech Digital, Inc. 2019 Employee Stock Purchase Plan (the “Stock Purchase Plan”). The Stock Purchase Plan is intended to meet the requirements of Section 423 of the Code and required the approval of the Company’s shareholders to be qualified under Section 423 of the Code. On May 15, 2019, the Company’s shareholders approved the Stock Purchase Plan. Under the Stock Purchase Plan, 600,000 shares of Common Stock (subject to adjustment upon certain changes in the Company’s capitalization) are available for purchase by eligible employees who become participants in the Stock Purchase Plan. The purchase price per share is 85% of the lesser of (1) the fair market value per share of Common Stock on the first day of the offering period, or (ii) the fair market value per share of Common Stock on the last day of the offering period.
The Company accounts for stock-based compensation expense in accordance with ASC Topic 718 “
Share-based Payments
” which requires us to measure all share-based payments based on their estimated fair value and recognize compensation expense over the requisite service period. The fair value of our stock options and shares issued under the Company’s Stock Purchase Plan is determined at the date of grant using the Black-Scholes option pricing model.
Income Taxes
The Company records an estimated liability for income and other taxes based on what management determines will likely be paid in the various tax jurisdictions in which we operate. Management uses its best judgment in the determination of these amounts. However, the liabilities ultimately realized and paid are dependent on various matters, including the resolution of the tax audits in the various affected tax jurisdictions,
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and may differ from the amounts recorded. An adjustment to the estimated liability would be recorded through income in the period in which it becomes probable that the amount of the actual liability differs from the amount recorded.
Management determines the Company’s income tax provision using the asset and liability method. Under this method, deferred income taxes are provided for the temporary differences between the financial reporting basis and the tax basis of the Company’s assets and liabilities. The Company measures deferred tax assets and liabilities using enacted tax rates in effect for the year in which we expect to recover or settle the temporary differences. The effect of a change in tax rates on deferred taxes is recognized in the period that the change is enacted. The Company evaluates its deferred tax assets and records a valuation allowance when, in management’s opinion, it is more likely than not that some portion or all of the deferred tax assets will not be realized. As of December 31, 2021 and 2020, the Company provided a valuation allowance of $311,000 and $179,000, respectively, related to the uncertainty of the realization of foreign net operating losses (“NOL”).
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 created a new requirement that certain income earned by foreign subsidiaries, known as global intangible
low-tax
income (“GILTI”), must be included in the gross income of their U.S. shareholder. The FASB allows an accounting policy election of either recognizing deferred taxes for temporary differences expected to reverse as GILTI in future years or recognizing such taxes as a current-period expense when incurred. We have elected to treat the tax effect of GILTI as a current-period expense as incurred.
The Company accounts for uncertain tax positions in accordance with ASC Topic
740-10,
“
Accounting for Uncertainty in Income Taxes
”. Accordingly, the Company has reported a liability for unrecognized tax benefits resulting from uncertain tax positions taken, or expected to be taken, in a tax return. As of December 31, 2021 and 2020, the Company provided $0 for uncertain tax positions, including interest and penalties, related to various federal and state income tax matters.
Contingent Consideration Liability
In connection with the AmberLeaf acquisition, the Company has an obligation to pay consideration that is contingent upon the achievement of specified revenue growth and EBITA margin objectives. As of the acquisition date, the Company recorded a contingent consideration liability of $2.9 million representing the estimated fair value of the contingent consideration that is expected to be paid. The fair value of the contingent consideration liability was estimated by utilizing a probability weighted simulation model to determine the fair value of contingent consideration.
In connection with the InfoTrellis acquisition, the Company had an obligation to pay consideration that was contingent upon the achievement of specified earnings before interest and taxes objectives (“EBIT”). As of the acquisition date, the Company recorded a contingent consideration liability representing the estimated fair value of the contingent consideration that was expected to be paid. The fair value of the contingent consideration liability was estimated by utilizing a probability weighted simulation model to determine the fair value of contingent consideration.
We
re-measured
this liability and recorded changes in the fair value when it was more likely than not that the future payments had changed. Increases or decreases in the fair value of contingent consideration can result from changes in timing and amounts of revenue and earnings estimates.
In 2021, the Company revalued the contingent consideration liability related to the AmberLeaf acquisition after determining that relevant conditions for payment of such liability were likely not to be satisfied. The revaluation resulted in a $2.9 million reduction to the contingent consideration liability. In 2019, the Company revalued the contingent consideration liability of the InfoTrellis acquisition after determining that relevant conditions for payment of such liability were not satisfied. The revaluation resulted in a $6.1 million reduction to the contingent consideration liability. No contingent consideration revaluation was recorded in 2020. Both of
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these credits are reflected in selling, general and administrative expenses in the Company’s Consolidated Statements of Operations, in Item 8, herein. No contingent consideration liability remained outstanding as of December 31, 2021.
Derivative Instruments and Hedging Activities—Interest Rate Swap Contracts
Concurrent with the Company’s borrowings on July 13, 2017 under its new credit facility, the Company entered into an interest-rate swap to convert the debt’s variable interest rate to a fixed rate of interest. These swap contracts, which matured on April 1, 2021, have been designated as a cash flow hedging instrument and qualified as effective hedges at inception under ASC Topic 815 “Derivatives and Hedging”. These contracts are recognized on the balance sheet at fair value. The effective portion of the changes in fair value on these contracts is recorded in other comprehensive income (loss) and is reclassified into the Consolidated Statements of Operations as interest expense in the same period in which the underlying transaction affects earnings.
With respect to derivatives designated as hedges, the Company formally documents all relationships between hedging instruments and hedged items, as well as its risk management objective and strategy for undertaking such transactions. The Company evaluates hedge effectiveness at the time a contract is entered into and on an ongoing basis. If a swap contract is deemed ineffective, the change in the fair value of the derivative is recorded in the Consolidated Statement of Operations as interest expense.
Foreign Currency Translation
The reporting currency of the Company and its subsidiaries is the U.S. dollar. The functional currency of the Company’s subsidiary in Canada is the U.S. dollar because the majority of its revenue is denominated in U.S. dollars. The functional currency of the Company’s Indian and European subsidiaries is their local currency. The results of operations of the Company’s Indian and European subsidiaries are translated at the monthly average exchange rates prevailing during the period. The financial position of the Company’s Indian and European subsidiaries is translated at the current exchange rates at the end of the period, and the related translation adjustments are recorded as a component of accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) within Shareholders’ Equity. Gains and losses resulting from foreign currency transactions are included as a component of other income (expense), net in the Consolidated Statements of Operations, and have not been material for all periods presented.
Recently Issued Accounting Standards
Recent accounting pronouncements are described in Note 1 to the Consolidated Financial Statements contained in Item 8, herein.
ITEM 7A. QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET RISK
In addition to the inherent operational risks, the Company is exposed to certain market risks, primarily related to changes in interest rates and currency fluctuations.
Interest Rates
At December 31, 2021, we had outstanding borrowings of $13.1 million under our Credit Agreement with PNC Bank and certain other financial institution lenders (the “Credit Agreement”)—Refer to Note 6—“Credit Facility” in the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements, included in Item 8 herein. A hypothetical 10% increase in interest rates on our variable debt outstanding at December 31, 2021 would have an increase in our annual interest expense of approximately $40,000. As of December 31, 2021, the Company has no interest-rate hedge vehicles outstanding.
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LIBOR has been discontinued after 2021. In March 2020, the FASB issued authoritative guidance, which provides optional expedients and exceptions for applying GAAP to contract modifications, hedging relationships, and other transactions that reference LIBOR and are affected by reference rate reform if certain criteria are met. Entities may adopt the provisions of the new standard as of the beginning of the reporting period when the election is made between March 12, 2020 through December 31, 2022. We adopted this standard effective January 1, 2021 using the prospective method, and utilized the optional expedients for cash flow hedges.
Currency Fluctuations
The reporting currency of the Company and its subsidiaries is the U.S. dollar. The functional currency of the Company’s subsidiary in Canada is the U.S. dollar because the majority of its revenue is denominated in U.S. dollars. The functional currency of the Company’s Indian and European subsidiaries is their local currency. The results of operations of the Company’s Indian and European subsidiaries are translated at the monthly average exchange rates prevailing during the period. The financial position of the Company’s Indian and European subsidiaries is translated at the current exchange rates at the end of the period, and the related translation adjustments are recorded as a component of accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) within Shareholders’ Equity. Gains and losses resulting from foreign currency transactions are included as a component of other income (expense), net in the Consolidated Statements of Operations, and have not been material for all periods presented. A hypothetical 10% increase or decrease in overall foreign currency rates would not have had a material impact on our consolidated financial statements. As our international operations grow, we will continue to evaluate and reassess our approach to managing the risks relating to fluctuations in currency rates.
ITEM 8. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND SUPPLEMENTARY DATA
The financial statements and supplementary data required by this item are filed as part of this Annual Report on Form
10-K.
See Index to Consolidated Financial Statements on page 41 of this Annual Report on
Form 10-K.
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MANAGEMENT’S RESPONSIBILITY FOR FINANCIAL REPORTING
The accompanying Consolidated Financial Statements of Mastech Digital, Inc. and subsidiaries have been prepared by management, which is responsible for their integrity and objectivity. The statements have been prepared in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America and necessarily include amounts based on management’s best estimates and judgments.
The Company’s Consolidated Financial Statements for the year ended December 31, 2021 have been audited by UHY LLP, an Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm. The Audit opinion is on page 42 of this Annual Report on Form
10-K.
The Board of Directors pursues its responsibility for the Company’s financial reporting and accounting practices through its Audit Committee, all of the members of which are independent directors. The Audit Committee’s duties include recommending to the Board of Directors the Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm to audit the Company’s financial statements, reviewing the scope and results of the independent accountants’ activities and reporting the results of the committee’s activities to the Board of Directors. The Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm has met with the Audit Committee in the presence of management representatives to discuss the results of their audit work. Additionally, the Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm has direct access to the Audit Committee.
Vivek Gupta
President and Chief Executive Officer
John J. Cronin, Jr.
Chief Financial Officer
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MASTECH DIGITAL, INC.
INDEX TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
Page
Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm 42
Consolidated Balance Sheets as of December 31, 2021 and 2020 44
Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements 49
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REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM
To the Shareholders and the Board of Directors of
Mastech Digital, Inc.
Opinion on the Financial Statements
We have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheets of Mastech Digital, Inc. and Subsidiaries (the “Company”) as of December 31, 2021 and 2020, and the related consolidated statements of operations, comprehensive income, shareholders’ equity, and cash flows for each of the years in the three-year period ended December 31, 2021, and the related notes and Schedule II, Valuation and Qualifying Accounts listed in the index at item 15(2) (collectively referred to as the “financial statements”). In our opinion, the financial statements referred to above present fairly, in all material respects, the consolidated financial position of Mastech Digital, Inc. and Subsidiaries at December 31, 2021 and 2020, and the consolidated results of their operations and their cash flows for each of the years in the three-year period ended December 31, 2021, in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.
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 Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (“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. The Company is not required to have, nor were we engaged to perform, an audit of its internal control over financial reporting. As part of our audits, we are required to obtain an understanding of internal control over financial reporting, but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the Company’s internal control over financial reporting. Accordingly, we express no such opinion.
Our audits included performing procedures to assess the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements, whether due to error or fraud, and performing procedures that respond to those risks. Such procedures included examining, on a test basis, evidence regarding the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. Our audits also included evaluating the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the financial statements. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.
Critical Audit Matter
The critical audit matter communicated below is a matter arising from the current-period audit of the financial statements that was communicated or required to be communicated to the audit committee and that (1) relates to an account or disclosure that is material to the financial statements and (2) involved especially challenging, subjective, or complex judgments. The communication of the critical audit matter does not alter in any way our opinion on the financial statements, taken as a whole, and we are not, by communicating the critical audit matter below, providing a separate opinion on the critical audit matter or on the accounts or disclosures to which it relates.
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Critical Audit Matter – Valuation of Goodwill
As discussed in Notes 1 and 4 to the financial statements, the Company evaluates goodwill for impairment on an annual basis as of October 1 or more frequently if events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying value of the asset may not be recoverable. The goodwill balance as of December 31, 2021, was $32.5 million. The Company considers potential impairment by comparing the fair value of a reporting unit to its carrying value. Fair value is estimated by management using a discounted cash flow model.
We identified goodwill impairment as a critical audit matter because of the significant judgments made by management to estimate the fair value of the reporting units. This required a high degree of auditor judgment and an increased extent of effort, including our need to involve valuation specialists, when performing audit procedures to evaluate the reasonableness of inputs into the discounted cash flow model driven by management’s estimates and assumptions. Significant management estimates include forecasts for revenue, gross profit, long-term growth rates, and discount rates.
How the Critical Audit Matter Was Addressed in the Audit
Our audit procedures performed to evaluate the reasonableness of management’s estimates and assumptions included assessing the methodologies used by the Company and testing the significant assumptions used in the quantitative models. We compared forecasts prepared by management to historical revenues and gross profit to evaluate the reasonableness of the assumptions and to evaluate management’s ability to accurately forecast future revenues and gross profit. We evaluated historical trends in assessing the reasonableness of growth rate assumptions and performed sensitivity analyses of certain significant assumptions to evaluate the changes in the fair value of the reporting units that would result from changes in these assumptions. We performed procedures to verify the mathematical accuracy of the calculations used by management. We involved our valuation specialists to assist us in identifying the significant assumptions underlying the models, assessing the rationale and supporting documents related to these assumptions, and determining the appropriateness and reasonableness of the methodologies employed. Furthermore, we assessed the appropriateness of the disclosures in the financial statements.
/s/ UHY LLP
We have served as the Company’s auditor since 2008.
Farmington Hills, Michigan
March 14, 2022
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MASTECH DIGITAL, INC.
CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
(Amounts in thousands, except share and per share data)