Document



 
 
 
 
 
UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549
___________________________________ 
FORM 10-K
 ___________________________________
(Mark One)
ý
ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(D) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
For the fiscal year ended March 31, 2017
¨
TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(D) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
For the transition period from             to             
Commission File No. 001-34972
 ___________________________________
Booz Allen Hamilton Holding Corporation
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
 ___________________________________
Delaware
 
26-2634160
(State or other jurisdiction of
incorporation or organization)
 
(I.R.S. Employer
Identification No.)
 
 
8283 Greensboro Drive, McLean, Virginia
 
22102
(Address of principal executive offices)
 
(Zip Code)
(703) 902-5000
Registrant’s telephone number, including area code
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:
Title of Each Class
 
Name of Each Exchange on Which Registered
Class A Common Stock
 
New York Stock Exchange
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act:
None.
__________________
Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act.    Yes  ý    No  ¨
Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act.    Yes  ¨    No  ý
Note — Checking the box above will not relieve any registrant required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act from their obligations under those sections.
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days.    Yes  ý    No  ¨
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically and posted on its corporate Web site, if any, every Interactive Data File required to be submitted and posted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit and post such files).    Yes  ý    No  ¨
Indicate by check mark if disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to Item 405 of Regulation S-K (§ 229.405 of this chapter) is not contained herein, and will not be contained, to the best of registrant’s knowledge, in definitive proxy or information statements incorporated by reference in Part III of this Form 10-K or any amendment to this Form 10-K.  ý
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer or a smaller reporting company. See definition of “large accelerated filer”, “accelerated filer”,“smaller reporting company” and "emerging growth company" in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act. (Check one):
Large accelerated filer
  
ý
  
Accelerated filer
  
¨
 
 
 
 
Non-accelerated filer
  
¨  (Do not check if a smaller reporting company)
  
Smaller reporting company
  
¨
 
 
 
 
Emerging growth company
 
¨
If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ¨






Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act).     Yes  ¨    No  ý
As of September 30, 2016, the market value of the voting and non-voting common equity held by non-affiliates based on the closing price as of that day was $4,574,607,371.

Indicate the number of shares outstanding of each of the issuer’s classes of common stock, as of the latest practicable date.
 
Shares Outstanding
as of May 18, 2017
Class A Common Stock
147,920,835

Class B Non-Voting Common Stock

Class C Restricted Common Stock

Class E Special Voting Common Stock

 
 
 
 
 
DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE
Portions of the registrant’s Proxy Statement for its Annual Meeting of Stockholders scheduled for August 3, 2017 are incorporated by reference into Part III.





TABLE OF CONTENTS
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Item 1.
 
 
 
Item 1A.
 
 
 
Item 1B.
 
 
 
Item 2.
 
 
 
Item 3.
 
 
 
Item 4.
 
 
 
 
 
Item 5.
 
 
 
Item 6.
 
 
 
Item 7.
 
 
 
Item 7A.
 
 
 
Item 8.
 
 
 
Item 9.
 
 
 
Item 9A.
 
 
 
Item 9B.
 
 
 
 
 
 
Item 10.
 
 
 
Item 11.
 
 
 
Item 12.
 
 
 
Item 13.
 
 
 
Item 14.
 
 
 
Item 15.






INTRODUCTORY NOTE
Unless the context otherwise indicates or requires, as used in this Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2017 references to: (i) “we,” “us,” “our” or our “company” refer to Booz Allen Hamilton Holding Corporation, its consolidated subsidiaries and predecessors; (ii) “Booz Allen Holding” refers to Booz Allen Hamilton Holding Corporation exclusive of its subsidiaries; (iii) “Booz Allen Investor” refers to Booz Allen Hamilton Investor Corporation, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Booz Allen Holding; (iv) “Booz Allen Hamilton” refers to Booz Allen Hamilton Inc., our primary operating company and a wholly-owned subsidiary of Booz Allen Holding; and (v) “fiscal,” when used in reference to any twelve-month period ended March 31, refers to our fiscal years ended March 31. Unless otherwise indicated, information contained in this Annual Report is as of March 31, 2017. We have made rounding adjustments to reach some of the figures included in this Annual Report and, unless otherwise indicated, percentages presented in this Annual Report are approximate.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements contained or incorporated in this Annual Report include forward-looking statements. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terminology such as “may,” “will,” “could,” “should,” “forecasts,” “expects,” “intends,” “plans,” “anticipates,” “projects,” “outlook,” “believes,” “estimates,” “predicts,” “potential,” “continue,” “preliminary,” or the negative of these terms or other comparable terminology. Although we believe that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, we can give you no assurance these expectations will prove to have been correct. These forward-looking statements relate to future events or our future financial performance and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our actual results, levels of activity, performance, or achievements to differ materially from any future results, levels of activity, performance, or achievements expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. These risks and other factors include:
cost cutting and efficiency initiatives, budget reductions, Congressionally mandated automatic spending cuts, and other efforts to reduce U.S. government spending, including automatic sequestration required by the Budget Control Act of 2011 (as amended by the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012, the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2013 and the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015), which have reduced and delayed contract awards and funding for orders for services especially in the current political environment or otherwise negatively affect our ability to generate revenue under contract awards, including as a result of reduced staffing and hours of operation at U.S. government clients;
delayed funding of our contracts due to uncertainty relating to and a possible failure of Congressional efforts to approve funding of the U.S. government and to craft a long-term agreement on the U.S. government’s ability to incur indebtedness in excess of its current limits, or changes in the pattern or timing of government funding and spending (including those resulting from or related to cuts associated with sequestration or other budgetary cuts made in lieu of sequestration);
current and continued uncertainty around the timing, extent, nature, and effect of ongoing Congressional and other U.S. government action to address budgetary constraints, including, but not limited to, uncertainty around the outcome of Congressional efforts to craft a long-term agreement on the U.S. government’s ability to incur indebtedness in excess of its current limits and the U.S. deficit;
any issue that compromises our relationships with the U.S. government or damages our professional reputation, including negative publicity concerning government contractors in general or us in particular;
changes in U.S. government spending, including a continuation of efforts by the U.S. government to decrease spending for management support service contracts, and mission priorities that shift expenditures away from agencies or programs that we support;
U.S government shutdowns due to, among other reasons, a failure by elected officials to fund the government;
the size of our addressable markets and the amount of U.S. government spending on private contractors;
failure to comply with numerous laws and regulations;
our ability to compete effectively in the competitive bidding process and delays or losses of contract awards caused by competitors’ protests of major contract awards received by us;
the loss of General Services Administration Multiple Award schedule contracts, or GSA schedules, or our position as prime contractor on government-wide acquisition contract vehicles, or GWACs;
changes in the mix of our contracts and our ability to accurately estimate or otherwise recover expenses, time, and resources for our contracts;
continued efforts to change how the U.S. government reimburses compensation related and other expenses or otherwise limit such reimbursements, including recent rules that expand the scope of existing reimbursement limitations, such as a reduction in allowable annual employee compensation to certain contractors as a result of the Bipartisan Budget Act of

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2013, and an increased risk of compensation being deemed unallowable or payments being withheld as a result of U.S. government audit, review or investigation;
our ability to generate revenue under certain of our contracts;
our ability to realize the full value of and replenish our backlog and the timing of our receipt of revenue under contracts included in backlog;
changes in estimates used in recognizing revenue;
an inability to attract, train, or retain employees with the requisite skills, experience, and security clearances;
an inability to hire, assimilate, and deploy enough employees to serve our clients under existing contracts;
an inability to timely and effectively utilize our employees; or manage our cost structure
failure by us or our employees to obtain and maintain necessary security clearances;
the loss of members of senior management or failure to develop new leaders;
misconduct or other improper activities from our employees or subcontractors, including the improper use or release of our clients’ sensitive or classified information;
increased insourcing by various U.S. government agencies due to changes in the definition of “inherently governmental” work, including proposals to limit contractor access to sensitive or classified information and work assignments;
increased competition from other companies in our industry;
failure to maintain strong relationships with other contractors; or the failure of contractors with which we have entered into a sub- or prime- contractor relationship to meet their obligations to us or our clients;
inherent uncertainties and potential adverse developments in legal or regulatory proceedings, including litigation, audits, reviews, and investigations, which may result in materially adverse judgments, settlements, withheld payments, penalties, or other unfavorable outcomes including debarment, as well as disputes over the availability of insurance or indemnification;
internal system or service failures and security breaches, including, but not limited to, those resulting from external cyber attacks on our network and internal systems;
risks related to changes to our operating structure, capabilities, or strategy intended to address client needs, grow our business or respond to market developments;
risks associated with new relationships, clients, capabilities, and service offerings in our U.S. and international businesses;
failure to comply with special U.S. government laws and regulations relating to our international operations;
risks related to our indebtedness and credit facilities which contain financial and operating covenants;
the adoption by the U.S. government of new laws, rules, and regulations, such as those relating to organizational conflicts of interest issues or limits;
risks related to completed and future acquisitions, including our ability to realize the expected benefits from such acquisitions;
an inability to utilize existing or future tax benefits, including those related to our stock-based compensation expense, for any reason, including a change in law;
variable purchasing patterns under U.S. government GSA schedules, blanket purchase agreements and indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity, or IDIQ, contracts; and
other risks and factors listed under “Item 1A. Risk Factors” and elsewhere in this Annual Report.
In light of these risks, uncertainties, and other factors, the forward-looking statements might not prove to be accurate and you should not place undue reliance upon them. All forward-looking statements speak only as of the date made and we undertake no obligation to update or revise publicly any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.


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PART I
 
Item 1.
Business
Overview
For more than one hundred years, business, government, and military leaders have turned to Booz Allen Hamilton to solve their most complex problems. A values-driven organization with a guiding purpose to empower people to change the world, we remain focused on providing long-term solutions to our clients' emerging and ever-changing challenges. Our people are passionate about their service to our clients and their missions and the communities in which we live and work. This is our heritage, and it is as true today as when the company was founded in 1914.
A collaborative culture is an integral part of our unique operating model, which encourages our people to bring a diversity of ideas and talent to every client engagement. Building on our legacy of passionate client service and guided by our comprehensive Vision 2020 strategy, we are blending deep expertise in management consulting with advanced technical capabilities to deliver powerful solutions. By investing in markets, capabilities, and talent and building new business models, including ventures, partnerships, and product offerings, we believe we are creating sustainable quality growth for the company.
Through our dedication to our clients' missions, and a commitment to evolving our business to address client needs, we have longstanding and deep relationships with our clients, some more than 75 years. We support critical missions for a diverse base of federal government clients, including nearly all of the U.S. government's cabinet-level departments, as well as increasingly for top-tier commercial and international clients. We support these clients by helping them tackle their most complex and pressing challenges such as protecting soldiers in combat and supporting their families, advancing cyber capabilities, keeping our national infrastructure secure, enabling and enhancing digital services, transforming the healthcare system, and improving governmental efficiency to achieve better outcomes. Our U.S. commercial clients are primarily in the financial services, healthcare and life sciences, energy, high-tech manufacturing, retail, and automotive industries. Our international clients are primarily in the Middle East, along with a growing presence in Southeast Asia.
History and Corporate Structure
We were founded in 1914 by Edwin Booz, one of the pioneers of management consulting. In 1940, we began serving the U.S. government by advising the Secretary of the Navy in preparation for World War II. As the needs of our clients have grown more complex, we have expanded beyond our management consulting foundation to develop deep expertise in the fields of analytics, digital solutions, engineering and cyber.
We are organized and operate as a corporation, but sometimes use the term “partner” to refer to our Chief Executive Officer and our Senior and Executive Vice Presidents. The use of the term “partner” reflects our collaborative culture, and is not meant to imply that we operate our company as, or have any intention to create a legal entity that is, a partnership.
Booz Allen Holding was incorporated in Delaware in May 2008 to serve as the top-level holding company for the consolidated Booz Allen Hamilton U.S. government consulting business. On July 31, 2008, Booz Allen Hamilton completed the separation of its U.S. government consulting business from its legacy commercial and international consulting business, the spin-off of the commercial and international business, and the sale of 100% of its outstanding common stock to Booz Allen Holding, which was majority owned by The Carlyle Group and certain of its affiliated investment funds, or Carlyle. Our company is a corporation that is the successor to the U.S. government consulting business of Booz Allen Hamilton following the separation. The aforementioned transactions are referred to in this Annual Report as the acquisition. Between 2013 and 2016, we registered the offering and sale of common stock by Carlyle, and on December 6, 2016, Carlyle disposed of its remaining shares of the Company's Class A Common Stock in a registered secondary offering.
Our Institution and Operating Model
We operate as a single profit/loss center with a single bonus pool for partners, vice presidents, principals, and senior associates. Our unique operating model is designed to encourage collaboration allowing us to bring a mix of the best talent to every client engagement and our partnership-style culture is designed to provide operational flexibility necessary to quickly mobilize people and capabilities in order to react to market changes faster than our competitors. As a result, we are able to go to market as a whole firm rather than as a collection of individual competing business units or profit centers. Our operating model also encourages and enables continuous investment in the right markets, capabilities, and talent to position the company for further growth by anticipating what government and commercial clients will need next.
Across all markets, we address our clients’ complex and evolving needs by deploying teams of staff with a combination of deep mission understanding, market-leading functional capabilities, consulting talent, and true technical

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and engineering expertise. Our multifaceted client-facing teams, which are fundamental to our differentiated value proposition, better position us to create market-relevant growth strategies and plan for and meet current, future, and prospective market needs, and help us identify and deliver against diverse client needs in a more agile manner. Our significant win rates during fiscal 2017 on new and re-competed contracts of 62% and 90%, respectively, as compared to 62% and 88%, respectively, in fiscal 2016 demonstrate the strength of this approach.
Our People
Our ability to deliver lasting value and results to our clients has always been, and continues to be, a product of the strong character, deep expertise and tremendous passion of our people. Our talent base of approximately 23,300 employees endeavor to solve problems that matter by making clients' missions their own, combining decades of consulting and domain expertise with functional expertise in areas such as analytics, digital solutions, engineering, and cyber. Our talented people are supported by a culture of innovation and inclusion.
Our people at a glance:
82 partners
Nearly 30% of the workforce are veterans, including 21 partners
Approximately 84% of the workforce hold bachelor's degrees; approximately 41% hold master's degrees; and approximately 3% hold doctoral degrees
Approximately 70% of the workforce hold security clearances
We attract and retain the best people by providing them with opportunities to grow and develop as they work on our clients' toughest challenges. This creates a virtuous circle because our employees know they are making a difference while growing their careers, which furthers their commitment to Booz Allen and makes them ambassadors for future talent. Booz Allen has always recognized the importance of its people and culture, and we continue to build on that strong legacy to provide growth and development to our talent.
We also push our thinking through a culture of innovation and foster this spirit through events, partnerships, programs, and tools that facilitate collaboration to tackle a common challenge or pitch new products and capabilities. It is the diversity of our employees that fuels this innovation - enhancing the way we work by bringing a wealth of experiences and expertise to any challenge. We celebrate difference in all forms, building an environment of inclusion regardless of ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual orientation, age or disability.
The importance we place on our people continues to receive external recognition. For the eighth consecutive year, Booz Allen has received a perfect score on the Corporate Equality Index (CEI), a national benchmarking survey on corporate policies and practices related to LGBT workplace equality administered by the Human Rights Campaign Foundation. In addition, for the second year in a row, Booz Allen received a perfect score on the 2016 Disability Equality Index (DEI), and has been named a "Best Place to Work" by the DEI. Our people are ranked by Vault.com as #1 in public sector consulting, and the company has been named by Fortune as one of the World's Most Admired Companies and by Forbes as one of the Top Employers for Veterans and as one of the best Management Consulting Firms for 2017. We have also been honored with the Alliance for Workplace Excellence Award, the Military Times' Best Employers for Vets, and Working Mother's Best Companies Hall of Fame. Our employees are also recognized for their excellence by Black Engineers, and Women Worth Watching.
Beyond their client work, our people demonstrate passionate service in their commitment to our country, military, and communities. For more than a decade, Booz Allen has mentored young innovators through the nonprofit FIRST® LEGO® League Expo. Our multifaceted support and commitment to helping FIRST grow in the U.S. and abroad led to Booz Allen being named a FIRST Strategic Partner, one of only 21 organizations to achieve such recognition. Additionally, in an effort to increase the number of women and minorities employed in Science, Technology, Engineering & Math (STEM) fields, Booz Allen's STEM Girls 4 Social Good (SG4SG) initiative, which is now in its second year, aims to bridge the talent gap in these growing fields with a cascading mentorship model designed to attract more girls and retain more women in STEM.
Purpose and Values. As one of the first organizations in the United States to adopt a formal code of business ethics, we have always believed that doing what's right and holding ourselves and others accountable is the only way to do business. Our people are drawn by our purpose to "empower people to change the world" and live our values:
Ferocious Integrity: Do right; hold ourselves accountable
Unflinching Courage: Speak truth to power; maintain convictions; bring bold thinking

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Passionate Service: Embrace the mission; build community through generosity; make meaningful connections; listen and act with empathy
Collective Ingenuity: Find the biggest problem and solve it; be resourceful and creative; seek to make the biggest difference; harness the power of diversity; be devoted to the team
Champion's Heart: Crave being the best; bring joy to the pursuit; learn from failure; compete with passion
Service Offerings
Our service offerings, supported by skilled technical staff, drive our capabilities and capacity to meet market demand. We offer our clients a range of technological capabilities that have had an enduring impact for our clients, our people, and the communities where we live and work.
Our service offerings:
Consulting focuses on the talent and expertise needed to solve client problems and develop mission-oriented solutions for specific domains, business strategies, human capital, and operations through new and innovative approaches. We help clients boost organizational performance, deploy new technologies in smart ways, and change and streamline processes to achieve better outcomes. Component capabilities include:
Our Acquisition, Program Management, and Logistics experts help clients imagine, implement, and deliver a wide range of operational programs including those related to acquisition and contracts, supplier, and budget management.
Our Human Capital and Learning experts help clients address workforce and leadership challenges in a resource-constrained environment through a wide range of strategy and transformation expertise. We design, develop, and deliver instructional classroom and online learning programs for all levels within a client's organization.
Our Management Consultants build on our 100-year consulting heritage with experience and expertise in strategy development, organizational design, efficiency, transformation, strategic communications, and Wargaming. Our consultants respond to the demands of today's data-driven digital economy with knowledge management strategies, process improvement tools, and organization design insights.
Analytics focuses on delivering transformational solutions in the traditional areas of decision analytics (including operations research and cost estimation), intelligence analysis (including all source analysis) and tradecraft, as well as new or emerging areas such as data science and machine intelligence. We pioneer new approaches in data science and machine-intelligence, draft industry-defining publications, and introduce transformative products to the market. Component capabilities include:
Our Decision Analysts help clients make informed choices to maximize performance at an appropriate cost, while delivering on schedule and minimizing risks. Our problem-solving techniques include simulation, mathematical optimization, queuing theory, and machine learning to improve decision making and efficiency.
Our Data Scientists apply advanced analytic techniques such as data mining, text mining, statistical analysis, and predictive modeling, to extract meaning from data. We also create analytic tools that support end users by providing access to data, analytic outputs, and visualizations.
Digital Solutions combines social, mobile, advanced analytics, cloud, and internet-of-things strategies and technologies with modern techniques including user-centered design, and agile and DevOps methodologies. Through our many decades supporting the federal government, we blend in-depth mission understanding and digital technical expertise with a consultative approach. We develop, design, and implement powerful solutions, such as secure, scalable systems and software development services, to address the most complex challenges facing our clients. As a data-driven organization, we use advanced statistical processes to continually improve the overall quality of our software development work for clients. In July 2016, the firm was appraised at the highest industry benchmark for software quality (maturity level 5) from the Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI) Institute. Booz Allen is one of only 11 Fortune 500 companies to achieve this rating. Component capabilities include:
Our Cloud experts help clients design cloud architecture solutions, select the data that is most applicable for storage in the cloud, develop analytical solutions to gain valuable insights from large data sets and then strategically use that knowledge to drive mission success, save money, and improve effectiveness.

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Our Software Developers and Systems Architects develop and implement small and large scale information technology applications, embedded systems, and mobile applications. We deliver expertise across an extensive list of programming languages applicable to traditional, cloud, mobile, and embedded applications. We employ traditional and agile development methods depending on the application.
Our Digital Solutions Network taps into the collective creativity and innovation of our digital
professionals to help clients modernize and transform their missions through the open integration
and reuse of digital capabilities across the enterprise. Integrated teams work within the network's
virtual construct of digital capabilities, partnerships, and modern agile and DevOps methodologies
in digital hubs across the country. With a dynamic startup environment, each hub serves as a center
of excellence for a specialized set of digital capabilities. For example, at our digital hub in
Charleston, SC, our people use scaled agile, DevOps and cloud development and management
expertise to develop software solutions for health/Department of Veterans Affairs systems.
Engineering delivers in-depth technical solutions to our clients' most challenging problems with core capabilities in Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (C4ISR), which are supported by our Systems Engineering & Integration and Sustainment Engineering functions. Our engineering capabilities include external industry standard certifications (e.g., ISO 90001 and AS9100). Component capabilities include:
Our Engineers work in concert with technologists, policy experts, and management consultants to develop solutions to help solve some of the most pressing engineering and applied science issues facing federal defense and civilian agencies. We offer rapid prototyping, reverse engineering, systems engineering & integration, and applied engineering disciplines. We use design and manufacturing techniques to convert functional requirements into useable prototypes that can be deployed to test and confirm the requirements are met.
Our experts in Networks & Information Technology Infrastructure (NITI) provide solutions in the areas of enterprise operations, network services and communications, data center operations, and data storage. We apply our NITI expertise to physical, virtualized, cloud, and hybrid form factors networks.
Our Scientists use observation, hypothesis testing, measurement, experiment, simulations, and thought experiments to provide greater knowledge and solve product, facility, and systems challenges. We have a number of facilities and laboratories that are developing new methods of detection, designing and conducting research, and helping clients address mission challenges using a broad range of scientific disciplines.
Cyber focuses on prevention, detection, and cost effectiveness. Prevention includes methods of securing platforms and enterprises against cyber attacks, detection, is the instrumentation of networks to provide lead indicators of penetrations, and cost efficiency includes our integrated engineering capabilities. Our cyber capabilities are rooted in our decades of service to the U.S. federal intelligence community and today affords us the opportunity to maintain deep technical expertise in network security. We help clients understand the business value of cyber risk management as well as prepare for future cybersecurity needs with a lens toward efficiency and effectiveness. Component capabilities include:
Our Cyber Security experts help clients anticipate threats to their networks and data, ensure their cyber posture is consistent with established best practices, and respond to cyber events. Additionally, we offer a broad range of engineering services including automatic compliance, cloud security, identity, and access management, insider threat, and network segmentation.
Innovation
Our innovation agenda is focused on developing transformative solutions that build lasting value for our clients. We are advancing and creating the infrastructure and mechanics for new and disruptive business models by enabling a vibrant innovation culture, and bringing a solutions mindset to our market place and sales force and building the company's presence and brand in the external innovation ecosystem. Our Solutions Studio is a gateway to the company's innovation agenda, combining market-prioritized needs with the company's capabilities and products. The Solutions Studio also enhances future revenue opportunities and accelerates solutions to clients.
Additionally, we are an essential partner in regional innovation communities all over the country. Through our Innovation Hub Network, we are physically co-locating, co-creating, mentoring, incubating, contributing, and investing with organizations in Boston, MA (the epicenter of the data science revolution), Austin, TX (the tech startup oasis); and

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Seattle, WA to San Diego, CA (the corridor of venture capitalists and digital powerhouses), with new hubs in Herndon, VA, Laurel, MD, and Charleston, SC. We harness next-generation technologies being created in academic, startup, and big technology firms to imagine and incubate new offerings, solutions, and growth for the company.
In addition to our service offerings, Booz Allen is driving focused innovation in areas expected to create integrated capabilities, drive next generation expertise, and develop business over the long term. These innovation areas include:
Cyber Futures develops differentiated cyber solutions and disruptive business models to address emerging threats and vulnerabilities against clients’ emerging expanding digital enterprise, internet-of-things landscape, and connected platforms. Our solutions are based on our world-class cyber tradecraft, big data analytics, advanced engineering, and technology along with strategic alliances across the broader industrial ecosystem.
Data Solutions and Machine Intelligence offers cutting-edge analytics solutions across our entire client set. Using our large set of Data Science experts and products, we help clients use and think differently about their data to fundamentally transform the way they perform their missions and run their organizations. We are continuing to develop new capabilities in exciting areas such as quantum computing, machine intelligence, and computer vision, all of which have an opportunity to transform the way analysis is performed.
Directed Energy technologies use high-energy lasers or high-powered microwaves to efficiently disrupt or damage targets with non-kinetic, speed-of-light engagement. Through our Directed Energy business, we can help clients as a technology maturation agent, integrator, and solutions provider.
Our Long - Term Growth Strategy
Vision 2020 is a comprehensive strategy to transform Booz Allen and create sustainable quality growth for the company. Fiscal 2017 was the fourth year of implementing the strategy, but its design reaches back to before the government market began to contract in 2011-2012. We anticipated the market downturn and set in place a strategy that would allow us to emerge in a strong position vis-à-vis our competitors. Under Vision 2020, we are:
Moving closer to the center of our clients' core missions
Increasing the technical content of our work
Attracting and retaining superior talent in diverse areas of expertise
Leveraging innovation to deliver complex, differentiated, end-to-end solutions
Creating a broad network of external partners and alliances
Expanding into the commercial and international markets
The success of our strategy can be seen in:
Backlog growth, which achieved record levels during fiscal 2017
Headcount growth and a corresponding shift in our talent portfolio to more technical expertise in disciplines such as systems development, cyber, and analytics
Continued strong performance in the global commercial market
Execution against our capability focused acquisition strategy, most recently through the acquisition of digital service business eGov Holdings (d/b/a Aquilent) in January 2017 to enhance Booz Allen’s growing technology capabilities and talent base
We have won highly technical, mission-critical work across our federal government business because we bring differentiated offerings that meet our clients’ toughest challenges. To propel our success against our Vision 2020 long term strategy, we have implemented initiatives to drive innovation deeper into our markets, enhancing our ability to collaborate and achieve more for our clients, and differentiating Booz Allen in the talent market to enhance our ability to attract and retain the best and the brightest.
These initiatives are ultimately designed to accelerate revenue growth and move Booz Allen further toward our goal of delivering sustainable quality growth.
Our Clients
Booz Allen is committed to solving our clients' toughest challenges, and we work with a diverse base of public-and-private sector clients across a number of industries, in the U.S. and internationally.

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Our clients call upon us to work on their hardest problems, such as delivering effective health care, protecting soldiers in combat and their families and keeping our national infrastructure secure. We are investing in markets, capabilities, and talent and are building new business models through strategic ventures, partnerships, and product offerings.
Our government clients include substantially all of the cabinet-level departments of the U.S government. We serve commercial clients across all industries, including some of the largest organizations in critical infrastructure sectors, such as financial services, energy, healthcare, and manufacturing, and we have a thriving portfolio of international clients in the Middle East and Southeast Asia.
A Large Addressable Market
We believe that the U.S government is the world's largest consumer of management and technology consulting services. The U.S. government's budget for its fiscal year ended September 30, 2016 was close to $3.9 trillion, excluding authorizations from Overseas Contingency Operations and supplemental funding for the Department of Defense. Of this amount, approximately $1.2 trillion was for discretionary budget authority, including $631 billion for the Department of Defense and intelligence community and $563 billion for civil agencies. Based on data from the Federal Procurement Data System, approximately $473 billion of the U.S. government's fiscal year 2016 discretionary outlays were non-intelligence agency funding-related products and services procured from private contractors. We estimate that $119.6 billion of the spending directed towards private contractors in U.S. government fiscal year 2016 was for management, technology, and engineering services, with $67.2 billion spent by the Department of Defense and $52.4 billion spent by civil agencies. The agencies of the U.S. intelligence community that we serve represent an additional market. These numbers also exclude a large addressable market for our services and capabilities in the global commercial markets where we have a modest but growing footprint.
During Booz Allen's fiscal 2017:
We derived 97% of our revenue from contracts where the end client was an agency or department of the U.S. government.
We delivered services under more than 4,820 contracts and task orders.
We derived 91% of our revenue in fiscal 2017 from engagements for which we acted as the prime contractor.
The single largest entity that we served in fiscal 2017 was the U.S. Army, which represented approximately 14% of our revenue in that period.
Selected Long-Term Client Relationships
         
Client (1)
Relationship
Length
(Years)
U.S. Navy
75+
U.S. Army
65+
Department of Energy
40+
U.S. Air Force
35+
National Security Agency
35+
Department of Homeland Security
35+
Federal Bureau of Investigation
25+
Department of Health and Human Services
20+
National Reconnaissance Office
20+
A U.S. intelligence agency
20+
Internal Revenue Service
20+
 
(1)
Includes predecessor organizations.
Defense and Intelligence Clients
We count among our many defense and intelligence clients all four branches of the U.S. military, the Office of the Secretary of Defense, the Joint Staff and members of the intelligence community.
We help our military services take on new missions, tackle acquisition and budgeting challenges, and address the medical needs of soldiers in combat. We also help our defense and intelligence clients adopt innovative technologies, bridging the gap they face between rising mission responsibilities and declining mission funding with our heritage and expertise in consulting. In addition, we bring tool, techniques and expertise to challenges and apply them in innovative ways.

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The men and women we hire have served their country and have the experience and determination to help our defense clients keep our nation safe. Our experts in strategy development, acquisition, and operations help commanders and their staffs in the field share mission-critical information and make crucial battlefield decisions.
Revenue generated from defense clients was $2.7 billion, or approximately 46.6% of our revenue in fiscal 2017 as compared to $2.6 billion, or approximately 48.3% of our revenue in fiscal 2016. Our key defense clients include the Army, Navy/Marine Corps, Air Force, and Joint Combatant Commands. Revenue generated from defense clients also includes foreign military sales to non-U.S. government clients.
Revenue generated from intelligence clients was $1.3 billion, or approximately 23.1% of our revenue in fiscal 2017 as compared to $1.3 billion, or approximately 23.4% of our revenue in fiscal 2016. Our key intelligence clients include U.S. Intelligence Agencies, such as the National Security Agency, National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, and National Reconnaissance Office; and Military Intelligence Agencies, such as the Defense Intelligence Agency, Service Intelligence Centers, and Intelligence Surveillance Reconnaissance units.
Civil Clients
Whether ensuring the safety, security, and well-being of citizens, or boosting national competitiveness, we work with leaders in civil government to support their public service missions. We excel at tackling the most complex challenges such as, from reforming financial regulatory oversight, to evolving our health care system, from improving information sharing among law enforcement organizations, to supporting green building initiatives.
Our work spans the full breadth of civil government, including energy and the environment, financial services, health, homeland security, law enforcement, transportation, grants, international development and diplomacy, and benefits and entitlements.
We work with leaders so they make better decisions, and foster better user experiences both inside and outside of their organizations.
Revenue generated from civil government was $1.6 billion, or approximately 27.7% of our revenue in fiscal 2017 as compared to $1.4 billion, or approximately 26.0% of our revenue in fiscal 2016. Our major civil government clients include Homeland Security, Health and Human Services, Veterans Affairs, Treasury and Justice.
Global Commercial Clients
We work alongside public and private sector leaders of the most prestigious organizations in the world to help shape and execute their critical agendas.
Following the 2011 expiration of our non-competition agreement with our spun-off commercial business, we re-entered the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) and Southeast Asia (SEA). We originally established our international offices located in MENA more than six decades ago and our offices in SEA more than three decades ago. Since re-entering these markets, our strategy and technology consultants have empowered our clients in these regions of the world with the knowledge and experience they need to build their own local resources and capabilities.
Revenue generated from global commercial clients was $152.1 million, or approximately 2.6% of our revenue in fiscal 2017 as compared to $122.2 million, or approximately 2.3% of our revenue in fiscal 2016. Global commercial clients are comprised of U.S. commercial and international clients. Our commercial clients include large commercial and investment banks, utilities, oil and gas companies, major retailers, auto manufacturers, major pharmaceutical manufacturers, and healthcare providers. Our international clients include non-U.S. governments and commercial entities in MENA region and select Asian markets.
Contracts
Booz Allen's approach has long been to ensure that we have prime or subcontractor positions on a wide range of contracts that allow clients maximum opportunity to access our services. Our diverse contract base provides stability to our business. This diversity is seen in the fact that over 76% of our revenue for fiscal 2017 was derived from over 3,900 active task orders under indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity (IDIQ) contract vehicles. Our top IDIQ contract vehicle represented approximately 5.5% of our revenue in our fiscal 2017. Our largest task order under an IDIQ contract vehicle accounted for approximately 2.7% of our revenue in our fiscal 2017. Our largest definite contract represented approximately 2.8% of our revenue in our fiscal 2017.
There are two predominant contracting methods by which the U.S. government procures services: indefinite contract vehicles and definite contracts. Each of these is described below:
Indefinite contract vehicles provide for the issuance by the client of orders for services or products under the terms of the contract. Indefinite contracts are often referred to as contract vehicles or ordering contracts. IDIQ

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contracts may be awarded to one contractor (single award) or several contractors (multiple award). Under a multiple award IDIQ contract, there is no guarantee of work as contract holders must compete for individual work orders. IDIQ contracts will often include pre-established labor categories and rates, and the ordering process is streamlined (usually taking less than a month from recognition of a need to an established order with a contractor). IDIQ contracts often have multi-year terms and unfunded ceiling amounts, thereby enabling but not committing the U.S. government to purchase substantial amounts of products and services from one or more contractors in a streamlined procurement process.
Definite contracts call for the performance of specified services or the delivery of specified products. The U.S. government procures services and solutions through single award, definite contracts that specify the scope of services that will be delivered and identify the contractor that will provide the specified services. When an agency recognizes a need for services or products, it develops an acquisition plan, which details the means by which it will procure those services or products. During the acquisition process, the agency may release a request for information to determine if qualified bidders exist, a draft request for a proposal to allow the industry to comment on the scope of work and acquisition strategy, and finally a formal request for a proposal. Following the evaluation of submitted proposals, the agency will award the contract to the winning bidder.
Listed below are our top IDIQ contracts for fiscal 2017 and the number of active task orders under these contracts as of March 31, 2017
 
 
Fiscal
2017
 
% of
Total
Revenue
 
Number of
Task Orders
as of
March 31, 2017
 
Expiration
Date
 
 
(in millions)
 
 
 
 
 
 
Alliant
 
$
319.6

 
5.5
%
 
35

 
4/30/2019
Information Technology Schedule 70
 
315.1

 
5.4
%
 
128

 
3/22/2019
One Acquisition Solution for Integrated Services
 
275.6

 
4.7
%
 
34

 
9/2/2024
System Engineering and Analysis/Advanced Technology Support
 
217.3

 
3.7
%
 
64

 
4/4/2019
VA TAC Transformation Twenty One Total Technology
 
214.7

 
3.7
%
 
75

 
6/30/2016
Mission Oriented Business Integrated Services
 
194.1

 
3.3
%
 
271

 
9/30/2017
Defense Systems Technical Area Tasks
 
169.6

 
2.9
%
 
35

 
6/22/2019
Encore II IT Solutions
 
133.8

 
2.3
%
 
27

 
5/31/2018
Booz Allen Engineering Services- Alliant
 
130.2

 
2.2
%
 
95

 
4/30/2019
Rapid Response Third Generation
 
127.4

 
2.2
%
 
20

 
10/28/2017
    
Under their Category Management initiative, the General Services Administration (“GSA”) has undertaken an effort to improve its professional service schedule offerings. As a result of this initiative, GSA consolidated multiple contract vehicles under the schedule program. The result for Booz Allen has been the consolidation of the scope of six schedules into one professional services schedule contract. The GSA Schedule contracts to be consolidated under the new professional services schedule are: Advertising and Integrated Marketing Solutions (AIMS), Environmental Services (ES), Financial and Business Services (FABS), Logistics Worldwide (LOGWORLD), Mission Oriented Business Integrated Services (MOBIS), and Professional Engineering Services (PES).
Booz Allen’s migration request was accepted in October of 2015 and as a result, our individual schedules included in the GSA’s consolidation will remain in place through the end of the current option period of each individual contract to prevent the interruption of services. The revenue generated under these individual Schedules will begin to decrease during this transition period. We anticipate that the decrease in revenue on the individual schedules will be offset by growth under the new professional service schedule. We anticipate this transition will have negligible impact on future revenues.
Listed below for each specified revenue band is the number of, revenue derived from, and average duration of our task orders as of March 31, 2017. The table includes revenue earned during fiscal 2017 under all task orders that were active during fiscal 2017 under these IDIQ contracts and the number of active task orders on which this revenue was

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earned. Average duration reflected in the table below is calculated based on the inception date of the task order, which may be prior to the beginning of fiscal 2017, and the completion date which may have been prior or subsequent to March 31, 2017. As a result, the actual average remaining duration for task orders included in this table may be less than the average duration shown in the table, and task orders included in the table may have been complete on March 31, 2017. 
Segmentation of Task Order by Revenue
Fiscal 2017
 
Number of Task
Orders Active During Fiscal 2017
 
Fiscal 2017 Revenue (in millions)
 
% of Total
Fiscal
2017
Revenue
 
Average
Duration
(Years)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Less than $1 million
 
3,154

 
$
575.6

 
10
%
 
1.4

Between $1 million and $3 million
 
463

 
786.6

 
14
%
 
2.1

Between $3 million and $5 million
 
123

 
470.9

 
8
%
 
2.1

Between $5 million and $10 million
 
106

 
742.3

 
13
%
 
2.5

Greater than $10 million
 
81

 
1,774.1

 
31
%
 
2.7

Total
 
3,927

 
$
4,349.5

 
76
%
 
1.6

Listed below are our top definite contracts for fiscal 2017 and revenue recognized under these contracts. Classified contracts that cannot be named are noted generically in the table :
 
 
Fiscal
2017
 
% of
Total
Revenue
 
Expiration
Date
 
 
( in millions)
 
 
 
 
Classified Contract (1)
 
$
160.7

 
2.8
%
 
12/31/2020
Classified Contract
 
70.9

 
1.2
%
 
3/7/2023
InnoVision Future Solutions Program
 
57.8

 
1.0
%
 
11/30/2017
Classified Contract
 
52.6

 
0.9
%
 
10/31/2018
Classified Contract
 
49.6

 
0.9
%
 
6/30/2018
Classified Contract (2)
 
49.0

 
0.8
%
 
4/30/2017
Classified Contract
 
41.0

 
0.7
%
 
11/30/2017
Classified Contract
 
29.4

 
0.5
%
 
5/26/2021
Integrated Personnel and Pay System - Army
 
23.3

 
0.4
%
 
6/30/2017
Launch and Test Range System - Systems Engineering and Integration (3)
 
22.7

 
0.4
%
 
3/31/2017
(1)
Successfully awarded follow-on contract in April 2017.
(2)
Follow-on contracts in place.
(3)
Replacement contract awarded. Booz Allen is a member of the winning team.
Backlog
We define backlog to include the following three components:
Funded Backlog. Funded backlog represents the revenue value of orders for services under existing contracts for which funding is appropriated or otherwise authorized less revenue previously recognized on these contracts.
Unfunded Backlog. Unfunded backlog represents the revenue value of orders for services under existing contracts for which funding has not been appropriated or otherwise authorized.
Priced Options. Priced contract options represent 100% of the revenue value of all future contract option periods under existing contracts that may be exercised at our clients’ option and for which funding has not been appropriated or otherwise authorized.
Backlog does not include any task orders under IDIQ contracts except to the extent that task orders have been awarded to us under those contracts.
The following table summarizes the value of our contract backlog as of the respective dates presented: 

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As of March 31,
 
 
2017
 
2016
 
 
(In millions)
Funded
 
$
2,815

 
$
2,673

Unfunded
 
3,098

 
2,546

Priced options
 
7,679

 
6,595

Total backlog
 
$
13,592

 
$
11,814

We may never realize all of the revenue that is included in our total backlog, and there is a higher degree of risk in this regard with respect to unfunded backlog and priced options. See “Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations — Factors and Trends Affecting Our Results of Operations — Sources of Revenue — Contract Backlog” for additional disclosure regarding our backlog. See also “Item 1A. Risk Factors — Risks Related to Our Business — We may not realize the full value of our backlog, which may result in lower than expected revenue.”
Competition
The government services market is highly fragmented and competition within the government professional services industry has intensified due to market pressure. In addition to professional service companies like ours that focus principally on the provision of services to the U.S. government, other companies active in our markets include large defense contractors; diversified consulting, technology, and outsourcing service providers; and small businesses.
Changing government policies and market dynamics are impacting the competitive landscape. In the past, the governments focus on organizational conflicts of interest have driven divestitures, which have changed the competitive landscape. More recently, there has been increasing pressure from government clients to utilize small businesses, due in large part to a push by both past and present administrations to bolster the economy by helping small business owners. Finally, due to the foregoing factors and the drive in our markets to quickly build competencies in growth areas and achieve economies of scale, we believe that consolidation activity among market participants will continue.
In the course of doing business, we compete and collaborate with companies of all types and sizes. We strive to maintain positive and productive relationships with these organizations. Some of them hire us as a subcontractor, and we hire some of them to work with us as our subcontractors. Our major competitors include: (1) contractors focused principally on the provision of services to the U.S. government (2) large defense contractors that provide both products and services to the U.S. government, and (3) diversified service providers. We compete based on our technical expertise and client knowledge, our ability to successfully recruit appropriately skilled and experienced talent, our ability to deliver cost-effective multifaceted services in a timely manner, our reputation and relationship with our clients, our past performance, security clearances, and the size and scale of our company. In addition, in order to maintain our competitive position, we routinely review our operating structure, capabilities, and strategy to determine whether we are effectively meeting the needs of existing clients, effectively responding to developments in our markets, and successfully building a platform intended to provide the foundation for the future growth of our business.
Patents and Proprietary Information
Our management and technology consulting services business utilizes a variety of proprietary rights in delivering products and services to our clients. We claim a proprietary interest in certain of our service offerings, products, software tools, methodologies, and know-how. While we have several patents issued in the United States and patents pending both in the United States and in certain foreign countries, we do not consider our overall business to be materially dependent on the protection of such patents. Additionally, we have a number of trade secrets that contribute to our success and competitive position, and we endeavor to protect this proprietary information. While protecting trade secrets and proprietary information is important, we are not materially dependent on any specific trade secret or group of trade secrets. Other than licenses to commercially available third-party software, we have no licenses to intellectual property that are significant to our business.
We rely upon a combination of nondisclosure agreements and other contractual arrangements, as well as copyright, trademark, patent, and trade secret laws to protect our proprietary information. We also enter into proprietary information and intellectual property agreements with employees, which require them to disclose any inventions created during employment, to convey such rights to inventions to us, and to restrict any disclosure of proprietary information. We have a variety of proprietary marks registered in the United States and certain foreign countries, including "Booz Allen Hamilton." Generally, registered trademarks have perpetual life, provided that they are renewed on a timely basis and continue to be used properly as trademarks. We have registered trademarks related to our name and logo in the United States, with the earliest renewal in December 2019, while the earliest renewal for our trademarks outside of the United States is August 2017.

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For our work under U.S. government funded contracts and subcontracts, the U.S. government obtains certain rights to data, software, and related information developed under such contracts or subcontracts. These rights generally allow the U.S. government to disclose such data, software, and related information to third parties, which third parties may include our competitors in some instances. In the case of our work as a subcontractor, our prime contractor may also have certain rights to data, information, and products we develop under the subcontract.
Booz Allen Hamilton and other trademarks or service marks of Booz Allen Hamilton Inc. appearing in this Annual Report are the trademarks or registered trademarks of Booz Allen Hamilton Inc. Trade names, trademarks, and service marks of other companies appearing in this Annual Report are the property of their respective owners.
Regulation
As a contractor to the U.S. government, as well as state and local governments, we are heavily regulated in most fields in which we operate. We deal with numerous U.S. government agencies and entities, and when working with these and other entities, we must comply with and are affected by unique laws and regulations relating to the formation, administration, and performance of public government contracts. Some significant laws and regulations that affect us include:
the Federal Acquisition Regulation (the "FAR"), and agency regulations supplemental to the FAR, which regulate the formation, administration, and performance of U.S. government contracts. For example, FAR 52.203-13 requires contractors to establish a Code of Business Ethics and Conduct, implement a comprehensive internal control system, and report to the government when the contractor has credible evidence that a principal, employee, agent, or subcontractor, in connection with a government contract, has violated certain federal criminal laws, violated the civil False Claims Act, or has received a significant overpayment;
the False Claims Act, which imposes civil and criminal liability for violations, including substantial monetary penalties, for, among other things, presenting false or fraudulent claims for payments or approval;
the False Statements Act, which imposes civil and criminal liability for making false statements to the U.S. government;
the Truth in Negotiations Act, which requires certification and disclosure of cost and pricing data in connection with the negotiation of a contract, modification, or task order;
the Procurement Integrity Act, which regulates access to competitor bid and proposal information and certain internal government procurement sensitive information, and our ability to provide compensation to certain former government procurement officials;
laws and regulations restricting the ability of a contractor to provide gifts or gratuities to employees of the U.S. government;
post-government employment laws and regulations, which restrict the ability of a contractor to recruit and hire current employees of the U.S. government and deploy former employees of the U.S. government;
laws, regulations, and executive orders restricting the handling, use and dissemination of information classified for national security purposes or determined to be “controlled unclassified information” or “for official use only” and the export of certain products, services, and technical data, including requirements regarding any applicable licensing of our employees involved in such work;
laws, regulations, and executive orders regulating the handling, use, and dissemination of personally identifiable information in the course of performing a U.S. government contract;
laws, regulations, and executive orders governing organizational conflicts of interest that may restrict our ability to compete for certain U.S. government contracts because of the work that we currently perform for the U.S. government or may require that we take measures such as firewalling off certain employees or restricting their future work activities due to the current work that they perform under a U.S. government contract;
laws, regulations and executive orders that impose requirements on us to ensure compliance with requirements and protect the government from risks related to our supply chain;
laws, regulations and mandatory contract provisions providing protections to employees or subcontractors seeking to report alleged fraud, waste, and abuse related to a government contract;
the Contractor Business Systems rule, which authorizes Department of Defense agencies to withhold a portion of our payments if we are determined to have a significant deficiency in our accounting, cost estimating, purchasing, earned value management, material management and accounting, and/or property management system; and

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the Cost Accounting Standards and Cost Principles, which impose accounting requirements that govern our right to reimbursement under certain cost-based U.S. government contracts and require consistency of accounting practices over time.
Given the magnitude of our revenue derived from contracts with the Department of Defense, the Defense Contract Audit Agency, or DCAA, is our cognizant government audit agency. The DCAA audits the adequacy of our internal control systems and policies including, among other areas, compensation. As a result of its audits, the DCAA may determine that a portion of our employee compensation is unallowable. See “Item 1A. Risk Factors — Risk Related to Our Industry — Our contracts, performance, and administrative processes and systems are subject to audits, reviews, investigations, and cost adjustments by the U.S. government, which could reduce our revenue, disrupt our business, or otherwise materially adversely affect our results of operations.” We are also subject to audit by Inspectors General of other U.S. government agencies.
The U.S. government may revise its procurement practices or adopt new contract rules and regulations at any time. In order to help ensure compliance with these laws and regulations, all of our employees are required to attend ethics training at least annually, as well as other compliance training relevant to their position. Internationally, we are subject to special U.S. government laws and regulations (such as the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act), local government regulations and procurement policies and practices, including regulations relating to import-export control, investments, exchange controls, and repatriation of earnings, as well as varying currency, political, and economic risks.
U.S. government contracts are, by their terms, subject to termination by the U.S. government either for its convenience or default by the contractor. In addition, U.S. government contracts are conditioned upon the continuing availability of Congressional appropriations. Congress usually appropriates funds for a given program on a September 30 fiscal year basis, even though contract performance may take many years. As is common in the industry, our company is subject to business risks, including changes in governmental appropriations, national defense policies, service modernization plans, and availability of funds. Any of these factors could materially adversely affect our company’s business with the U.S. government in the future.
The U.S. government has a broad range of actions that it can instigate in order to enforce its procurement law and policies. These include proposing a contractor, certain of its operations or individual employees for debarment or suspending or debarring a contractor, certain of its operations or individual employees from future government business. In addition to criminal, civil and administrative actions by the U.S. government, under the False Claims Act, an individual alleging fraud related to payments under a U.S. government contract or program may file a qui tam lawsuit on behalf of the government against us; if successful in obtaining a judgment or settlement, the individual filing the suit may receive up to 30 percent of the amount recovered by the government.
See “Item 1A. Risk Factors — Risks Related to Our Business — We are required to comply with numerous laws and regulations, some of which are highly complex, and our failure to comply could result in fines or civil or criminal penalties or suspension or debarment by the U.S. government that could result in our inability to continue to work on or receive U.S. government contracts, which could materially and adversely affect our results of operations.”
Available Information
We file annual, quarterly, and current reports and other information with the SEC. You may read and copy any documents that we file at the SEC’s public reference room at 100 F Street, N.E., Washington, D.C. 20549. You may call the SEC at 1-800-SEC-0330 to obtain further information about the public reference room. In addition, the SEC maintains an Internet website (www.sec.gov) that contains reports, proxy and information statements, and other information regarding registrants that file electronically with the SEC, including us. You may also access, free of charge, our reports filed with the SEC (for example, our Annual Report on Form 10-K, our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, and our Current Reports on Form 8-K and any amendments to those forms) through the “Investors” portion of our Internet website (www.boozallen.com). Reports filed with or furnished to the SEC will be available as soon as reasonably practicable after they are filed with or furnished to the SEC. Our website is included in this Annual Report as an inactive textual reference only. The information found on our website is not part of this or any other report filed with or furnished to the SEC.

Item 1A.
Risk Factors
You should consider and read carefully all of the risks and uncertainties described below, as well as other information included in this Annual Report, including our consolidated financial statements and related notes. The risks described below are not the only ones facing us. The occurrence of any of the following risks or additional risks and uncertainties not presently known to us or that we currently believe to be immaterial could materially and adversely affect our business,financial condition, and results of operations. This Annual Report also contains forward-looking statements and estimates that involve

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risks and uncertainties. Our actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking statements as a result of specific factors, including the risks and uncertainties described below.
Risks Related to Our Business
We depend on contracts with U.S. government agencies for substantially all of our revenue. If our relationships with such agencies are harmed, our future revenue and operating profits would decline.
The U.S. government is our primary client, with revenue from contracts and task orders, either as a prime or a subcontractor, with U.S. government agencies accounting for 97% of our revenue for fiscal 2017. Our belief is that the successful future growth of our business will continue to depend primarily on our ability to be awarded work under U.S. government contracts, as we expect this will be the primary source of substantially all of our revenue in the foreseeable future. For this reason, any issue that compromises our relationship with the U.S. government generally or any U.S. government agency that we serve would cause our revenue to decline. Among the key factors in maintaining our relationship with U.S. government agencies are our performance on contracts and task orders, the strength of our professional reputation, compliance with applicable laws and regulations, and the strength of our relationships with client personnel. In addition, the mishandling or the perception of mishandling of sensitive information, such as our failure to maintain the confidentiality of the existence of our business relationships with certain of our clients, including as a result of misconduct or other improper activities by our employees or subcontractors, or a failure to maintain adequate protection against security breaches, including those resulting from cyber attacks, could harm our relationship with U.S. government agencies. See "— Our employees or subcontractors may engage in misconduct or other improper activities, which could harm our ability to conduct business with U.S. government." Our relationship with the U.S. government could also be damaged as a result of an agency’s dissatisfaction with work performed by us, a subcontractor, or other third parties who provide services or products for a specific project for any reason, including due to perceived or actual deficiencies in the performance or quality of our work, and we may incur additional costs to address any such situation and the profitability of that work might be impaired. Further, negative publicity concerning government contractors in general or us in particular may harm our reputation with federal government contractors. To the extent our reputation or relationships with U.S. government agencies is impaired, our revenue and operating profits could materially decline.
U.S. government spending and mission priorities could change in a manner that adversely affects our future revenue and limits our growth prospects.
Our business depends upon continued U.S. government expenditures on defense, intelligence, and civil programs for which we provide support. These expenditures have not remained constant over time, have been reduced in certain periods and, recently, have been affected by the U.S. government’s efforts to improve efficiency and reduce costs affecting federal government programs generally. Our business, prospects, financial condition, or operating results could be materially harmed, among other causes, by the following:
budgetary constraints, including Congressionally mandated automatic spending cuts, affecting U.S. government spending generally, or specific agencies in particular, and changes in available funding;
a shift in expenditures away from agencies or programs that we support;
reduced U.S. government outsourcing of functions that we are currently contracted to provide, including as a result of increased insourcing by various U.S. government agencies due to changes in the definition of “inherently governmental” work, including proposals to limit contractor access to sensitive or classified information and work assignments;
further efforts to improve efficiency and reduce costs affecting federal government programs;
changes or delays in U.S. government programs that we support or related requirements;
a continuation of recent efforts by the U.S. government to decrease spending for management support service contracts;
U.S. government shutdowns due to, among other reasons, a failure by elected officials to fund the government (such as that which occurred during government fiscal year 2014) or weather-related closures in the Washington, DC area (such as that which occurred in the winter of 2016) and other potential delays in the appropriations process;
U.S. government agencies awarding contracts on a technically acceptable/lowest cost basis in order to reduce expenditures;
delays in the payment of our invoices by government payment offices;
an inability by the U.S. government to fund its operations as a result of a failure to increase the federal government’s debt ceiling, a credit downgrade of U.S. government obligations or for any other reason; and

15




changes in the political climate and general economic conditions, including a slowdown of the economy or unstable economic conditions and responses to conditions, such as emergency spending, that reduce funds available for other government priorities.
In addition, any disruption in the functioning of U.S. government agencies, including as a result of U.S. government closures and shutdowns, terrorism, war, natural disasters, destruction of U.S. government facilities, and other potential calamities could have a negative impact on our operations and cause us to lose revenue or incur additional costs due to, among other things, our inability to deploy our staff to client locations or facilities as a result of such disruptions.
The U.S. government budget deficits, the national debt, and the prevailing economic condition, and actions taken to address them, could continue to negatively affect the U.S. government expenditures on defense, intelligence, and civil programs for which we provide support. The Department of Defense is one of our significant clients and cost cutting, including through consolidation and elimination of duplicative organizations and insourcing, has become a major initiative for the Department of Defense. In particular, the Budget Control Act of 2011 (as amended by the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012, the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2013 and the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015) provides for automatic spending cuts (referred to as sequestration) totaling approximately $1.2 trillion between 2013 and 2021, including an estimated $500 billion in federal defense spending cuts over this time period. The Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015 set spending limits for the government fiscal 2017 budget across the federal government and increased the prior discretionary spending cap in both defense and non-defense, but did not address spending caps beyond the government fiscal year 2017. For example, under the Budget Control Act of 2011, as amended, approximately $91 billion in spending cuts are anticipated for the government fiscal year 2018. The new Department of Defense spending limit is approximately $610 billion for government fiscal 2017, including an allocation of $59 billion in overseas contingency operations funding. While recent budget actions reflect a more measured and strategic approach to addressing the U.S. government’s fiscal challenges, there remains uncertainty as to how exactly budget cuts, including sequestration, will impact us, and we are therefore unable to predict the extent of the impact of such cuts on our business and results of operations. However, a reduction in the amount of or reductions, delays, or cancellations of funding for, services that we are contracted to provide to the Department of Defense as a result of any of these related initiatives, legislation or otherwise could have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations. In addition, in response to an Office of Management and Budget mandate, government agencies have reduced management support services spending in recent years. If federal awards for management support services continue to decline, our revenue and operating profits may materially decline and further efforts by the Office of Management and Budget to decrease federal awards for management support services could have a material and adverse effect on our business and results of operations.
These or other factors could cause our defense, intelligence, or civil clients to decrease the number of new contracts awarded generally and fail to award us new contracts, reduce their purchases under our existing contracts, exercise their right to terminate our contracts, or not exercise options to renew our contracts, any of which could cause a material decline in our revenue.
We are required to comply with numerous laws and regulations, some of which are highly complex, and our failure to comply could result in fines or civil or criminal penalties or suspension or debarment by the U.S. government that could result in our inability to continue to work on or receive U.S. government contracts, which could materially and adversely affect our results of operations.
As a U.S. government contractor, we must comply with laws and regulations relating to the formation, administration, and performance of U.S. government contracts, which affect how we do business with our clients. Such laws and regulations may potentially impose added costs on our business and our failure to comply with them may lead to civil or criminal penalties, termination of our U.S. government contracts, and/or suspension or debarment from contracting with federal agencies. Some significant laws and regulations that affect us include:
the FAR, and agency regulations supplemental to the FAR, which regulate the formation, administration, and performance of U.S. government contracts. For example, FAR 52.203-13 requires contractors to establish a Code of Business Ethics and Conduct, implement a comprehensive internal control system, and report to the government when the contractor has credible evidence that a principal, employee, agent, or subcontractor, in connection with a government contract, has violated certain federal criminal laws, violated the civil False Claims Act, or has received a significant overpayment;
the False Claims Act, which imposes civil and criminal liability for violations, including substantial monetary penalties, for, among other things, presenting false or fraudulent claims for payments or approval;
the False Statements Act, which imposes civil and criminal liability for making false statements to the U.S. government;
the Truth in Negotiations Act, which requires certification and disclosure of cost and pricing data in connection with the negotiation of a contract, modification, or task order;

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the Procurement Integrity Act, which regulates access to competitor bid and proposal information and certain internal government procurement sensitive information, and our ability to provide compensation to certain former government procurement officials;
laws and regulations restricting the ability of a contractor to provide gifts or gratuities to employees of the U.S. government;
post government employment laws and regulations, which restrict the ability of a contractor to recruit and hire current employees of the U.S. government and deploy former employees of the U.S. government;
laws, regulations, and executive orders restricting the use and dissemination of i) information classified for national security purposes and the export of certain products, services, and technical data, including requirements regarding any applicable licensing of our employees involved in such work; and ii) sensitive but unclassified data;
laws, regulations, and executive orders regulating the handling, use, and dissemination of personally identifiable information in the course of performing a U.S. government contract;
laws, regulations, and executive orders governing organizational conflicts of interest that may restrict our ability to compete for certain U.S. government contracts because of the work that we currently perform for the U.S. government or may require that we take measures such as firewalling off certain employees or restricting their future work activities due to the current work that they perform under a U.S. government contract;
laws, regulations and executive orders that impose requirements on us to ensure compliance with requirements and protect the government from risks related to our supply chain;
laws, regulations and mandatory contract provisions providing protections to employees or subcontractors seeking to report alleged fraud, waste, and abuse related to a government contract;
the Contractor Business Systems rule, which authorizes Department of Defense agencies to withhold a portion of our payments if we are determined to have a significant deficiency in our accounting, cost estimating, purchasing, earned value management, material management and accounting, and/or property management system; and
the FAR Cost Accounting Standards and Cost Principles, which impose accounting requirements that govern our right to reimbursement under certain cost-based U.S. government contracts and require consistency of accounting practices over time.
In addition, the U.S. government adopts new laws, rules, and regulations from time to time that could have a material impact on our results of operations. Adverse developments in legal or regulatory proceedings on matters relating to, among other things, cost accounting practices and compliance, contract interpretations and statute of limitations, could also result in materially adverse judgments, settlements, withheld payments, penalties, or other unfavorable outcomes.
Our performance under our U.S. government contracts and our compliance with the terms of those contracts and applicable laws and regulations are subject to periodic audit, review, and investigation by various agencies of the U.S. government and the current environment has led to increased regulatory scrutiny and sanctions for non-compliance by such agencies generally. In addition, from time to time we report potential or actual violations of applicable laws and regulations to the relevant governmental authority. Any such report of a potential or actual violation of applicable laws or regulations could lead to an audit, review, or investigation by the relevant agencies of the U.S. government. If such an audit, review, or investigation uncovers a violation of a law or regulation, or improper or illegal activities relating to our U.S. government contracts, we may be subject to civil or criminal penalties or administrative sanctions, including the termination of contracts, forfeiture of profits, the triggering of price reduction clauses, withholding of payments, suspension of payments, fines and suspension, or debarment from contracting with U.S. government agencies. Such penalties and sanctions are not uncommon in the industry and there is inherent uncertainty as to the outcome of any particular audit, review, or investigation. If we incur a material penalty or administrative sanction or otherwise suffer harm to our reputation, our profitability, cash position, and future prospects could be materially and adversely affected.
Further, if the U.S. government were to initiate suspension or debarment proceedings against us or if we are indicted for or convicted of illegal activities relating to our U.S. government contracts following an audit, review, or investigation, we may lose our ability to be awarded contracts in the future or receive renewals of existing contracts for a period of time which could materially and adversely affect our results of operations or financial condition. We could also suffer harm to our reputation if allegations of impropriety were made against us, which would impair our ability to win awards of contracts in the future or receive renewals of existing contracts. See "Business — Regulation."

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We derive a majority of our revenue from contracts awarded through a competitive bidding process, and our revenue and profitability may be adversely affected if we are unable to compete effectively in the process or if there are delays caused by our competitors protesting major contract awards received by us.
We derive a majority of our revenue from U.S. government contracts awarded through competitive bidding processes. We do not expect this to change for the foreseeable future. Our failure to compete effectively in this procurement environment would have a material adverse effect on our revenue and profitability.
The competitive bidding process involves risk and significant costs to businesses operating in this environment, including:
the necessity to expend resources, make financial commitments (such as procuring leased premises) and bid on engagements in advance of the completion of their design, which may result in unforeseen difficulties in execution, cost overruns and, in the case of an unsuccessful competition, the loss of committed costs;
the substantial cost and managerial time and effort spent to prepare bids and proposals for contracts that may not be awarded to us;
the ability to accurately estimate the resources and costs that will be required to service any contract we are awarded;
the expense and delay that may arise if our competitors protest or challenge contract awards made to us pursuant to competitive bidding, and the risk that any such protest or challenge could result in the resubmission of bids on modified specifications, or in termination, reduction, or modification of the awarded contract; and
any opportunity cost of not bidding and winning other contracts we might have otherwise pursued.
In circumstances where contracts are held by other companies and are scheduled to expire, we still may not be provided the opportunity to bid on those contracts if the U.S. government determines to extend the existing contract. If we are unable to win particular contracts that are awarded through the competitive bidding process, we may not be able to operate in the market for services that are provided under those contracts for the duration of those contracts to the extent that there is no additional demand for such services. An inability to consistently win new contract awards over any extended period would have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations.
The current competitive environment has resulted in an increase in the number of bid protests from unsuccessful bidders on new program awards. It can take many months for the relevant U.S. government agency to resolve protests by one or more of our competitors of contract awards we receive. Bid protests may result in significant expense to us, contract modification or loss of an awarded contract as a result of the award being overturned. Even where we do not lose the awarded contract, the resulting delay in the startup and funding of the work under these contracts may cause our actual results to differ materially and adversely from those anticipated.
A significant majority of our revenue is derived from task orders under indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity, or IDIQ, contract vehicles where we perform in either a prime or subcontract position.
We believe that one of the key elements of our success is our position as the holder of over 3,900 active task orders under IDIQ contract vehicles as of March 31, 2017. Our ability to maintain our existing business and win new business depends on our ability to maintain our prime and subcontractor positions on these contracts. The loss, without replacement, of certain of these contract vehicles could have a material adverse effect on our ability to win new business and our operating results. In addition, if the U.S. government elects to use a contract vehicle that we do not hold, we will not be able to compete for work under that contract vehicle as a prime contractor.
We may earn less revenue than projected, or no revenue, under certain of our contracts.
Many of our contracts with our clients are IDIQ contracts. IDIQ contracts provide for the issuance by the client of orders for services or products under the contract, and often contain multi-year terms and unfunded ceiling amounts, which allow but do not commit the U.S. government to purchase products and services from contractors. Our ability to generate revenue under each of these types of contracts depends upon our ability to be awarded task orders for specific services by the client. IDIQ contracts may be awarded to one contractor (single award) or several contractors (multiple award). Multiple contractors must compete under multiple award IDIQ contracts for task orders to provide particular services, and contractors earn revenue only to the extent that they successfully compete for these task orders. A failure to be awarded task orders under such contracts would have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and financial condition.

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Our earnings and profitability may vary based on the mix of our contracts and may be adversely affected by our failure to accurately estimate or otherwise recover the expenses, time, and resources for our contracts.
We enter into three general types of U.S. government contracts for our services: cost-reimbursable, time-and-materials, and fixed-price. For fiscal 2017, we derived 50% of our revenue from cost-reimbursable contracts, 26% from time-and-materials contracts and 24% from fixed-price contracts.
Each of these types of contracts, to varying degrees, involves the risk that we could underestimate our cost of fulfilling the contract, which may reduce the profit we earn or lead to a financial loss on the contract and adversely affect our operating results.
Under cost-reimbursable contracts, we are reimbursed for allowable costs up to a ceiling and paid a fee, which may be fixed or performance-based. If our actual costs exceed the contract ceiling or are not allowable under the terms of the contract or applicable regulations, we may not be able to recover those costs. In particular, there is increasing focus by the U.S. government on the extent to which government contractors, including us, are able to receive reimbursement for employee compensation, including the adoption of interim rules by federal agencies implementing a section of the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2013 that substantially decreased the level of allowable compensation cost for executive-level employees and further applied the newly reduced limitation to all employees. In addition, there is an increased risk of compensation being deemed unallowable or payments being withheld as a result of U.S. government audit, review or investigation.
Under time-and-materials contracts, we are reimbursed for labor at negotiated hourly billing rates and for certain allowable expenses. We assume financial risk on time-and-materials contracts because our costs of performance may exceed these negotiated hourly rates.
Under fixed-price contracts, we perform specific tasks for a pre-determined price. Compared to time-and-materials and cost-reimbursable contracts, fixed-price contracts generally offer higher margin opportunities because we receive the benefits of any cost savings, but involve greater financial risk because we bear the impact of any cost overruns. The U.S. government has generally indicated that it intends to increase its use of fixed price contract procurements. Because we assume the risk for cost overruns and contingent losses on fixed-price contracts, an increase in the percentage of fixed-price contracts in our contract mix would increase our risk of suffering losses.
Additionally, our profits could be adversely affected if our costs under any of these contracts exceed the assumptions we used in bidding for the contract. For example, we may miscalculate the costs, resources, or time needed to complete projects or meet contractual milestones as a result of delays on a particular project, including delays in designs, engineering information, or materials provided by the customer or a third party, delays or difficulties in equipment and material delivery, schedule changes, and other factors, some of which are beyond our control. We have recorded provisions in our consolidated financial statements for losses on our contracts, as required under accounting principles generally accepted in the United States, or GAAP, but our contract loss provisions may not be adequate to cover all actual losses that we may incur in the future.
Our professional reputation is critical to our business, and any harm to our reputation could decrease the amount of business the U.S. government does with us, which could have a material adverse effect on our future revenue and growth prospects.
We depend on our contracts with U.S. government agencies for substantially all of our revenue and if our reputation or relationships with these agencies were harmed, our future revenue and growth prospects would be materially and adversely affected. Our reputation and relationship with the U.S. government is a key factor in maintaining and growing revenue under contracts with the U.S. government. Negative press reports regarding poor contract performance, employee misconduct, information security breaches, or other aspects of our business, or regarding government contractors generally, could harm our reputation. In addition, to the extent our performance under a contract does not meet a U.S. government agency’s expectations, the client might seek to terminate the contract prior to its scheduled expiration date, provide a negative assessment of our performance to government-maintained contractor past-performance data repositories, fail to award us additional business under existing contracts or otherwise, and direct future business to our competitors. If our reputation with these agencies is negatively affected, or if we are suspended or debarred from contracting with government agencies for any reason, such actions would decrease the amount of business that the U.S. government does with us, which would have a material adverse effect on our future revenue and growth prospects.

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We use estimates in recognizing revenue and if we make changes to estimates used in recognizing revenue, our profitability may be adversely affected.
Revenue from our fixed-price contracts is primarily recognized using the percentage-of-completion method with progress toward completion of a particular contract based on actual costs incurred relative to total estimated costs to be incurred over the life of the contract. Revenue from our cost-reimbursable-plus-award-fee contracts are based on our estimation of award fees over the life of the contract. Estimating costs at completion and award fees on our long-term contracts is complex and involves significant judgment. Adjustments to original estimates are often required as work progresses, experience is gained, and additional information becomes known, even though the scope of the work required under the contract may not change. Any adjustment as a result of a change in estimate is recognized as events become known.
In the event updated estimates indicate that we will experience a loss on the contract, we recognize the estimated loss at the time it is determined. Additional information may subsequently indicate that the loss is more or less than initially recognized, which requires further adjustments in our consolidated financial statements. Changes in the underlying assumptions, circumstances, or estimates could result in adjustments that could have a material adverse effect on our future results of operations.
We may not realize the full value of our backlog, which may result in lower than expected revenue.
As of March 31, 2017, our total backlog was $13.6 billion, of which $2.8 billion was funded. We define backlog to include the following three components:
Funded Backlog. Funded backlog represents the revenue value of orders for services under existing contracts for which funding is appropriated or otherwise authorized, less revenue previously recognized on these contracts.
Unfunded Backlog. Unfunded backlog represents the revenue value of orders for services under existing contracts for which funding has not been appropriated or otherwise authorized.
Priced Options. Priced contract options represent 100% of the revenue value of all future contract option periods under existing contracts that may be exercised at our clients’ option and for which funding has not been appropriated or otherwise authorized.
Backlog does not include any task orders under IDIQ contracts, except to the extent that task orders have been awarded to us under those contracts.
We historically have not realized all of the revenue included in our total backlog, and we may not realize all of the revenue included in our total backlog in the future. There is a somewhat higher degree of risk in this regard with respect to unfunded backlog and priced options. In addition, there can be no assurance that our backlog will result in actual revenue in any particular period. This is because the actual receipt, timing, and amount of revenue under contracts included in backlog are subject to various contingencies, including congressional appropriations, many of which are beyond our control. In particular, delays in the completion of the U.S. government’s budgeting process and the use of continuing resolutions could adversely affect our ability to timely recognize revenue under our contracts included in backlog. Furthermore, the actual receipt of revenue from contracts included in backlog may never occur or may be delayed because: a program schedule could change or the program could be canceled; a contract’s funding or scope could be reduced, modified, delayed, or terminated early, including as a result of a lack of appropriated funds or as a result of cost cutting initiatives and other efforts to reduce U.S. government spending and/or the automatic federal defense spending cuts required by sequestration; in the case of funded backlog, the period of performance for the contract has expired; in the case of unfunded backlog, funding may not be available; or, in the case of priced options, our clients may not exercise their options. In addition, consulting staff headcount growth is the primary means by which we are able to recognize revenue growth. Any inability to hire additional appropriately qualified personnel or failure to timely and effectively deploy such additional personnel against funded backlog could negatively affect our ability to grow our revenue. Furthermore, even if our backlog results in revenue, the contracts may not be profitable.
We may fail to attract, train and retain skilled and qualified employees, which may impair our ability to generate revenue, effectively serve our clients, and execute our growth strategy.
Our business depends in large part upon our ability to attract and retain sufficient numbers of highly qualified individuals who may have advanced degrees in areas such as information technology as well as appropriate security clearances. We compete for such qualified personnel with other U.S. government contractors, the U.S. government, and private industry, and such competition is intense. Personnel with the requisite skills, qualifications, or security clearance may be in short supply or generally unavailable. In addition, our ability to recruit, hire, and internally deploy former employees of the U.S. government is subject to complex laws and regulations, which may serve as an impediment to our ability to attract such former employees, and failure to comply with these laws and regulations may expose us and our employees to civil or criminal penalties. If we are unable to recruit and retain a sufficient number of qualified employees, or fail to deploy such employees or obtain their appropriate security clearances in a timely manner, our ability to maintain and grow our business and to effectively serve our

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clients could be limited and our future revenue and results of operations could be materially and adversely affected. Furthermore, to the extent that we are unable to make necessary permanent hires to appropriately serve our clients, we could be required to engage larger numbers of contracted personnel, which could reduce our profit margins.
If we are able to attract sufficient numbers of qualified new hires, training and retention costs may place significant demands on our resources. In addition, to the extent that we experience attrition in our employee ranks, we may realize only a limited or no return on such invested resources, and we would have to expend additional resources to hire and train replacement employees. The loss of services of key personnel could also impair our ability to perform required services under some of our contracts and to retain such contracts, as well as our ability to win new business.
We may fail to obtain and maintain necessary security clearances which may adversely affect our ability to perform on certain contracts.
Many U.S. government programs require contractor employees and facilities to have security clearances. Depending on the level of required clearance, security clearances can be difficult and time-consuming to obtain. If we or our employees are unable to obtain or retain necessary security clearances, we may not be able to win new business, and our existing clients could terminate their contracts with us or decide not to renew them. To the extent we are not able to obtain and maintain facility security clearances or engage employees with the required security clearances for a particular contract, we may not be able to bid on or win new contracts, or effectively rebid on expiring contracts, as well as lose existing contracts, which may adversely affect our operating results and inhibit the execution of our growth strategy.
Our profitability could suffer if we are not able to timely and effectively utilize our employees or manage our cost structure.
The cost of providing our services, including the degree to which our employees are utilized, affects our profitability. The degree to which we are able to utilize our employees in a timely manner or at all is affected by a number of factors, including:
our ability to transition employees from completed projects to new assignments and to hire, assimilate, and deploy new employees;
our ability to forecast demand for our services and to maintain and deploy headcount that is aligned with demand, including employees with the right mix of skills and experience to support our projects;
our employees’ inability to obtain or retain necessary security clearances;
our ability to manage attrition; and
our need to devote time and resources to training, business development, and other non-chargeable activities.
If our employees are under-utilized, our profit margin and profitability could suffer. Additionally, if our employees are over-utilized, it could have a material adverse effect on employee engagement and attrition, which would in turn have a material adverse impact on our business.
Our profitability is also affected by the extent to which we are able to effectively manage our overall cost structure for operating expenses, such as wages and benefits, overhead and capital and other investment-related expenditures. If we are unable to effectively manage our costs and expense and achieve efficiencies, our competitiveness and profitability may be adversely affected.
We may lose one or more members of our senior management team or fail to develop new leaders, which could cause the disruption of the management of our business.
We believe that the future success of our business and our ability to operate profitably depends on the continued contributions of the members of our senior management and the continued development of new members of senior management. We rely on our senior management to generate business and execute programs successfully. In addition, the relationships and reputation that many members of our senior management team have established and maintain with our clients are important to our business and our ability to identify new business opportunities. We have employment agreements with only our four most senior executives. The loss of any member of our senior management or our failure to continue to develop new members could impair our ability to identify and secure new contracts, to maintain good client relations, and to otherwise manage our business.
Our employees or subcontractors may engage in misconduct or other improper activities, which could harm our ability to conduct business with the U.S. government.
We are exposed to the risk that employee or subcontractor fraud or other misconduct could occur. Misconduct by employees or subcontractors could include intentional or unintentional failures to comply with U.S. government procurement regulations, engaging in other unauthorized activities, or falsifying time records. Employee or subcontractor misconduct could also involve the improper use of our clients’ sensitive or classified information, or the inadvertent or intentional disclosure of

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our or our clients' sensitive information in violation of our contractual, statutory, or regulatory obligations. It is not always possible to deter employee or subcontractor misconduct, and the precautions we take to prevent and detect this activity may not be effective in controlling unknown or unmanaged risks or losses, which could materially harm our business. As a result of such misconduct, our employees could lose their security clearance and we could face fines and civil or criminal penalties, loss of facility clearance accreditation, and suspension, proposed debarment or debarment from bidding for or performing under contracts with the U.S. government, as well as reputational harm, which would materially and adversely affect our results of operations and financial condition.
We face intense competition from many competitors, which could cause us to lose business, lower prices and suffer employee departures.
Our business operates in a highly competitive industry, and we generally compete with a wide variety of U.S. government contractors, including large defense contractors, diversified service providers, and small businesses. We also face competition from entrants into our markets including companies divested by large prime contractors in response to increasing scrutiny of organizational conflicts of interest issues. There is also a significant industry trend towards consolidation, which may result in the emergence of companies that are better able to compete against us. Some of these companies possess greater financial resources and larger technical staffs, and others have smaller and more specialized staffs. These competitors could, among other things:
divert sales from us by winning very large-scale government contracts, a risk that is enhanced by the recent trend in government procurement practices to bundle services into larger contracts;
force us to charge lower prices in order to win or maintain contracts;
seek to hire our employees; or
adversely affect our relationships with current clients, including our ability to continue to win competitively awarded engagements where we are the incumbent.
If we lose business to our competitors or are forced to lower our prices or suffer employee departures, our revenue and our operating profits could decline. In addition, we may face competition from our subcontractors who, from time to time, seek to obtain prime contractor status on contracts for which they currently serve as a subcontractor to us. If one or more of our current subcontractors are awarded prime contractor status on such contracts in the future, it could divert sales from us and could force us to charge lower prices, which could have a material adverse effect on our revenue and profitability.
Our failure to maintain strong relationships with other contractors, or the failure of contractors with which we have entered into a sub- or prime contractor relationship to meet their obligations to us or our clients, could have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations.
Maintaining strong relationships with other U.S. government contractors, who may also be our competitors, is important to our business and our failure to do so could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects, financial condition, and operating results. To the extent that we fail to maintain good relations with our subcontractors or other prime contractors due to either perceived or actual performance failures or other conduct, they may refuse to hire us as a subcontractor in the future or to work with us as our subcontractor. In addition, other contractors may choose not to use us as a subcontractor or choose not to perform work for us as a subcontractor for any number of additional reasons, including because they choose to establish relationships with our competitors or because they choose to directly offer services that compete with our business.
As a prime contractor, we often rely on other companies to perform some of the work under a contract, and we expect to continue to depend on relationships with other contractors for portions of our delivery of services and revenue in the foreseeable future. If our subcontractors fail to perform their contractual obligations, our operating results and future growth prospects could be impaired. There is a risk that we may have disputes with our subcontractors arising from, among other things, the quality and timeliness of work performed by the subcontractor, client concerns about the subcontractor, our failure to extend existing task orders or issue new task orders under a subcontract, or our hiring of a subcontractor’s personnel. In addition, if any of our subcontractors fail to deliver the agreed-upon supplies or perform the agreed-upon services on a timely basis, our ability to fulfill our obligations as a prime contractor may be jeopardized. Material losses could arise in future periods and subcontractor performance deficiencies could result in a client terminating a contract for default. A termination for default could expose us to liability and have an adverse effect on our ability to compete for future contracts and orders.
We estimate that revenue derived from contracts under which we acted as a subcontractor to other companies represented 9% of our revenue for fiscal 2017. As a subcontractor, we often lack control over fulfillment of a contract, and poor performance on the contract could tarnish our reputation, even when we perform as required, and could cause other contractors to choose not to hire us as a subcontractor in the future. If the U.S. government terminates or reduces other prime contractors’ programs or does not award them new contracts, subcontracting opportunities available to us could decrease, which would have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations. In addition, as a subcontractor, we may be unable

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to collect payments owed to us by the prime contractor, even if we have performed our obligations under the contract, as a result of, among other things, the prime contractor’s inability to fulfill the contact. Due to certain common provisions in subcontracts in certain countries, we could also experience delays in receiving payment if the prime contractor experiences payment delays, which could have an adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.
Adverse judgments or settlements in legal disputes could result in materially adverse monetary damages or injunctive relief and damage our reputation.
We are subject to, and may become a party to, a variety of litigation or other claims and suits that arise from time to time in the ordinary course of our business. For example, our performance under U.S. government contracts and compliance with the terms of those contracts and applicable laws and regulations are subject to continuous audit, review, and investigation by the U.S. government which may include such investigative techniques as subpoenas or civil investigative demands. Given the nature of our business, these audits, reviews, and investigations may focus, among other areas, on various aspects of procurement integrity, labor time reporting, sensitive and/or classified information access and control, executive compensation, and post government employment restrictions. In addition, from time to time, we are also involved in legal proceedings and investigations arising in the ordinary course of business, including those relating to employment matters, relationships with clients and contractors, intellectual property disputes, and other business matters.
Additionally, over time, we have had disputes with current and former employees involving alleged violations of civil rights, wage and hour, and worker’s compensation laws. Further, as more fully described under “Item 3. Legal Proceedings,” six former officers and stockholders who had departed the company prior to the acquisition of our company by The Carlyle Group have filed a total of nine suits in various jurisdictions against us and certain of our current and former directors and officers. Each of the suits arises out of the acquisition and alleges that the former stockholders are entitled to certain payments that they would have received if they had held their stock at the time of the acquisition. Three of these suits have been dismissed with all appeals exhausted. Two suits were settled on April 16, 2015. One of the remaining suits had its Petition for Writ of Certiorari to the United States Supreme Court denied and the other three remaining suits are awaiting a decision from the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. The results of litigation and other legal proceedings are inherently uncertain and adverse judgments or settlements in some or all of these legal disputes may result in materially adverse monetary damages or injunctive relief against us. Any claims or litigation, even if fully indemnified or insured, could damage our reputation and make it more difficult to compete effectively or obtain adequate insurance in the future. The litigation and other claims described under “Item 3. Legal Proceedings” are subject to future developments and management’s view of these matters may change in the future.
We face certain significant risk exposures and potential liabilities that may not be adequately covered by indemnity or insurance.
A significant portion of our business relates to designing, developing, and manufacturing advanced defense and technology systems and products, including cybersecurity products and services. New technologies may be untested or unproven. We maintain insurance policies that mitigate against risk and potential liabilities related to our operations. This insurance is maintained in amounts that we believe are reasonable. However, our insurance coverage may not be adequate to cover those claims or liabilities, and we may be forced to bear significant costs from an accident or incident. The amount of the insurance coverage we maintain or indemnification to which we may be contractually or otherwise entitled may not be adequate to cover all claims or liabilities. Accordingly we may be forced to bear substantial costs resulting from risks and uncertainties of our business which would negatively impact our results of operations, financial condition or liquidity.
Systems that we develop, integrate, maintain, or otherwise support could experience security breaches which may damage our reputation with our clients and hinder future contract win rates.
We develop, integrate, maintain, or otherwise support systems and provide services that include managing and protecting information involved in intelligence, national security, and other sensitive or classified government functions. Our systems also store and process sensitive information for commercial clients. The cyber and security threats that our clients face have grown more frequent and sophisticated. A security breach in one of these systems could cause serious harm to our business, damage our reputation, and prevent us from being eligible for further work on sensitive systems for U.S. government or commercial clients. Work for non-U.S. government and commercial clients involving the protection of information systems or that store clients' information could also be harmed due to associated security breaches. Damage to our reputation or limitations on our eligibility for additional work or any liability resulting from a security breach in one of the systems we develop, install, maintain, or otherwise support could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations.

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Certain services we provide and technologies we develop are designed to detect and monitor threats to our clients and may require our staff to travel to locations where their physical safety may be at risk.
We help our clients detect, monitor and mitigate threats to their people, information and facilities. These threats may originate from nation states, terrorist or criminal actors, activist hackers or others who seek to harm our clients. Successful attacks on our clients may cause reputational harm to us and our clients, as well as liability to our clients or third parties. In addition, if we are associated with our clients in this regard, our staff, information and facilities may be targeted by a similar group of threat actors and may be at risk for loss, or physical or reputational harm.
Internal system or service failures, or those of our vendors, including as a result of cyber or other security threats, could disrupt our business and impair our ability to effectively provide our services to our clients, which could damage our reputation and have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations.
We create, implement, and maintain information technology and engineering systems and also use vendors to provide services that are often critical to our clients' operations, some of which involve sensitive information and may be conducted in war zones or other hazardous environments, or include information whose confidentiality is protected by law. As a result, we are subject to systems or service failures, not only resulting from our own failures or the failures of third-party service providers, natural disasters, power shortages, or terrorist attacks, but also from continuous exposure to cyber and other security threats, including computer viruses, attacks by computer hackers or physical break-ins. There has been an increase in the frequency and sophistication of the cyber and security threats we face, with attacks ranging from those common to businesses generally to those that are more advanced and persistent, which may target us because, as a cybersecurity services contractor, we hold classified or other sensitive information. As a result, we and our vendors face a heightened risk of a security breach or disruption with respect to sensitive information resulting from an attack by computer hackers, foreign governments, and cyber terrorists. While we put in place policies, controls, and technologies to help detect and protect against such attacks, we cannot guarantee that future incidents will not occur, and if an incident does occur, we may not be able to successfully mitigate the impact. We have been the target of these types of attacks in the past and future attacks are likely to occur. If successful, these types of attacks on our network or other systems or service failures could have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations, due to, among other things, the loss of client or proprietary data, interruptions or delays in our clients' businesses, and damage to our reputation. In addition, the failure or disruption of our systems, communications, vendors, or utilities could cause us to interrupt or suspend our operations, which could have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations. In addition, if our employees inadvertently do not adhere to appropriate information security protocols, our protocols are inadequate, or our employees intentionally avoid these protocols, our or our client's sensitive information may be released thereby causing significant negative impacts to our reputation and expose us or our clients to liability.
If our or our vendors' systems, services, or other applications have significant defects or errors, are successfully attacked by cyber and other security threats, suffer delivery delays, or otherwise fail to meet our clients’ expectations, we may:
lose revenue due to adverse client reaction;
be required to provide additional services to a client at no charge;
incur additional costs related to remediation, monitoring and increasing our cybersecurity;
lose revenue due to the deployment of internal staff for remediation efforts instead of client assignments;
receive negative publicity, which could damage our reputation and adversely affect our ability to attract or retain clients;
be unable to successfully market services that are reliant on the creation and maintaining of secure information technology systems to U.S. government, international, and commercial clients;
suffer claims by clients or impacted third parties for substantial damages, particularly as a result of any successful network or systems breach and exfiltration of client and/or third party information; or
incur significant costs, including fines from government regulators related to complying with applicable federal or state law, including laws pertaining to the security and protection of personal information.
In addition to any costs resulting from contract performance or required corrective action, these failures may result in increased costs or loss of revenue if they result in clients postponing subsequently scheduled work or canceling or failing to renew contracts.
The costs related to cyber or other security threats or disruptions may not be fully insured or indemnified by other means. Additionally, some cyber technologies and techniques that we utilize or develop may raise potential liabilities related to legal compliance intellectual property and civil liberties, including privacy concerns, which may not be fully insured or indemnified. Our errors and omissions insurance coverage may not continue to be available on reasonable terms or in sufficient amounts to cover one or more large claims, or the insurer may disclaim coverage as to some types of future claims. The successful

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assertion of any large claim against us could seriously harm our business. Even if not successful, these claims could result in significant legal and other costs, may be a distraction to our management, and may harm our client relationships. In certain new business areas, we may not be able to obtain sufficient insurance and may decide not to accept or solicit business in these areas.
As a contractor supporting defense and national security clients, we are also subject to regulatory compliance requirements under the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement and other federal regulations requiring that our networks and IT systems comply with the security and privacy controls in National Institute of Standards and Technology Special Publications. Failure to comply with the security and control requirements could result in unauthorized access or disclosure of sensitive information, which could potentially result in a contract termination that has a material adverse effect on our business and financial results and reputational harm.
Failure to adequately protect, maintain, or enforce our rights in our intellectual property may adversely limit our competitive position.
We rely upon a combination of nondisclosure agreements and other contractual arrangements, as well as copyright, trademark, patent, and trade secret laws to protect our proprietary information. We also enter into proprietary information and intellectual property agreements with employees, which require them to disclose any inventions created during employment, to convey such rights to inventions to us, and to restrict any disclosure of proprietary information. Trade secrets are generally difficult to protect. Although our employees are subject to confidentiality obligations, this protection may be inadequate to deter or prevent misappropriation of our confidential information and/or the infringement of our patents and copyrights. Further, we may be unable to detect unauthorized use of our intellectual property or otherwise take appropriate steps to enforce our rights. Failure to adequately protect, maintain, or enforce our intellectual property rights may adversely limit our competitive position.
Assertions by third parties of infringement, misappropriation or other violations by us of their intellectual property rights could result in significant costs and substantially harm our business and operating results.
In recent years, there has been significant litigation involving intellectual property rights in technology industries. We may face from time to time, allegations that we or a supplier or customer have violated the rights of third parties, including patent, trademark, and other intellectual property rights. If, with respect to any claim against us for violation of third-party intellectual property rights, we are unable to prevail in the litigation or retain or obtain sufficient rights or develop non-infringing intellectual property or otherwise alter our business practices on a timely or cost-efficient basis, our business and competitive position may be adversely affected.
Any infringement, misappropriation or related claims, whether or not meritorious, are time consuming, divert technical and management personnel, and are costly to resolve. As a result of any such dispute, we may have to develop non-infringing technology, pay damages, enter into royalty or licensing agreements, cease utilizing certain products or services, or take other actions to resolve the claims. These actions, if required, may be costly or unavailable on terms acceptable to us.
Our focus on new growth areas for our business entails risks, including those associated with new relationships, clients, talent needs, capabilities, service offerings, and maintaining our collaborative culture and core values.
We are focused on growing our presence in our addressable markets by: expanding our relationships with existing clients, developing new clients by leveraging our core competencies, further developing our existing capabilities and service offerings, and creating new capabilities and service offerings to address our clients' emerging needs, and undertaking business development efforts focused on identifying near-term developments and long-term trends that may pose significant challenges for our clients. These efforts entail inherent risks associated with innovation and competition from other participants in those areas, potential failure to help our clients respond to the challenges they face, our ability to comply with uncertain evolving legal standards applicable to certain of our service offerings, including those in the cybersecurity area, and, with respect to potential international growth, risks associated with operating in foreign jurisdictions, such as compliance with applicable foreign and U.S. laws and regulations that may impose different and, occasionally, conflicting or contradictory requirements, and the economic, legal, and political conditions in the foreign jurisdictions in which we operate. As we attempt to develop new relationships, clients, capabilities, and service offerings, these efforts could harm our results of operations due to, among other things, a diversion of our focus and resources and actual costs, opportunity costs of pursuing these opportunities in lieu of others and a failure to reach a profitable return on our investments in new technologies, capabilities, and businesses, including expenses on research and development investments, and these efforts could ultimately be unsuccessful. Additionally, the possibility exists that our competitors might develop new capabilities or service offerings that might cause our existing capabilities and service offerings to become obsolete. If we fail in our new capabilities development efforts or our capabilities or services fail to achieve market acceptance more rapidly than our competitors, our ability to procure new contracts could be negatively impacted, which would negatively impact our results of operations and financial condition.
In addition, our ability to grow our business by leveraging our operating model to efficiently and effectively deploy our people across our client base is largely dependent on our ability to maintain our collaborative culture. To the extent that we are

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unable to maintain our culture for any reason, including our effort to focus on new growth areas or acquire new businesses with different corporate cultures, we may be unable to grow our business. Any such failure could have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations.
In addition, with the growth of our U.S. and international operations, we are now providing client services and undertaking business development efforts in numerous and disparate geographic locations both domestically and internationally. Our ability to effectively serve our clients is dependent upon our ability to successfully leverage our operating model across all of these and any future locations, maintain effective management controls over all of our locations to ensure, among other things, compliance with applicable laws, rules and regulations, and instill our core values in all of our personnel at each of these and any future locations. Any inability to ensure any of the foregoing could have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations.
We are subject to risks associated with operating internationally.
Our business operations are subject to a variety of risks associated with conducting business internationally, including:
Changes in or interpretations of laws or policies that may adversely affect the performance of our services;
Political instability in foreign countries;
Imposition of inconsistent or contradictory laws or regulations;
Reliance on the U.S. or other governments to authorize us to export products, technology, and services to clients and other business partners;
Conducting business in places where laws, business practices, and customs are unfamiliar or unknown, and;
Imposition of limitations on or increase of withholding and other taxes on payments by foreign subsidiaries or joint ventures.
In addition, we are subject to the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, or the FCPA, and other laws that prohibit improper payments or offers of payments to foreign governments and their officials and political parties by business entities for the purpose of obtaining or retaining business. We have operations and deal with governmental clients in countries known to experience corruption, including certain emerging countries in the Middle East and Southeast Asia. Our activities in these countries create the risk of unauthorized payments or offers of payments by one of our employees, consultants or contractors that could be in violation of various laws including the FCPA and other anti-corruption laws, even though these parties are not always subject to our control. Our international operations also involve activities involving the transmittal of information, which may include personal data, that may expose us to data privacy laws in the jurisdictions in which we operate. If our data protection practices become subject to new or different restrictions, and to the extent such practices are not compliant with the laws of the countries in which we process data, we could face increased compliance expenses and face penalties for violating such laws or be excluded from those markets altogether, in which case our operations could be adversely affected. We are also subject to import-export control regulations restricting the use and dissemination of information classified for national security purposes and the export of certain products, services, and technical data, including requirements regarding any applicable licensing of our employees involved in such work.
If we were to fail to comply with the FCPA, other anti-corruption laws, applicable import-export control regulations, data privacy laws, or other applicable rules and regulations, we could be subject to substantial civil and criminal penalties, including fines for our company and incarceration for responsible employees and managers, suspension or debarment, and the possible loss of export or import privileges which could have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations.
Changes to our operating structure, capabilities or strategy intended to address our clients’ needs, respond to developments in our markets and grow our business may not be successful.
We routinely review our operating structure, capabilities and strategy to determine whether we are effectively meeting the needs of existing clients, effectively responding to developments in our markets and successfully building platforms intended to provide the foundation for the future growth of our business. The outcome of any such review is difficult to predict and the extent of changes to our business following such a review, if any, are dependent in part upon the nature and extent of the review.
The implementation of changes to our operating structure, capabilities, strategy or any other aspect of our business following an internal review, may materially alter various aspects of our business or our business model as an entirety and there can be no assurance that any such changes will be successful or that they will not ultimately have a negative effect on our business and results of operations.

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Many of our contracts with the U.S. government are classified or subject to other security restrictions, which may limit investor insight into portions of our business.
We derive a substantial portion of our revenue from contracts with the U.S. government that are classified or subject to security restrictions that preclude the dissemination of certain information. In addition, a significant number of our employees have security clearances which preclude them from providing information regarding certain of our clients and services provided to such clients to other of our employees without security clearances and investors. Because we are limited in our ability to provide information about these contracts and services, the various risks associated with these contracts or services or any dispute or claims relating to such contracts or services, you may not have important information concerning our business, which will limit your insight into a substantial portion of our business and therefore may be less able to fully evaluate the risks related to that portion of our business.
If we cannot collect our receivables or if payment is delayed, our business may be adversely affected by our inability to generate cash flow, provide working capital, or continue our business operations.
We depend on the timely collection of our receivables to generate cash flow, provide working capital, and continue our business operations. If the U.S. government or any prime contractor for whom we are a subcontractor fails to pay or delays the payment of invoices for any reason, our business and financial condition may be materially and adversely affected. The U.S. government may delay or fail to pay invoices for a number of reasons, including lack of appropriated funds, lack of an approved budget, or as a result of audit findings by government regulatory agencies. Some prime contractors for whom we are a subcontractor have significantly fewer financial resources than we do, which may increase the risk that we may not be paid in full or that payment may be delayed.
Recent efforts by the U.S. government to revise its organizational conflict of interest rules could limit our ability to successfully compete for new contracts or task orders, which would adversely affect our results of operations.
Recent efforts by the U.S. government to reform its procurement practices have focused, among other areas, on the separation of certain types of work to facilitate objectivity and avoid or mitigate organizational conflicts of interest and the strengthening of regulations governing organizational conflicts of interest. Organizational conflicts of interest may arise from circumstances in which a contractor has:
impaired objectivity during performance;
unfair access to non-public information; or
the ability to set the “ground rules” for another procurement for which the contractor competes.
A focus on organizational conflicts of interest issues has resulted in legislation and a proposed regulation aimed at increasing organizational conflicts of interest requirements, including, among other things, separating sellers of products and providers of advisory services in major defense acquisition programs. In addition, the U.S. government is working to adopt a FAR rule to address organizational conflicts of interest issues that will apply to all government contractors, including us, in Department of Defense and other procurements. A future FAR rule may also increase the restrictions in current organizational conflicts of interest regulations and rules. To the extent that proposed and future organizational conflicts of interest laws, regulations, and rules, limit our ability to successfully compete for new contracts or task orders with the U.S. government, either because of organizational conflicts of interest issues arising from our business, or because companies with which we are affiliated, or with which we otherwise conduct business, create organizational conflicts of interest issues for us, our results of operations could be materially and adversely affected.
Acquisitions could result in operating difficulties or other adverse consequences to our business.
As part of our operating strategy, we may continue to selectively pursue acquisitions. For example, on January 24, 2017, we acquired eGov Holdings, Inc. (d/b/a Aquilent). As a result of the transaction, eGov Holdings, Inc. became a wholly-owned subsidiary of ours. Our acquisition strategy poses many risks, including:
we may not be able to identify suitable acquisition candidates at prices we consider attractive;
we may not be able to compete successfully for identified acquisition candidates, complete acquisitions, or accurately estimate the financial effect of acquisitions on our business;
future acquisitions may require us to issue common stock or spend significant cash, resulting in dilution of ownership or additional debt leverage;
we may have difficulty retaining an acquired company’s key employees or clients;
we may have difficulty integrating acquired businesses, resulting in unforeseen difficulties, such as incompatible accounting, information management, or other control systems, and greater expenses than expected;

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acquisitions may disrupt our business or distract our management from other responsibilities;
as a result of an acquisition, we may incur additional debt and we may need to record write-downs from future impairments of intangible assets, each of which could reduce our future reported earnings; and
we may have difficulty integrating personnel from the acquired company with our people and our core values.
In connection with any acquisition that we make, there may be liabilities that we fail to discover or that we inadequately assess, and we may fail to discover any failure of a target company to have fulfilled its contractual obligations to the U.S. government or other clients. Acquired entities may not operate profitably or result in improved operating performance. Additionally, we may not realize anticipated synergies, business growth opportunities, cost savings, and other benefits we anticipate, which could have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations.
Goodwill represents a significant asset on our balance sheet, and changes in future business conditions could cause these investments to become impaired, requiring substantial write-downs that would reduce our operating income.
As of March 31, 2017, the value of our goodwill was $1.6 billion. The amount of our recorded goodwill may substantially increase in the future as a result of any acquisitions that we make. We evaluate the recoverability of recorded goodwill amounts annually, or when evidence of potential impairment exists. Impairment analysis is based on several factors requiring judgment and the use of estimates, which are inherently uncertain and based on assumptions that may prove to be inaccurate. Additionally, material changes in our financial outlook, as well as events outside of our control, such as deteriorating market conditions for companies in our industry, may indicate a potential impairment. When there is an impairment, we are required to write down the recorded amount of goodwill, which is reflected as charge against operating income. Such non-cash impairment charges could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations in the period in which they are recognized.
Risks Related to Our Industry
Our U.S. government contracts may be terminated by the government at any time and may contain other provisions permitting the government to discontinue contract performance, and if lost contracts are not replaced, our operating results may differ materially and adversely from those anticipated.
U.S. government contracts contain provisions and are subject to laws and regulations that provide government clients with rights and remedies not typically found in commercial contracts. These rights and remedies allow government clients, among other things, to:
terminate existing contracts, with short notice, for convenience as well as for default;
reduce orders under or otherwise modify contracts;
for contracts subject to the Truth in Negotiations Act, reduce the contract price or cost where it was increased because a contractor or subcontractor furnished cost or pricing data during negotiations that was not complete, accurate, and current;
for some contracts, (i) demand a refund, make a forward price adjustment, or terminate a contract for default if a contractor provided inaccurate or incomplete data during the contract negotiation process and (ii) reduce the contract price under certain triggering circumstances, including the revision of price lists or other documents upon which the contract award was predicated;
terminate our facility security clearances and thereby prevent us from receiving classified contracts;
cancel multi-year contracts and related orders if funds for contract performance for any subsequent year become unavailable;
decline to exercise an option to renew a multi-year contract or issue task orders in connection with IDIQ contracts;
claim rights in solutions, systems, and technology produced by us, appropriate such work-product for their continued use without continuing to contract for our services and disclose such work-product to third parties, including other U.S. government agencies and our competitors, which could harm our competitive position;
prohibit future procurement awards with a particular agency due to a finding of organizational conflicts of interest based upon prior related work performed for the agency that would give a contractor an unfair advantage over competing contractors, or the existence of conflicting roles that might bias a contractor’s judgment;
subject the award of contracts to protest by competitors, which may require the contracting federal agency or department to suspend our performance pending the outcome of the protest and may also result in a requirement to resubmit offers for the contract or in the termination, reduction, or modification of the awarded contract;

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suspend or debar us from doing business with the U.S. government; and
control or prohibit the export of our services.
Recent and potential future budget cuts, the impact of sequestration and recent efforts by the Office of Management and Budget to decrease federal awards for management support services, may cause agencies with which we currently have contracts to terminate, reduce the number of task orders under or fail to renew such contracts. If a U.S. government client were to unexpectedly terminate, cancel, or decline to exercise an option to renew with respect to one or more of our significant contracts, or suspend or debar us from doing business with the U.S. government, our revenue and operating results would be materially harmed.
The U.S. government may revise its procurement, contract or other practices in a manner adverse to us.
The U.S. government may:
revise its procurement practices or adopt new contract laws, rules, and regulations, such as cost accounting standards, organizational conflicts of interest, and other rules governing inherently governmental functions at any time;
reduce, delay, or cancel procurement programs resulting from U.S. government efforts to improve procurement practices and efficiency;
limit the creation of new government-wide or agency-specific multiple award contracts;
face restrictions or pressure from government employees and their unions regarding the amount of services the U.S. government may obtain from private contractors;
award contracts on a technically acceptable/lowest cost basis in order to reduce expenditures, and we may not be the lowest cost provider of services;
adopt new socio-economic requirements, including setting aside procurement opportunities to small, disadvantaged businesses;
change the basis upon which it reimburses our compensation and other expenses or otherwise limit such reimbursements; and
at its option, terminate or decline to renew our contracts.
In addition, any new contracting methods could be costly or administratively difficult for us to implement and could adversely affect our future revenue and profit margin. In addition, changes to the procurement system could cause delays in the procurement decision-making process. Any such changes to the U.S. government’s procurement practices or the adoption of new contracting rules or practices could impair our ability to obtain new or re-compete contracts and any such changes or increased associated costs could materially and adversely affect our results of operations.
As part of its cost-cutting initiative, the Department of Defense has issued guidance regarding changes to the procurement process that is intended to control cost growth throughout the acquisition cycle by developing a competitive strategy for each program. Because this initiative may significantly change the way the U.S. government solicits, negotiates, and manages its contracts, it could result in an increase in competitive pressure and decreased profitability on contracts and have a material adverse effect on our results of operations.
The U.S. government may prefer minority-owned, small and small disadvantaged businesses; therefore, we may have fewer opportunities to bid for.
As a result of the Small Business Administration set-aside program, the U.S. government may decide to restrict certain procurements only to bidders that qualify as minority-owned, small, or small disadvantaged businesses. As a result, we would not be eligible to perform as a prime contractor on those programs and would be restricted to a maximum of 49% of the work as a subcontractor on those programs. An increase in the amount of procurements under the Small Business Administration set-aside program may impact our ability to bid on new procurements as a prime contractor or restrict our ability to recompete on incumbent work that is placed in the set-aside program.
Our contracts, performance, and administrative processes and systems are subject to audits, reviews, investigations, and cost adjustments by the U.S. government, which could reduce our revenue, disrupt our business, or otherwise materially adversely affect our results of operation.
U.S. government agencies routinely audit, review, and investigate government contracts and government contractors’ administrative processes and systems. These agencies review our performance on contracts, pricing practices, cost structure, and compliance with applicable laws, regulations and standards, including applicable government cost accounting standards. These agencies also review our compliance with government regulations and policies, and the DCAA audits, among other areas, the adequacy of our internal control systems and policies, including our purchasing, property, estimating, earned value

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and accounting systems. These internal control systems could focus on significant elements of costs, such as executive compensation. Determination of a significant internal control deficiency by a government agency could result in increased payment withholding that might materially increase our accounts receivable days sales outstanding and adversely affect our cash flow. In particular, over time the DCMA has increased and may continue to increase the proportion of executive compensation that it deems unallowable and the size of the executive population whose compensation is disallowed, which will continue to materially and adversely affect our results of operations or financial condition including the requirement to carry an increased level of reserves. Recent legislation and regulations implementing new limitations on the amount of allowable executive compensation costs contribute to increased regulatory scrutiny of the allowability of employee compensation costs, which can lead to greater amounts of employee compensation cost being disallowed. We recognize as revenue, net of reserves, executive compensation that we determine, based on management's estimates, to be allowable; management's estimates in this regard are based on a number of factors that may change over time, including executive compensation survey data, our and other government contractors' experiences with the DCAA audit practices in our industry and relevant decisions of courts and boards of contract appeals. Any costs found to be unallowable under a contract will not be reimbursed, and any such costs already reimbursed must be refunded. Further, the amount of any such refund may exceed reserves established by management based on estimates and assumptions that are inherently uncertain. Moreover, if any of the administrative processes and business systems, some of which are currently certified as effective, are found not to comply with government imposed requirements, we may be subjected to increased government scrutiny and approval that could delay or otherwise adversely affect our ability to compete for or perform contracts or to be paid timely. Unfavorable U.S. government audit, review, or investigation results could subject us to civil or criminal penalties or administrative sanctions, and could harm our reputation and relationships with our clients and impair our ability to be awarded new contracts, which could affect our future sales and profitability by preventing us, by operation of law or in practice, from receiving new government contracts for some period of time. In addition, if our invoicing system were found to be inadequate following an audit by the DCAA, our ability to directly invoice U.S. government payment offices could be eliminated. As a result, we would be required to submit each invoice to the DCAA for approval prior to payment, which could materially increase our accounts receivable days sales outstanding and adversely affect our cash flow. In addition, proposed regulatory changes, if adopted, would require the Department of Defense’s contracting officers to impose contractual withholdings at no less than certain minimum levels based on assessments of a contractor’s business systems. An unfavorable outcome to an audit, review, or investigation by any U.S. government agency could materially and adversely affect our relationship with the U.S. government. If a government investigation uncovers improper or illegal activities, we may be subject to civil and criminal penalties and administrative sanctions, including termination of contracts, forfeitures of profits, withholding of payments, suspension of payments, fines, and suspension or debarment from doing business with the U.S. government. In addition, we could suffer serious reputational harm if allegations of impropriety were made against us. Provisions that we have recorded in our consolidated financial statements as a compliance reserve may not cover actual losses. Furthermore, the disallowance of any costs previously charged could directly and negatively affect our current results of operations for the relevant prior fiscal periods, and we could be required to repay any such disallowed amounts. Each of these results could materially and adversely affect our results of operations or financial condition.
A delay in the completion of the U.S. government’s budget process could result in a reduction in our backlog and have a material adverse effect on our revenue and operating results.
On an annual basis, the U.S. Congress must approve budgets that govern spending by each of the federal agencies we support. When the U.S. Congress is unable to agree on budget priorities, and thus is unable to pass the annual budget on a timely basis, the U.S. Congress typically enacts a continuing resolution. A continuing resolution allows government agencies to operate at spending levels approved in the previous budget cycle. Under a continuing resolution, funding may not be available for new projects. In addition, when government agencies operate on the basis of a continuing resolution, they may delay funding we expect to receive on contracts we are already performing. Any such delays would likely result in new business initiatives being delayed or canceled and a reduction in our backlog, and could have a material adverse effect on our revenue and operating results. In addition, a failure to complete the budget process and fund government operations pursuant to a continuing resolution may result in a federal government shutdown (such as that which occurred during the government fiscal year 2014). A shutdown may result in us incurring substantial costs without reimbursement under our contracts and the delay or cancellation of key programs, which could have a material adverse effect on our revenue and operating results.
Risks Related to Our Indebtedness
We have substantial indebtedness and may incur substantial additional indebtedness, which could adversely affect our financial health and our ability to obtain financing in the future as well as to react to changes in our business.
As of March 31, 2017, we had total indebtedness of approximately $1.7 billion and $370 million of availability under our revolving credit facility (the “Revolving Credit Facility”). We are able to, and may, incur additional indebtedness in the future, subject to the limitations contained in the agreements governing our indebtedness. Our substantial indebtedness could have important consequences to holders of our common stock, including:

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making it more difficult for us to satisfy our obligations with respect to our Secured Credit Facility, consisting of a $1,153 million term loan facility (“Term Loan A”), a $398 million term loan facility (“Term Loan B” and, together with Term Loan A, the “Term Loans”) and a $500 million Revolving Credit Facility, with a sublimit for letters of credit of $100 million, our $350 million in aggregate principal amount of 5.125% Senior Notes due 2025 (the “Notes”) and our other debt;
limiting our ability to obtain additional financing to fund future working capital, capital expenditures, acquisitions or other general corporate requirements;
requiring a substantial portion of our cash flows to be dedicated to debt service payments instead of other purposes, thereby reducing the amount of cash flows available for working capital, capital expenditures, acquisitions and other general corporate purposes;
increasing our vulnerability to general adverse economic and industry conditions
exposing us to the risk of increased interest rates as certain of our borrowings, including under the Secured Credit Facility, are at variable rates of interest;
limiting our flexibility in planning for and reacting to changes in the industry in which we compete;
placing us at a disadvantage compared to other, less leveraged competitors or competitors with comparable debt and more favorable terms and thereby affecting our ability to compete; and
increasing our cost of borrowing.
Although the Secured Credit Facility and the indenture governing the Notes contain restrictions on the incurrence of additional indebtedness, these restrictions are subject to a number of qualifications and exceptions, and the additional indebtedness incurred in compliance with these restrictions could be substantial. These restrictions also will not prevent us from incurring obligations that do not constitute indebtedness. In addition, the Revolving Credit Facility provides for commitments of $500 million, which as of March 31, 2017, $368.3 million were available and $1.7 million were under open standby letters of credit and bank guarantees. Additionally, subject to specified conditions, without the consent of the then-existing lenders (but subject to the receipt of commitments), the indebtedness under the Secured Credit Facility may be increased by up to (x) $400 million plus (y) an additional amount if, after giving pro forma effect to the incurrence of such additional amount and after giving effect to any acquisition consummated concurrently therewith and all other appropriate pro forma adjustment events, the consolidated net senior secured leverage ratio is equal to or less than 3.50:1.00. If new debt is added to our current debt levels, the related risks that we and the guarantors now face would increase and we may not be able to meet all our debt obligations, including the repayment of the Notes.
We may not be able to generate sufficient cash to service our indebtedness and may be forced to take other actions to satisfy our obligations under our indebtedness, which may not be successful.
Our ability to make scheduled payments on or refinance our debt obligations will depend on our financial condition and operating performance, which are subject to prevailing economic and competitive conditions and to financial, business, legislative, regulatory and other factors beyond our control. We might not be able to maintain a level of cash flows from operating activities sufficient to permit us to pay the principal, premium, if any, and interest on our indebtedness. For information regarding the risks to our business that could impair our ability to satisfy our obligations under our indebtedness, see “— Risks Related to Our Business.”
If our cash flows and capital resources are insufficient to fund our debt service obligations, we could face substantial liquidity problems and could be forced to reduce or delay investments and capital expenditures or to dispose of material assets or operations, seek additional debt or equity capital or restructure or refinance our indebtedness. We may not be able to effect any such alternative measures on commercially reasonable terms or at all and, even if successful, those alternative actions may not allow us to meet our scheduled debt service obligations.
The agreements governing our indebtedness restrict our ability to dispose of assets and use the proceeds from those dispositions and also restrict our ability to raise debt to be used to repay other indebtedness when it becomes due.
We may not be able to consummate those dispositions or to obtain proceeds in an amount sufficient to meet any debt service obligations then due. In addition, under the Secured Credit Facility, we are subject to mandatory prepayments of our Term Loans from a portion of our excess cash flows, which may be stepped down upon the achievement of specified first lien leverage ratios. To the extent that we are required to prepay any amounts under our Term Loans, we may have insufficient cash to make required principal and interest payments on other indebtedness.
Our inability to generate sufficient cash flows to satisfy our debt obligations, or to refinance our indebtedness on commercially reasonable terms or at all, would materially and adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations and our ability to satisfy our obligations under our indebtedness.

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If we cannot make scheduled payments on our debt, we will be in default and lenders under our Secured Credit Facility and holders of the Notes could declare all outstanding principal and interest to be due and payable, the lenders under the Revolving Credit Facility could terminate their commitments to loan money, the lenders could foreclose against the assets securing their loans and we could be forced into bankruptcy or liquidation. All of these events could result in you losing some or all of the value of your investment.
The terms of the agreements governing our indebtedness restrict our current and future operations, particularly our ability to respond to changes or to take certain actions, which could harm our long-term interests.
The Secured Credit Facility and the indenture governing the Notes contain covenants that, among other things, impose significant operating and financial restrictions on us and limit our ability to engage in actions that may be in our long-term best interest, including restrictions on our ability to:
incur additional indebtedness, guarantee indebtedness or issue disqualified stock or preferred stock;
pay dividends on or make other distributions in respect of, or repurchase or redeem, our capital stock;
prepay, redeem or repurchase subordinated indebtedness;
make loans and investments;
sell or otherwise dispose of assets;
incur liens securing indebtedness;
enter into transactions with affiliates;
enter into agreements restricting our subsidiaries’ ability to pay dividends to us or the guarantors or make other intercompany transfers;
consolidate, merge or sell all or substantially all of our or any guarantor’s assets;
designate our subsidiaries as unrestricted subsidiaries; and
enter into certain lines of business.
These covenants are subject to a number of important exceptions and qualifications. In addition, the restrictive covenants in the Secured Credit Facility require us to maintain a consolidated net total leverage ratio and a consolidated net interest coverage ratio that will each be tested at the end of each fiscal quarter. Our ability to satisfy that financial ratio test may be affected by events beyond our control.
A breach of the covenants under the agreements governing our indebtedness could result in an event of default under those agreements. Such a default may allow certain creditors to accelerate the related debt and may result in the acceleration of any other debt to which a cross-acceleration or cross-default provision applies. In addition, an event of default under the Secured Credit Facility would also permit the lenders under the Revolving Credit Facility to terminate all other commitments to extend further credit under that facility. Furthermore, if we were unable to repay the amounts due and payable under the Secured Credit Facility, those lenders could proceed against the collateral granted to them to secure that indebtedness. In the event the lenders accelerate the repayment of our borrowings, we may not have sufficient assets to repay that indebtedness.
As a result of all of these restrictions, we may be:
limited in how we conduct our business;
unable to raise additional debt or equity financing to operate during general economic or business downturns; or
unable to compete effectively or to take advantage of new business opportunities.
These restrictions might hinder our ability to grow in accordance with our strategy.
Our variable rate indebtedness subjects us to interest rate risk, which could cause our debt service obligations to increase significantly.
Borrowings under the Secured Credit Facility are at variable rates of interest and expose us to interest rate risk. Interest rates are currently at historically low levels. If interest rates increase, our debt service obligations on the variable rate indebtedness will increase even though the amount borrowed remains the same, and our net income and cash flows, including cash available for servicing our indebtedness, will correspondingly decrease.
Assuming all revolving loans are fully drawn, each quarter point change in interest rates would result in a
$5.1 million change in our projected annual interest expense on our indebtedness under the Secured Credit Facility. In the future, we may enter into interest rate swaps that involve the exchange of floating for fixed rate interest payments in order to

32




reduce future interest rate volatility. However, due to risks for hedging gains and losses and cash settlement costs, we may not elect to maintain such interest rate swaps with respect to any of our variable rate indebtedness, and any swaps we enter into may not fully mitigate our interest rate risk.
We will need to repay or refinance borrowings under the Secured Credit Facility prior to maturity of the Notes. Failure to do so could have a material adverse effect upon us.
We expect that the Term Loan A and the Revolving Credit Facility will mature in 2021 and the Term Loan B will mature in 2023 and each such maturity date precedes the maturity of the Notes. Consequently, prior to the maturity of the Notes, we will need to repay, refinance, replace or otherwise extend the maturity of the Secured Credit Facility. Our ability to repay, refinance, replace or extend will be dependent on, among other things, business conditions, our financial performance and the general condition of the financial markets. If a financial disruption were to occur at the time that we are required to repay, refinance or replace indebtedness outstanding under the Secured Credit Facility, we could be forced to undertake alternate financings, negotiate for an extension of the maturity of the Secured Credit Facility or sell assets and delay capital expenditures in order to generate proceeds that could be used to repay indebtedness under the Secured Credit Facility. We cannot assure you that we will be able to consummate any such transaction on terms that are commercially reasonable, on terms acceptable to us or at all. Our failure to repay, refinance, replace or otherwise extend the maturity of the Secured Credit Facility could result in an event of default under the indenture governing the Notes and the Secured Credit Facility, which could lead to an acceleration or repayment of substantially all of our outstanding debt.
A downgrade, suspension or withdrawal of the rating assigned by a rating agency to us or our indebtedness could make it more difficult for us to obtain additional debt financing in the future.
Our indebtedness has been rated by nationally recognized rating agencies and may in the future be rated by additional rating agencies. We cannot assure you that any rating assigned to us or our indebtedness will remain for any given period of time or that a rating will not be lowered or withdrawn entirely by a rating agency if, in that rating agency’s judgment, circumstances relating to the basis of the rating, such as adverse changes in our business, so warrant. Any downgrade, suspension or withdrawal of a rating by a rating agency (or any anticipated downgrade, suspension or withdrawal) could make it more difficult or more expensive for us to obtain additional debt financing in the future.
Risks Related to Our Common Stock
Booz Allen Holding is a holding company with no operations of its own, and it depends on its subsidiaries for cash to fund all of its operations and expenses, including to make future dividend payments, if any.
The operations of Booz Allen Holding are conducted almost entirely through its subsidiaries and its ability to generate cash to meet its debt service obligations or to pay dividends is highly dependent on the earnings and the receipt of funds from its subsidiaries via dividends or intercompany loans. Further, the Secured Credit Facility and indenture governing the Notes significantly restricts the ability of our subsidiaries to pay dividends or otherwise transfer assets to us. In addition, Delaware law may impose requirements that may restrict our ability to pay dividends to holders of our common stock.
Our financial results may vary significantly from period to period as a result of a number of factors many of which are outside our control, which could cause the market price of our Class A Common Stock to fluctuate.
Our financial results may vary significantly from period to period in the future as a result of many external factors that are outside of our control. Factors that may affect our financial results and that could cause the market price of our outstanding securities, including our Class A Common Stock, to fluctuate include those listed in this “Risk Factors” section and others such as:
any cause of reduction or delay in U.S. government funding;
fluctuations in revenue earned on existing contracts;
commencement, completion, or termination of contracts during a particular period;
a potential decline in our overall profit margins if our other direct costs and subcontract revenue grow at a faster rate than labor-related revenue;
strategic decisions by us or our competitors, such as changes to business strategy, strategic investments, acquisitions, divestitures, spin offs, and joint ventures;
a change in our contract mix to less profitable contracts;
changes in policy or budgetary measures that adversely affect U.S. government contracts in general;
variable purchasing patterns under U.S. government GSA schedules, blanket purchase agreements, which are agreements that fulfill repetitive needs under GSA schedules, and IDIQ contracts;

33




changes in demand for our services and solutions;
fluctuations in the degree to which we are able to utilize our professionals;
seasonality associated with the U.S. government’s fiscal year;
an inability to utilize existing or future tax benefits for any reason, including a change in law;
alterations to contract requirements; and
adverse judgments or settlements in legal disputes.
We cannot assure you that we will pay special or regular dividends on our stock in the future.
The board of directors has authorized and declared a regular quarterly for each quarter in the last several years. The board of directors also authorized and declared a special cash dividend on May 29, 2012, July 30, 2012, October 29, 2013, January 30, 2014, and July 30, 2014. The declaration of any future dividends and the establishment of the per share amount, record dates and payment dates for any such future dividends are subject to the discretion of the board of directors taking into account future earnings, cash flows, financial requirements and other factors. There can be no assurance that the board of directors will declare any dividends in the future. To the extent that expectations by market participants regarding the potential payment, or amount, of any special or regular dividend prove to be incorrect, the price of our common stock may be materially and negatively affected and investors that bought shares of our common stock based on those expectations may suffer a loss on their investment. Further, to the extent that we declare a regular or special dividend at a time when market participants hold no such expectations or the amount of any such dividend exceeds current expectations, the price of our common stock may increase and investors that sold shares of our common stock prior to the record date for any such dividend may forego potential gains on their investment.
Fulfilling our obligations incident to being a public company, including with respect to the requirements of and related rules under the Sarbanes Oxley Act of 2002, is expensive and time consuming and any delays or difficulty in satisfying these obligations could have a material adverse effect on our future results of operations and our stock price.
As a public company, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 and the related rules and regulations of the SEC, as well as the New York Stock Exchange rules, require us to implement various corporate governance practices and adhere to a variety of reporting requirements and complex accounting rules. Compliance with these public company obligations requires us to devote significant management time and place significant additional demands on our finance and accounting staff and on our financial, accounting, and information systems. We have hired additional accounting and financial staff with appropriate public company reporting experience and technical accounting knowledge. Other expenses associated with being a public company include increased auditing, accounting, and legal fees and expenses, investor relations expenses, increased directors’ fees and director and officer liability insurance costs, registrar and transfer agent fees, listing fees, as well as other expenses.
In particular, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 requires us to document and test the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting in accordance with an established internal control framework, and to report on our conclusions as to the effectiveness of our internal controls. It also requires an independent registered public accounting firm to test our internal control over financial reporting and report on the effectiveness of such controls. In addition, we are required under the Exchange Act to maintain disclosure controls and procedures and internal control over financial reporting. Because of inherent limitations in any internal control environment, there can be no assurance that all control issues and instances of fraud, errors or misstatements, if any, within our company have been or will be detected on a timely basis. Such deficiencies could result in the correction or restatement of financial statements of one or more periods. Any failure to maintain effective controls or implement new or improved controls, or difficulties encountered in their implementation, could harm our operating results or cause us to fail to meet our reporting obligations. We also rely on third parties for certain calculations and other information that support our accounting and financial reporting, which includes reports from such organizations on their controls and systems that are used to generate this information. The calculations and other information that we receive from such third parties may not be accurate, and we may not receive adequate or timely information related to internal control failures occurring at these organizations. Any failure by such third parties to provide us with accurate information or implement and maintain effective controls may cause us to be unable to meet our reporting obligations as a publicly traded company. If we are unable to conclude that we have effective internal control over financial reporting, or if our independent registered public accounting firm is unable to provide us with an unqualified report regarding the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting, investors could lose confidence in the reliability of our consolidated financial statements, which could result in a decrease in the value of our common stock. Failure to comply with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 could potentially subject us to sanctions or investigations by the SEC, the New York Stock Exchange, or other regulatory authorities.

34




Provisions in our organizational documents and in the Delaware General Corporation Law may prevent takeover attempts that could be beneficial to our stockholders.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws include a number of provisions that may have the effect of delaying, deterring, preventing, or rendering more difficult a change in control of Booz Allen Holding that our stockholders might consider in their best interests. These provisions include:
establishment of a classified Board, with staggered terms;
granting to the Board the sole power to set the number of directors and to fill any vacancy on the Board;
limitations on the ability of stockholders to remove directors;
granting to the Board the ability to designate and issue one or more series of preferred stock without stockholder approval, the terms of which may be determined at the sole discretion of the Board;
a prohibition on stockholders from calling special meetings of stockholders;
the establishment of advance notice requirements for stockholder proposals and nominations for election to the Board at stockholder meetings;
requiring approval of two-thirds of stockholders to amend the bylaws; and
prohibiting our stockholders from acting by written consent.
In addition, we are subject to the anti-takeover provisions of Section 203 of the Delaware General Corporation Law, which imposes additional requirements regarding mergers and other business combinations. These provisions may prevent our stockholders from receiving the benefit from any premium to the market price of our common stock offered by a bidder in a takeover context. Even in the absence of a takeover attempt, the existence of these provisions may adversely affect the prevailing market price of our common stock if the provisions are viewed as discouraging takeover attempts in the future.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated by-laws may also make it difficult for stockholders to replace or remove our management. These provisions may facilitate management entrenchment that may delay, deter, render more difficult, or prevent a change in our control, which may not be in the best interests of our stockholders.
The market for our Class A common stock may be adversely affected by the performance of other companies in the government services market.
In addition to factors that may affect our financial results and operations, the price of our Class A common stock may be impacted by the financial performance and outlook of other companies in the government services market. While certain factors may affect all participants in the markets in which we operate, such as U.S. government spending conditions and changes in rules and regulations applicable to government contractors, the market for our Class A common stock may be adversely affected by financial results or negative events only affecting other market participants or financial results of such participants. While such events or results may not impact or be indicative of our current or future performance, the price of our securities may nonetheless be adversely affected as a result thereof.

Item 1B.
Unresolved Staff Comments
None.

Item 2.
Properties
We do not own any facilities or real estate. Our corporate headquarters is located at 8283 Greensboro Drive, McLean, Virginia 22102. We lease other operating offices and facilities throughout North America, and a limited number of overseas locations. Our principal offices outside of McLean, Virginia include: Annapolis Junction, Maryland; Rockville, Maryland; Laurel, Maryland; San Diego, California; Herndon, Virginia; Charleston, South Carolina; and Washington, D.C. We have a number of Sensitive Compartmented Information Facilities, which are enclosed areas within buildings that are used to perform classified work for the U.S. Intelligence Community. Many of our employees are located in facilities provided by the U.S. government. The total square footage of our leased offices and facilities is approximately 2.59 million square feet. We believe our facilities meet our current needs.

Item 3.
Legal Proceedings
Our performance under U.S. government contracts and compliance with the terms of those contracts and applicable laws and regulations are subject to continuous audit, review, and investigation by the U.S. government which may include such

35




investigative techniques as subpoenas or civil investigative demands. Given the nature of our business, these audits, reviews, and investigations may focus, among other areas, on various aspects of procurement integrity, labor time reporting, sensitive and/or classified information access and control, executive compensation, and post government employment restrictions. We are not always aware of our status in such matters, but we are currently aware of certain pending audits and investigations involving labor time reporting, procurement integrity, and classified information access. In addition, from time to time, we are also involved in legal proceedings and investigations arising in the ordinary course of business, including those relating to employment matters, relationships with clients and contractors, intellectual property disputes, and other business matters. These legal proceedings seek various remedies, including claims for monetary damages in varying amounts, none of which are considered material, or are unspecified as to amount. Although the outcome of any such matter is inherently uncertain and may be materially adverse, based on current information, we do not expect any of the currently ongoing audits, reviews, investigations, or litigation to have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations. As of March 31, 2017 and 2016, there were no material amounts accrued in the consolidated financial statements related to these proceedings.
Six former officers and stockholders who had departed the company prior to the acquisition have filed a total of nine suits in various jurisdictions, with original filing dates ranging from July 3, 2008 through December 15, 2009, against us and certain of our current and former directors and officers. Three of these suits were amended on July 2, 2010 and then further amended into one consolidated complaint on September 7, 2010. Another two of the original nine suits were consolidated into one complaint on September 24, 2014. Each of the suits arises out of the Acquisition and alleges that the former stockholders are entitled to certain payments that they would have received if they had held their stock at the time of the acquisition. Some of the suits also allege that the acquisition price paid to stockholders was insufficient. The various suits assert claims for breach of contract, tortious interference with contract, breach of fiduciary duty, civil Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, or RICO, violations, violations of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, or ERISA, and/or securities and common law fraud. Three of these suits have been dismissed with all appeals exhausted. The two suits that were consolidated into one action on September 24, 2014 were settled on April 16, 2015. One of the remaining suits has been dismissed by the United States District Court for the Southern District of California and such dismissal was upheld by the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. The plaintiff in this suit subsequently filed a Petition for Writ of Certiorari to the United States Supreme Court, which was denied by the United States Supreme Court on January 9, 2017. The other three remaining suits that were previously consolidated on September 7, 2010 have been dismissed by the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York and are on appeal before the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. On December 15, 2016, hearings relating to the appeal were held before the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. As of March 31, 2017, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit has not ruled on this appeal. As of March 31, 2017, the aggregate alleged damages sought in these three remaining suits was approximately $241.7 million (substantially all of which is sought to be trebled pursuant to RICO), plus punitive damages, costs, and fees. Although the outcome of any of these cases is inherently uncertain and may be materially adverse, based on current information, we do not expect them to have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.

Item 4.
Mine Safety Disclosures
None.
Executive Officers of the Registrant
The following table sets forth information about our executive officers as of the date hereof:
Name
 
Age
 
Position
Horacio D. Rozanski
 
49
 
President and Chief Executive Officer
Lloyd W. Howell, Jr.
 
50
 
Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer
Karen M. Dahut
 
53
 
Executive Vice President
Nancy J. Laben
 
55
 
Executive Vice President, Chief Legal Officer and Secretary
Joseph Logue
 
52
 
Executive Vice President
Joseph W. Mahaffee
 
59
 
Executive Vice President, Chief Administrative Officer and Chief Information Security Officer
Susan L. Penfield
 
55
 
Executive Vice President
Elizabeth M. Thompson
 
62
 
Executive Vice President and Chief Personnel Officer
Laura S. Adams
 
44
 
Vice President, Corporate Controller and Chief Accounting Officer

36




Horacio D. Rozanski is our President and Chief Executive Officer and served as our Chief Operating Officer until January 1, 2015. Mr. Rozanski served as the Chief Strategy and Talent Officer in 2010 and, prior to that, Chief Personnel Officer of our company from 2002 through 2010. Mr. Rozanski joined our company in 1992 and became an Executive Vice President in 2009, our President on January 1, 2014 and our Chief Executive Officer on January 1, 2015. He serves on the board of trustees of the Jewish Primary Day School of the Nation’s Capital and the board of directors of The Center for Talent Innovation and the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum's Committee on Conscience.
Lloyd W. Howell, Jr. is an Executive Vice President of our company and our Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer since July 1, 2016. Mr. Howell previously served as the group leader for our Civil Commercial Group. Mr. Howell joined our company in 1988, left in 1991, rejoined in 1995 and became an Executive Vice President in 2005. He served as chairman of our Ethics & Compliance Committee for over seven years, until April 2014. Mr. Howell serves on the boards of directors of Integra Life Sciences, Partnership for Public Service and Capital Partners for Education. Mr. Howell also serves on the board of overseers for the School of Engineering and Applied Science at the University of Pennsylvania.
Karen M. Dahut is an Executive Vice President and is the group leader for the company's Civil Commercial Group.  Ms. Dahut joined our company in 2002 and became a Senior Vice President in 2004. Ms. Dahut led the company's Strategic Innovations Group from 2012 to April 2016. Previously, she also led the company's Analytics business and its US Navy and Marine Corps business. Ms. Dahut is a board member of the Tech Data Corporation and Northern Virginia Technology Council. She also serves on the board of trustees for Stone Ridge School of the Sacred Heart in Bethesda, Maryland.
Nancy J. Laben is an Executive Vice President of our company and our Chief Legal Officer and Secretary. Ms. Laben joined our company in September 2013. Before joining our company, Ms. Laben served as General Counsel of AECOM Technology Corporation from June 2010 to August 2013, where she was responsible for all legal support. Prior to June 2010, Ms. Laben served as Deputy General Counsel at Accenture plc beginning in 1989. Prior to Accenture, Ms. Laben served in the law department at IBM Corporation.
Joseph Logue is an Executive Vice President of our company and is the group leader for our Defense Intelligence Group. Mr. Logue joined our company in 1997 and became an Executive Vice President in 2009. Previously, he led our former commercial Information Technology practice.
Joseph W. Mahaffee is an Executive Vice President and our Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) and Chief Information Security Officer (CISO). Prior to assuming his CAO and CISO roles, Mr. Mahaffee served in a variety of client/market-facing leadership roles to include Client Service Officer for our NSA account; Assurance and Resilience Capability Leader; and the Northeast Region Leader. Mr. Mahaffee has primarily focused his career serving clients in the Defense and Intelligence Community markets. Altogether, he has more than 36 years of professional experience in Cybersecurity, systems engineering, communications, information assurance, and signals intelligence. Prior to joining our company, Mr. Mahaffee was an information security engineer with the National Security Agency. He is presently serving as the company's representative to the Defense Industrial Base.
Susan L. Penfield is an Executive Vice President of our company and is the group leader for our Strategic Innovation Group. Ms. Penfield has over 25 years of strategy, technology, marketing and solutions delivery experience. Prior to becoming the group leader for the Strategic Innovation Group, Ms. Penfield led the company's Health business, where she drove technology and transformation initiatives across the Federal, commercial and non-profit health space. She serves on the board of directors of the Children's Inn at the National Institutes of Health and the national Chapter of the American Red Cross. Ms. Penfield is a member of the Washington Women's Forum and the National Association for Female Executives (NAFE), and was recognized by the NAFE as its 2015 Digital Trailblazer.
Elizabeth M. Thompson is an Executive Vice President of our company and serves as our Chief Personnel Officer. Ms. Thompson joined our company in 2008. Ms. Thompson served as Vice President of Human Resources for Fannie Mae from 2000 to 2008. Ms. Thompson holds an M.S. in Human Resources and Personnel Management from American University. Ms. Thompson is also a member of the board of directors of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund.
Laura S. Adams is a Vice President of our company and our Corporate Controller and Chief Accounting Officer. Ms. Adams joined Booz Allen in January 2009 and has served as the company’s Controller since July 2014. Ms. Adams brings more than 20 years of finance and accounting specialty and industry experience, primarily in aerospace and defense and government and commercial IT management consulting services. Before joining Booz Allen, Ms. Adams was a senior manager in the audit and assurance practice of Ernst & Young from 1995 through 2008.

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PART II 

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

Market Information
Our Class A Common Stock began trading on the New York Stock Exchange on November 17, 2010. At the annual meeting of stockholders held on July 31, 2014, the stockholders approved a proposal to amend and restate the certificate of incorporation, which had the effect of converting all issued and outstanding shares of Class B Non-Voting Common Stock and Class C Restricted Common Stock into shares of Class A Common Stock on a one-for-one basis. The conversion was effected on August 13, 2014 when the Company filed its third amended and restated certificate of incorporation with the Secretary of State of the State of Delaware. As a result of the conversion, there were no shares of Class B Non-Voting Common Stock and Class C Restricted Common Stock outstanding at such time. On September 30, 2015, the Company purchased, at par value, all issued and outstanding shares of Class E special voting common stock in connection with the exercise of the final tranche of rollover options during the second quarter of fiscal 2016. There is no established trading market for each of our Class B Non-Voting Common Stock, Class C Restricted Common Stock, or Class E Special Voting Common Stock. On May 12, 2017, there were 60,370 beneficial holders of our Class A Common Stock. The following table sets forth, for the periods indicated, the high and low sales price per share of our Class A Common Stock as reported by the New York Stock Exchange:
 
 
 
High
 
Low
Fiscal 2017
 
 
 
 
1st Quarter
 
$
30.64

 
$
27.02

2nd Quarter
 
31.94

 
29.03

3rd Quarter
 
38.54

 
29.55

4th Quarter
 
37.69

 
32.75

Fiscal 2016
 
 
 
 
1st Quarter
 
$
29.27

 
$
23.87

2nd Quarter
 
28.11

 
25.10

3rd Quarter
 
31.34

 
25.50

4th Quarter
 
31.03

 
25.03


Dividends
On May 18, 2016, we announced a regular quarterly cash dividend in the amount of $0.15 per share. The quarterly dividend was paid on June 30, 2016 to stockholders of record on June 10, 2016.
On July 27, 2016, we announced a regular quarterly cash dividend in the amount of $0.15 per share. The quarterly dividend was paid on August 31, 2016 to stockholders of record on August 10, 2016.
On November 2, 2016, we announced a regular quarterly cash dividend in the amount of $0.15 per share. The quarterly dividend was paid on November 30, 2016 to stockholders of record on November 10, 2016.
On January 30, 2017, we announced a regular quarterly cash dividend in the amount of $0.17 per share. The quarterly dividend was paid on February 28, 2017 to stockholders of record on February 10, 2017.
Recent Sales of Unregistered Securities
None.

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Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities
The following table shows the share repurchase activity for each of the three months in the quarter ended March 31, 2017:
Period
 
Total Number of Shares Purchased
 
Average Price Paid per Share
 
Total Number of Shares Purchased as Part of Publicly Announced Plans or Programs
 
Approximate Dollar Value of Shares that May Yet Be Purchased Under the Plans or Programs (1)
January 2017
 
129,400
 
$33.72
 
4,363,433
 
$
295,062,266

February 2017
 
72,067
 
$33.72
 
2,430,114
 
$
292,632,152

March 2017
 
1,029,700
 
$36.23
 
37,306,233
 
$
255,325,918

Total
 
1,231,167
 
 
 
44,099,780
 
 
(1)
On December 12, 2011, the Board of Directors approved a $30.0 million share repurchase program. On January 27, 2015, the Board of Directors approved an increase to our share repurchase authorization from $30.0 million to up to $180.0 million. On January 25, 2017, the Board of Directors approved an increase to our share repurchase authorization from $180.0 million to up to $410.0 million. A special committee of the Board of Directors was appointed to evaluate market conditions and other relevant factors and initiate repurchases under the program from time to time. The share repurchase program may be suspended, modified or discontinued at any time at the Company’s discretion without prior notice.
Use of Proceeds from Registered Securities
None.


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Performance
The graph set forth below compares the cumulative shareholder return on our Common Stock between March 31, 2012 and March 31, 2017, to the cumulative return of (i) the Russell 1000 Index, (ii) the Dow Jones US Computer Services Index, and (iii) S&P Software & Services Select Industry Index over the same period. Beginning in fiscal year 2018, we will no longer show the DJ US Computer Services Index for comparative purposes. The Russell 1000 and S&P Software & Services Select Industry Indices represent better comparator groups for relative cumulative return performance to Booz Allen Hamilton. This graph assumes an initial investment of $100 on March 31, 2012 in our common stock, the Russell 1000 Index, and the Dow Jones US Computer Services Index and assumes the reinvestment of dividends, if any. The stock price performance included in this graph is not necessarily indicative of future stock price performance.
COMPARISON OF CUMULATIVE TOTAL RETURNS
https://cdn.kscope.io/edaeba16d467e287937a924b5ed2db29-performancegraphv4.jpg
ASSUMES $100 INVESTED ON MARCH 31, 2012
ASSUMES DIVIDEND REINVESTED

 
Company/Market/Peer Group
 
3/31/2012
 
3/31/2013
 
3/31/2014
 
3/31/2015
 
3/31/2016
 
3/31/2017
Booz Allen Hamilton Holding Corp
 
$
100.00

 
$
136.39

 
$
254.11

 
$
356.82

 
$
380.98

 
$
454.13

Russell 1000 Index
 
$
100.00

 
$
114.43

 
$
140.07

 
$
157.91

 
$
158.70

 
$
186.36

DJ US Computer Services Index
 
$
100.00

 
$
105.31

 
$
102.92

 
$
99.55

 
$
98.97

 
$
116.36

S&P Software & Services Select Industry Index
 
$
100.00

 
$
113.17

 
$
146.17

 
$
165.67

 
$
160.97

 
$
200.11

This performance graph and other information furnished under this Part II Item 5 of this Annual Report shall not be deemed to be “soliciting material” or to be “filed” with the SEC or subject to Regulation 14A or 14C, or to the liabilities of Section 18 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended.


Item 6.
Selected Financial Data
The selected consolidated statements of operations data for fiscal 2017, fiscal 2016, and fiscal 2015 and the selected consolidated balance sheet data as of March 31, 2017 and 2016 have been derived from our audited consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report. The selected consolidated statement of operations data for fiscal 2014 and fiscal 2013 and the selected consolidated balance sheet data as of March 31, 2015, 2014 and 2013 have been derived from audited consolidated financial statements which are not included in this Annual Report. Our historical results are not

40




necessarily indicative of the results that may be expected for any future period. The selected financial data should be read in conjunction with “Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and our consolidated financial statements and related notes included elsewhere in this Annual Report.
 
 
 
Fiscal Year Ended March 31,
(In thousands, except share and per share data)
 
2017
 
2016
 
2015
 
2014
 
2013
Consolidated Statements of Operations:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Revenue
 
$
5,804,284

 
$
5,405,738

 
$
5,274,770

 
$
5,478,693

 
$
5,758,059

Operating costs and expenses:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Cost of revenue
 
2,691,982

 
2,580,026

 
2,593,849

 
2,716,113

 
2,871,240

Billable expenses
 
1,751,077

 
1,513,083

 
1,406,527

 
1,487,115

 
1,532,590

General and administrative expenses
 
817,434

 
806,509

 
752,912

 
742,527

 
833,986

Depreciation and amortization
 
59,544

 
61,536

 
62,660

 
72,327

 
74,009

Total operating costs and expenses
 
5,320,037

 
4,961,154

 
4,815,948

 
5,018,082

 
5,311,825

Operating income
 
484,247

 
444,584

 
458,822

 
460,611

 
446,234

Interest expense
 
(62,298
)
 
(70,815
)
 
(71,832
)
 
(78,030
)
 
(70,284
)
Other income (expense), net
 
(10,049
)
 
5,693

 
(1,072
)
 
(1,794
)
 
(7,639
)
Income before income taxes
 
411,900

 
379,462

 
385,918

 
380,787

 
368,311

Income tax expense
 
159,410

 
85,368

 
153,349

 
148,599

 
149,253

Net income
 
$
252,490

 
$
294,094

 
$
232,569

 
$
232,188

 
$
219,058

Earnings per common share (1):
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Basic
 
$
1.69

 
$
1.98

 
$
1.58

 
$
1.62

 
$
1.56

Diluted
 
$
1.67

 
$
1.94

 
$
1.52

 
$
1.54

 
$
1.45

Weighted average common shares outstanding (1):
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Basic
 
148,218,968

 
146,494,407

 
145,414,120

 
141,314,544

 
134,402,729

Diluted
 
150,274,640

 
149,719,137

 
150,375,531

 
148,681,074

 
144,854,724

Dividends declared per share
 
$
0.62

 
$
0.54

 
$
1.46

 
$
2.40

 
$
8.36


 
 
As of March 31,
(In thousands)
 
2017
 
2016
 
2015
 
2014
 
2013
Consolidated Balance Sheets:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Cash and cash equivalents
 
$
217,417

 
$
187,529

 
$
207,217

 
$
259,994

 
$
350,384

Working capital
 
193,079

 
249,858

 
299,675

 
309,186

 
469,992

Total assets
 
3,373,105

 
3,010,171

 
2,863,982

 
2,915,229

 
3,144,983

Long-term debt, net of current portion
 
1,470,174

 
1,484,448

 
1,555,761

 
1,567,893

 
1,637,098

Stockholders’ equity
 
573,591

 
408,488

 
186,498

 
171,636

 
226,793


(1)
Basic earnings per share for the Company has been computed using the weighted average number of shares of Class A Common Stock, Class B Non- Voting Common Stock, and Class C Restricted Common Stock outstanding during the period. The Company’s diluted earnings per share has been computed using the weighted average number of shares of Class A Common Stock, Class B Non-Voting Common Stock, and Class C Restricted Common Stock including the dilutive effect of outstanding common stock options and other stock-based awards. For the purposes of calculating basic and diluted earnings per share, the Company has utilized the two class method, given non-forfeitable dividends declared on unvested Class A Restricted Common Stock. The weighted average number of Class E Special Voting Common Stock has not been included in the calculation of either basic earnings per share or diluted earnings per share due to the terms of such common stock.

Item 7.
Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations
The following discussion and analysis is intended to help the reader understand our business, financial condition, results of operations, and liquidity and capital resources. You should read this discussion in conjunction with “Item 6. Selected Financial Data,” and our consolidated financial statements and the related notes contained elsewhere in this Annual Report.
The statements in this discussion regarding industry outlook, our expectations regarding our future performance, liquidity and capital resources, and other non-historical statements in this discussion are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to, the risks and uncertainties described in “Item 1A. Risk Factors” and “Introductory Note — Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements”. Our actual results may differ materially from those contained in or implied by any forward-looking statements.

41




Our fiscal year ends March 31 and, unless otherwise noted, references to years or fiscal are for fiscal years ended March 31. See “— Results of Operations.”
Overview
We are a leading provider of management and technology consulting, engineering, analytics, digital solutions, mission operations, and cyber expertise to U.S. and international governments, major corporations, and not-for-profit organizations. Our ability to deliver value to our clients has always been, and continues to be, a product of the strong character, deep expertise and tremendous passion of our people. Our talent base of approximately 23,300 employees endeavor to solve problems that matter by making clients' missions their own, combining decades of consulting and domain expertise with functional expertise in areas such as analytics, digital solutions, engineering, and cyber, all fostered by a culture of innovation that extends to all reaches of the company.
Through our dedication to our clients' missions, and a commitment to evolving our business to address client needs, we have longstanding and deep relationships with our clients, some more than 75 years. We support critical missions for a diverse base of federal government clients, including nearly all of the U.S. government's cabinet-level departments, as well as increasingly for top-tier commercial and international clients. We support these clients by helping them tackle their most complex and pressing challenges such as protecting soldiers in combat and supporting their families, advancing cyber capabilities, keeping our national infrastructure secure, enabling and enhancing digital services, transforming the healthcare system, and improving government efficiency to achieve better outcomes. Our U.S. commercial clients are primarily in the financial services, healthcare and life sciences, energy, high-tech manufacturing, retail, and automotive industries. Our international clients are primarily in the Middle East, along with a growing presence in Southeast Asia.

Financial and Other Highlights
During fiscal 2017, the Company continued to invest in its long term growth strategy by investing in key capabilities and markets while also increasing headcount to deploy against the strong pipeline of captured opportunities that translated into an increase in total backlog. Revenue increased 7.4% from fiscal 2016 to fiscal 2017 primarily driven by stronger client demand, as evidenced by our backlog growth. The increase in client demand coupled with our increased client staff headcount and staff billability, resulted in increases in our direct labor and corresponding generation of revenue growth. Revenue growth was also driven by an increase in billable expenses, including subcontractors and direct material and other direct cost purchases for clients.
Operating income increased 8.9% to $484.2 million in fiscal 2017 from $444.6 million in fiscal 2016, which reflects an increase in operating margin to 8.3% from 8.2% in the comparable period. The increases in operating income and operating margin were primarily the result of the same factors driving revenue as well as positive results from improved contract performance and profitability, management's focus on indirect spending reduction initiatives, and efficiencies in general and administrative activities. Operating income was also impacted by slightly higher year-over-year net favorable revenue adjustments on contracts accounted for under the percentage of completion method along with the overall increase in revenue discussed above. These increases in operating income were partially offset by a reduction in the net decrease in the Company's provisions for the potential recovery of allowable expenses recorded during fiscal 2017 as compared to fiscal 2016, as well as an increase in certain non-routine business transaction costs.

42




Non GAAP Measures
We publicly disclose certain non-GAAP financial measurements, including Revenue, Excluding Billable Expenses, Adjusted Operating Income, Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA Margin, Adjusted Net Income, and Adjusted Diluted Earnings Per Share, or Adjusted Diluted EPS, because management uses these measures for business planning purposes, including to manage our business against internal projected results of operations and measure our performance. We view Adjusted Operating Income, Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA Margin, Adjusted Net Income, and Adjusted Diluted EPS as measures of our core operating business, which exclude the impact of the items detailed below, as these items are generally not operational in nature. These non-GAAP measures also provide another basis for comparing period to period results by excluding potential differences caused by non-operational and unusual or non-recurring items. In addition, we use Revenue, Excluding Billable Expenses because it provides management useful information about the Company's operating performance by excluding the impact of costs that are not indicative of the level of productivity of our consulting staff headcount and our overall direct labor, which management believes provides useful information to our investors about our core operations. We also utilize and discuss Free Cash Flow, because management uses this measure for business planning purposes, measuring the cash generating ability of the operating business, and measuring liquidity generally. We present these supplemental measures because we believe that these measures provide investors and securities analysts with important supplemental information with which to evaluate our performance, long term earnings potential, or liquidity, as applicable, and to enable them to assess our performance on the same basis as management. These supplemental performance measurements may vary from and may not be comparable to similarly titled measures by other companies in our industry. Revenue, Excluding Billable Expenses, Adjusted Operating Income, Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA Margin, Adjusted Net Income, Adjusted Diluted EPS, and Free Cash Flow are not recognized measurements under accounting principles generally accepted in the United States, or GAAP, and when analyzing our performance or liquidity, as applicable, investors should (i) evaluate each adjustment in our reconciliation of revenue to Revenue Excluding Billable Expenses, operating income to Adjusted Operating Income, net income to Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA Margin, Adjusted Net Income and Adjusted Diluted Earnings Per Share, and net cash provided by operating activities to Free Cash Flow, (ii) use Revenue, Excluding Billable Expenses, Adjusted Operating Income, Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA Margin, Adjusted Net Income, and Adjusted Diluted EPS in addition to, and not as an alternative to, revenue, operating income, net income or diluted EPS, as measures of operating results, each as defined under GAAP and (iii) use Free Cash Flow in addition to, and not as an alternative to, net cash provided by operating activities as a measure of liquidity, each as defined under GAAP. We have defined the aforementioned non-GAAP measures as follows:
"Revenue, Excluding Billable Expenses" represents revenue less billable expenses. We use Revenue, Excluding Billable Expenses because it provides management useful information about the Company's operating performance by excluding the impact of costs that are not indicative of the level of productivity of our consulting staff headcount and our overall direct labor, which management believes provides useful information to our investors about our core operations.
"Adjusted Operating Income" represents operating income before: (i) adjustments related to the amortization of intangible assets resulting from the acquisition of our Company by The Carlyle Group, and (ii) transaction costs, fees, losses, and expenses, including fees associated with debt prepayments. We prepare Adjusted Operating Income to eliminate the impact of items we do not consider indicative of ongoing operating performance due to their inherent unusual, extraordinary, or non-recurring nature or because they result from an event of a similar nature.
"Adjusted EBITDA" represents net income before income taxes, net interest and other expense and depreciation and amortization and before certain other items, including transaction costs, fees, losses, and expenses, including fees associated with debt prepayments. “Adjusted EBITDA Margin” is calculated as Adjusted EBITDA divided by revenue. The Company prepares Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA Margin to eliminate the impact of items it does not consider indicative of ongoing operating performance due to their inherent unusual, extraordinary or non-recurring nature or because they result from an event of a similar nature.
"Adjusted Net Income" represents net income before: (i) adjustments related to the amortization of intangible assets resulting from the acquisition of our Company by The Carlyle Group,, (ii) transaction costs, fees, losses, and expenses, including fees associated with debt prepayments, (iii) amortization or write-off of debt issuance costs and write-off of original issue discount, and (iv) release of income tax reserves, in each case net of the tax effect where appropriate calculated using an assumed effective tax rate. We prepare Adjusted Net Income to eliminate the impact of items, net of tax, we do not consider indicative of ongoing operating performance due to their inherent unusual, extraordinary, or non-recurring nature or because they result from an event of a similar nature.

43




"Adjusted Diluted EPS" represents diluted EPS calculated using Adjusted Net Income as opposed to net income. Additionally, Adjusted Diluted EPS does not contemplate any adjustments to net income as required under the two-class method as disclosed in the footnotes to the consolidated financial statements.
"Free Cash Flow" represents the net cash generated from operating activities less the impact of purchases of property and equipment.


44




Below is a reconciliation of Revenue, Excluding Billable Expenses, Adjusted Operating Income, Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA Margin, Adjusted Net Income, Adjusted Diluted EPS, and Free Cash Flow to the most directly comparable financial measure calculated and presented in accordance with GAAP.

 
Fiscal Year Ended March 31,
(Amounts in thousands, except share and per share data)
2017
 
2016
 
2015
 
(Unaudited)
Revenue, Excluding Billable Expenses
Revenue
$
5,804,284

 
$
5,405,738

 
$
5,274,770

Billable expenses
1,751,077

 
1,513,083

 
1,406,527

Revenue, Excluding Billable Expenses
$
4,053,207

 
$
3,892,655

 
$
3,868,243

Adjusted Operating Income
Operating Income
$
484,247

 
$
444,584

 
$
458,822

Amortization of intangible assets (a)
4,225

 
4,225

 
4,225

Transaction expenses (b)
3,354

 

 
2,039

Adjusted Operating Income
$
491,826

 
$
448,809

 
$
465,086

EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA, & Adjusted EBITDA Margin
 
 
 
 
 
Net income
$
252,490

 
$
294,094

 
$
232,569

Income tax expense
159,410

 
85,368

 
153,349

Interest and other, net (c)
72,347

 
65,122

 
72,904

Depreciation and amortization
59,544

 
61,536

 
62,660

EBITDA
543,791

 
506,120

 
521,482

Transaction expenses (b)
3,354

 

 
2,039

Adjusted EBITDA
$
547,145

 
$
506,120

 
$
523,521

Revenue
$
5,804,284

 
$
5,405,738

 
$
5,274,770

Adjusted EBITDA Margin
9.4
%
 
9.4
%
 
9.9
%
Adjusted Net Income
 
 
 
 
 
Net income
$
252,490

 
$
294,094

 
$
232,569

Amortization of intangible assets (a)
4,225

 
4,225

 
4,225

Transaction expenses (b)
3,354

 

 
2,039

Release of income tax reserves (d)

 
(53,301
)
 

Amortization or write-off of debt issuance costs and write-off of original issue discount
8,866

 
5,201

 
6,545

Adjustments for tax effect (e)
(6,578
)
 
(3,770
)
 
(5,124
)
Adjusted Net Income
$
262,357

 
$
246,449

 
$
240,254

Adjusted Diluted Earnings Per Share
 
 
 
 
 
Weighted-average number of diluted shares outstanding
150,274,640

 
149,719,137

 
150,375,531

Adjusted Net Income Per Diluted Share (f)
$
1.75

 
$
1.65

 
$
1.60

Free Cash Flow
 
 
 
 
 
Net cash provided by operating activities
$
382,277

 
$
249,234

 
$
309,958

Less: Purchases of property and equipment
(53,919
)
 
(66,635
)
 
(36,041
)
Free Cash Flow
$
328,358

 
$
182,599

 
$
273,917


(a)
Reflects amortization of intangible assets resulting from the acquisition of our Company by The Carlyle Group.
(b)
Fiscal 2017 reflects debt refinancing costs incurred in connection with the refinancing transaction consummated on July 13, 2016. Fiscal 2015 reflects debt refinancing costs incurred in connection with the refinancing transaction consummated on May 7, 2014.
(c)
Reflects the combination of Interest expense and Other income (expense), net from the consolidated income statement.
(d)
Release of pre-acquisition income tax reserves assumed by the Company in connection with the acquisition of our Company by The Carlyle Group.

45




(e)
Reflects tax effect of adjustments at an assumed marginal tax rate of 40%.
(f)
Excludes an adjustment of approximately $2.3 million, $3.5 million, and $3.4 million of net earnings for fiscal 2017, 2016, and 2015, respectively, associated with the application of the two-class method for computing diluted earnings per share.

Factors and Trends Affecting Our Results of Operations
Our results of operations have been, and we expect them to continue to be, affected by the following factors, which may cause our future results of operations to differ from our historical results of operations discussed under “— Results of Operations.”
Business Environment and Key Trends in Our Markets
We believe that the following trends and developments in the U.S. government services industry and our markets may influence our future results of operations:
uncertainty around the timing, extent, nature and effect of Congressional and other U.S. government actions to address budgetary constraints, caps on the discretionary budget for defense and non-defense departments and agencies, as established by the Bipartisan Budget Control Act of 2011 and subsequently adjusted by the American Tax Payer Relief Act of 2012, the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2013 and the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015, and the ability of Congress to determine how to allocate the available budget authority and pass appropriations bills to fund both U.S. government departments and agencies that are, and those that are not, subject to the caps.
budget deficits and the growing U.S. national debt increasing pressure on the U.S. government to reduce federal spending across all federal agencies together with associated uncertainty about the size and timing of those reductions;
cost cutting and efficiency initiatives, current and future budget restrictions, continued implementation of Congressionally mandated automatic spending cuts and other efforts to reduce U.S. government spending, could cause clients to reduce or delay funding for orders for services or invest appropriated funds on a less consistent or rapid basis or not at all, particularly when considering long-term initiatives and in light of uncertainty around Congressional efforts to approve funding of the U.S. government and to craft a long-term agreement on the U.S. government's ability to incur indebtedness in excess of its current limits and generally in the current political environment, there is a risk that clients will not issue task orders in sufficient volume to reach current contract ceilings, alter historical patterns of contract awards, including the typical increase in the award of task orders or completion of other contract actions by the U.S. government in the period before the end of the U.S. government's fiscal year on September 30, delay requests for new proposals and contract awards, rely on short-term extensions and funding of current contracts, or reduce staffing levels and hours of operation;
delays in the completion of future U.S. government’s budget processes, which have in the past and could in the future delay procurement of the products, services, and solutions we provide;
changes in the relative mix of overall U.S. government spending and areas of spending growth, with lower spending on homeland security, intelligence and defense-related programs as certain overseas operations end, and continued increased spending on cyber-security, Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (C4ISR), advanced analytics, technology integration and healthcare;
legislative and regulatory changes to limitations on the amount of allowable executive compensation permitted under flexibly priced contracts following adoption of interim rules adopted by federal agencies implementing a section of the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2013, which substantially further reduce the amount of allowable executive compensation under these contracts and extend these limitations to a larger segment of our executives and our entire contract base;
efforts by the U.S. government to address organizational conflicts of interest and related issues and the impact of those efforts on us and our competitors;
increased audit, review, investigation and general scrutiny by U.S. government agencies of government contractors' performance under U.S. government contracts and compliance with the terms of those contracts and applicable laws;

46




the federal focus on refining the definition of “inherently governmental” work, including proposals to limit contractor access to sensitive or classified information and work assignments, which will continue to drive pockets of insourcing in various agencies, particularly in the intelligence market;
negative publicity and increased scrutiny of government contractors in general, including us, relating to U.S. government expenditures for contractor services and incidents involving the mishandling of sensitive or classified information;
U.S. government agencies awarding contracts on a technically acceptable/lowest cost basis, which could have a negative impact on our ability to win certain contracts;
increased competition from other government contractors and market entrants seeking to take advantage of certain of the trends identified above, and industry trend towards consolidation, which may result in the emergence of companies that are better able to compete against us;
cost cutting and efficiency and effectiveness efforts by U.S. civilian agencies with a focus on increased use of performance measurement, “program integrity” efforts to reduce waste, fraud and abuse in entitlement programs, and renewed focus on improving procurement practices for and interagency use of IT services, including through the use of cloud based options and data center consolidation;
restrictions by the U.S. government on the ability of federal agencies to use lead system integrators, in response to cost, schedule and performance problems with large defense acquisition programs where contractors were performing the lead system integrator role;
increasingly complex requirements of the Department of Defense and the U.S. intelligence community, including cyber-security, managing federal health care cost growth and focus on reforming existing government regulation of various sectors of the economy, such as financial regulation and healthcare;
increasing small business regulations across the Department of Defense and civilian agency clients continue to gain traction-agencies are required to meet high small business set aside targets, and large business prime contractors are required to subcontract in accordance with considerable small business participation goals necessary for contract award; and
changes in agency and mission priorities anticipated in the Department of Defense and Civilian agency landscape with the presidential and administration transition.
Sources of Revenue
Substantially all of our revenue is derived from services provided under contracts and task orders with the U.S. government, primarily by our consulting staff and, to a lesser extent, our subcontractors. Funding for our contracts and task orders is generally linked to trends in budgets and spending across various U.S. government agencies and departments. We provide services under a large portfolio of contracts and contract vehicles to a broad client base, and we believe that our diversified contract and client base lessens potential volatility in our business; however, a reduction in the amount of services that we are contracted to provide to the U.S. government or any of our significant U.S. government clients could have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations. In particular, the Department of Defense is one of our significant clients, and the Budget Control Act of 2011 (as amended by the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012, the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2013 and the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015), provides for automatic spending cuts (referred to as sequestration) totaling approximately $1.2 trillion between 2013 and 2021, including an estimated $500 billion in federal defense spending cuts over this time period. The Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015 raised existing spending caps on defense spending by $15 billion for government fiscal 2017, but did not address spending caps beyond the government fiscal 2017. For example, under the Budget Control Act of 2011, as amended, approximately $91 billion in spending cuts are anticipated for the government fiscal year 2018. A reduction in the amount of services that we are contracted to provide to the Department of Defense could have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations, and given the uncertainty of when and how these automatic reductions may be applied, we are unable to predict the nature or magnitude of the potential adverse effect.
Contract Types
We generate revenue under the following three basic types of contracts:
Cost-Reimbursable Contracts. Cost-reimbursable contracts provide for the payment of allowable costs incurred during performance of the contract, up to a ceiling based on the amount that has been funded, plus a fee. As we increase or decrease our spending on allowable costs, our revenue generated on cost-reimbursable contracts will increase, up to the ceiling and funded amounts, or decrease, respectively. We generate revenue under two general types of cost-reimbursable contracts: cost-plus-fixed-fee and cost-plus-award-fee, both of which reimburse allowable costs and provide

47




for a fee. The fee under each type of cost-reimbursable contract is generally payable upon completion of services in accordance with the terms of the contract. Cost-plus-fixed-fee contracts offer no opportunity for payment beyond the fixed fee. Cost-plus-award-fee contracts also provide for an award fee that varies within specified limits based upon the client’s assessment of our performance against a predetermined set of criteria, such as targets for factors like cost, quality, schedule, and performance.
Time-and-Materials Contracts. Under a time-and-materials contract, we are paid a fixed hourly rate for each direct labor hour expended, and we are reimbursed for billable material costs and billable out-of-pocket expenses inclusive of allocable indirect costs. To the extent our actual direct labor including allocated indirect costs, and associated billable expenses decrease or increase in relation to the fixed hourly billing rates provided in the contract, we will generate more or less profit, respectively, or could incur a loss.
Fixed-Price Contracts. Under a fixed-price contract, we agree to perform the specified work for a pre-determined price. To the extent our actual direct and allocated indirect costs decrease or increase from the estimates upon which the price was negotiated, we will generate more or less profit, respectively, or could incur a loss. Some fixed-price contracts have a performance-based component, pursuant to which we can earn incentive payments or incur financial penalties based on our performance. Fixed-price level of effort contracts require us to provide a specified level of effort (i.e., labor hours), over a stated period of time, for a fixed price.
The amount of risk and potential reward varies under each type of contract. Under cost-reimbursable contracts, there is limited financial risk, because we are reimbursed for all allowable costs up to a ceiling. However, profit margins on this type of contract tend to be lower than on time-and-materials and fixed-price contracts. Under time-and-materials contracts, we are reimbursed for the hours worked using the predetermined hourly rates for each labor category. In addition, we are typically reimbursed for other contract direct costs and expenses at cost. We assume financial risk on time-and-materials contracts because our labor costs may exceed the negotiated billing rates. Profit margins on well-managed time-and-materials contracts tend to be higher than profit margins on cost-reimbursable contracts as long as we are able to staff those contracts with people who have an appropriate skill set. Under fixed-price contracts, we are required to deliver the objectives under the contract for a pre-determined price. Compared to time-and-materials and cost-reimbursable contracts, fixed-price contracts generally offer higher profit margin opportunities because we receive the full benefit of any cost savings but generally involve greater financial risk because we bear the impact of any cost overruns. In the aggregate, the contract type mix in our revenue for any given period will affect that period's profitability. Changes in contract type as a result of re-competes and new business could influence the percentage/mix in an unanticipated way.
The table below presents the percentage of total revenue for each type of contract: 
 
Fiscal Year Ended March 31,
 
2017
 
2016
 
2015
Cost-reimbursable (1)
50%
 
51%
 
55%
Time-and-materials
26%
 
26%
 
25%
Fixed-price (2)
24%
 
23%
 
20%
 
(1)
Includes both cost-plus-fixed-fee and cost-plus-award-fee contracts.
(2)
Includes fixed-price level of effort contracts.
Contract Diversity and Revenue Mix
We provide services to our clients through a large number of single award contracts and contract vehicles and multiple award contract vehicles. Most of our revenue is generated under indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity, or IDIQ, contract vehicles, which include multiple award government wide acquisition contract vehicles, or GWACs, and General Services Administration Multiple Award Schedule Contracts, or GSA schedules, and certain single award contracts. GWACs and GSA schedules are available to all U.S. government agencies. Any number of contractors typically compete under multiple award IDIQ contract vehicles for task orders to provide particular services, and we earn revenue under these contract vehicles only to the extent that we are successful in the bidding process for task orders. No single task order under any IDIQ contract represented more than 2.7% of our revenue in fiscal 2017. No single definite contract accounted for more than 3% of our revenue in fiscal 2017.
We generate revenue under our contracts and task orders through our provision of services as both a prime contractor and subcontractor, as well as from the provision of services by subcontractors under contracts and task orders for which we act as

48




the prime contractor. For fiscal 2017, 2016, and 2015, 91%, 90%, and 91%, respectively, of our revenue was generated by contracts and task orders for which we served as a prime contractor; 9%, 10%, and 9%, respectively, of our revenue was generated by contracts and task orders for which we served as a subcontractor; and 25%, 24%, and 23%, respectively, of our revenue was generated by services provided by our subcontractors. The mix of these types of revenue affects our operating margin. Substantially all of our operating margin is derived from direct consulting staff labor as the portion of our operating margin derived from fees we earn on services provided by our subcontractors is not significant. We view growth in direct consulting staff labor as the primary driver of earnings growth. Direct consulting staff labor growth is driven by consulting staff headcount growth, after attrition, and total backlog growth.
Our People
Revenue from our contracts is derived from services delivered by consulting staff and, to a lesser extent, from our subcontractors. Our ability to hire, retain, and deploy talent with skills appropriately aligned with client needs is critical to our ability to grow our revenue. We continuously evaluate whether our talent base is properly sized and appropriately compensated and contains an optimal mix of skills to be cost competitive and meet the rapidly evolving needs of our clients. We seek to achieve that result through recruitment and management of capacity and compensation. As of March 31, 2017, 2016, and 2015 we employed approximately 23,300, 22,600, and 22,500 people, respectively, of which approximately 21,000, 20,300, and 20,500, respectively, were consulting staff.
Contract Backlog
We define backlog to include the following three components:
Funded Backlog. Funded backlog represents the revenue value of orders for services under existing contracts for which funding is appropriated or otherwise authorized less revenue previously recognized on these contracts.
Unfunded Backlog. Unfunded backlog represents the revenue value of orders for services under existing contracts for which funding has not been appropriated or otherwise authorized.
Priced Options. Priced contract options represent 100% of the revenue value of all future contract option periods under existing contracts that may be exercised at our clients’ option and for which funding has not been appropriated or otherwise authorized.
Backlog does not include any task orders under IDIQ contracts, except to the extent that task orders have been awarded to us under those contracts.
The following table summarizes the value of our contract backlog at the respective dates presented: 
 
Fiscal Year Ended March 31,
 
2017
 
2016
 
2015
 
(In millions)
Backlog:
 
 
 
 
 
Funded
$
2,815

 
$
2,673

 
$
2,691

Unfunded (1)
3,098

 
2,546

 
2,121

Priced options
7,679

 
6,595

 
4,548

Total backlog
$
13,592

 
$
11,814

 
$
9,360

 
(1)
Amounts as of fiscal 2015 reflect a reduction by management to the revenue value of orders for services under one then-existing single award IDIQ contract the Company had for several years, based on an established pattern of funding under this contract by the U.S. government.
Our backlog includes orders under contracts that in some cases extend for several years. The U.S. Congress generally appropriates funds for our clients on a yearly basis, even though their contracts with us may call for performance that is expected to take a number of years. As a result, contracts typically are only partially funded at any point during their term and all or some of the work to be performed under the contracts may remain unfunded unless and until the U.S. Congress makes subsequent appropriations and the procuring agency allocates funding to the contract.
We view growth in total backlog and consulting staff headcount as the two key measures of our potential business growth. Growing and deploying consulting staff is the primary means by which we are able to achieve profitable revenue growth. To the extent that we are able to hire additional consulting staff and deploy them against funded backlog, we generally recognize increased revenue. Total backlog increased by 15.1% from March 31, 2016 to March 31, 2017 and increased 26.2% from March 31, 2015 to March 31, 2016. Additions to funded backlog, during fiscal 2017 and 2016 totaled $5.9 billion and

49




$5.4 billion, respectively, with the increase from fiscal 2016 to fiscal 2017 due to the conversion of unfunded backlog to funded backlog, the award of new contracts and task orders under which funding was appropriated, and the subsequent funding of priced options. We report internally on our backlog on a monthly basis and review backlog upon occurrence of certain events to determine if any adjustments are necessary.
We cannot predict with any certainty the portion of our backlog that we expect to recognize as revenue in any future period and we cannot guarantee that we will recognize any revenue from our backlog. The primary risks that could affect our ability to recognize such revenue on a timely basis or at all are: program schedule changes, contract modifications, and our ability to assimilate and deploy new consulting staff against funded backlog; cost cutting initiatives and other efforts to reduce U.S. government spending, which could reduce or delay funding for orders for services; and delayed funding of our contracts due to delays in the completion of the U.S. government's budgeting process and the use of continuing resolutions by the U.S. government to fund its operations. Funded backlog includes orders under contracts for which the period of performance has expired, and we may not recognize revenue on the funded backlog that includes such orders due to, among other reasons, the tardy submission of invoices by our subcontractors and the expiration of the relevant appropriated funding in accordance with a pre-determined expiration date such as the end of the U.S. government's fiscal year. The revenue value of orders included in funded backlog that has not been recognized as revenue due to period of performance expirations has not exceeded approximately 7.8% of funded backlog as of the end of any of the four fiscal quarters preceding the fiscal quarter ended March 31, 2017. In our recent experience, none of the following additional risks have had a material negative effect on our ability to realize revenue from our funded backlog: the unilateral right of the U.S. government to cancel multi-year contracts and related orders or to terminate existing contracts for convenience or default; in the case of unfunded backlog, the potential that funding will not be made available; and, in the case of priced options, the risk that our clients will not exercise their options.
Operating Costs and Expenses
Costs associated with compensation and related expenses for our people are the most significant component of our operating costs and expenses. The principal factors that affect our costs are additional people as we grow our business and are awarded new contracts, task orders, and additional work under our existing contracts, and the hiring of people with specific skill sets and security clearances as required by our additional work.
Our most significant operating costs and expenses are described below.
Cost of Revenue. Cost of revenue includes direct labor, related employee benefits, and overhead. Overhead consists of indirect costs, including indirect labor relating to infrastructure, management and administration, and other expenses.
Billable Expenses. Billable expenses include direct subcontractor expenses, travel expenses, and other expenses incurred to perform on contracts.
General and Administrative Expenses. General and administrative expenses include indirect labor of executive management and corporate administrative functions, marketing and bid and proposal costs, and other discretionary spending.
Depreciation and Amortization. Depreciation and amortization includes the depreciation of computers, leasehold improvements, furniture and other equipment, and the amortization of internally developed software, as well as third-party software that we use internally, and of identifiable long-lived intangible assets over their estimated useful lives.
Seasonality
The U.S. government's fiscal year ends on September 30 of each year. While not certain, it is not uncommon for U.S. government agencies to award extra tasks or complete other contract actions in the weeks before the end of its fiscal year in order to avoid the loss of unexpended fiscal year funds. In addition, we also have historically experienced higher bid and proposal costs in the months leading up to the U.S. government's fiscal year end as we pursue new contract opportunities being awarded shortly after the U.S. government fiscal year end as new opportunities are expected to have funding appropriated in the U.S. government's subsequent fiscal year. We may continue to experience this seasonality in future periods, and our future periods may be affected by it. While not certain, changes in the government's funding and spending patterns have altered historical seasonality trends, supporting our approach to managing the business on an annual basis.
Seasonality is just one of a number of factors, many of which are outside of our control, which may affect our results in any period. See "Item 1A. Risk Factors."

50




Critical Accounting Estimates and Policies
Our discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations are based on our consolidated financial statements, which have been prepared in accordance with GAAP. The preparation of these consolidated financial statements in accordance with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and the disclosure of contingencies at the date of the consolidated financial statements as well as the reported amounts of revenue and expenses during the reporting period. Management evaluates these estimates and assumptions on an ongoing basis. Our estimates and assumptions have been prepared on the basis of the most current reasonably available information. Actual results may differ from these estimates under different assumptions or conditions.
Our significant accounting policies, including the critical policies and practices listed below, are more fully described and discussed in the notes to the consolidated financial statements. We consider the following accounting policies to be critical to an understanding of our financial condition and results of operations because these policies require the most difficult, subjective or complex judgments on the part of our management in their application, often as a result of the need to make estimates about the effect of matters that are inherently uncertain.
Revenue Recognition and Cost Estimation
Substantially all of our revenue is derived from contracts to provide professional services to the U.S. government and its agencies. In most cases, we recognize revenue as work is performed. We recognize revenue for cost-reimbursable-plus-fixed-fee contracts with the U.S. government as hours are worked based on reimbursable and allowable costs, recoverable indirect costs and an accrual for the fixed fee component of these contracts. Executive compensation that we determine to be allowable for cost reimbursement based on management's estimates is recognized as revenue, net of reserves. Management's estimates in this regard are based on a number of factors that may change over time, including executive compensation survey data, our and other government contractors' experiences with the DCAA audit practices in our industry, and relevant decisions of courts and boards of contract appeals. Many of our U.S. government contracts include award fees, which are earned based on the client’s evaluation of our performance. We have significant history with the client for the majority of contracts on which we earn award fees. That history and management's evaluation and monitoring of performance form the basis for our ability to estimate such fees over the life of the contract. Based on these estimates, we recognize award fees as work on the contracts is performed. Revisions to these estimates may result in increases or decreases to revenue and income, and are reflected in the consolidated financial statements in periods in which they are identified. Historically, revisions to these estimates have not had a material effect on our results of operations.
Revenue for time-and-materials contracts is recognized as services are performed, generally on the basis of contract allowable labor hours worked multiplied by the contract-defined billing rates, plus allowable direct costs and indirect cost allocations associated with materials used and other direct expenses incurred in connection with the performance of the contract.
For fixed-price contracts, we primarily recognize revenue on the percentage-of-completion basis with progress toward completion of a particular contract based on actual costs incurred relative to total estimated costs to be incurred over the life of the contract. On some fixed-price contracts we may use an alternative input method to calculate the percent complete, such as labor hours or labor dollars. This method is used when a contract contains significant, up-front material purchases resulting in costs incurred that are not representative of the actual progress on the contract. Profits on fixed-price contracts result from the difference between the incurred costs used to calculate the percentage of completion and the revenue earned. These methods are followed where reasonably dependable estimates of revenue and costs under the contract can be made. If we are unable to reasonably estimate revenue or cost, the completed contract method is used. Historically, we have been able to reasonably estimate total contract revenue and costs and such estimates are regularly reviewed. Recorded revenue and costs are subject to revision as the contract progresses. Such revisions may result in increases or decreases to revenue and income, and are reflected in the consolidated financial statements in the periods in which they are first identified. If our estimates indicate that a contract loss will occur, a loss provision is recorded in the period in which the loss first becomes probable and reasonably estimable. Estimating costs under our long-term contracts is complex and involves significant judgment. Factors that must be considered in making estimates include labor productivity and availability, the nature and technical complexity of the work to be performed, potential performance delays, warranty obligations, availability and timing of funding from the client, progress toward completion, and recoverability of claims. Adjustments to original estimates are often required as work progresses and additional information becomes known, even though the scope of the work required under the contract may not change. Any adjustment as a result of a change in estimates is made when facts develop, events become known, or an adjustment is otherwise warranted, such as in the case of a contract modification. We have procedures and processes in place to monitor the actual progress of a project against estimates and our estimates are updated if circumstances are warranted. Historically, revisions to our estimates have not had a material effect on our results of operations.

51




Business Combinations
The accounting for the Company's business combinations consists of allocating the purchase price to tangible and intangible assets acquired and liabilities assumed based on their fair values, with the excess recorded as goodwill. Certain fair value measurements include inputs that are unobservable, requiring management to make judgments and estimates that can be affected by contract performance and other factors over time, which may cause final amounts to differ materially from original estimates. We have up to one year from the acquisition date to use additional information obtained to adjust the fair value of the acquired assets and liabilities which may result in changes to the recorded values with an offsetting adjustment to goodwill.
Goodwill and Intangible Assets Impairment
We test goodwill for impairment at the reporting unit level on an annual basis and more frequently if an event occurs or circumstances change that would more likely than not reduce the fair value of a reporting unit below its carrying value. A significant amount of management judgment is required to determine if an event representing an impairment indicator has occurred during the year, including but not limited to: a decline in forecasted cash flows; a sustained, material decline in the stock price and market capitalization; a significant adverse change in the business climate or economy; or unanticipated competition. An adverse change in any of these factors could have a significant impact on the recoverability of goodwill and other intangible assets.
As our business is highly integrated and all of our components have similar economic characteristics, we concluded that we have one reporting unit at the consolidated entity level, which is the same as our single operating segment. We test goodwill for impairment using the quantitative method (primarily based on market capitalization). We test the trade name for impairment using the relief from royalty method. Our other amortizable intangible assets are tested by comparing revenue projections to actuals and assessing qualitative factors. We perform our annual testing for impairment of goodwill, the trade name, and other amortizable intangible assets as of January 1 of each year.
During the fiscal year ended March 31, 2017, the Company recorded impairment charges related to intangible assets acquired in an acquisition. During the fiscal years ended March 31, 2016, and 2015, the Company did not record any impairment of intangible assets. We do not consider any of the goodwill, trade name, or other amortizable intangible assets at risk of impairment.
Share-Based Payments
We use the Black-Scholes option-pricing model to estimate the fair value for stock options. Critical inputs into the Black-Scholes option-pricing model include the following: option exercise price, fair value of the stock price, expected life of the option, annualized volatility of the stock, annual rate of quarterly dividends on the stock, and the risk-free interest rate.
During fiscal 2017, the Company’s Board of Directors authorized and declared recurring cash dividends in the amount of $0.15 per share (declared in the first three quarters) and $0.17 per share (declared in the fourth quarter) to holders of Booz Allen Holding’s Class A Common Stock. Therefore, an annualized dividend yield between 1.90% and 1.94% was used in the Black-Scholes option-pricing model for all grants made during the fiscal year. Implied volatility is calculated as of each grant date based on our historical volatility along with an assessment of the historical volatility of a peer group of publicly traded companies. Until the historical volatility of the Company is available for a period consistent with the expected option term, we will continue to compare to a peer group volatility data to estimate expected volatility for future option grants. Other than the expected life of the option, volatility is the most sensitive input to our option grants. To be consistent with all other implied calculations, the same peer group used to calculate other implied metrics is also used to calculate implied volatility. The expected term is estimated using historical exercise patterns of our equity award recipients.
The risk-free interest rate used in the Black-Scholes option-pricing model is determined by referencing the U.S. Treasury yield curve rates with the remaining term equal to the expected life assumed at the date of grant.
Forfeitures are estimated based on our historical analysis of attrition levels. Forfeiture estimates are updated quarterly for actual forfeitures. We do not expect this assumption to change materially, as attrition levels associated with new option grants have not materially changed.
As a public company, we use the closing price of our Class A Common Stock on the grant date for valuation purposes.
Accounting for Income Taxes
Provisions for federal, state, and foreign income taxes are calculated from the income reported on our consolidated financial statements based on current tax law and also include the cumulative effect of any changes in tax rates from those previously used in determining deferred tax assets and liabilities. Such provisions differ from the amounts currently receivable or payable because certain items of income and expense are recognized in different time periods for purposes of preparing consolidated financial statements than for income tax purposes.

52




Significant judgment is required in determining income tax provisions and evaluating tax positions. We establish reserves for uncertain tax positions when, despite the belief that our tax positions are supportable, there remains uncertainty in a tax position taken in our previously filed income tax returns. For tax positions where it is more likely than not that a tax benefit will be sustained, we record the largest amount of tax benefit with a greater than 50% likelihood of being realized upon settlement with a taxing authority that has full knowledge of all relevant information. To the extent we prevail in matters for which accruals have been established or are required to pay amounts in excess of reserves, our effective tax rate in a given consolidated financial statement period may be materially impacted.
The carrying value of our net deferred tax assets assumes that we will be able to generate sufficient future taxable income in certain tax jurisdictions to realize the value of these assets. If we are unable to generate sufficient future taxable income in these jurisdictions, a valuation allowance is recorded when it is more likely than not that the value of the deferred tax assets is not realizable.
Recent Accounting Pronouncements
See Note 2 to our accompanying audited consolidated financial statements for information related to our adoption of new accounting standards and for information on our anticipated adoption of recently issued accounting standards.
Segment Reporting
We report operating results and financial data in one operating and reportable segment. We manage our business as a single profit center in order to promote collaboration, provide comprehensive functional service offerings across our entire client base, and provide incentives to employees based on the success of the organization as a whole. Although certain information regarding served markets and functional capabilities is discussed for purposes of promoting an understanding of our complex business, we manage our business and allocate resources at the consolidated level of a single operating segment.
Basis of Presentation
The accompanying consolidated financial statements include the accounts of the Company and its wholly-owned subsidiaries, and have been prepared in accordance with GAAP, and the rules and regulations of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC. All intercompany balances and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation.
The accompanying consolidated financial statements and notes of the Company include its subsidiaries, and the joint ventures and partnerships over which the Company has a controlling financial interest. The Company uses the equity method to account for investments in entities that it does not control if it is otherwise able to exert significant influence over the entities' operating and financial polices.
The Company’s fiscal year ends on March 31 and unless otherwise noted, references to fiscal year or fiscal are for fiscal years ended March 31. The accompanying consolidated financial statements present the financial position of the Company as of March 31, 2017 and 2016 and the Company’s results of operations for fiscal 2017, fiscal 2016, and fiscal 2015.
Certain amounts reported in the Company's prior year consolidated financial statements have been reclassified to conform to the current year presentation.

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Results of Operations
The following table sets forth items from our consolidated statements of operations for the periods indicated:
 
 
Fiscal Year Ended March 31,
 
Fiscal 2017
Versus
Fiscal 2016
 
Fiscal 2016
Versus
Fiscal 2015
 
 
2017
 
2016
 
2015
 
 
 
(In thousands)
 
 
 
 
Revenue
 
$
5,804,284

 
$
5,405,738

 
$
5,274,770

 
7.4
 %
 
2.5
 %
Operating costs and expenses:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Cost of revenue
 
2,691,982

 
2,580,026

 
2,593,849

 
4.3
 %
 
(0.5
)%
Billable expenses
 
1,751,077

 
1,513,083

 
1,406,527

 
15.7
 %
 
7.6
 %
General and administrative expenses
 
817,434

 
806,509

 
752,912

 
1.4
 %
 
7.1
 %
Depreciation and amortization
 
59,544

 
61,536

 
62,660

 
(3.2
)%
 
(1.8
)%
Total operating costs and expenses
 
5,320,037

 
4,961,154

 
4,815,948

 
7.2
 %
 
3.0
 %
Operating income
 
484,247

 
444,584

 
458,822

 
8.9
 %
 
(3.1
)%
Interest expense
 
(62,298
)
 
(70,815
)
 
(71,832
)
 
(12.0
)%
 
(1.4
)%
Other income (expense), net
 
(10,049
)
 
5,693

 
(1,072
)
 
NM

 
NM

Income before income taxes
 
411,900

 
379,462

 
385,918

 
8.5
 %
 
(1.7
)%
Income tax expense
 
159,410

 
85,368

 
153,349

 
86.7
 %
 
(44.3
)%
Net income
 
$
252,490

 
$
294,094

 
$
232,569

 
(14.1
)%
 
26.5
 %
NM - Not meaningful
Fiscal 2017 Compared to Fiscal 2016
Revenue
Revenue increased to $5,804.3 million from $5,405.7 million, or a 7.4% increase, primarily driven by stronger client demand, as evidenced by our backlog growth. The increase in client demand coupled with our increased client staff headcount and staff billability, resulted in increases in our direct labor and corresponding generation of revenue growth. Revenue growth was also driven by an increase in billable expenses, including subcontractors and direct material and other direct cost purchases for clients. Conversions to funded backlog during fiscal 2017 totaled $5.9 billion in comparison to $5.4 billion for the comparable year with the increase from fiscal 2016 to fiscal 2017 due to the conversion of unfunded backlog to funded backlog, the award of new contracts and task orders under which funding was appropriated, and the subsequent funding of priced options.
Cost of Revenue
Cost of revenue increased to $2,692.0 million from $2,580.0 million, or a 4.3% increase. This increase was primarily due to an increase in salaries and salary-related benefits of $98.4 million and an increase in incentive compensation of $5.4 million. The increase in salaries and salary-related benefits was driven by an increase in headcount growth, annual base salary increases and consulting staff spending more time on direct contract activities. Cost of revenue as a percentage of revenue was 46.4% and 47.7% in fiscal 2017 and fiscal 2016, respectively.
Billable Expenses
Billable expenses increased to $1,751.1 million from $1,513.1 million, or a 15.7% increase. The overall increase was primarily attributable to an increase in use of subcontractors in the current year driven by client demand. In addition, contracts which require the Company to incur direct expenses on behalf of our clients have increased over the prior year period. Billable expenses as a percentage of revenue were 30.2% and 28.0% in fiscal 2017 and fiscal 2016, respectively.
General and Administrative Expenses
General and administrative expenses increased to $817.4 million from $806.5 million, or a 1.4% increase, primarily due to the correction of an immaterial misstatement discussed in Note 13. In addition the Company recorded an impairment charge of $3.8 million for the technologies, customer relationships and other intangible assets related to a business acquisition. These increases were partially offset by decreases in occupancy costs and other business expenses of approximately $11.6 million. General and administrative expenses as a percentage of revenue were 14.1% and 14.9% for fiscal 2017 and fiscal 2016, respectively.

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Depreciation and Amortization Expense
Depreciation and amortization expense decreased to $59.5 million from $61.5 million, or a 3.2% decrease, primarily due to a decrease in depreciation expense resulting from the effect of lower capital expenditures in prior years.
Interest Expense
Interest expense decreased to $62.3 million from $70.8 million, or a 12.0% decrease, primarily as a result of the Third Amendment to the Credit Agreement consummated in July 2016, which reduced interest expense for fiscal 2017 as compared to fiscal 2016.
Income Tax Expense
Income tax expense increased to $159.4 million from $85.4 million, or an 86.7% increase. The effective tax rate increased from 22.5% in fiscal 2016 to 38.7% in fiscal 2017, primarily due to the release of uncertain tax position reserves in the prior year.
Fiscal 2016 Compared to Fiscal 2015
Revenue
Revenue increased to $5,405.7 million from $5,274.8 million, or a 2.5% increase as a result of an increase in client demand, which includes an increase in billable expenses, as well as the increase in indirect spending over the prior year period which had the effect of increasing revenue on cost reimbursable contracts. The increase in billable expenses was due to an increased use of subcontractors on contracts, which includes the impact of an increase in small business procurement goals set by the government. In addition, contracts which require the Company to incur direct expenses on behalf of our clients increased over the prior year period. The growth in indirect spending for the year was primarily driven by increased marketing, administrative, and bid and proposal activities in order to drive continued growth in fiscal 2017. The increase in revenue also benefitted from a net decrease in the Company's provisions for the potential recovery of allowable expenses recorded during fiscal 2016 without a similar net change for fiscal 2015. Conversions to funded backlog during fiscal 2016 totaled $5.4 billion in comparison to $5.7 billion for the comparable year with the decrease from fiscal 2015 to fiscal 2016 due to the increase in burn rate of funded backlog compared to awarded task orders under which funding was appropriated.
Cost of Revenue
Cost of revenue decreased to $2,580.0 million from $2,593.8 million, or a 0.5% decrease. This decrease was primarily due to a decrease in salaries and salary-related benefits of $5.8 million and a decrease in incentive compensation of $10.1 million. The decrease in salaries and salary-related benefits was due to a decrease in medical insurance expense as well as an increase in consulting staff time spent on strategic investment and bid and proposal activities, in lieu of direct contract activities, over the prior year. As proposal activity is a general and administrative activity, this contributes to a decrease within cost of revenue. Cost of revenue as a percentage of revenue was 47.7% and 49.2% in fiscal 2016 and fiscal 2015, respectively.
Billable Expenses
Billable expenses increased to $1,513.1 million from $1,406.5 million, or a 7.6% increase. The overall increase was primarily attributable to an increase in small business procurement goals set by the government which required the Company to utilize more subcontractors in the current year. In addition, contracts which require the Company to incur direct expenses on behalf of our clients has increased over the prior year period. Billable expenses as a percentage of revenue were 28.0% and 26.7% in fiscal 2016 and fiscal 2015, respectively.
General and Administrative Expenses
General and administrative expenses increased to $806.5 million from $752.9 million, or a 7.1% increase. This increase was mainly due to an increase in salaries and salary-related benefits of $43.5 million, primarily due to an increase in consulting staff time spent on strategic investment and bid and proposal activities, in lieu of direct contract activities, over the prior year. In addition, there was an increase in professional fees and other business expenses of $18.5 million. The increases were partially offset by a decrease in incentive compensation of $6.4 million. General and administrative expenses as a percentage of revenue were 14.9% and 14.3% for fiscal 2016 and fiscal 2015, respectively.
Depreciation and Amortization Expense
Depreciation and amortization expense decreased to $61.5 million from $62.7 million, or a 1.8% decrease.
Interest Expense
Interest expense decreased to $70.8 million from $71.8 million, or a 1.4% decrease.
Income Tax Expense

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Income tax expense decreased to $85.4 million from $153.3 million, or a 44.3% decrease, primarily due to a decrease in the effective tax rate in fiscal 2016 from 39.7% to 22.5%. The effective tax rate decreased primarily due to the release of uncertain tax position reserves and certain income tax credits recognized in fiscal 2016.
Liquidity and Capital Resources
As of March 31, 2017, our total liquidity was $587.4 million, consisting of $217.4 million of cash and cash equivalents and $370.0 million available under the Revolving Credit Facility. In the opinion of management, we will be able to meet our liquidity and cash needs through a combination of cash flows from operating activities, available cash balances, and available borrowing under the Revolving Credit Facility. If