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Revenue and Allowances
 12 Months Ended
Jan. 01, 2022
Revenue from Contract with Customer [Abstract]  
Revenue and Allowances Revenues and Allowances
The contracts CRA enters into and operates under specify whether the projects are billed on a time-and-materials or a fixed-price basis. Time-and-materials contracts are typically used for litigation, regulatory, and financial consulting projects while fixed-price contracts are principally used for management consulting projects. In general, project costs are classified in costs of services and are based on the direct salary of CRA's employee consultants on the engagement, plus all direct expenses incurred to complete the project, including any amounts billed to CRA by its non-employee experts.
Disaggregation of Revenue
The following tables disaggregate CRA's revenue by type of contract and geographic location (in thousands).
Year EndedYear EndedYear Ended
Type of Contract
January 1,
2022
(52 weeks)
January 2,
2021
(53 weeks)
December 28,
2019
(52 weeks)
Consulting services revenues:
Fixed-price$136,276 $124,383 $107,344 
Time-and-materials429,657 383,990 344,026 
Total$565,933 $508,373 $451,370 
Year EndedYear EndedYear Ended
Geographic Breakdown
January 1,
2022
(52 weeks)
January 2,
2021
(53 weeks)
December 28,
2019
(52 weeks)
Consulting services revenues:
United States$451,436 $405,808 $357,156 
United Kingdom86,191 79,922 72,169 
Other28,306 22,643 22,045 
Total$565,933 $508,373 $451,370 
Reserves for Variable Consideration and Credit Risk
Revenues from CRA's consulting services are recorded at the net transaction price, which includes estimates of variable consideration for which reserves are established. Variable consideration reserves are based on specific price concessions and those expected to be extended to CRA customers estimated by CRA's historical realization rates. Reserves for variable consideration are recorded as a component of the allowances for accounts receivable and unbilled services on the consolidated balance sheets. Adjustments to the reserves for variable consideration are included in revenues on the consolidated statements of operations.
CRA also maintains allowances for accounts receivable and unbilled services for estimated losses resulting from clients’ failure to make required payments. CRA adopted ASC 326 on the first day of fiscal 2020, which changed the method CRA utilizes to estimate reserves related to credit risk. Under ASC 326, CRA estimates allowances based on historical charge-off rates, adjusted for days of sales outstanding and expected changes to clients’ financial conditions during the anticipated collection period. Bad debt expense, net of recoveries of previously written off allowances, is recorded as a component of selling, general and administrative expenses on the consolidated statements of operations.
A rollforward of the variable consideration and doubtful accounts reserves for accounts receivable, which includes allowances for doubtful accounts of $0.5 million and $0.7 million as of January 1, 2022 and January 2, 2021, respectively, is as follows (in thousands):
Fiscal YearFiscal Year
20212020
Balance at beginning of fiscal year$3,595 $3,838 
Increases to reserves, net of recoveries (1)2,612 2,092 
Amounts written off and foreign currency translation(2,951)(2,335)
Balance at end of fiscal year$3,256 $3,595 
_______________________________
(1)Fiscal 2020 includes the cumulative effect of a change in accounting principle related to ASC 326 in the amount of $0.2 million.
A rollforward of the variable consideration and doubtful accounts reserves for unbilled services is as follows (in thousands):
Fiscal YearFiscal Year
20212020
Balance at beginning of fiscal year$1,000 $1,503 
Increases to reserves, net of recoveries7,574 6,847 
Amounts written off and foreign currency translation(7,210)(7,350)
Balance at end of fiscal year$1,364 $1,000 
The following table presents CRA's bad debt expense, net of recoveries of previously written off allowances (in thousands):
Year EndedYear EndedYear Ended
January 1,
2022
(52 weeks)
January 2,
2021
(53 weeks)
December 28,
2019
(52 weeks)
Bad debt expense, net$27 $227 $173 
Reimbursable Expenses
Revenues also include reimbursements for costs incurred by CRA in fulfilling its performance obligations, including travel and other out-of-pocket expenses, fees for outside consultants and other reimbursable expenses. CRA recovers substantially all of these costs. The following expenses are subject to reimbursement (in thousands):
Year EndedYear EndedYear Ended
January 1,
2022
(52 weeks)
January 2,
2021
(53 weeks)
December 28,
2019
(52 weeks)
Reimbursable expenses$64,532 $61,661 $54,871 
Contract Balances from Contracts with Customers
CRA defines contract assets as assets for which it has recorded revenue because it determines that it is probable that it will earn a performance-based or contingent fee, but is not yet entitled to receive a fee because certain events, such as completion of the measurement period or client approval, must occur. The contract assets balance was immaterial as of January 1, 2022 and January 2, 2021.
When consideration is received, or such consideration is unconditionally due from a customer prior to transferring consulting services to the customer under the terms of a contract, a contract liability is recorded. Contract liabilities are recognized as revenue after performance obligations have been satisfied and all revenue recognition criteria have been met. The following table presents the closing balances of CRA's contract liabilities (in thousands):
January 1,
2022		January 2,
2021		December 28,
2019
Contract liabilities$8,811 $5,527 $4,007 
CRA recognized the following revenue that was included in the contract liabilities balance as of the opening of the respective period or for performance obligations satisfied in previous periods (in thousands):
Year EndedYear EndedYear Ended
January 1,
2022
(52 weeks)
January 2,
2021
(53 weeks)
December 28,
2019
(52 weeks)
Amounts included in contract liabilities at the beginning of the fiscal year$5,185 $3,533 $5,155 
Performance obligations satisfied in previous fiscal years$2,827 $4,503 $3,603