EMPLOYEE BENEFIT PLANS

12 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2020

Share-based Payment Arrangement [Abstract]

EMPLOYEE BENEFIT PLANS

Employee Benefit Plans

Defined Contribution Plans

The Company sponsors a 401(k) defined contribution savings plan for its domestic employees and defined contribution retirement plans for its international employees. The Company contributed approximately $3,751, $2,765, and $2,018 during the years ended March 31, 2020, 2019, and 2018, respectively, to these defined contribution plans.

Share-Based Incentive Plans

Following the IPO, additional awards of restricted shares have been and will be made under the Amended and Restated Houlihan Lokey, Inc. 2016 Incentive Award Plan (the "2016 Incentive Plan"), which became effective in August 2015 and was amended in October 2017. Under the 2016 Incentive Plan, it is anticipated that the Company will continue to grant cash and equity-based incentive awards to eligible service providers in order to attract, motivate, and retain the talent necessary to operate the Company's business. Equity-based incentive awards issued under the 2016 Incentive Plan generally vest over a four-year period. An aggregate of 37,847 restricted shares of Class A common stock were granted under the 2016 Incentive Plan to (i) two independent directors in August 2015 at $21.00 per share, (ii) two independent directors in the first quarter of fiscal 2017 at $25.21 per share, (iii) one independent director in the first quarter of fiscal 2017 at $23.93 per share, (iv) three independent directors in the first quarters of fiscal 2018 and 2019 at $33.54 and $44.50 per share, respectively, and (v) one independent director in the third quarter of fiscal 2019 at $42.41 per share, (vi) four independent directors in the first quarter of fiscal 2020 at $47.22 per share, and (vii) one independent director in the third quarter of fiscal 2020 at $47.21 per share.

An excess tax benefit of $7,269 and $8 was recognized during the years ended March 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively, as a component of the provision for income taxes and an operating activity on the Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows. The excess tax benefit recognized during the year ended March 31, 2020 was related to shares vested in April and May 2019. For the comparable fiscal 2019 period, vesting of shares scheduled to vest in April and May 2018 was accelerated on October 21, 2017 and the corresponding excess tax benefit was recognized in the fiscal year ended March 31, 2018. The Company recorded cash outflows of $(31,477) and $(1,947) related to the settlement of share-based awards in satisfaction of withholding tax requirements in financing activities on the Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows for the years ended March 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively,

The share awards are classified as equity awards at the time of grant unless the number of shares granted is unknown. Awards that are settleable in shares based upon a future determinable stock price are classified as a liability until the price is established and the resulting number of shares is known, at which time they are re-classified from liabilities to equity awards. Activity in equity classified share awards which relate to the Company's 2006 Incentive Award Plan (the "2006 Incentive Plan") and the 2016 Incentive Plan during the years ended March 31, 2020, 2019, and 2018 is as follows:

Equity Classified Unvested Share Awards	Shares		Weighted average grant date fair value
Balance, April 1, 2017	3,626,270		$	22.35
Granted	1,235,779		34.86
Vested	(1,023,078	)	24.03
Forfeited	(984,078	)	24.60
Balance, March 31, 2018	2,854,893		26.39
Granted	1,069,436		49.32
Vested	(76,702	)	48.78
Forfeited	(83,643	)	33.91
Balance, March 31, 2019	3,763,984		32.29
Granted	1,368,079		47.04
Vested	(1,496,643	)	29.30
Shares repurchased/forfeited	(96,373	)	38.63
Balance, March 31, 2020	3,539,047		$	39.13

Activity in liability classified share awards during the years ended March 31, 2020, 2019, and 2018 is as follows:    

Liability Classified Awards Settleable in Shares
(In thousands)	Fair value
Balance, April 1, 2017	$	12,743
Offer to grant	9,637
Share price determined-converted to cash payments	(6,040		)
Share price determined-transferred to equity grants (1)	—
Forfeited	(847		)
Balance, March 31, 2018	15,493
Offer to grant	12,432
Share price determined-converted to cash payments	(300		)
Share price determined-transferred to equity grants (1)	(4,705		)
Forfeited	(1,244		)
Balance, March 31, 2019	21,676
Offer to grant	6,410
Share price determined-converted to cash payments	(100		)
Share price determined-transferred to equity grants (1)	(6,457		)
Forfeited	(540		)
Balance, March 31, 2020	$	20,989

^{(1)  134,370, 96,778, and 0 shares for the years ended March 31, 2020, 2019, and 2018, respectively.} 

Compensation expenses for the Company associated with both equity and liability classified awards totaled $64,345, $56,561, and $47,111, for the years ended March 31, 2020, 2019, and 2018, respectively. As of March 31, 2020 and 2019 there was $80,648 and $77,348, respectively, of total unrecognized compensation cost related to unvested share awards granted under both the 2006 Incentive Plan and 2016 Incentive Plan. These costs are recognized over a weighted average period of 1.9 years and 1.4 years, as of March 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively.

On October 19, 2017, our board of directors approved an amendment (the “Amendment”) to the 2016 Incentive Plan reducing the number of shares of common stock available for issuance under the 2016 Incentive Plan by approximately 12.2 million shares. Under the Amendment, the aggregate number of shares of common stock that are available for issuance under awards granted pursuant to the 2016 Incentive Plan is equal to the sum of (i) 8.0 million and (ii) any shares of our Class B common stock that are subject to awards under our 2006 Incentive Plan that terminate, expire or lapse for any reason after October 19, 2017.

The number of shares available for issuance will be increased annually beginning on April 1, 2018 and ending on April 1, 2025, by an amount equal to the lowest of:

• 6,540,659 shares of our Class A common stock and Class B common stock;

• Six percent of the shares of Class A common stock and Class B common stock outstanding on the final day of the immediately preceding fiscal year; and

•

such smaller number of shares as determined by our board of directors.