Revenue Recognition

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2020

Revenue from Contract with Customer [Abstract]

Revenue Recognition

Revenue Recognition

The Company derives its revenues from three segments: temporary and consultant staffing, permanent placement staffing, and risk consulting and internal audit services. Revenues are recognized when promised goods or services are delivered to customers, in an amount that reflects the consideration the Company expects to be entitled to in exchange for those goods or services. Service revenues as presented on the Consolidated Statements of Operations represent services rendered to customers less variable consideration, such as sales adjustments and allowances. Reimbursements, including those related to travel and out-of-pocket expenses, are also included in service revenues, and equivalent amounts of reimbursable expenses are included in costs of services.

Temporary and consultant staffing revenues. Temporary and consultant staffing revenues from contracts with customers are recognized in the amount to which the Company has a right to invoice, when the services are rendered by the Company’s engagement professionals. The substantial majority of engagement professionals placed on assignment by the Company are the Company’s legal employees while they are working on assignments. The Company pays all related costs of employment, including workers’ compensation insurance, state and federal unemployment taxes, social security and certain fringe benefits. The Company assumes the risk of acceptability of its employees to its customers.

The Company records temporary and consultant staffing revenue on a gross basis as a principal versus on a net basis as an agent in the presentation of revenues and expenses. The Company has concluded that gross reporting is appropriate because the Company (i) has the risk of identifying and hiring qualified employees, (ii) has the discretion to select the employees and establish their price and duties and (iii) bears the risk for services that are not fully paid for by customers. Fees paid to Time Management or Vendor Management service providers selected by clients are recorded as a reduction of revenues, as the Company is not the primary obligor with respect to those services.

Permanent placement staffing revenues. Permanent placement staffing revenues from contracts with customers are primarily recognized when employment candidates accept offers of permanent employment. The Company has a substantial history of estimating the financial impact of permanent placement candidates who do not remain with its clients through the 90-day guarantee period. These amounts are established based primarily on historical data and are recorded as contract liabilities. Fees to clients are generally calculated as a percentage of the new employee’s annual compensation. No fees for permanent placement services are charged to employment candidates.

Risk consulting and internal audit services revenues. Risk consulting and internal audit services are generally provided on a time-and-material basis or fixed-fee basis. Revenues earned under time-and-material arrangements and fixed-fee arrangements are recognized using a proportional performance method. Revenue is measured using cost incurred relative to total estimated cost for the engagement to measure progress towards satisfying the Company’s performance obligations. Cost incurred represents work performed and thereby best depicts the transfer of control to the customer. Risk consulting and internal audit services generally contain one or more performance obligation(s) which are satisfied over a period of time. Revenues are recognized over time as the performance obligations are satisfied, because the services provided do not have any alternative use to the Company, and contracts generally include language giving the Company an enforceable right to payment for services provided to date.

The Company periodically evaluates the need to provide for any losses on these projects, and losses are recognized when it is probable that a loss will be incurred.

The following table presents the Company’s revenues disaggregated by line of business (in thousands):

	Year Ended December 31,
	2020		2019		2018
Accountemps	$	1,558,024	$	1,985,221	$	1,941,544
OfficeTeam	764,947		1,040,755		1,065,427
Robert Half Technology	695,418		765,831		717,166
Robert Half Management Resources	698,942		792,757		738,810
Elimination of intersegment revenues (a)	(239,996)		(172,439)		(132,381)
Temporary and consultant staffing	3,477,335		4,412,125		4,330,566
Permanent placement staffing	370,109		533,432		511,989
Risk consulting and internal audit services	1,261,556		1,128,875		957,716
Service revenues	$	5,109,000	$	6,074,432	$	5,800,271

(a) Service revenues for Accountemps, OfficeTeam, Robert Half Technology and Robert Half Management Resources include intersegment revenues, which represent revenues from services provided to the Company’s risk consulting and internal audit services segment in connection with the Company’s blended business solutions. Intersegment revenues for each line of business are aggregated and then eliminated as a single line.

Payment terms in the Company’s contracts vary by the type and location of the Company’s customer and the services offered. The term between invoicing and when payment is due is not significant.

Contracts with multiple performance obligations are recognized as performance obligations are delivered, and contract value is allocated based on relative stand-alone selling values of the services and products in the arrangement. As of December 31, 2020, aggregate transaction price allocated to the performance obligations that were unsatisfied for contracts with an expected duration of greater than one year was $134.9 million. Of this amount, $123.6 million is expected to be recognized within the next twelve months. As of December 31, 2019, aggregate transaction price allocated to the performance obligations that were unsatisfied for contracts with an expected duration of greater than one year was $81.7 million.

Contract liabilities are recorded when cash payments are received or due in advance of performance and are reflected in accounts payable and accrued expenses on the Consolidated Statements of Financial Position. The following table sets forth the activity in contract liabilities from January 1, 2018 through December 31, 2020 (in thousands):

	Contract
	Liabilities
Balance as of January 1, 2018	$	9,003
Payments in advance of satisfaction of performance obligations	12,170
Revenue recognized	(10,542)
Other, including translation adjustments	2,366
Balance as of December 31, 2018	$	12,997
Payments in advance of satisfaction of performance obligations	13,030
Revenue recognized	(12,072)
Other, including translation adjustments	(1,007)
Balance as of December 31, 2019	$	12,948
Payments in advance of satisfaction of performance obligations	25,614
Revenue recognized	(20,687)
Other, including translation adjustments	377
Balance as of December 31, 2020	$	18,252