Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

6 Months Ended

Jun. 30, 2011

Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

Note A—Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

Nature of Operations. Robert Half International Inc. (the "Company") provides specialized staffing and risk consulting services through such divisions as Accountemps^®, Robert Half^® Finance & Accounting, OfficeTeam^®, Robert Half^® Technology, Robert Half^® Management Resources, Robert Half^® Legal, The Creative Group^®, and Protiviti^®. The Company, through its Accountemps, Robert Half Finance & Accounting, and Robert Half Management Resources divisions, is a specialized provider of temporary, full-time, and project professionals in the fields of accounting and finance. OfficeTeam specializes in highly skilled temporary administrative support personnel. Robert Half Technology provides information technology professionals. Robert Half Legal provides temporary, project, and full-time staffing of attorneys and specialized support personnel within law firms and corporate legal departments. The Creative Group provides project staffing in the advertising, marketing, and web design fields. Protiviti provides business consulting and internal audit services, and is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company. Revenues are predominantly derived from specialized staffing services. The Company operates in North America, South America, Europe, Asia and Australia. The Company is a Delaware corporation.

Basis of Presentation. The unaudited Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements ("Financial Statements") of the Company are prepared in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America ("GAAP") and the rules of the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"). The comparative year-end condensed consolidated statement of financial position data presented was derived from audited financial statements. In the opinion of management, all adjustments (consisting of only normal recurring adjustments) necessary for a fair statement of the financial position and results of operations for the periods presented have been included. These Financial Statements should be read in conjunction with the audited Consolidated Financial Statements of the Company for the year ended December 31, 2010, included in its annual report on Form 10-K. The results of operations for any interim period are not necessarily indicative of, nor comparable to, the results of operations for a full year.

Principles of Consolidation. The Financial Statements include the accounts of the Company and its subsidiaries, all of which are wholly owned. All intercompany balances have been eliminated.

Use of Estimates. The preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. As of June 30, 2011, such estimates included allowances for uncollectible accounts receivable, workers' compensation losses, and income and other taxes. Management estimates are also utilized in the Company's goodwill impairment assessment.

Advertising Costs. The Company expenses all advertising costs as incurred. Advertising costs for the three months ended and the six months ended June 30, 2011 and 2010, are reflected in the following table (in thousands):

	Three Months Ended June 30,				Six Months Ended June 30,
	2011		2010		2011		2010
Advertising Costs	$	10,384	$	9,715	$	19,750	$	18,563

Comprehensive Income. Comprehensive income includes net income and certain other items that are recorded directly to Stockholders' Equity. The Company's only source of other comprehensive income is foreign currency translation adjustments. The components of comprehensive income, net of tax, are as follows (in thousands):

	Three Months Ended June 30,					Six Months Ended June 30,
	2011		2010			2011		2010
Net income	$	36,425	$	12,181		$	63,130	$	20,656
Translation adjustments		3,581		(9,753	)		11,014		(14,676	)
Total comprehensive income	$	40,006	$	2,428		$	74,144	$	5,980

Goodwill and Intangible Assets. Goodwill and intangible assets primarily consist of the cost of acquired companies in excess of the fair market value of their net tangible assets at the date of acquisition. Identifiable intangible assets are amortized over their lives, typically ranging from two to five years. Goodwill is not amortized, but is tested at least annually for impairment. The Company completed its annual goodwill impairment analysis as of June 30, 2011, and determined that no adjustment to the carrying value of goodwill was required.

Internal-use Software. The Company capitalizes direct costs incurred in the development of internal-use software. Amounts capitalized are reported as a component of computer software within property and equipment. Internal-use software development costs capitalized for the three months and the six months ended June 30, 2011 and 2010, are reflected in the following table (in thousands):

	Three Months Ended June 30,				Six Months Ended June 30,
	2011		2010		2011		2010
Internal-use software development costs	$	4,735	$	2,933	$	7,993	$	3,961