Fee Revenue

6 Months Ended

Oct. 31, 2020

Revenue From Contract With Customer [Abstract]

Fee Revenue

7. Fee Revenue

Contract Balances

A contract asset (unbilled receivables) is recorded when the Company transfers control of products or services before there is an unconditional right to payment. A contract liability (deferred revenue) is recorded when cash is received in advance of performance of the obligation. Deferred revenue represents the future performance obligations to transfer control of products or services for which the Company has already received consideration. Deferred revenue is presented in other accrued liabilities on the consolidated balance sheets.

The following table outlines the Company’s contract asset and liability balances as of October 31, 2020 and April 30, 2020:

	October 31, 2020		April 30, 2020
	(in thousands)
Contract assets-unbilled receivables	$	88,937	$	65,370
Contract liabilities-deferred revenue	$	143,620	$	133,128

During the six months ended October 31, 2020, the Company recognized revenue of $66.0 million that was included in the contract liabilities balance at the beginning of the period.

Performance Obligations

The Company has elected to apply the practical expedient to exclude the value of unsatisfied performance obligations for contracts with a duration of one year or less, which applies to all executive search and professional search fee revenue. As of October 31, 2020, the aggregate transaction price allocated to the performance obligations that are unsatisfied for contracts with an expected duration of greater than one year at inception was $679.2 million. Of the $679.2 million of remaining performance obligations, the Company expects to recognize approximately $194.7 million in the remainder of fiscal 2021, $260.5 million in fiscal 2022, $129.7 million in fiscal 2023 and the remaining $94.3 million in fiscal 2024 and thereafter. However, this amount should not be considered an indication of the Company’s future revenue as contracts with an initial term of one year or less are not included. Further, the Company’s contract terms and conditions allow for clients to increase or decrease the scope of services and such changes do not increase or decrease a performance obligation until the Company has an enforceable right to payment.

Disaggregation of Revenue

The Company disaggregates its revenue by line of business and further by region for Executive Search. This information is presented in Note 11—Segments.

The following table provides further disaggregation of fee revenue by industry:

	Three Months Ended October 31,
	2020					2019
	Dollars		%			Dollars		%
	(dollars in thousands)
Industrial	$	119,380		27.4	%	$	141,066		28.6	%
Financial Services		82,918		19.0			85,188		17.3
Life Sciences/Healthcare		83,413		19.2			89,085		18.1
Consumer Goods		60,737		13.9			75,712		15.4
Technology		64,691		14.9			70,499		14.3
Education/Non-Profit/General		24,300		5.6			30,839		6.3
Fee Revenue	$	435,439		100.0	%	$	492,389		100.0	%

	Six Months Ended October 31,
	2020					2019
	Dollars		%			Dollars		%
	(dollars in thousands)
Industrial	$	214,691		27.6	%	$	279,378		28.6	%
Financial Services		148,645		19.1			171,400		17.5
Life Sciences/Healthcare		148,863		19.1			171,350		17.5
Consumer Goods		105,515		13.5			147,410		15.1
Technology		114,015		14.6			141,302		14.5
Education/Non-Profit/General		47,807		6.1			66,098		6.8
Fee Revenue	$	779,536		100.0	%	$	976,938		100.0	%