Risk Factors - IBEX

-New additions in green
-Changes in blue
-Hover to see similar sentence in last filing

$IBEX Risk Factor changes from 00/09/13/23/2023 to 00/09/12/24/2024

Item 1A. Risk Factors” for more information.15Table of ContentsOn December 31, 2022, we determined that we no longer met the criteria to remain a foreign private issuer. Effective July 1, 2023, we are required to file periodic reports on U. Effective July 1, 2023, we are required to file periodic reports on U. S.

domestic filer forms with the SEC and to comply with other rules as required, including but not limited to presenting this Form 10-K in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States (“U.S. GAAP”), with such change being applied retrospectively. Bermuda Laws As a Bermuda company, we are also subject to regulation in Bermuda.”Bermuda Laws As a Bermuda company, we are also subject to regulation in Bermuda. Among other things, we must comply with the provisions of the Bermuda Companies Act 1981, as amended (the “Companies Act”) regulating the declaration and payment of dividends and the making of distributions from contributed surplus, which generally prohibit dividends or distributions unless certain capital and liquidity standards are met. Among other things, we must comply with the provisions of the Companies Act regulating the declaration and payment of dividends and the making of distributions from contributed surplus, which generally prohibit dividends or distributions unless certain capital and liquidity standards are met. We are classified as a non-resident of Bermuda for exchange control purposes by the Bermuda Monetary Authority (“BMA”). Pursuant to our non-resident status, we may engage in transactions in currencies other than Bermuda dollars. There are no restrictions on our ability to transfer funds in and out of Bermuda or to pay dividends to United States residents that are holders of our common shares.Under Bermuda law, “exempted” companies are companies formed for the purpose of conducting business outside Bermuda. As an exempted company, we may not, without a license granted by the Minister of Economic Development, participate in certain business transactions, including transactions involving Bermuda landholding rights and the carrying on of business of any kind, for which we are not licensed in Bermuda.On December 31, 2018, the Bermuda government enacted the Economic Substance Act 2018, and related regulations, as subsequently amended (the “Substance Act”) with effect from July 1, 2019 for existing Bermuda entities, requiring certain entities in Bermuda engaged in “relevant activities” to maintain a substantial economic presence in Bermuda and to satisfy economic substance requirements. In response to the Council’s findings, on December 31, 2018, the Bermuda government enacted the Economic Substance Act 2018, and related regulations, as subsequently amended (the “Substance Act”), with effect from July 1, 2019 for existing Bermuda entities, requiring certain entities in Bermuda engaged in “relevant activities” to maintain a substantial economic presence in Bermuda and to satisfy economic substance requirements. The list of “relevant activities” includes holding entities and financing and leasing (including intra-group lending), and the legislation requires Bermuda companies engaging in a “relevant activity” to be locally managed and directed, to carry on core income generating activities in Bermuda, to maintain adequate physical presence in Bermuda, and to have an adequate level of local full time qualified employees and incur adequate operating expenditure in Bermuda. The list of “relevant activities” includes holding entities, and the legislation requires Bermuda companies engaging in a “relevant activity” to be locally managed and directed, to carry on core income generating activities in Bermuda, to maintain adequate physical presence in Bermuda, and to have an adequate level of local full time qualified employees and incur adequate operating expenditure in Bermuda. Under the Substance Act, any entity that must satisfy economic substance requirements but fails to do so could face automatic disclosure to competent authorities in the European Union of the information filed by the entity with the Bermuda Registrar of Companies in connection with the economic substance requirements and may also face financial penalties, restriction or regulation of its business activities or may be struck as a registered entity in Bermuda. We continue to evaluate the Substance Act and its requirements, as well as its application to our business. In 2016, the Bermuda Government enacted the Personal Information Protection Act 2016, as amended (“PIPA”). At present, the majority of the operative provisions of PIPA, which include detailed requirements around conditions for use and consent to use of personal information, specific obligations on organizations that use personal information, overseas data transfer assessment obligations and access, rectification and erasure rights for individuals, are not yet in force in Bermuda. In June 2023, the Bermuda Government and the Office of the Privacy Commissioner for Bermuda announced that the remaining operative provisions of PIPA will become fully implemented on January 1, 2025.PIPA, once in force, applies to every organization (which includes any individual, entity or public authority) that uses personal information in Bermuda where that personal information is used by automated or other means which form, or are intended to form, part of a structured filing system. For the purposes of PIPA, “personal information” means any information about an identified or identifiable individual (meaning a natural person), and “use” or “using” are very broadly defined and effectively include possessing or carrying out any operation on personal information. We continue to evaluate PIPA and its requirements, as well as its application to our business. See “Risk Factors - Risks Related to Being Incorporated in Bermuda” for more information.See “Risk Factors - Risks Related to Being Incorporated in Bermuda” for more information. 16Table of ContentsPrivacy, Data Protection, and CybersecurityWe use, collect, store, transmit, transfer, and process customer data in the ordinary course of business. As our products are designed to assist business customers with customer support services, in the ordinary course of business, when providing its services, only a portion of the customer data that we use, collect, store, transmit, transfer and process constitutes personal data, personally identifiable information, personal information, or similar term (collectively herein “personal information”). In the course of providing our services, we may obtain personal information in the form of business contact information of our customers, suppliers, customers, prospects, and other persons, including our customers’ end users. In the course of providing our services, we obtain personal information in the form of business contact information of our customers, suppliers, customers, prospects, and other persons. We also may obtain personal information from employees, contractors, applicants, whether current, former, or prospective and, as applicable, family members or designees. We also obtain personal information from employees, contractors, applicants, whether current, former, or prospective and, as applicable, family members or designees. Certain personal information that we collect and/or process from any of these persons may include information that is considered “special” or “sensitive” data, which may be subject to additional restrictions under applicable law. Certain personal information that we collect and/or process from any of these persons, including from our customers about their end users, may include information that is considered “special” or “sensitive” data under applicable law. We are required to comply with local, state, federal, and foreign laws and regulations pertaining to the collection, storage, transmission, transferring, processing, and security of such personal information. In addition, we are also subject to certain self-regulatory standards that require companies that process certain types of personal information, like payment card data, to implement certain data security measures. Regulators around the globe, and in countries in which we operate, have promulgated and are continuing to adopt laws, implement regulations, and issue guidance pertaining to the collection, storage, transmission, transferring, processing, and security of personal information. Regulators around the globe, and in countries in which we operate, have promulgated and are continuing to adopt laws, implementing regulations, and guidance pertaining to the collection, storage, transmission, transferring, processing, and security of personal information. The applicability of these laws, regulations, and guidance is continually evolving, sometimes uncertain, and in some circumstances, conflicting between and among jurisdictions. Although certain of these laws are not applicable to business contact information or employee data, these laws still remain pertinent to our operations. Further, regulators are continuing to propose and adopt new laws designed to safeguard personal information and to provide additional rights to data subjects. We anticipate that the volume and scope of such laws will increase, and, as a result, our costs and efforts to comply with such laws will similarly increase. It may be costly to implement security or other measures designed to comply with these laws. See “Risk Factors - Unauthorized or improper disclosure of personal information, breach of privacy, whether inadvertent or as the result of a cyber-attack or improperly by our employees, has resulted in liability and could harm us.”Other RegulationsWe are a labor-intensive business that is subject to complex labor and employment laws established by the U.S. Department of Labor, state and local regulatory bodies, and similar regulators outside of the U.S. These regulations govern working conditions, paid time off, workplace safety, wage and hour standards and hiring and employment practices. Our global operations are subject to various domestic and foreign anti-corruptions mandates, such as the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, the U.K. Bribery Act and similar anti-bribery laws in other jurisdictions where we do business. We have processes in place to support our compliance with these described regulations; but our efforts to comply with these various regulations may cause us to make additional capital and operational expenditures, the cost of which we may not always be able to pass to our clients through our pricing structures, and such additional investments could be material to our results of operations, financial position or cash flows. See “Risk Factors - Our global operations and customers expose us to numerous legal and regulatory requirements.”Human Capital ResourcesWe deploy a customer-centric, employee driven culture designed to enable our workforce to do their best work on behalf of our clients. We had approximately 30,000 full-time and total employees as of June 30, 2024. We believe that we have one of the best cultures in the industry.We believe that we have one of the best cultures in the industry. As a testament to our culture, a meaningful portion of our workforce is made up of family, friends and colleagues who were referred to us by our employees. Our culture is distinctive – built by and for the individuals that represent our clients’ brands with each and every contact. Our commitment to those individuals exceeds anything in our industry, as evidenced by our eNPS of 77.17Table of ContentsAt the foundation of our culture are three primary principals:1.Be the best employer in the markets we serve – We provide our employees with immediate opportunities for growth. Day one begins with a view of what is possible at ibex including leadership development and job advancement and our commitment to enriching our employees’ lives. We enable our employees to craft a path for their future early in their tenure with ibex.2.Employee first culture – Our employees are the lifeblood of our organization. From the tools they use every day to interact with our customers to the services we provide to improve their lives, we put our workforce first in all that we do. Our ability to recruit, engage, motivate and retain is evidenced in the top quadrant performance we deliver to our clients. We are committed to supporting a diverse and inclusive workforce through the entire organization.3.Highly immersive engagement – Our culture can be seen and felt from the minute you enter one of our centers. From our modern, highly customized and branded sites to our unique celebrations for our frontline talent around the globe, our employee engagement is a key driver of the high agent retention we see across our delivery centers. Our ongoing development and interest in our people and our culture is what fuels our growth. Our employees are extremely loyal to ibex and are proud to be part of ibex. The investment in our people does not end with our physical locations but transcends into the lives of our workforce. Our people are at the center of our long-term success and growth-strategy, and we will continue to nurture, enhance, and expand our diversity and values-driven culture. Combining the passion, energy and talents of our global employee base and harnessing that into an industry leading company is at the heart of what we do. The result is performance at the highest levels for our clients that delivers an exceptional CX while accelerating growth and diversification for our business.Information about our Executive OfficersThe following are our executive officers as of September 12, 2024:Our executive officers serve at the discretion of the Company’s board of directors (the “Board”).Information about our Executive OfficersThe following are our executive officers as of September 13, 2023:Our executive officers serve at the discretion of our board of directors. There is no family relationship between any executive officer or director. There is no family relationship between any executive officer or director. The following information sets forth the business experience for at least the past five years for each of our executive officers. The following information sets forth the business experience for at least the past five years for each of our executive officers. Mr. Robert Dechant has served as our Chief Executive Officer since July 2019 and as a member of the Board since January 2021. From September 2017 to July 2019, Mr. Dechant served as Chief Executive Officer of IBEX Interactive, which included all operations of Ibex (including Ibex Global Solutions, ibex Digital, and ibex CX). From 2015 until 2017, Mr. Dechant served as Chief Executive Officer of Ibex Global Solutions. From 2012 until 2015, Mr. Dechant served as the Chief Sales, Marketing and Client Services Officer at Qualfon, Inc., a global provider of call center, back office, and business process outsourcing services. Prior to that, Mr. Dechant was the Chief Sales and Marketing Officer at Stream Global Services, a large multinational business process outsourcing provider which merged with Convergys in 2014. Dechant was the Chief Marketing and Operations Officer at Stream Global Services, a large multinational business process outsourcing provider which merged with Convergys in 2014. From 2006 to 2008, Mr. Dechant was the EVP and General Manager of the public company 3 Com, an internet working company. Mr. Dechant holds a B.S. degree from Fairfield University.Mr. Taylor Greenwald has served as our Chief Financial Officer since August 2023. Taylor Greenwald joined the Company as our Chief Financial Officer in August 2023. Mr. Greenwald served as the Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Synchronoss Technologies, a software company, 18Table of Contentsfrom 2021 to 2022. Greenwald served as the Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Synchronoss Technologies, a software company, from 2021 to 2022. From 2019 to 2021, Mr. From 2015 to 2018, Ms. Greenwald served as the Chief Financial Officer, Web Presence, of Endurance International Group, an information technology services company. From 2000 to 2019, Mr. Greenwald served in various senior leadership roles with Convergys, a customer service and information management company, including as Senior Vice President, Controller and Chief Accounting Officer from 2012 to 2019. Mr. Greenwald holds an M.B.A. from the MIT Sloan School of Management and a B.S. degree in engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology.Ms. Christy O’Connor has served as our Chief Legal Officer and Assistant Corporate Secretary since March 2018. From 2015 to 2018, Ms. O’Connor worked for Alorica, a provider of customer management outsourcing solutions, specifically as the Chief Legal and Compliance Officer from 2015 through 2017 and as a legal advisor thereafter. From 2014 to 2015, Ms. O’Connor was the General Counsel and Chief Legal Officer at SourceHOV. From 2011 to 2014, Ms. O’Connor was the Deputy General Counsel for Stream Global Services. Ms. O’Connor holds B.A./M.A. degrees from the University of Chicago, a J.D. from St. Mary’s University School of Law and a degree in International Law from the University of Innsbruck.Mr. David Afdahl has served as our Chief Operating Officer since 2018, where he is responsible for global operations, performance management and financial results. He joined Ibex in 2017 as the Vice President of Operations, responsible for U.S. Operations. Mr. Afdahl has more than 23 years of operational leadership experience within the BPO industry. For seven years, he served as the Managing Director for Xerox Services, where he was responsible for global operations, client management and the overall financial performance. Mr. Afdahl holds a B.A. degree in Anthropology from the University of Maryland.Ms. Julie Casteel has served as our Chief Sales & Marketing Officer since 2012 and is responsible for expanding new and existing clients. She currently leads the strategy for growth and profitability for Ibex’s largest global clients and is also responsible for the strategic development of the financial services and healthcare vertical markets. Ms. Casteel brings more than 25 years of successful sales and leadership experience within the BPO industry. For over 10 years, from 1998 to 2009, she served as the Executive Vice-President of Global Sales & Marketing at SITEL, where she was responsible for global revenue, client relationship management and the overall company marketing strategy. Ms. Casteel has served on a number of industry boards and has been published in the Economist, The Wall Street Journal and various industry publications. She holds a B.S. degree in Biology from Texas A&M University.Mr. Bruce Dawson has served as our Chief Sales and Client Services Officer since 2017. From 2016 until 2017, he held the same role for Ibex Global Solutions, Inc. From 2014 until 2016, Mr. Dawson served as U.S. Nearshore Regional Director for Atento S.A. Prior to joining Atento S.A., Mr. Dawson served at SITEL Corporation from October 2012 to March 2014 and Stream Global Services from October 2008 to August 2012. Mr. Dawson has held management positions at various companies in the BPO industry, bringing experience from the software and telecommunications sector. He holds a B.A. degree in psychology from Denison University.Mr. Paul Inson has served as our Chief People Officer since October 2016. From 2013 to 2016, Mr. Inson served as the Vice President, Human Resources Service Delivery for Sykes Enterprises, a global provider of customer management outsourcing solutions. From 2007 to 2013, Mr. Inson served as the Vice President, Human Resources at Alpine Access. From 2006 to 2007, Mr. Inson served as the Head of Staffing/Recruitment for Capgemini Americas Outsourcing. Mr. Inson holds a B.B.A. degree from the University of Michigan-Dearborn.Mr. Andreas Wilkens joined the Company as our Chief Technology Officer in September 2024. Mr. Wilkens served as the Head of Engineering for RetailNext, a retail analytics software company, from 2022 to 2024. From 2018 to 2021, Mr. Wilkens served as Vice President and Chief Architect at LivePerson, a conversational AI software company. From 2016 to 2018, Mr. From 2019 to 2021, Mr. Wilkens served as Chief Technology Officer of AdvantageTec, a customer engagement software company. Mr. Wilkens studied electrical engineering at the Kiel University of Applied Sciences in Germany. 19Table of ContentsITEM 1A.19Table of ContentsITEM 1A.

RISK FACTORSRisk FactorsWe are subject to certain material risks and uncertainties described below that make an investment in us speculative or risky, in addition to other information provided in this Form 10-K. If one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, it may adversely and materially affect our business, results of operation, reputation, prospects, financial condition and operating results, cash flows, profitability, liquidity, stock price, and financial condition. The risks described below are not the only risks that our business faces. Additional risks not presently known to us or that we currently deem immaterial may also harm our business, results of operations, or financial condition.Business RisksOur business is dependent on key clients.We derive a substantial portion of our revenue from a few key clients. Our top three clients accounted for 29% of our revenue, and our top client accounted for approximately 12% of our revenue, for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2024. We could be materially impacted by the loss of business with, or the failure to retain a significant amount of business with, any of our key clients. Our profitability largely depends on maintaining efficient asset utilization levels, pricing our solutions appropriately, and managing costs, particularly through our contracts with customers.There can be no assurance that our operation or client contracts will be profitable for us or that we will be able to achieve or maintain any particular level of profitability, including as a result of the following:Asset Utilization LevelsThe efficiency of how we utilize our assets, particularly our people and facilities, impacts our profitability. Our utilization rates are affected by a number of factors, including our ability to transition employees from completed projects to new assignments, hire and assimilate new employees, forecast demand for our solutions and thereby maintain an appropriate headcount in each of our locations and geographies, manage attrition, accommodate our clients’ requests to shift the mix of delivery locations during the pendency of a contract, and manage resources for training, professional development and other typically non-billable activities. Most of our client contracts do not have minimum volume requirements. Certain contracts have performance-related bonus (penalty) provisions that require the client to pay us a bonus (require us to issue the client a credit) based upon our meeting (failing to meet) agreed-upon service levels and performance metrics. Moreover, although our objective is to sign multi-year agreements, our contracts generally allow the client to terminate the contract for convenience or reduce their use of our solutions. For example, in the past, we have had clients terminate their contract for convenience and /or reduce their use of our services due to reasons out of our control, and there can be no assurance that in the future our clients will not terminate their contracts before their scheduled expiration dates, that the volume of services for these programs will not be reduced, or that we will be able to avoid penalties or earn performance bonuses for our solutions. There have also been certain unprofitable client contracts that we were not able to terminate quickly without incurring penalties, and in the future unprofitable contracts may negatively impact us. Solutions PricingThe pricing that we are able to obtain for our solutions impacts our profitability and is usually included in statements of work entered into with our clients. In certain cases, we have committed to pricing over the period of a contract with limited-to-no sharing of risks regarding inflation and currency exchange rates. In addition, we are obligated under some of our contracts to deliver productivity benefits to our clients, such as reduction in handle time or speed to answer. The prices we are able to charge for our solutions are affected by a number of factors, including our clients’ perceptions of our ability to add value through our solutions, our competitive position, introduction of new 20Table of Contentsservices or products by us or our competitors, our ability to accurately estimate, attain and sustain revenues from client engagements, wage inflation rates, unhedged currency exchange rates, our costs, margins and cash flows over increasingly longer contract periods and general economic and political conditions. The prices we are able to charge for our solutions are affected by a number of factors, including our clients’ perceptions of our ability to add value through our solutions, competition, introduction of new services or products by us or our competitors, our ability to accurately estimate, attain and sustain revenues from client 20Table of Contentsengagements, wage inflation rates, unhedged currency exchange rates, our costs, margins and cash flows over increasingly longer contract periods and general economic and political conditions. Controlling CostsOur profitability is impacted by our ability to control our costs and improve our efficiency. The profitability of each client contract or work order may fluctuate, sometimes significantly, throughout various stages of the program. Portions of our business also have long sales cycles and long implementation cycles, which require significant resources and working capital. Many of our client contracts are entered into after long sales cycles, which require a significant investment of capital, resources and time by both our clients and us. Before committing to use our solutions, potential clients require us to expend substantial time and resources educating them as to the value of our solutions and assessing the feasibility of integrating our systems and processes with theirs. As a result, our selling cycle, which may extend up to two years, is subject to many risks and delays over which we have little or no control, including our clients’ decisions to choose alternatives to our solutions (such as other providers or in-house resources) and the timing of our clients’ budget cycles and approval processes.In addition, implementing our solutions involves a significant commitment of resources over an extended period of time from both our clients and us. Our clients may also experience delays in obtaining internal approvals or may face delays associated with technology or system implementations, thereby further delaying the implementation process.We also may not be successful in our attempt to control costs associated with salaries and benefits as we continue to add capacity in locations where we consider wage levels of skilled personnel to be satisfactory. Our business depends on maintaining large numbers of agents to service our clients’ business needs, and we tend not to terminate agents on short notice to respond to temporary declines in demand in excess of agreed levels, as rehiring and retraining agents at a later date would force us to incur additional expenses, and any termination of our employees would also involve significant additional costs in the form of severance payments to comply with labor regulations in the various jurisdictions in which we operate our business. Our business depends on maintaining large numbers of agents to service our clients’ business needs, and we tend not to terminate agents on short notice to respond to temporary declines in demand in excess of agreed levels, as rehiring and retraining agents at a later date would force us to incur additional expenses, and any termination of our employees would also involve the incurrence of significant additional costs in the form of severance payments to comply with labor regulations in the various jurisdictions in which we operate our business. Additionally, the hiring and training of our agents in response to increased demand takes time and results in additional short-term expenses. Wage increases or other expenses related to the termination of our employees may also impact us. If our solutions do not comply with the quality standards required by our clients under our agreements, our clients may assert claims for reduced payments to us or substantial damages against us.Many of our client contracts contain service level and performance requirements, including requirements relating to the quality of our solutions. Failure to meet service requirements or real or perceived errors made by our employees in the course of delivering our solutions could result in a reduction of revenue. In addition, in connection with our service contracts, certain representations are made, including representations relating to the quality and experience of our personnel. A failure or inability to meet these requirements or a breach of such representations could result in a claim for substantial damages against us and seriously damage our reputation and affect our ability to attract new business. A failure or inability to meet these requirements or a breach of such representations could result in a claim for damages against us and seriously damage our reputation and affect our ability to attract new business. The consolidation of our clients or potential clients may adversely affect us.Consolidation of the potential users of our solutions may decrease the number of clients who contract our solutions. Any significant reduction in or elimination of the use of the solutions we provide as a result of consolidation would result in reduced revenue to us and could harm our business. Such consolidation may encourage clients to apply increasing pressure on us to lower the prices we charge for our solutions.Our clients may decide to enter into or further expand insourcing activities in the futureOur current agreements with our clients do not prevent our clients from insourcing services that are currently outsourced to us, and none of our clients have entered into any non-compete agreements with us.Our clients may decide to enter into or further expand insourcing activities in the future, and current trends toward outsourcing services and/or outsourcing activities may reverse. Our current clients may seek to insource services similar to those we provide. Any decision by our clients to enter into or further expand insourcing activities in the future could cause us to lose a significant volume of business.21Table of ContentsMoreover, companies may not continue to leverage outsourcing services at the same volumes and their outsourcing could be reversed by factors beyond our control, including negative perceptions attached to outsourcing activities or government regulations against outsourcing activities.21Table of ContentsMoreover, the trend towards outsourcing business processes may not continue and could be reversed by factors beyond our control, including negative perceptions attached to outsourcing activities or government regulations against outsourcing activities. Current or prospective clients may elect to perform such services in-house that may be associated with using an offshore provider. Political opposition to outsourcing services and / or outsourcing activities may also arise in certain countries if there is a perception that such actions have a negative effect on domestic employment opportunities.We may be unable to continue to anticipate our clients’ needs by adapting to market and technology trends.Our success depends, in part, upon our ability to anticipate our clients’ needs by adapting to market and technology trends, industry standards and client preferences. We may need to invest significant resources in research and development or incur significant expenses in an effort to invest in our technology, solutions, and communications infrastructure, keep pace with customer preferences, or to gain a competitive advantage through technological expertise or new technologies. The use of technology in our industry has and will continue to expand and change rapidly. However, we may not be able to modify our current solutions or develop, introduce and integrate new solutions or information systems in a timely manner or on a cost-effective basis. There can be no assurance these efforts will be adequate to meet our future needs or to maintain our competitiveness, nor that we will have sufficient capacity or capital to meet these challenges.If we are unable or fail to further refine and enhance our solutions or to anticipate innovation opportunities and keep pace with evolving technologies, our solutions could become noncompetitive or obsolete and as a result we may be less attractive to existing and new clients, our clients may terminate their relationship with us or choose to divert their business elsewhere, and our revenue and market share may decline as a result. In addition, we may experience technical problems and additional costs as we introduce new solutions, deploy future iterations of our solutions, and integrate new solutions with existing client systems and workflows. In addition, we plan to expand across client industries and enter new industry verticals. In addition, we plan to expand across client industries and enter new industry verticals such as travel and hospitality. If we are unable to successfully adapt our solutions to new industry verticals, our potential growth opportunities could be compromised. If we are unable to successfully adapt our solutions to these industry verticals, our potential growth opportunities could be compromised. We may not be successful in converting visitors to our customer acquisition websites into purchasers or subscribers.The growth of our customer acquisition business through our ibex Digital offerings depends in part upon growth in the number of our customers or subscribers we are able to acquire for our clients.The growth of our customer acquisition business depends in part upon growth in the number of our customers or subscribers we are able to acquire for our clients. The rate at which we convert consumers into customers or subscribers using our customer acquisition websites is a significant factor in the growth of our customer acquisition business. A number of factors could influence this conversion rate for any given period, some of which are outside of our control. These factors include:•the quality of the consumer experience on our customer acquisition websites and with our delivery center;•the variety and affordability of the products and services that we offer on behalf of our clients and carrier partners;•system failures or interruptions in the operation of our customer acquisition websites; and•changes in the mix of consumers who are referred to us through our direct marketing partners, online advertising subscriber acquisition channels and other marketing channels.Even if the rate at which we convert visitors to customers or subscribers declines, the marketing and lead generation costs that have already been incurred are unlikely to decline correspondingly. Therefore, such a decline in conversion rate of consumers visiting our customer acquisition websites is likely to result in reduced revenue and a further reduced margin.We face substantial competition in our business.The market in which we compete, which is comprised of the customer acquisition, customer engagement and customer experience management market segments, is highly fragmented and continuously evolving. We face competition from a variety of companies, including some of our own clients, which operate in distinct segments 22Table of Contentsof the customer lifecycle journey. These segments are very competitive, and we expect competition to remain intense from a number of sources in the future. We believe that some of the most significant competitive factors in the markets in which we operate are service quality, value-added service offerings, industry experience, advanced technological capabilities, global coverage, reliability, scalability, security and price. The trend toward near- and offshore outsourcing, international expansion by foreign and domestic competitors and continued technological changes may result in new and different competitors entering our markets. These competitors may include entrants from the communications, software and data networking industries or entrants in geographical locations with lower costs than those in which we operate.Some of our existing and future competitors have or will have greater financial, human and other resources, longer operating histories, greater technological expertise and more established relationships in the industries that we currently serve or may serve in the future. In addition, some of our competitors may enter into strategic or commercial relationships among themselves or with larger, more established companies in order to increase their ability to address customer needs and reduce operating costs or enter into similar arrangements with potential clients. Further, trends of consolidation in certain of our industries and among competitors may result in new competitors with greater scale, a broader footprint, better technologies and price efficiencies attractive to our clients. Further, trends of consolidation in our certain industries and among competitors may result in new competitors with greater scale, a broader footprint, better technologies and price efficiencies attractive to our clients. Increased competition, our inability to compete successfully, pricing pressures or loss of market share could result in reduced operating profit margins and diminished financial performance.We may acquire other companies in pursuit of growth, which may divert our management’s attention, result in dilution to our shareholders, be unsuccessful, and consume resources that are necessary to sustain our business.Mergers or acquisitions may disrupt our business, divert our resources and require significant management attention that would otherwise be available for the development of our business. Negotiating these transactions can be time-consuming, difficult and expensive, and our ability to complete these transactions may be subject to conditions or approvals that are beyond our control, including anti-takeover and antitrust laws in various jurisdictions. Consequently, these transactions, even if undertaken and announced, may not close or be successful. An acquisition, investment or new business relationship may result in unforeseen operating difficulties and expenditures. In particular, we may encounter difficulties assimilating or integrating the businesses, technologies, services, products, personnel or operations of acquired companies, particularly if the key personnel of the acquired company choose not to work for us, the acquired company’s technology is not easily compatible with ours or we have difficulty retaining the customers of any acquired business due to changes in management or otherwise. Moreover, the anticipated benefits of any merger, acquisition, investment or similar partnership may not be realized or we may be exposed to unknown liabilities, including litigation against the companies we may acquire. For one or more of those transactions, we may:•issue additional equity securities that would dilute our shareholders;•use cash that we may need in the future to operate our business;•incur debt on terms unfavorable to us or that we are unable to repay or that may place burdensome restrictions on our operations or cash flows;•incur large charges or substantial liabilities; or•become subject to adverse tax consequences, or substantial depreciation or amortization, deferred compensation or other acquisition related accounting charges.If we fail to adequately protect our intellectual property and proprietary information in the United States and abroad, our competitive position could be impaired, and we may lose valuable assets, experience reduced revenues and incur costly litigation to protect our rights.We believe that our success is dependent, in part, upon protecting our intellectual property and proprietary information. We rely on a combination of intellectual property registrations, trade secrets and contractual restrictions to establish and protect our intellectual property. However, the steps we take to protect our intellectual property may provide only limited protection and may not now or in the future provide us with a competitive advantage. We may not be able to protect our intellectual property if we are unable to enforce our rights or if we do not detect unauthorized use of our intellectual property. Any of our intellectual property rights may be challenged by others or invalidated through administrative process or litigation. Furthermore, legal 23Table of Contentsstandards relating to the validity, enforceability and scope of protection of intellectual property rights are uncertain. Despite our precautions, it may be possible for unauthorized third parties to copy our technology and use information that we regard as proprietary to create products and services that compete with our solutions. In addition, the laws of some countries do not protect proprietary rights to the same extent as the laws of the United States.No assurance can be given that confidentiality, invention assignment, and related agreements entered into by the Company will be effective in controlling access to and the distribution of our proprietary information. Further, such agreements may not prevent potential competitors from independently developing technologies that are substantially equivalent or superior to ours, in which case we would not be able to assert trade secret rights.We may be required to spend significant resources to monitor and protect our intellectual property rights. Litigation may be necessary in the future to enforce our intellectual property rights and to protect our trade secrets. Such litigation could be costly, time consuming and distracting to management and could result in the impairment or loss of portions of our intellectual property. Furthermore, our efforts to enforce our intellectual property rights may be met with defenses, counterclaims and countersuits attacking the eligibility, validity and enforceability of our intellectual property rights. Our inability to protect our proprietary technology against unauthorized copying or use, as well as any costly litigation, could make it more expensive for us to do business and adversely affect our operating results by delaying further sales or the implementation of our technologies, impairing the functionality of our platform and solutions, delaying introductions of new features or applications or injuring our reputation.Financial, Accounting, and Economic RisksIf we are unable to fund our working capital requirements and new investments, we could be adversely affected.Our business is characterized by high working capital requirements and the need to make new investments in operating sites and employee resources to meet the requirements of our clients. Similar to our competitors in this industry, we incur significant start-up costs related to investments in infrastructure to provide our solutions and the hiring and training of employees, such expenses historically being incurred before revenues are generated.We are exposed to adverse changes in our clients’ payment policies. If our key clients implement policies which extend the payment terms of our invoices, our working capital levels could be adversely affected, and our financing costs may increase. We would be adversely affected if we are unable to fund our working capital requirements, access financing at competitive rates or make investments to meet the expanding business of our existing and potential new clients.Our operating results may fluctuate from quarter to quarter due to various factors.Our operating results may vary significantly from one quarter to the next and our business may be impacted by factors such as client loss, the timing of new contracts and of new product or service offerings, termination of existing contracts, variations in the volume of business from clients resulting from changes in our clients’ operations, the business decisions of our clients regarding the use of our solutions, start-up costs, delays or difficulties in expanding our operating facilities and infrastructure, delays or difficulties in recruiting, changes to our revenue mix or to our pricing structure or that of our competitors, inaccurate estimates of resources and time required to complete ongoing projects, currency fluctuation and seasonal changes in the operations of our clients. The financial benefit of gaining a new client may not be recognized at the intended time due to delays in the implementation of our solutions or negatively impacted due to an increase in the start-up costs.Based on our experience, the BPO industry experiences increased volumes during the fourth calendar quarter of the year. These seasonal effects also cause differences in revenues and income among the various quarters of any financial year, which means that the individual quarters of a year should not be directly compared with each other or used to predict annual financial results.The sales cycle for our solutions, which may extend up to two years, and the internal budget and approval processes of our prospective clients, make it difficult to predict the timing of new client engagements.24Table of ContentsGeneral economic uncertainty in global markets and unfavorable global economic conditions including inflation, rising interest rates, recession, and foreign exchange fluctuations, could adversely affect us.Our results of operations may vary based on the impact of changes in the global economy on our clients. Global economic conditions, including inflation, rising interest rates, recession, and foreign exchange fluctuations, affect us, our clients’ businesses, and the markets in which we and they operate. While it is often difficult to predict the impact of general global economic conditions on our business, unfavorable global economic conditions, such as those that occurred during the global financial crisis and economic downturn in 2008 and more recently, during and immediately after the COVID-19 pandemic (the “Pandemic”), could adversely affect the demand for some of our clients’ products and services and, in turn, could cause a decline in the demand for our solutions. While it is often difficult to predict the impact of general economic conditions on our business, unfavorable economic conditions, such as those that occurred during the global financial crisis and economic downturn in 2008 and more recently, during and immediately after the COVID-19 pandemic (the “Pandemic”), could adversely affect the demand for some of our clients’ products and services and, in turn, could cause a decline in the demand for our solutions. Additionally, several of our clients, particularly in the Telecommunication and Technology verticals, have experienced substantial price competition. Additionally, several of our clients, particularly in the telecommunications and technology industries, have experienced substantial price competition. As a result, we face increasing price pressure from such clients, which, if continued, could negatively affect our operating and financial performance. Our business and future growth depend largely on continued demand for our solutions from clients based in the United States.Our business and future growth depend largely on continued demand for our solutions from clients based in the United States. We derived 97% of our revenue from customers based in the United States during the fiscal year ended June 30, 2024. In addition, a significant portion of our clients are concentrated in the Retail and E-commerce industry. For the fiscal year ended June 30, 2024, 25.4% of our revenue was derived from clients in the Retail & E-commerce vertical, 15.2% of our revenue was derived from clients in the Retail and E-commerce industry, 16. 0% of our revenue was derived from clients in the Telecommunication vertical, 8.3% of our revenue was derived from clients in the telecommunications industry, 9. 4% of our revenue was derived from clients in the Technology vertical, and 4.0% of our revenue was derived from clients in the technology industry, and 4. 3% of our revenue was derived from clients in the Cable vertical.1% of our revenue was derived from clients in the cable industry. For these reasons, among others, the occurrence or persistence of unfavorable economic conditions could adversely affect our business, results of operations, financial condition and prospects.See also the risk factor entitled Fluctuations against the U.S. dollar in the local currencies in the countries in which we operate could have a material effect on our results of operations.The inability or unwillingness of clients that represent a large portion of our accounts receivable balance to pay such balances in a timely fashion could adversely affect our business.We often carry significant accounts receivable balances from a limited number of clients that generate a large portion of our revenues. A client may become unable or unwilling to pay its balance in a timely fashion due to, for example, a general economic slowdown, economic weakness in its industry, the financial insolvency of its business or a dispute as to the services provided. A client may become unable or unwilling to pay its balance in a timely fashion due to a general economic slowdown, economic weakness in its industry or the financial insolvency of its business. Our efforts to monitor our accounts receivable balances may not successfully identify or predict a client’s financial inability or unwillingness, for any reason, to pay a large accounts receivable balance, which would adversely impact our financial condition and cash flow and could adversely impact our ability to draw upon our receivables-backed lines of credit.Our existing debt covenants may affect our flexibility in operating, developing and expanding our business. Our main financing arrangement contains certain covenants and restrictions including limits on our ability and our subsidiaries’ ability to incur additional debt, pay dividends and make certain investments. Our main financing arrangement contains certain covenants and restrictions including limits on our ability and our subsidiaries’ ability to incur additional debt, pay dividends and make certain investments. Complying with these covenants may cause us to take actions that make it more difficult to successfully execute our business strategy and we may face competition from companies not subject to such restrictions. Moreover, our failure to comply with these covenants could result in an event of default or refusal by our creditors to renew certain of our loans which may have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operation and prospects. If our goodwill or intangible assets become impaired, we could be required to record a significant charge to earnings.We had goodwill and other intangible assets totaling $12.5 million as of June 30, 2024. We review our goodwill and indefinite-lived intangible assets for impairment at least annually or more frequently if events or changes in circumstances indicate the carrying value may not be recoverable. Factors that may be considered a change in circumstances indicating that the carrying value of our goodwill or indefinite-lived intangible assets may not be recoverable include declines in stock price, market capitalization or cash flows and slower growth rates in our industry. We could be required to record a significant charge to earnings in our financial statements during the 25Table of Contentsperiod in which any impairment of our goodwill or indefinite-lived intangible assets were determined. We could be required to record a significant charge to earnings in our financial statements during the period in which any impairment of our goodwill or indefinite-lived intangible assets were determined. In the year ended June 30, 2024, we did not recognize any impairment of goodwill or indefinite-lived intangible assets. Our ability to use our net operating loss carry forwards may be subject to limitation.As of June 30, 2024, for income tax purposes, we had approximately $16.As of June 30, 2023, for income tax purposes, we had approximately $21 million in estimated U. 7 million in estimated U.S. state and international net operating loss carry forwards that will begin to expire between 2023 and 2039. and international net operating loss carry forwards that will begin to expire between 2023 and 2039. The timing and manner in which we may utilize net operating losses may be limited by a lack of future taxable income which could adversely affect our ability to utilize our net operating losses before they expire. In general, net operating losses in one country cannot be used to offset income in any other country and net operating losses in one state cannot be used to offset income in any other state. Accordingly, we may be subject to tax in certain jurisdictions even if we have unused net operating losses in other jurisdictions. Furthermore, each jurisdiction in which we operate may have its own limitations on our ability to utilize net operating losses or tax credit carryovers generated in that jurisdiction. These limitations may increase our U.S. state or foreign income tax liability. federal, state or foreign income tax liability. Operational RiskOur business relies heavily on technology, telephone and computer systems as well as third-party telecommunications providers, which subjects us to various uncertainties.Operations RiskOur business relies heavily on technology, telephone and computer systems as well as third-party telecommunications providers, which subjects us to various uncertainties. We rely heavily on sophisticated and specialized communications and computer technology coupled with third-party telecommunications and bandwidth providers to provide high-quality and reliable real-time solutions on behalf of our clients through our delivery centers. In our Customer Acquisition solution, the majority of our sales are conducted via sales queues in our contact centers. In both our Customer Acquisition solution and our Customer Engagement solution, we are typically required to record and maintain recordings of telephonic interactions with customers. We rely on telephone, call recording, customer relationship management and other systems and technology in our contact center operations. Our operations, therefore, depend on the proper functioning of our equipment and systems, including telephone, hardware and software. Third-party suppliers provide most of our systems, hardware and software, while our development teams build some in-house. We also rely on the telecommunications and data services provided by local communication companies in the countries in which we operate as well as domestic and international long distance service providers. In addition, in some areas of our business, we depend upon the quality and reliability of the services and products of our clients which we help sell to their end customers. If the solutions we provide to our clients experience technical difficulties or quality issues, if key technology systems and facilities are damaged or compromised, or there are any disruptions in the delivery of our services, we may have a harder time selling services and products to end customers and may be required to make unexpected investments in new systems or technology. Prolonged disruption of our solutions, even if due to events beyond our control, could also entitle our clients to terminate their contracts with us or result in other brand and reputational damages.The integration of AI and generative AI technology into our offerings, including our use of third-party providers, could result in operational and reputational harm. We are increasingly integrating AI into our solutions, including the use of third-party provider offerings, to better position ourselves to offer our clients the most robust set of solutions, while also implementing appropriate governance and controls for its use. AI is still emerging and likely to be an essential part of our future service offerings. AI is likely to be an essential part of our future service offerings. The development, adoption, and use of generative AI technologies is still in their infancy, and inadequate AI development or deployment practices by us or our third-party developers or vendors could lead to unintended consequences. While AI offers significant benefits, it also presents risks and challenges to our business. While AI offers significant benefits, it also presents risks and challenges to our business. Some of the recently brought to market third-party AI solutions have the potential of replacing some of our lower tier service offerings. Some of the recently brought to market third-party AI solutions have the potential of replacing some of our lower tier service offerings which puts pressure on the ‘speed to market’ for our efforts. At the same time, AI solutions are evolving and are not infallible, and issues with data sourcing, technology integration, program bias in decision-making algorithms, flawed algorithms based on insufficient or biased data sets, security challenges and the protection of personal information and privacy could impair our successful and effective adoption of this technology. At the same time, AI solutions are evolving and are not infallible, and issues with data sourcing, technology integration, program bias into decision-making algorithms, security challenges and the protection of personal information and privacy could impair our successful and timely adoption of this technology. Additionally, any latency, disruption, or failure in these AI systems or infrastructure could cause delays or errors in our offerings. 26Table of ContentsWe are also dependent, in part, on our third-party provider offerings and their ability to effectively and quickly integrate their AI into our solutions. We may not have full control over the quality and performance of third-party providers, and therefore, any unexpected deficiencies or problems arising from these third-party providers may cause significant interruptions in the operation of our business. If our AI solutions or those of our third-party providers are deployed before they are perfected and the output from these AI solutions is deemed by clients to be questionable or inaccurate, our brand and reputation may be harmed and our results of operations may be impacted. If our AI solutions are deployed before they are perfected and the output from our AI solutions is deemed by clients to be questionable or inaccurate, our brand and reputation may be harmed and our results of operations may be impacted. On the other hand, if we are too slow to market and are unable to timely and effectively integrate and deploy AI in our offerings, we could fall behind our competitors and our results of operations and future prospects may also be impacted. On the other hand, if we are too slow to market and are unable to timely and effectively integrate and deploy AI in our offerings, we would fall behind our competitors and our results of operations and future prospects may also be impacted. Developing, testing, and deploying resource-intensive AI systems may require additional investment and increase our costs. Our business is heavily dependent upon our international operations, particularly in the Philippines, Jamaica, Pakistan and Nicaragua and any disruption to those operations would adversely affect us.26Table of ContentsOur business is heavily dependent upon our international operations, particularly in the Philippines, Jamaica, Pakistan and Nicaragua and any disruption to those operations would adversely affect us. Our international operations, particularly in the Philippines, Jamaica, Pakistan and Nicaragua, and our ability to maintain our offshore facilities in those jurisdictions is an essential component of our business model, as the labor costs in certain of those jurisdictions are substantially lower than the cost of comparable labor in the United States and other developed countries, which allows us to competitively price our solutions. Our competitive advantage will be greatly diminished and may disappear altogether as a result of a number of factors, including the failure of power grids in certain of the countries in which we operate, which are subject to frequent outages, and those listed in the risk factors entitled:•“Natural events, health epidemics, geopolitical conditions, including developing or ongoing conflicts, widespread civil unrest, terrorist attacks and other acts of violence involving any of the countries in which we or our clients have operations could adversely affect our operations and client confidence. Our competitive advantage will be greatly diminished and may disappear altogether as a result of a number of factors, including the failure of power grids in certain of the countries in which we operate, which are subject to frequent outages, and those listed in the risk factors titled:•“Natural events, health epidemics (including the Pandemic), wars, widespread civil unrest, terrorist attacks and other acts of violence involving any of the countries in which we or our clients have operations could adversely affect our operations and client confidence”;•“Fluctuations against the U. ”;•“Fluctuations against the U. Fluctuations against the U. S. dollar in the local currencies in the countries in which we operate could have a material effect on our results of operations.”;•“Our global operations expose us to numerous legal and regulatory requirements.”; and•“We rely on the attraction, retention, and motivation of qualified senior management, employees, and agents to support our success and operations.”We rely on the attraction, retention, and motivation of qualified senior management, employees, and agents to support our success and operations.Our business depends to a significant extent on our ability to attract, hire, train and retain our senior management, large numbers of trained agents and other employees, such as technologists, and other key personnel who enable us to keep pace with growing demands for outsourcing, evolving industry standards, new technology applications and changing client preferences. If we fail to maintain good relations with our employees, we could suffer a strike or other significant work stoppage or other form of industrial action, which could harm us. We may not be able to retain our key personnel or recruit skilled personnel with appropriate qualifications and experience, or to attract, train, and integrate personnel with necessary experience and skills. The outsourcing industry experiences high employee turnover. We operate globally and are subject to varied and changing employment and immigration laws. In each of the industries in which we participate, there is competition for experienced senior management and personnel with industry-specific expertise. We could be negatively impacted if there is increased competition for these employees, particularly in tight labor markets, if there are impactful changes in employment, immigration, or other applicable laws, or if we lose key members of our personnel, particularly to competitors. We could be harmed if there is increased competition for these employees, particularly in tight labor markets, if there are impactful changes in employment, immigration, or other applicable laws, or if we lose key members of our personnel, particularly to competitors. Additionally, a significant increase in the turnover rate among trained employees could increase our costs and decrease our operating profit margins. We may also need to increase employee compensation more than in previous periods to remain competitive in attracting the quantity and quality of employees that our business requires. For the fiscal year ended June 30, 2024, payroll and related costs and share-based compensation expense accounted for $338 million, or 67%, of our revenue. For the fiscal year ended June 30, 2023, payroll and related costs and share-based compensation expense accounted for $350. Employee benefits expenses in each of the countries in which we operate are a function of the country’s economic growth, level of employment and overall competition for qualified employees in the country. In most of the geographies in which we operate, we have experienced increasing labor costs due to increased demand and greater competition for qualified employees.27Table of ContentsNatural events, health epidemics, geopolitical conditions, including developing or ongoing conflicts, widespread civil unrest, terrorist attacks and other acts of violence involving any of the countries in which we or our clients have operations could adversely affect our operations and client confidence.Natural events (such as floods and earthquakes), health epidemics (including the Pandemic), geopolitical conditions, including developing or ongoing conflicts, widespread civil unrest, terrorist attacks and other acts of violence could result in significant worker absenteeism, increased attrition rates, lower asset utilization rates, voluntary or mandatory closure of our facilities, our inability to meet dynamic employee health and safety requirements, our inability to meet contractual service levels for our clients, our inability to procure essential supplies, travel restrictions on our employees, and other disruptions to our business.Natural events (such as floods and earthquakes), health epidemics (including the Pandemic), wars, widespread civil unrest, terrorist attacks and other acts of violence could result in significant worker absenteeism, increased attrition rates, lower asset utilization rates, voluntary or mandatory closure of our facilities, our inability to meet dynamic employee health and safety requirements, our inability to meet contractual service levels for our clients, our inability to procure essential supplies, travel restrictions on our employees, and other disruptions to our business. For example, a substantial portion of our operations are conducted in the Philippines, Jamaica, Pakistan, and Nicaragua, which have experienced and may continue to face political instability and unrest, natural disasters, acts of terrorism, crime, or similar risks. For example, a substantial portion of operations are conducted in the Philippines, Jamaica, Pakistan, and Nicaragua, which have experienced and may continue to face political instability and unrest, natural disasters, acts of terrorism, crime, or similar risks. In addition, these events could adversely affect global economies, financial markets and our clients’ levels of business activity. In addition, these events could adversely affect global 27Table of Contentseconomies, financial markets and our clients’ levels of business activity. Any of these events, their consequences or the costs related to mitigation or remediation could impact us. Insurance may not be sufficient to guarantee costs of repairing the damage caused by such disruptive events and such events may not be covered under our insurance policies. Fluctuations against the U.S. dollar in the local currencies in the countries in which we operate could have a material effect on our results of operations.During the fiscal year ended June 30, 2024, 3% of our revenue was generated in currencies other than the U.S. dollar. A portion of our costs and expenses that were incurred outside of the United States were paid in foreign currencies, mostly the local currencies of the Philippines, Jamaica, and Pakistan. A portion of our costs and expenses that were incurred outside of the United States were paid for in foreign currencies, mostly the local currencies of the Philippines, Jamaica, and Pakistan. During the year ended June 30, 2024, out of our total payroll and related costs, 30.9% were incurred in the Philippines Peso, 15.5% were incurred in the Jamaican Dollar and 8.7% were incurred in the Pakistani Rupee.2% were incurred in Pakistani Rupee. To a lesser extent, we also have exposures to the Nicaraguan Cordoba, Great British Pound, Canadian Dollar, and Honduran Lempira. Because our financial statements are presented, and revenues are primarily generated, in U.S. dollars, whereas some portion of the cost is incurred in foreign currencies, any significant unhedged fluctuations in the currency exchange rates between the U.S. dollar and the currencies of countries in which we incur costs in local currencies will affect our results of operations and financial statements. This may also affect the comparability of our financial results from period to period, as we convert our subsidiaries’ statements of financial position into U.S. dollars from local currencies at the period-end exchange rate, and income and cash flow statements at average exchange rates for the year. See “Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk” for more information.As we increase our revenues from non-U.S. locations and expand our solution delivery or back office footprint to other international locations, this effect may be magnified. locations or expand our solution delivery or back office footprint to other international locations, this effect may be magnified. We engage in hedging strategies in an effort to reduce the adverse impact of fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates, which may not be successful. See “Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk” for more information.We depend upon internet search engines to attract a significant portion of the consumers who visit our customer acquisition websites, and we would be negatively impacted if we are unable to advertise on search engines on a cost-effective basis.We depend upon internet search engines to attract a significant portion of the consumers who visit our customer acquisition websites, and we would be harmed if we are unable to advertise on search engines on a cost-effective basis. We maintain a number of different customer acquisition websites to market our clients’ offerings to consumers in their target customer segments. Such client service offerings include cable, internet and paid television services. We derive a significant portion of our customer acquisition website traffic from consumers who search products or services using Internet search engines, such as Google and Bing. A critical factor in attracting consumers to our customer acquisition websites is whether our clients’ offerings are prominently displayed in response to an internet search relating to specific products or services that we market. Search engines typically provide two types of search results: unpaid (natural) listings and paid advertisements. We rely on both types to attract consumers to our customer acquisition websites.Unpaid search result listings are determined and displayed in accordance with a set of formulas or algorithms developed by the particular internet search engine. The algorithms determine the order of the listing of results in response to the consumer’s internet search. From time to time, search engines revise these algorithms. In some instances, these modifications have caused our customer acquisition websites to be listed less prominently in unpaid search results, which has resulted in decreased traffic to these websites. Our customer 28Table of Contentsacquisition websites may also become listed less prominently in unpaid search results for other reasons, such as search engine technical difficulties, search engine technical changes and changes we decide to make to our websites. Our customer acquisition websites may also become listed less prominently in unpaid search results for other reasons, such as search engine technical difficulties, search engine technical changes and changes we decide to make to our websites. In addition, search engines have deemed the practices of some companies to be inconsistent with search engine guidelines and decided not to list their websites in search result listings at all. If we are listed less prominently in search result listings for any reason, the traffic to our customer acquisition websites would likely decline. If we decide to attempt to replace this traffic, we may be required to increase our marketing expenditures.We also purchase paid advertisements on search engines to attract users to our customer acquisition websites. We typically pay a search engine for prominent placement of our name and website when certain specific terms are searched on the search engine, regardless of the unpaid search result listings. In some circumstances, the prominence of the placement of our name and website is determined by a combination of factors, including the amount we are willing to pay and algorithms designed to determine the relevance of our paid advertisement to a particular search term. In some circumstances, the prominence of the placement of our name and website is determined by a combination of factors, including the 28Table of Contentsamount we are willing to pay and algorithms designed to determine the relevance of our paid advertisement to a particular search term. We bid against our competitors and others for the display of these paid search engine advertisements. If there is increased competition for the display of paid advertisements in response to search terms related to our business, our advertising expenses could rise significantly or we could reduce or discontinue our paid search advertisements, either of which could harm our business, operating results and financial condition.In addition to marketing through internet search engines, we frequently enter into contractual marketing relationships with other online and offline businesses that promote us to their customers. These marketing partners include financial and online service companies, affiliate programs and online advertisers and content providers.Many factors influence the success of our relationship with our marketing partners, including:•the continued positive market presence, reputation and growth of the marketing partner;•the effectiveness of the marketing partner in marketing our websites and services;•the interest of the marketing partner’s customers in the products and services that we offer on our customer acquisition websites;•the contractual terms we negotiate with the marketing partner, including the marketing fee we agree to pay a marketing partner;•the percentage of the marketing partner’s customers that purchase products or services through our customer acquisition websites;•the ability of a marketing partner to maintain efficient and uninterrupted operation of its website; and•our ability to work with the marketing partner to implement website changes, launch marketing campaigns and pursue other initiatives necessary to maintain positive consumer experiences and acceptable traffic volumes.If we are unable to maintain successful relationships with our existing marketing partners or fail to establish successful relationships with new marketing partners, our business could be negatively impacted.If we are unable to maintain successful relationships with our existing marketing partners or fail to establish successful relationships with new marketing partners, we will be harmed. We may face difficulties as we expand our operations into countries in which we have no prior operating experience.We may expand our global operations to maintain an appropriate cost structure and meet our clients’ needs. This may involve expanding into countries other than those in which we currently operate and where we have less familiarity with local procedures. It may involve expanding into less developed countries, which may have less political, social or economic stability and less developed infrastructure and legal systems. As we expand our business into new countries, we may encounter economic, regulatory, personnel, technological and other difficulties that increase our expenses or delay our ability to start up our operations or become profitable in such countries. This may affect our relationships with our clients.If we expand our operations into new jurisdictions, we may be subject to increased operating costs, including higher employee compensation expenses in these new jurisdictions relative to our current operating costs.29Table of ContentsWe have entered into certain related-party transactions and may continue to rely on related parties for certain key development and support activities.We have entered into certain related-party transactions and may continue to rely on related parties for certain key development and support activities. We have entered into, and may continue to enter into, transactions with affiliates of The Resource Group Limited (“TRGI”) for corporate and operational services. Such transactions may not have been entered into on an arm’s-length basis, and we may have achieved more favorable terms because such transactions were entered into with our related parties. We rely on, and will continue to rely on, our related parties to maintain these services. If the pricing for these services changes, or if our related parties cease to provide these services, including by terminating agreements with us, we may be unable to obtain replacements for these services on the same terms without disruption to our business. This could have a material effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.Our facilities operate on leasehold property, and the inability to renew our leases on commercially acceptable terms or at all may adversely affect our results of operations.29Table of ContentsOur facilities operate on leasehold property, and our inability to renew our leases on commercially acceptable terms or at all may adversely affect our results of operations. Our facilities operate solely on leasehold property. Our leases are subject to renewal, and we may be unable to renew such leases on commercially acceptable terms or at all. Our inability to renew our leases, or a renewal of our leases with a rental rate higher than the prevailing rate under the applicable lease prior to expiration, may have an adverse impact on our operations, including disrupting our operations or increasing our cost of operations. In addition, in the event of non-renewal of our leases, we may be unable to locate suitable replacement properties for our facilities or we may experience delays in relocation that could lead to a disruption in our operations. Any disruption in our operations could adversely affect us.Legal and Regulatory RisksOur global operations and customers expose us to numerous legal and regulatory requirements.We operate in and provide solutions to our clients’ customers in multiple countries and continents around the world and in varied industries, including highly-regulated ones. We also have and may seek to expand operations in emerging market jurisdictions where legal systems may be less developed or familiar to us. As a result, we are subject to numerous, and sometimes conflicting, legal regimes on matters as diverse as outsourcing, anti-corruption, content requirements, trade restrictions and similar controls, tariffs, taxation, sanctions, export control, anti-corruption, anti-bribery, employment, immigration, internal and disclosure control obligations, securities regulation, anti-competition, data security, privacy, taxation, and labor protection and relations. We may be particularly impacted by legal regimes regarding the following: •Data Privacy Laws. We and our customers may be subject to privacy- and data protection-related laws and regulations that impose obligations in connection with the collection, use, storage, transfer, dissemination, security, and/or other processing (“Processing”) of personal information (such personal information collectively with all information defined or described by applicable law as “personal data,” “personally identifiable information,” “PII” or any similar term, is referred to as personal information), data, financial data, health data or other similar data. In the United States, the privacy and data protection rules and regulations to which we may be subject include those promulgated under the authority of the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”), state regulators, and regulator enforcement positions and expectations. In the United States, the privacy and data protection rules and regulations to which we may be subject include those promulgated under the authority of the FTC, state regulators, and regulator enforcement positions and expectations. Similarly, many foreign countries and governmental bodies, including the EU member states and the United Kingdom, have laws and regulations concerning the processing of personal information obtained from their residents and individuals located in the EU or UK or by businesses operating within their jurisdiction, which are often more restrictive and apply more broadly than those in the United States. We also are—or would be—subject to data protection and information security laws in other jurisdictions in which we operate, including in the Philippines and Pakistan. Laws in these and other countries are continuing to evolve. Any actual or perceived failure to safeguard personal information or other information in our possession or control, appropriately destroy or redact such data, or otherwise comply with these regulations may subject us to litigation, regulatory investigations, or enforcement actions, thus causing damage to our reputation and adversely affect our ability to attract or retain customers.•Telecommunications Laws. Working with clients in the Telecommunication, Technology and Cable verticals means that we may process or come into possession of data that must be treated with special 30Table of Contentscare. Working with clients in the telecommunications, technology and cable industries means that we may process or come into possession of data that must be treated with special care. For example, in the United States, telecommunications providers are subject to rules on the use and sharing of Customer Proprietary Network Information (“CPNI”). The Telecommunications Act of 1996 limits the uses to which such information may be put, and the parties with whom it may be shared, absent customer permission. It also requires that CPNI be adequately safeguarded. Two U.S. federal agencies, the FTC and the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”), and various states have enacted laws including, at the federal level, the Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991, that restrict the placing of certain telephone calls and texts to residential and wireless telephone subscribers by means of automatic telephone dialing systems, prerecorded or artificial voice messages and fax machines. federal agencies, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) and the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”), and various states have enacted laws including, at the federal level, the Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991, that restrict the placing of certain telephone calls and texts to residential and wireless telephone subscribers by means of automatic telephone dialing systems, prerecorded or artificial voice messages and fax machines. Internationally, we are also subject to similar laws imposing limitations on marketing calls to wireline and wireless numbers and compliance with do not call rules. These laws require companies to institute processes and safeguards to comply with these restrictions. Some of these laws can be enforced by the FTC, FCC, state attorney generals, foreign regulators or private party litigants. •Import and Export Laws. Various countries regulate the import and export of certain encryption and other technology, including import and export permitting and licensing requirements, and have enacted laws that could limit our ability to distribute our products or could limit our users’ ability to access our products in those countries. Changes in our products, or future changes in export and import regulations may prevent our users with international operations from utilizing our products globally or, in some cases, prevent the export or import of our products to certain countries, governments, or persons altogether. Any change in export or import regulations, economic sanctions, or related legislation, or change in the countries, governments, persons, or technologies targeted by such regulations, could result in decreased use of our products by, or in our decreased ability to export or sell products to, existing or potential users with international operations. •Anti-Corruption Laws. In many parts of the world, including countries in which we operate or seek to expand, practices in the local business community may not conform to international business standards and could violate anti-corruption laws or regulations, including the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, the U.K. Bribery Act 2010 and the Bermuda Bribery Act of 2016. Our employees, subcontractors, agents and other third parties with which we associate could take actions that violate our policies or procedures designed to promote legal and regulatory compliance or applicable anti-corruption laws or regulations. As we continue our international business, we may also engage with distributors and third-party intermediaries to market our solutions and to obtain necessary permits, licenses, and other regulatory approvals. In addition, we or our third-party intermediaries may have direct or indirect interactions with officials and employees of government agencies or state-owned or affiliated entities. U.S. laws can often differ in various respects from the laws of the Philippines, Jamaica, Pakistan, and Nicaragua, where we have significant operations, and other jurisdictions where we operate or may seek to expand. The enforcement, requirements, and interpretations of these laws and regulations may change, and new laws, regulations, or other legal obligations or industry standards may arise. Compliance with diverse legal requirements is costly, time-consuming and requires significant resources. Compliance may also impair our competitiveness to the extent other jurisdictions have less or varied requirements for operation. Violations of one or more of these laws or regulations in the conduct of our business or in the performance of our obligations to our clients, including through third parties, could result in significant fines or penalties, civil enforcement actions, criminal prosecution or sanctions against us or our officers, disgorgement of profit, prohibitions on doing business, suspension or disqualification from work, including U.S. federal contracting, restrictions on the sale or supply of certain products and services, liability for significant monetary damages, unfavorable publicity and other reputational damage, restrictions on our ability to process information and allegations by our clients that we have not performed our contractual obligations. We can also be held liable for the corrupt or other illegal activities of third-party intermediaries, our employees, representatives, contractors, partners and agents, even if we do not explicitly authorize such activities. Due to the varying degrees of development of the legal systems of the countries in which we operate, local laws might be insufficient to protect our rights. We cannot predict whether any material suits, claims, or investigations may arise in the future. Regardless of the outcome of any future actions, claims, or investigations, we may incur substantial defense costs and such actions may cause a diversion of management time and attention. Also, it is possible that we may be required to pay substantial damages or settlement costs.31Table of ContentsUnauthorized or improper disclosure of personal information, breach of privacy, whether inadvertent or as the result of a cyber-attack or improperly by our employees, has resulted in liability and could harm us. See “Risk Factors - Unauthorized or improper disclosure of personal information, breach of privacy, whether inadvertent or as the result of a cyber-attack or improperly by our employees, has resulted in liability and could harm us. Our business depends significantly upon technology infrastructure, telephone systems, data and other equipment and systems. Internal or external attacks on any of those could disrupt the normal operations of our facilities and impede our ability to provide critical solutions to our clients, thereby subjecting us to liability under our contracts. In addition, our business involves the use, storage, and transmission of information about our employees, our clients, and customers of our clients in connection with our solutions such as personal information of the customers of our clients. Our security controls over our systems, as well as other security practices we follow, may not in the future prevent the improper access to or disclosure of personal information or proprietary information. Such incidents or disclosure could harm our reputation and subject us to significant liability under our client contracts and laws that protect personal information, resulting in increased costs or loss of revenue. Such incidents or disclosure could harm our reputation and subject us to significant