This annual report contains forward-looking statements, within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, that involve risks and uncertainties. Forward-looking statements provide current expectations of future events based on certain assumptions and include any statement that does not directly relate to any historical or current fact. These statements are inherently uncertain, and actual events could differ materially from our predictions. Forward-looking statements can also be identified by words such as "future," "anticipates," "believes," "estimates," "expects," "intends," "plans," "predicts," "will," "would," "could," "can," "may," and similar terms. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and the Company's actual results may differ significantly from the results discussed in the forward-looking statements. Important factors that could cause actual events to vary from our predictions include those discussed in this annual report under the heading "Risk Factors." We assume no obligation to update our forward-looking statements to reflect new information or developments. We urge readers to review carefully the risk factors described in this annual report and in the other documents that we file with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"). You can read these documents at www.sec.gov.

Our principal internet address is www.crai.com. Our website provides a link to a third-party website through which our annual, quarterly, and current reports, and amendments to those reports, are available free of charge. We believe these reports are made available as soon as reasonably practicable after we electronically file them with, or furnish them to, the SEC. We do not maintain or provide any information directly to the third-party website, and we do not check its accuracy.

Our website also includes information about our corporate governance practices. The Investor Relations page of our website provides a link to a web page where you can obtain a copy of our code of business conduct and ethics applicable to our principal executive officer, principal financial officer, and principal accounting officer. We intend to make required disclosures of amendments to our code of business conduct and ethics, or waivers of a provision of our code of business conduct and ethics, on the Governance Documents & Reports page linked from the Investor Relations page of our website.

CRA International, Inc. ("CRA", "the Company", "us", "we", or "our") was incorporated as a Massachusetts corporation in 1965. We are a leading global consulting firm specializing in providing economic, financial and management consulting services. We advise clients on economic and financial matters pertaining to litigation and regulatory proceedings, and guide corporations through critical business strategy and performance-related issues. Since 1965, we have been engaged by clients for our unique combination of functional expertise and industry knowledge, and for our objective solutions to complex problems. We combine economic and financial analysis with expertise in litigation and regulatory support, business strategy and planning, market and demand forecasting, and policy analysis. We are often retained in high-stakes matters, such as multibillion-dollar mergers and acquisitions, new product introductions, major strategy and capital investment decisions, and complex litigation, the outcomes of which often have significant consequences for the parties involved. These matters often require independent analysis and, as a result, the parties involved must rely on outside experts. Our analytical strength enables us to reach objective, factual conclusions that help clients make important business and policy decisions and resolve critical disputes. Clients turn to us because we can provide highly credentialed and experienced economic and finance experts to address critical, tough assignments, with high-stakes outcomes.

We offer consulting services in two broad areas: litigation, regulatory, and financial consulting and management consulting. We provide our consulting services primarily through our highly credentialed and experienced staff of employee consultants. Our employee consultants have backgrounds in a wide range of disciplines, including economics, business, corporate finance, materials sciences, accounting, and engineering. They combine outstanding intellectual acumen with practical experience and in-depth understanding of industries and markets. To enhance the expertise we provide to our clients, we maintain close working relationships with a select group of renowned academic and industry non-employee experts.

Our business is diversified across multiple dimensions, including service offerings and vertical industry coverage, as well as areas of functional expertise, client base, and geography. We believe this diversification reduces our dependence on any particular market, industry, or geographic area.

We provide consulting services to corporate clients and attorneys in a wide range of litigation and regulatory proceedings, providing high-quality research and analysis, expert testimony, and comprehensive support in litigation and regulatory proceedings in all areas of finance, accounting, economics, insurance, and forensic accounting and investigations. We also use our expertise in economics, finance, and business to offer law firms, businesses, and government agencies services related to class certification, damages analysis, expert reports and testimony, regulatory analysis, antitrust and competition matters, strategy development, forensic accounting, information security and privacy matters, labor and employment disputes, transfer pricing issues, valuation of tangible and intangible assets, intellectual property litigation and damages, risk management, and transaction support. In our management consulting services, we use our expertise in economics, finance, and business analysis to offer our clients such services as strategy development, performance improvement, corporate strategy and portfolio analysis, estimation of market demand, ESG and sustainability strategy and analysis, design and implementation of auction and competitive bidding, new product pricing strategies, valuation of intellectual property and other assets, assessment of competitors' actions, and analysis of new sources of supply. Our analytical expertise in advanced economic and financial methods is complemented by our in-depth expertise in specific industries, including communications and media; consumer products, health, and wellness; energy; entertainment and leisure; financial services; healthcare; life sciences; manufacturing and industrials; natural resources; retail and distribution; technology; and transportation.

We have completed thousands of engagements for clients around the world, including domestic and foreign companies; federal, state, and local domestic government agencies; governments of foreign countries; public and private utilities; and national and international trade associations. We also work with many of the world's leading law firms. We experience a high level of repeat business.

We deliver our services through an international network of coordinated offices. Headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, we have offices throughout the Americas, Europe, and Australia.

Businesses are operating in an increasingly complex economic, legal, and regulatory environment that create both challenges and opportunities. Companies across industry sectors are seeking new strategies appropriate for the current economic environment, as well as greater operational efficiencies. To accomplish these objectives, they gather, analyze, and use information wisely to assure that business decisions are well-informed. In addition, as markets have become global, companies have the opportunity to expand their presence throughout the world, which can expose them to increased competition and the uncertainties of foreign operations. Further, companies are increasingly relying on technological and business innovations to improve efficiency, thus increasing the importance of strategically analyzing their businesses and developing and protecting new technology. The increasing complexity and changing nature of the business environment are also forcing governments to modify their regulatory strategies. These constant changes in the regulatory environment and the evolving regulatory posture in the U.S. have led to frequent litigation and interaction with government agencies, as our clients attempt to interpret and react to the implications of this changing environment. Furthermore, as the general business and regulatory environment becomes more complex, corporate litigation has also become more complicated, protracted, expensive, and important to the parties involved.

As a result, companies rely on sophisticated economic and financial analysis to solve complex problems and improve decision-making. Economic and financial models provide the tools necessary to analyze a variety of issues confronting businesses, such as interpretation of sales data, effects of price changes, valuation of assets, assessment of competitors' activities, evaluation of new products, and analysis of supply limitations. Governments also rely on economic and finance theory to measure the effects of anticompetitive activity, evaluate mergers and acquisitions, change regulations, implement auctions to allocate resources, and establish transfer pricing rules. Finally, litigants and law firms are using economic and finance theory to help determine liability and to calculate damages in complex and high-stakes litigation. At times, companies and their counsel may require eDiscovery strategies for data preservation, collection, analysis, reporting, and delivery. As the need for complex economic and financial analysis becomes more widespread, companies and governments are turning to outside consulting firms, such as ours, for access to the independent and specialized expertise, experience, and prestige that are not available to them internally. In addition, companies' strategic, organizational, and operational problems have become more acute as a result of the economic environment, and companies are relying on management consultants for help in analyzing, addressing, and solving strategic business problems and performance-related issues involving market supply and demand dynamics, supply chain and sourcing, pricing, capital allocation, technology management, portfolio positioning, risk management, merger integration, and improving shareholder value.

Since 1965, we have been committed to providing sophisticated consulting services to our clients. We believe that the following factors have been critical to our success.

We offer consulting services in two broad areas: litigation, regulatory, and financial consulting and management consulting.

In our litigation, regulatory, and financial consulting practices, we typically work closely with law firms on behalf of one or more companies involved in litigation or regulatory proceedings in such areas as antitrust, damages, and labor and employment. Many of the lawsuits and regulatory proceedings in which we are involved are critical assignments with high-stakes outcomes, such as obtaining regulatory approval of a pending merger or analyzing possible damages awards in a class action case. The ability to formulate and effectively communicate powerful economic and financial arguments to courts and regulatory agencies is often critical to a successful outcome in litigation and regulatory proceedings. Our consultants combine analytical rigor with practical experience and in-depth understanding of industries and markets. Our analytical strength enables us to reach objective, factual conclusions that help our clients make important business and policy decisions and resolve critical disputes. Our consultants work with law firms, corporate counsel, and regulatory agencies to assist in developing the theory of the case and in preparing the testimony of expert witnesses from among our employees, our non-employee experts, and others in academia. In addition, our consultants provide general litigation support, including reviewing legal briefs and assisting in the appeals process.

The following is a summary of the areas of functional expertise that we offer in litigation, regulatory, and financial consulting engagements. We provide services, such as economic expertise, analyses, and expert testimony, in these areas:

Our management consulting practices offer a unique mix of industry and functional expertise to help companies address and solve their strategic, organizational, and operational business problems. We advise clients in a broad range of industries on how to succeed in uncertain, rapidly changing environments by generating growth, creating value, and enhancing shareholder wealth.

Additionally, we challenge clients to develop fresh approaches by sharing industry insights, focusing on facts, and questioning tradition. We support clients in business improvement implementation by setting priorities, focusing resources, and aligning operations, and we get results by helping clients make distinctive, substantial improvements in their organizations' performance.

The following is a summary of the areas of functional expertise that we offer in management consulting.

We believe our ability to combine expertise in advanced economic and financial methods with in-depth knowledge of particular industries is one of our key competitive strengths. By maintaining expertise in certain industries, we provide clients practical advice tailored to their specific markets. This industry expertise, which we developed over decades of providing sophisticated consulting services to a diverse group of clients in many industries, differentiates us from many of our competitors. We believe that we have developed a strong reputation and substantial name recognition within specific industries, which has led to repeat business and new engagements from clients in those markets. While we provide services to clients in a wide variety of industries, we have particular expertise in the following industries:

We have completed thousands of engagements for clients around the world, including domestic and foreign corporations; federal, state, and local domestic government agencies; governments of foreign countries; public and private utilities; accounting firms; and national and international trade associations. Frequently, we work with major law firms who approach us on behalf of their clients. While we have particular expertise in a number of industries, we provide services to a diverse group of clients in a broad range of industries. Our policy is to keep the identities of our clients confidential unless our work for the client is already publicly disclosed. Our clients come from a broad range of industries, with no single client accounting for more than 5% of our revenues in any of fiscal 2021,2022, fiscal 2020,2021, or fiscal 2019.2020.

We derived approximately 19% of consolidated revenues from fixed-price contracts in fiscal 2022, and approximately 24% of consolidated revenues from fixed-price contracts in each of fiscal 2021, fiscal 2020, and fiscal 2019.2020. These contracts are more common in our management consulting practices, and would likely grow in number with expansion of those practices.

As of January 1,December 31, 2022, we employed 861939 consultants, consisting of 140149 officers, 477496 other senior staff and 244294 junior staff. Approximately 77% of our senior staff have advanced degrees, with 42%43% of the advanced degrees being doctorate degrees, in addition to substantial management, technical, or industry expertise. We believe our financial results and reputation are directly related to the number and quality of our employee consultants.

We derive most of our revenues directly from the services provided by our employee consultants. Our employee consultants have backgrounds in many disciplines, including economics, business, corporate finance, accounting, materials sciences, life sciences, computer science, and engineering. We are highly selective in our hiring of consultants, recruiting primarily from a select group of leading universities and degree programs, industry, and government. We foster a culture where different ideas and perspectives are both welcomed and encouraged, and we strive to retain and promote diverse and dynamic talent. Our recruitment process evaluates an individual's experience, skills, and potential for growth, and is tailored to meet both the needs of the role and the interests of the candidate. We have trained our interviewing professionals on practices associated with inclusive interviewing, including how to minimize unconscious bias. We believe consultants choose to work for us because of our emphasis on accurate, rigorous analytics and high quality work; our culture that values intellectual curiosity, initiative, and resourcefulness; and our collegial, inclusive, and multi-disciplinary approach to complex client needs. Our training and career development programs for our employee consultants focus on providing multi-dimensional technical, foundational, and consulting skills. This framework is designed to complement on-the-job experience and an employee's pursuit of his or her own career development. Employee consultants participate in structured programs focused on managing teams, technical and empirical knowledge, and building client relationships. Through our ongoing internally-led workshops, speakers deliver presentations and conduct discussions with our employee consultants on various topics ranging from analytical tools to thought leadership material and service capabilities. We also provide scheduled courses designed to improve an employee's professional skills, such as written and oral presentation, marketing techniques, feedback discussions, and business development. Additionally, we encourage our employee consultants to pursue their academic interests through self-directed training modules, our on-demand library of software webinars, and external professional development and continuing education opportunities.

Many of our employee consultants have signed non-solicitation agreements, which generally prohibit the employee from soliciting our clients or soliciting or hiring our employees for one year or longer following termination of the person's employment with us. We seek to align each employee's interest with our overall interests, and many of our strongest contributors have an equity interest in us.

We compensate our senior corporate leaders, practice leaders, key revenue generators, and other employees with salary and a mixture of incentive-based programs that provide for cash and equity compensation. We maintain a bonus program through which we pay annual, performance-based cash bonuses to our employee consultants and certain other employees. In 2009, the compensation committee of our Board of Directors adopted our long-term incentive program, or "LTIP," as a framework for equity grants made under our 2006 equity incentive plan to our senior corporate leaders, practice leaders, and key revenue generators. The equity awards granted under the LTIP include stock options, time-vesting restricted stock units, and performance-vesting restricted stock units. In December 2016, our compensation committee modified the LTIP to allow grants of service- and performance-based cash awards in lieu of, or in addition to, equity awards to our senior corporate leaders, practice leaders, and key revenue generators. These LTIP cash awards are currently granted under our cash incentive plan. The LTIP is designed to reward our senior corporate leaders, practice leaders and key revenue generators and to provide them with the opportunity to share in the long-term growth of our business. The compensation committee of our Board of Directors is responsible for approving all cash and equity awards under the LTIP, all other equity compensation awards, and the total bonuses to be distributed under our bonus program, and for establishing performance goals under compensation awards and determining the extent to which these goals are achieved. Our chief executive officer, in his discretion and in consultation with the compensation committee of our Board of Directors, approves the bonuses to be granted to our employees.

In addition, we work closely with a select group of non-employee experts from leading universities and industry. These experts supplement the work of our employee consultants and generate business for us. We believe these experts choose to work with us because of the interesting and challenging nature of our work, the opportunity to work with our quality-oriented consultants, and the financially rewarding nature of the work. Several non-employee experts, generally comprising the more active of those with whom we work, have entered into restrictive covenants with us of varying lengths, which, in some cases, include non-competition agreements.

Our revenues largely depend on the number of hours worked by our employee consultants. As a result, we experience certain seasonal effects that impact our revenue, such as holiday seasons and the summer vacation season.

Our business development and marketing activities, led by our employee consultants and our Marketing, Business Development and Coaching group, emphasize building and maintaining relationships, cultivating brand awareness, and generating leads for new work. We encourage our employee consultants to generate new business from both existing and new clients, and we reward our employee consultants with increased compensation and promotions for obtaining new business. Many of our consultants have published articles in industry, business, economic, legal, or scientific journals, and have made speeches and presentations at industry conferences and seminars, which serve as a means of attracting new business and enhancing their reputations. On occasion, employee consultants work with one or more non-employee experts to market our services.

We supplement the personal marketing efforts of our employee consultants with diverse business development and marketing activities, including virtual and in-person seminars and presentations, speaking at and attending relevant conferences, social networking events, podcasts, videos, social media, and extensive thought leadership that we publish in industry, business, economic, legal, or scientific journals. We regularly organize seminars for existing and potential clients featuring panel members that include our employee consultants, non-employee experts, and leading government officials. We have an extensive set of brochures and infographics organized around our service areas, which describe our experience and capabilities. Our corporate website is another means of marketing our consultants and capabilities as it houses information about our business development activities, engagements, and biographies of our employee consultants and academic affiliates. We distribute publications to existing and potential clients highlighting emerging trends and noteworthy hires, awards, and engagements. Because existing clients are an important source of repeat business and referrals, we communicate regularly with our existing clients to keep them informed of developments that affect their markets and industries.

We derive the majority of our revenues from new engagements with existing clients. We have worked with leading law firms across the globe and believe we have developed a reputation among law firms as a preferred source of sophisticated economic advice for litigation and regulatory work. For our management consulting services, we also rely on referrals from existing clients, and supplement referrals with a significant amount of direct marketing to new clients through conferences, seminars, publications, presentations, and direct solicitations.

It is important to us that we conduct business ethically and in accordance with industry standards and our own rigorous professional standards. We carefully consider the pursuit of each specific market, client, and engagement in light of these standards.

The market for economic and management consulting services is intensely competitive, highly fragmented, and subject to rapid change. In general, there are few barriers to entry into our markets, and we expect to face additional competition from new entrants into the economic and management consulting industries. In the litigation, regulatory, and financial consulting markets, we compete primarily with other economic consulting firms and individual academics. We believe the principal competitive factors in this market are reputation, analytical ability, industry expertise, size, and service. In the management consulting market, we compete primarily with other business and management consulting firms, specialized or industry-specific consulting firms, the consulting practices of large accounting firms, and the internal professional resources of existing and potential clients. We believe the principal competitive factors in this market are reputation, industry expertise, analytical ability, service, and price.

Our operations are subject to a number of risks. You should carefully read and consider the following risk factors, together with all other information in this report, in evaluating our business. If any of these risks, or any risks not presently known to us or that we currently believe are not significant, develops into an actual event, then our business, financial condition, and results of operations could be adversely affected. If that happens, the market price of our common stock could decline, and you may lose all or part of your investment.

Our business continually requires us to hire highly qualified, highly educated consultants as employees. Our failure to recruit and retain a significant number of qualified employee consultants could limit our ability to accept or complete engagements and adversely affect our revenues and results of operations. Relatively few potential employees meet our hiring criteria, and we face significant competition for these employees from our direct competitors, academic institutions, government agencies, research firms, investment banking firms, and other enterprises. These competing employers may be able to offer potential employees greater compensation and benefits or more attractive lifestyle choices, career paths, or geographic locations than we can. Further, there has been an increase in employees leaving their positions throughout our industry, and the market to hire and retain employees has become even more highly competitive. Competition for these employee consultants has increased our labor costs, and a continuation of this trend could adversely affect our margins and results of operations.

Our ability to secure new engagements and hire qualified consultants as employees depends heavily on our overall reputation as well as the individual reputations of our employee consultants and principal non-employee experts. Because we

We depend on our relationships with our non-employee experts. We believe that these experts are highly regarded in their fields and that each offers a combination of knowledge, experience, and expertise that would be very difficult to replace. We also believe that we have been able to secure some engagements and attract some consultants in part because we can offer the services of these experts. Most of these experts can limit their relationships with us at any time for any reason. These reasons could include affiliations with universities with policies that prohibit accepting specified engagements, termination of exclusive relationships, the pursuit of other interests, and retirement.

To meet our long-term growth targets, we need to establish ongoing relationships with additional non-employee experts who have reputations as leading experts in their fields. We may be unable to establish relationships with any additional non-employee experts. In addition, any relationship that we do establish may not help us meet our objectives or generate the revenues or earnings that we anticipate.

Our business strategy is dependent, in part, upon our ability to grow by hiring consultant employees or groups of consultant employees, and we regularly evaluate opportunities to acquire other businesses. We may not, however, be able to identify, hire, acquire, or successfully integrate new employees and acquired businesses without substantial expense, delay, or other operational or financial obstacles. From time to time, we will evaluate the total mix of our services and we may conclude that acquired businesses may not achieve the results we previously expected. Competition for future hiring and acquisition opportunities in our markets could increase the compensation we offer to potential employees or the prices we pay for businesses we wish to acquire. In addition, we may be unable to achieve the financial, operational, and other benefits we anticipate from any hiring or acquisition, including those we have completed. New acquisitions could also negatively impact existing practices. Hiring additional employees or acquiring businesses could also involve a number of additional risks, including:

Our acquisitions have been accounted for as purchases, some of which involved purchase prices in excess of tangible asset values, resulting in the creation of goodwill and other intangible assets. Under generally accepted accounting principles, we do not amortize goodwill or intangible assets acquired in a business combination that are determined to have indefinite useful lives, but instead review them annually (or more frequently if impairment indicators arise) for impairment. To the extent that we determine that such an asset has been impaired, we will write down its carrying value on our consolidated balance sheet and book a non-cash impairment charge in our consolidated statement of operations. If, as a result of acquisitions or otherwise, the amount of intangible assets being amortized increases, so will our amortization charges in future periods.

Many of our engagements depend upon disputes, proceedings, or transactions that involve our clients. Our clients may decide at any time to seek to resolve the dispute or proceeding, abandon the transaction, or file for bankruptcy. Our engagements can therefore terminate suddenly and without advance notice to us. If an engagement is terminated unexpectedly, our employee consultants working on the engagement could be underutilized until we assign them to other projects. In addition, because much of our work is project-based rather than recurring in nature, our consultants' utilization depends on our ability to secure additional engagements on a continual basis. Accordingly, the termination or significant reduction in the scope of a single large engagement could reduce our utilization and have an immediate adverse impact on our revenues and results of operations.

We rely upon our information and technology infrastructure and systems to operate, manage and run our business and to provide services to our clients. This includes infrastructure and systems for receiving, storing, hosting, analyzing, transmitting and securing our and our clients' sensitive, confidential or proprietary information, including, but not limited to, health and other personally-identifiable information and commercial, financial and consumer data. Our ability to secure and maintain the confidentiality and integrity of this information is critical to our reputation and the success of our businesses. We must comply with the privacy laws of all of the jurisdictions in which we operate, including the strict general data privacy regulation (GDPR) in the European Union, laws that adopt the GDPR as a model (such as Brazil's comprehensive data protection law, the LGPD), and the U.S. state and federal laws such as the California Consumer Protection Act (CCPA), and these laws are becoming increasingly complex and vary by jurisdiction. The costs of complying with these laws and any fines resulting from lack of compliance, and the other costs of protecting our and our clients' confidential information, could have a material effect on our financial results. In addition, we may be affected by or subject to events that are out of our control, including, but not limited to, cybersecurity or other malicious attacks, which continue to evolve and pose a constant risk, unauthorized system intrusions by unknown third parties, viruses, malicious software, worms, failures in our or our third party hosting sites' (whether hosted offsite or in the cloud) information and technology systems, disruptions in the Internet or electricity grids, natural disasters, and terrorism. Any of these events could disrupt our or our client's business operations or cause us or our clients to incur unanticipated losses, including the costs of investigating and remediating any such event and any fines related thereto, as well as reputational damage, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations.

In addition, our or our clients' sensitive, confidential or proprietary information could be compromised or corrupted, whether intentionally or unintentionally, by our employees, outside consultants, vendors, or rogue third-party "hackers" or enterprises. A breach or compromise of the security of our information technology systems or infrastructure, or our processes for securing sensitive, confidential or proprietary information, whether due to a cybersecurity attack or otherwise, could result in the loss or misuse of this information. Any such loss or misuse could result in our suffering claims, fines, damages, losses or reputational damage, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations.

We provide our services primarily in connection with significant or complex transactions, disputes, or other matters that are usually adversarial or that involve sensitive client information. Our engagement by a client may preclude us from accepting

We derive a portion of our revenues from a limited number of large engagements. If we do not obtain a significant number of new large engagements each year, our business, financial condition, and results of operations could suffer. In general, the volume of work we perform for any particular client varies from year to year, and due to the specific engagement nature of our practice, a major client in one year may not hire us in the following year.

Our clients include some companies that may from time to time encounter financial difficulties, particularly during a downward trend in the economy, or may dispute the services we provide. If a client's financial difficulties become severe or a dispute arises, the client may be unwilling or unable to pay our invoices in the ordinary course of business, which could adversely affect collections of both our accounts receivable and unbilled services. On occasion, some of our clients have entered bankruptcy, which has prevented us from collecting amounts owed to us. The bankruptcy of a client with a substantial accounts receivable could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations. Clients who have paid sizable invoices may later declare bankruptcy, and a court may determine that we are not properly entitled to any of those payments consequently requiring a repayment by us of some or all of them, which could adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations.

Additionally, from time to time, we may derive a significant amount of revenue from contracts with government agencies in the United States. Because of this, changes in federal government budgetary priorities could directly affect our financial performance. This could result in the cancellation of contracts and/or the incurrence of substantial costs without reimbursement under our contracts with the federal government, which could have a negative effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

Our revenues and profitability are largely based on the bill rates charged to our clients, compensation costs and the utilization of our consultants. We calculate utilization by dividing the total hours worked by our employee consultants on engagements during the measurement period by the total number of hours that our employee consultants were available to work during that period. If we are not able to maintain adequate bill rates for our services, maintain compensation costs or obtain appropriate utilization rates from our consultants, our results of operations may be adversely impacted. Bill rates, compensation costs and consultant utilization rates are affected by a number of factors, including:

Tax reform remains a legislative priority for the U.S. government and certain legislations have already been enacted. Further regulatory or legislative developments may arise from the proposed U.S. tax reform under the Biden Administration’s “Build Back Better Act” which is proposing a new corporate alternative minimum tax and increased taxation of international

What changes if any to the U.S. or non-U.S. taxation of our operations may increase our worldwide effective tax rate, result in additional taxes or other costs or have other material consequences, which could harm our business, revenue, cash flows and financial results.

We experience fluctuations in our revenues, operating results and cash flows and expect that they will continue to occur in the future due to factors that are either within or outside of our control, including, but not limited to, the timing and duration of our client engagements, utilization of our employee consultants, the types of engagements we are working on at different times, the geographic locations of our clients or where the services are rendered, the length of billing and collection cycles, hiring, business and capital expenditures, share repurchases, dividends, debt repayments, and other general economic factors. We may also experience future fluctuations in our cash flows from operations because of increases in employee compensation, including changes to our incentive compensation structure and the timing of incentive payments, which we generally pay during the first quarter of each year, or hiring or retention payments or bonuses which are paid throughout the year. Also, the timing of future acquisitions and other investments and the cost of integrating them may cause fluctuations in our operating results and related cash flows.

We may experience significant fluctuations in our revenues and results of operations from one quarter to the next. If our revenues or net income in a quarter fall or fall below the expectations of securities analysts or investors, the market price of our common stock could fall significantly. Our results of operations in any quarter can fluctuate for many reasons, including:

Because we generate most of our revenues from consulting services that we provide on an hourly fee basis, our revenues in any period are directly related to the number of our employee consultants, their billing rates, and the number of billable hours

We are required to prepare our consolidated financial statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States of America, which may change periodically. From time to time, we are required to adopt new or revised accounting standards issued by recognized authoritative bodies, including the Financial Accounting Standards Board and the Securities and Exchange Commission. A change in accounting standards or practices may adversely affect our reported financial results or the way we conduct our business. It may also require changes to the current accounting treatment of certain transactions and the way they are reported in our financial statements. Additionally, such a change in accounting standards or practices may require us to enhance our internal accounting systems and processes, as well as our internal control over financial reporting.

Any failure on our part to execute our business strategy or manage future growth successfully could adversely affect our revenues and results of operations. In the future, we could open offices in new geographic areas, including foreign locations, and expand our employee base as a result of internal growth and acquisitions. Opening and managing new offices often requires extensive management supervision and increases our overall selling, general and administrative expenses. Expansion creates new and increased management, consulting, and training responsibilities for our employee consultants, and expansion may require additional regulatory compliance. Expansion also increases the demands on our internal systems, procedures, and controls, and on our managerial, administrative, financial, marketing, and other resources. We depend heavily upon the managerial, operational, and administrative skills of our executive officers to manage our expansion and business strategy. New responsibilities and demands may adversely affect the overall quality of our work.

Our services typically involve difficult analytical assignments and carry risks of professional and other liability. Many of our engagements involve matters that could have a severe impact on a client's business, and cause the client to lose significant amounts of money, or prevent the client from pursuing desirable business opportunities. Accordingly, if a client is dissatisfied with our performance, the client could threaten or bring litigation in order to recover damages or to contest its obligation to pay our fees. Litigation alleging that we performed negligently, disclosed client confidential information, or otherwise breached our obligations to the client could expose us to significant liabilities to our clients and other third parties and tarnish our reputation.

Despite our efforts to prevent litigation, from time to time we are party to various lawsuits, claims, or assessments in the ordinary course of business. Disputes may arise, for example, from business acquisitions, employment issues, regulatory actions, and other business transactions. The costs and outcome of any lawsuits or claims could have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations.

As further described in our Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements, goodwill is monitored annually for impairment, or more frequently, if events or circumstances exist that would more likely than not reduce the fair value of a reporting unit below its carrying amount. In performing the goodwill impairment testing and measurement process, we compare the estimated fair value of our reporting unit to its net book value to identify potential impairment. We estimate the fair value of our consulting business utilizing our market capitalization, plus an appropriate control premium. Market capitalization is determined by multiplying the shares outstanding on the test date by the market price of our common stock on that date. We determine the control premium utilizing data from publicly available premium studies for the trailing four quarters for public company transactions in our industry group. If the estimated fair value of a reporting unit is less than its net book value, an impairment charge would be recorded in our consolidated statement of operations.

A goodwill impairment charge in any period would have the effect of decreasing our earnings in such period. If we are required to take a substantial impairment charge, our reported operating results would be materially adversely affected in such period, though such a charge would have no impact on cash flows or working capital for such period.

The market price of our common stock has fluctuated widely and may continue to do so. Many factors could cause the market price of our common stock to rise and fall. Some of these factors are:

In addition, the stock market often experiences significant price and volume fluctuations. These fluctuations are often unrelated to the operating performance of particular companies. These broad market fluctuations may adversely affect the market price of our common stock. When the market price of a company's stock drops significantly, shareholders often institute securities class action litigation against that company. Any litigation against us could cause us to incur substantial costs, divert the time and attention of our management and other resources, or otherwise harm our business.

We utilize forgivable loans with some of our employees and non-employee experts, other than our executive officers, as a way to attract and retain them. A portion of these loans is collateralized. Defaults under these loans could have a material adverse effect on our consolidated statements of operations, financial condition and liquidity.

We derive a portion of our revenues from fixed-price contracts. These contracts are more common in our management consulting area, and would likely grow in number with expansion of that area. Fluctuations in the mix between time-and-material contracts, fixed-price contracts and arrangements with fees tied to performance-based criteria may result in fluctuations of revenue and results of operations. In addition, if we fail to accurately estimate accurately third-party vendor expenses and the resources required for a fixed-price project or fail to satisfy our contractual obligations in a manner consistent with the project budget, we might generate a smaller profit or incur a loss on the project. On occasion, we have had to commit unanticipated additional resources to complete projects, and we may have to take similar action in the future, which could adversely affect our revenues and results of operations. Revenue generated from fixed-price contracts was approximately 24%19% of our total revenues for the year ended January 1,December 31, 2022.

Our Board of Directors declared the first quarterly dividend on our common stock during 2016 and we have continued to pay quarterly dividends throughout fiscal 2021.2022. Although we anticipate paying regular quarterly dividends on our common stock for the foreseeable future, the declaration of dividends is subject to the discretion of our Board of Directors, and is restricted by applicable state law limitations on distributions to shareholders. As a result, the amount, if any, of the dividends to be paid by us in the future depends upon a number of factors, including but not limited to our available cash on hand, anticipated cash needs, overall financial condition, and future prospects for earnings and cash flows, as well as other factors

Our Board of Directors has from time to time authorized repurchase programs of our outstanding common stock. Under these stock repurchase programs, we are authorized to repurchase, from time-to-time, shares of our outstanding common stock on the open market or in privately negotiated transactions. The timing and amount of stock repurchases are determined based upon our evaluation of market conditions and other factors. Any stock repurchase program may be suspended, modified or discontinued at any time, and we have no obligation to repurchase any amount of our common stock under any program. Repurchases pursuant to our stock repurchase programs could affect the market price of our common stock and increase its volatility. Any termination of our stock repurchase programs could cause a decrease in the market price of our common stock, and the existence of a stock repurchase program could cause our stock price to be higher than it would be in the absence of such a program and could potentially reduce the market liquidity and trading volumes of our common stock. There can be no assurance that any stock repurchases under these programs will enhance stockholder value because the market price of our common stock may decline below the levels at which those repurchases were made. Although our stock repurchase programs are intended to enhance long-term stockholder value, short-term fluctuations in the market price of our common stock could reduce the programs' effectiveness.

As a professional services organization, we may rely on non-competition and non-solicitation agreements with some of our employees and non-employee experts to protect our proprietary rights. These agreements, however, may offer us only limited protection and may not be enforceable in every jurisdiction. In addition, we may incur substantial costs trying to enforce these agreements.

Our services may involve the development of custom business processes or solutions for specific clients. In some cases, the clients retain ownership or impose restrictions on our ability to use the business processes or solutions developed from these projects. Issues relating to the ownership of business processes or solutions can be complicated, and disputes could arise that affect our ability to resell or reuse business processes or solutions we develop for clients.

In recent years, there has been significant litigation in the U.S. involving patents and other intellectual property rights. We could incur substantial costs in prosecuting or defending any intellectual property litigation, which could adversely affect our operating results and financial condition.

Despite our efforts to protect our proprietary rights, unauthorized parties may attempt to obtain and use information that we regard as proprietary. Litigation may be necessary in the future to enforce our proprietary rights, to protect our trade secrets, to determine the validity and scope of the proprietary rights of others, or to defend against claims of infringement or invalidity. Any such resulting litigation could result in substantial costs and diversion of resources and could adversely affect our business, operating results and financial condition. Any failure by us to protect our proprietary rights, or any court determination that we have either infringed or lost ownership of proprietary rights, could adversely affect our business, operating results and financial condition.

We are exposed to claims related to group health insurance. We self-insure a portion of the risk associated with these claims. If the number or severity of claims increases, or we are required to accrue or pay additional amounts because the claims prove to be more severe than our original assessment, our operating results would be adversely affected. Our future insurance and claims expense might exceed historical levels, which could reduce our earnings. We expect to periodically assess our self-insurance strategy. We are required to periodically evaluate and adjust our claims reserves to reflect our experience. However, ultimate results may differ from our estimates, which could result in losses over our reserved amounts. We maintain individual and aggregate medical plan stop loss insurance with a licensed insurance carrier to limit our ultimate risk exposure for any one case and for our total liability.

Many businesses are experiencing the impact of increased medical costs as well as greater variability in ongoing costs. As a result, our insurance and claims expense could increase, or we could raise our self-insured retention, when our policies are renewed. If these expenses increase or we experience a claim for which coverage is not provided, results of our operations and financial condition could be materially and adversely affected.

Our articles of organization and by-laws and Massachusetts law contain provisions that could have anti-takeover effects and that could discourage, delay, or prevent a change in control or an acquisition that our shareholders may find attractive. These provisions may also discourage proxy contests and make it more difficult for our shareholders to take some corporate actions, including the election of directors. These provisions could limit the price that investors might be willing to pay for shares of our common stock.

The market for litigation, regulatory, financial, and management consulting services is intensely competitive, highly fragmented, and subject to rapid change. We may be unable to compete successfully with our existing competitors or with any new competitors. In general, there are few barriers to entry into our markets, and we expect to face additional competition from new entrants into the economic and management consulting industries. In the litigation, regulatory, and financial consulting markets, we compete primarily with other economic and financial consulting firms and individual academics. In the management consulting market, we compete primarily with other business and management consulting firms, specialized or industry-specific consulting firms, the consulting practices of large accounting firms, and the internal professional resources of existing and potential clients. Many of our competitors have national or international reputations, as well as significantly greater personnel, financial, managerial, technical, and marketing resources than we do, which could enhance their ability to respond more quickly to technological changes, finance acquisitions, and fund internal growth. Some of our competitors also have a significantly broader geographic presence and significantly more resources than we do.

Our international operations carry financial and business risks, including:

If our international revenues increase relative to our total revenues, these factors could have a more pronounced effect on our operating results.

We conduct our business in the Americas, Europe, and Australia, and the global scope of our business exposes us to risk of fluctuations in foreign currency markets. Specifically, our results of operations are subject to fluctuations primarily in the British Pound and Euro against the U.S. Dollar as well as the Euro against the British Pound. The fluctuation in foreign currency markets can both increase and decrease our overall revenue and expenses for any fiscal period, and therefore has a resulting negative impact on our reported results of operations and on our ability to predict our future results and earnings accurately. Additionally, global economic events, including Brexit, have caused and may continue to cause significant volatility

We rely on our cash and cash equivalents, cash flows from operations and borrowings under our credit agreement to fund our short-term and anticipated long-term operating activities. We currently have a revolving credit facility with our bank for up to $175.0$250.0 million, which may be decreased at CRA's option to $200.0 million during the period from July 16th in a year through January 15th in the next year. Additionally, for the period from January 16th to July 15th of each calendar year, CRA may elect to not increase the revolving credit facility to $250.0 million. The amounts available under this revolving credit facility are constrained by various financial covenants and reduced by certain letters of credit outstanding. At February 25, 2022,24, 2023, we had no borrowings outstanding under the credit agreement and approximately $170.8$195.6 million available for future borrowings, after consideration of outstanding letters of credit. Our loan agreement with the bank will mature on October 24, 2022. We expectAugust 19, 2027. The degree to extend or refinance our revolving credit agreement prior to maturity, but there can be no assurance that we will be able to do so on favorable terms or at all. Our ability to refinance our indebtedness will depend on our ability to generate cash from operations, which may be subject to general economic, financial, competitive and other factors that are beyond our control. If we are not able to extend or replace this source of capital, itleveraged could adversely affect our ability to obtain further financing for working capital, acquisitions or other purposes and could make us more vulnerable to industry downturns and competitive pressures. Our ability to secure short-term and long-term debt or equity financing in the future will also depend on several factors, including our future profitability, the levels of our debt and equity, restrictions under our existing or any future revolving credit facility, and the overall credit and equity market environments.

Not applicable.

In the aggregate, as of January 1,December 31, 2022, we leased approximately 381,000396,000 square feet of office space in locations around the world, including Boston, San Francisco, Oakland, New York, Chicago, London, and Washington, D.C.

All of our offices are electronically linked and have access to our core consulting tools. We believe our existing office space is adequate to meet our current requirements and that suitable space will be available as needed.

None.

Not applicable.

The graph tracks the cumulative shareholder return calculated on a dividend-reinvested basis of a $100 investment in our common stock, in a customized peer group, and in a market index over a 5-year period. The graph assumes the $100 was invested on the last calendar day of 20162017 in stock or index, where the index is calculated on a month-end basis. We initiated a quarterly dividend in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2016 and continued to pay quarterly dividends throughout fiscal 2021.2022.

This section of the Form 10-K does not address certain items regarding the year ended December 28, 2019.January 2, 2021. Discussion and analysis of year-to-year comparisons between fiscal 20202021 and fiscal 20192020 not included in this Form 10-K can be found in "Item 7. Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Conditions and Results of Operations" of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended January 2, 2021.1, 2022.

We are a leading worldwide economic, financial, and management consulting firm that applies advanced analytic techniques and in-depth industry knowledge to complex engagements for a broad range of clients.

We derive revenues principally from professional services rendered by our employee consultants. In most instances, we charge clients on a time-and-materials basis and recognize revenues in the period when we provide our services. We charge consultants' time at hourly rates, which vary from consultant to consultant depending on a consultant's position, experience, expertise, and other factors. We derive a portion of our revenues from fixed-price engagements. Revenues from fixed-price engagements are recognized using a proportional performance method based on the ratio of costs incurred to the total estimated project costs. We generate substantially all of our professional services fees from the work of our own employee consultants and a portion from the work of our non-employee experts. Factors that affect our professional services revenues include the number and scope of client engagements, the number of consultants we employ, the consultants' billing rates, and the number of hours our consultants work. Revenues also include reimbursements for costs we incur in fulfilling our performance obligations, including travel and other out-of-pocket expenses, fees for outside consultants and other reimbursable expenses.

Our costs of services include the salaries, bonuses, share-based compensation expense, forgivable loan amortization, and benefits of our employee consultants. Our bonus program awards discretionary bonuses based on our revenues and profitability and individual performance. Costs of services also include out-of-pocket and other third-party vendor expenses, and the salaries of support staff whose time is billed directly to clients, such as librarians, editors, and programmers, as well as the amounts billed to us by our outside consultants for services rendered while completing a project. Selling, general and administrative expenses include salaries, bonuses, share-based compensation expense, and benefits of our administrative and support staff, fees to non-employee experts for generating new business, office rent, marketing, and other costs.

While the COVID-19 pandemic did not materially adversely affect our financial results and business operations during fiscal 2021,2022, the COVID-19 pandemic may continue to pose risks to our business. The public health actions being undertaken to reduce the spread of the virus may create significant disruptions with respect to the demand for our services and impact our ability to conduct business activities in the ordinary course for an indefinite period. We have implemented enhanced safety procedures and enhanced cleaning protocols at our facilities to protect the health of our colleagues. Although our offices remain open and capable of hosting our colleagues, we have invited them to work wherever they feel most comfortable. Due to the above circumstances and as described generally in this Form 10-K, our results of operations for fiscal 20212022 are not necessarily indicative of the results to be expected for future fiscal years. See Item 1A in this annual report on Form 10-K for an additional discussion of risks and potential risks of the COVID-19 pandemic on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We derive the majority of our revenues from the number of hours worked by our employee consultants. Our utilization of those employee consultants is one key indicator that we use to measure our operating performance. We calculate utilization by dividing the total hours worked by our employee consultants on engagements during the measurement period by the total number of hours that our employee consultants were available to work during that period. Utilization was 74%75%, 69%74%, and 75%69% for fiscal 2022, fiscal 2021, and fiscal 2020, and fiscal 2019, respectively.

We experience certain seasonal effects that impact our revenue. Concurrent vacations or holidays taken by a large number of consultants can adversely impact our revenue. For example, we usually experience fewer billable hours in our fiscal third quarter, as that is the summer vacation season for most of our offices, and in our fiscal fourth quarter, as that is the quarter that typically includes the December holiday season. In addition, much of our junior staff hiring occurs in our fiscal third quarter during which our new colleagues receive training and become acclimated to the organization. As a result, utilization may be impacted for the latter half of the year.

Revenues outside of the U.S. accounted for approximately 20%, 20%, and 21% of our total revenues in each of fiscal 2022, fiscal 2021, fiscal 2020, and fiscal 2019,2020, respectively. Revenue by country is detailed in Note 23 to our Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements.

The discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations are based upon our consolidated financial statements, which have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America ("U.S. GAAP"). The preparation of these financial statements requires us to make significant estimates and judgments that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, as well as related disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities, at the date of the financial statements, and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. These estimates are monitored and analyzed by management for changes in facts and circumstances, and material changes in these estimates could occur in the future. Changes in estimates are recorded in the period in which they become known. We base our

Our significant accounting policies are discussed in Note 1 in our Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements. A summary of the accounting policies that we believe are most critical to understanding and evaluating our financial results is set forth below. We believe the following accounting policies involve our more subjective and complex judgments that have the most significant potential impact to the presentation of our financial statements. This summary should be read in conjunction with our consolidated financial statements and the related notes included in Item 8 of this annual report on Form 10-K.

We derive substantially all of our revenues from the performance of professional services for our clients. The contracts that we enter into and operate under specify whether the engagement will be billed on a time-and-materials basis or a fixed-price basis. These engagements generally last three to six months, although some of our engagements can be much longer in duration.

Reimbursable expenses, including those relating to travel, out-of-pocket expenses, outside consultants and other third-party vendor expenses, are generally included in revenues, and an equivalent amount of reimbursable expenses is included in costs of services in the period in which the expense is incurred.

Variable consideration to be included in the transaction price is estimated using either the expected value method or the most likely method based on facts and circumstances. Variable consideration is included in the transaction price if it is probable that a significant future reversal of cumulative revenue under the contract will not occur. Variable consideration estimates are based on specific price concessions already granted and those expected to be extended to our clients based on historical realization rates. If actual results in the future vary from our estimates, we adjust these estimates in the period such variances become known.

We usually issue invoices to our customers on a monthly basis, and payment is usually due upon receipt of the invoice.invoice unless contract terms state otherwise. When determining the transaction price of a contract, an adjustment is made if payment from a customer occurs either significantly before or significantly after performance, resulting in a significant financing component. We do not assess whether a significant financing component exists if the period between when we perform our obligations under the contract and when the customer pays is one year or less.

The requisite service period typically ranges from two to seven years starting with the employee's employment date or non-employee's affiliation date. For an employee or non-employee consultant currently affiliated with us, the requisite service period generally begins at the start of the award's measurement period. A recipient of such an award is expected to be employed

The terms of award agreements may include the achievement of minimum required financial targets over the award's measurement period. These financial targets may include a measure of revenue generation, profitability, or both. The amount of the liability of the award agreements is estimated based on internally generated financial projections. The process of projecting these financial targets over the measurement period is highly subjective and requires significant judgment and estimates. There can be no assurance that the estimates and assumptions used in preparing these projections will prove to be accurate.

Our effective tax rate may vary from period to period based on changes in estimated taxable income or loss; changes to the valuation allowance; changes to federal, state, or foreign tax laws; future expansion into areas with varying country, state, and local income tax rates; deductibility of certain costs; uncertain tax positions; expenses by jurisdiction; and results of acquisitions or dispositions.

The calculation of our tax liabilities involves dealing with uncertainties in the application of complex tax regulations in several different tax jurisdictions. We are periodically reviewed by domestic and foreign tax authorities. These reviews include questions regarding the timing and amount of deductions and the allocation of income among various tax jurisdictions. We account for uncertainties in income tax positions in accordance with ASC Topic 740. The number of years with open tax audits varies depending on the tax jurisdiction.

Please refer to the section captioned "Recent Accounting Standards" in Note 1 of our Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements contained in this Form 10-K.

The following table provides operating information as a percentage of revenues for the periods indicated:

Overall, revenues outside of the U.S. represented approximately 20% of net revenues in each of fiscal 20212022 and fiscal 2020.2021. Revenues derived from fixed-price engagements remained flat at 24%decreased to 19% of net revenues for fiscal 2021 and2022 from 24% for fiscal 2020.2021. Revenues derived from time-and-materials engagements also remained flat at 76%increased to 81% of net revenues for fiscal 2021 and2022 from 76% for fiscal 2020.2021. The percentages of revenue derived from fixed-price engagements depends largely on the proportion of our revenues derived from our management consulting business, which typically has a higher concentration of fixed-price service engagements.

As a percentage of revenues, selling, general and administrative expenses decreasedincreased to 18.6% for fiscal 2022 from 17.2% for fiscal 2021 from 17.7% for fiscal 2020.2021. Commissions to non-employee experts increased to 3.0%3.1% of revenue in fiscal 20212022 compared to 2.5%3.0% of revenuerevenues in fiscal 2020.2021.

We believe that current cash, cash equivalents, cash generated from operations, and amounts available under our revolving credit facility through maturity will be sufficient to meet our anticipated working capital and capital expenditure requirements for at least the next 12 months. As of January 1,December 31, 2022, we have $66.1$31.4 million of cash and cash equivalents and $170.8$195.6 million of borrowing capacity under our revolving credit facility.

During fiscal 2021,2022, working capital (defined as current assets less current liabilities) increaseddecreased by $16.4$4.5 million to end fiscal 20212022 at $36.3$31.7 million. The increasedecrease in working capital was principally due to an increasea decrease in cash and cash equivalents of $20.5$34.7 million, a decrease in the current portion of forgivable loans of $0.9 million, an increase in accounts payable of $4.1 million, and an increase of $1.6 million in the current portion of lease liabilities. Partially offsetting these decreases to working capital were an increase in accounts receivable and unbilled services of $9.6$32.9 million, an increase of $2.2 million in prepaid expenses and other current assets, a decrease in accrued expenses of $0.5 million, a decrease in deferred revenue and other liabilities of $0.8 million and a decrease in the current portion of deferred compensation of $14.8$0.4 million, which was primarily related to the payment of contingent consideration. Partially offsetting these increases to working capital was a decrease in the current portion of forgivable loans of $4.2 million, an increase in accounts payable of $4.1 million, an increase in accrued expenses of $19.9 million, and an increase in deferred revenue and other liabilities of $3.0 million.

At January 1,December 31, 2022, $36.8$12.9 million of our cash and cash equivalents were held within the U.S. We have sufficient sources of liquidity in the U.S., including cash flow from operations and availability on our revolving credit facility, to fund U.S. operations over the next 12 months without the need to repatriate funds from our foreign subsidiaries.

As of January 1,December 31, 2022, our cash accounts were concentrated at two financial institutions, which potentially exposes us to credit risks. The financial institutions both have short-term credit ratings of A-1 and A-2 by Standard & Poor's ratings services. We have not experienced any losses related to such accounts. We do not believe that there is significant risk of non-performance by the financial institutions, and its cash on deposit is fully liquid. We continually monitor the credit ratings of these institutions.

Cash provided by operating activities included non-cash depreciation and amortization expense of $12.8$12.0 million, share-based compensation expenses of $4.1$4.8 million, incentive cash awards of $6.7$6.6 million, right-of-use asset amortization of $13.0 million, and other non-cash deductions of $0.1$13.7 million.

During fiscal 2021,2022, net cash used in investing activities was $2.6$18.2 million, which included $14.4 million of net consideration paid for the acquisition of Welch Consulting, Ltd. (“Welch Consulting”) and bioStrategies Group, Inc. (“bSG”), and $3.8 million for capital expenditures, which were primarily used to support computer equipment and software needs.expenditures.

We used $52.0$38.9 million of net cash in financing activities during fiscal 2021,2022, primarily as a result of $45.0$27.6 million of repurchases of our common stock, payment of $8.3$9.6 million of cash dividends and dividend equivalents, and tax withholding payments reimbursed by restricted shares of $1.5 million, and a portion of the payment of the contingent consideration classified as a financing activity in the amount of $2.4$2.1 million. Offsetting these uses in cash for financing activities was $5.2$1.4 million received upon the issuance of shares of common stock related to the exercise of stock options.

We are a lessee under certain operating leases for office space and equipment, which have remaining lease terms between one and approximately tennine years, many of which include one or more options to extend the term for periods of up to five years for each option. The maturities of lease liabilities, as of January 1,December 31, 2022, related to office space and equipment are discussed in Note 45 in our Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements. We have no additional operating leases we have committed to that have not yet commenced.

Certain of our operating leases have terms that impose asset retirement obligations due to office modifications or the periodic redecoration of the premises, which are included in other liabilities on our consolidated balance sheets and are recorded at a value based on their estimated discounted cash flows. We do not expect to incur asset retirement obligation or redecoration obligation costs over the next twelve months. The remainder of our asset retirement obligations and redecoration obligations are approximately $2.9$2.6 million and are expected to be settled between fiscal 2026 and fiscal 2031 when the underlying leases terminate. We expect to satisfy these lease and related obligations, as they become due, from cash generated from operations.

In order to attract and retain highly skilled professionals, we may issue forgivable loans or term loans to employees and non-employee experts. A portion of these loans is collateralized by key person life insurance. The forgivable loans have terms that are generally between two and six years. The principal amount of forgivable loans and accrued interest is forgiven by us over the term of the loans, so long as the employee or non-employee expert continues employment or affiliation with us and complies with certain contractual requirements. The expense associated with the forgiveness of the principal amount of the loans is recorded as compensation expense over the service period, which is consistent with the term of the loans.

We have entered into compensation arrangements for the payment of performance awards to certain of our non-employee experts and employees that are payable if specific performance targets are met. These financial targets may include a measure of revenue generation, profitability, or both. The amounts of the awards to be paid under these compensation arrangements could fluctuate depending on future performance during the applicable measurement periods. Changes in the estimated awards are expensed prospectively over the remaining service period. We believe that we will have sufficient funds to satisfy any cash obligations related to the performance awards. We expect to fund any cash payments from existing cash resources, cash generated from operations, or borrowings on our revolving credit facility.

Our Amended and Restated 2006 Equity Incentive Plan, as amended (the "2006 Equity Plan"), authorizes the grant of a variety of incentive and performance equity awards to our directors, employees and non-employee experts, including stock options, shares of restricted stock, restricted stock units, and other equity awards.

In 2009, the compensation committee of our Board of Directors adopted our long-term incentive program, or "LTIP," as a framework for equity grants made under our 2006 equity incentive plan to our senior corporate leaders, practice leaders, and key revenue generators. The equity awards granted under the LTIP include stock options, time-vesting restricted stock units, and performance-vesting restricted stock units.

In December 2016, our compensation committee modified the long-term incentive program, or "LTIP," to allow grants of service- and performance-based cash awards in lieu of, or in addition to, equity awards to our senior corporate leaders, practice leaders, and key revenue generators. The compensation committee of our Board of Directors is responsible for approving all cash and equity awards under the LTIP. Under our cash incentive plan, we expect to pay LTIP cash awards of approximately $6.8$6.3 million over the next twelve months and $15.4$16.3 million between fiscal 20232024 and fiscal 2026.2027. We expect to fund any cash payments from existing cash resources, cash generated from operations, or borrowings on our revolving credit facility.

As part of our business, we regularly evaluate opportunities to acquire other consulting firms, practices or groups, or other businesses. In recent years, we have typically paid for acquisitions with cash, or a combination of cash and our common stock, and we may continue to do so in the future. To pay for an acquisition, we may use cash on hand, cash generated from our operations, borrowings under our revolving credit facility, or we may pursue other forms of financing. Our ability to secure short-term and long-term debt or equity financing in the future, including our ability to refinance our credit agreement, will depend on several factors, including our future profitability, the levels of our debt and equity, restrictions under our existing revolving credit facility with our bank, and the overall credit and equity market environments.

In February 2022March 2023 and February 2021,2022, our Board of Directors authorized an expansion to our existing share repurchase program, authorizing the purchase of an additional $20.0 million and $40.0$20.0 million, respectively, of our common stock. We may repurchase shares under this program in open market purchases (including through any Rule 10b5-1 plan adopted by us) or in privately negotiated transactions in accordance with applicable insider trading and other securities laws and regulations. Refer to the section titled "Self-Tender Offer" below for discussion of shares repurchased during the second quarter of fiscal 2021 under our modified "Dutch auction" self-tender offer.

During fiscal 2022, fiscal 2021, and fiscal 2020, and fiscal 2019, we repurchased and retired 319,534 shares, 270,908 shares, 283,842 shares, and 421,112283,842 shares, respectively, under our share repurchase program at an average price per share of $86.47, $72.53, $47.14, and $42.94,$47.14, respectively. We had approximately $30.5$22.9 million and $50.5$42.9 million available for future repurchases under our share repurchase program as of January 1,December 31, 2022 and February 25, 2022,24, 2023, respectively. We plan to finance future repurchases with available cash, cash from future operations and funds from our revolving credit facility. We expect to continue to repurchase shares under our share repurchase program.

On March 8, 2021, we commenced a modified "Dutch auction" self-tender offer to purchase up to $25.0 million in value of shares of our common stock at a price of not less than $66.25 per share nor greater than $76.00 per share. The self-tender offer expired on April 5, 2021. On April 8, 2021, we paid $25.3 million, including transaction costs, to repurchase 337,837

We anticipate paying regular quarterly dividends each year. These dividends are anticipated to be funded through cash flow from operations, available cash on hand, and/or borrowings under our revolving credit facility. Although we anticipate paying regular quarterly dividends on our common stock for the foreseeable future, the declaration, timing and amounts of any such dividends remain subject to the discretion of our Board of Directors. During the fiscal years ended December 31, 2022, January 1, 2022, and January 2, 2021, and December 28, 2019, we paid dividends of $9.6 million, $8.3 million, $7.5 million, and $6.8$7.5 million, respectively.

To date, inflation has not had a material impact on our financial results. There can be no assurance, however, that inflation will not adversely affect our financial results in the future.

We anticipate that our future capital and liquidity needs will principally consist of funds required for:

The hiring of individuals to replenish and expand our employee base is an essential part of our business operations and has historically been funded principally from operations. Many of the other above activities are discretionary in nature. For

Our conclusion that we will be able to fund our cash requirements by using existing capital resources and cash generated from operations does not take into account the impact of any future acquisition transactions or any unexpected significant changes in the number of employees or other expenditures that are currently not contemplated. The anticipated cash needs of our business could change significantly if we pursue and complete additional business acquisitions, if our business plans change, if economic conditions change from those currently prevailing or from those now anticipated, or if other unexpected circumstances arise that have a material effect on the cash flow or profitability of our business. Any of these events or circumstances, including any new business opportunities, could involve significant additional funding needs in excess of the identified currently available sources and could require us to raise additional debt or equity funding to meet those needs on terms that may be less favorable compared to our current sources of capital. Our ability to raise additional capital, if necessary, is subject to a variety of factors that we cannot predict with certainty, including:

Item 1A of this annual report sets forth risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the results contemplated by the forward-looking statements contained in this annual report. If any of these risks, or any risks not presently known to us or that we currently believe are not significant, develops into an actual event, then our business, financial condition, and results of operations could be adversely affected.

The majority of our operations are based in the U.S. and, accordingly, the majority of our transactions are denominated in U.S. Dollars. However, we have foreign-based operations where transactions are denominated in foreign currencies and are subject to market risk with respect to fluctuations in the relative value of foreign currencies. Our primary foreign currency exposures relate to our short-term intercompany balances with our foreign subsidiaries, intercompany loans with our foreign subsidiaries, and accounts receivable and cash valued in the United Kingdom in U.S. Dollars or Euros. Our primary foreign subsidiaries have functional currencies denominated in either the British Pound or the Euro, and foreign denominated assets and liabilities are remeasured each reporting period with any exchange gains and losses recorded in our consolidated statements of operations. We continue to manage our foreign currency exchange exposure through frequent settling of intercompany account balances and by self-hedging movements between functional currency exchange rates and those in which we transact business. Holding all other variables constant, a hypothetical 10% movement in foreign exchange rates on January 1,December 31, 2022 would have affected our income before provision for income taxes for fiscal 20212022 by approximately $3.1$4.3 million. However, actual gains and losses in the future could differ materially from this analysis based on the timing and amount of both foreign currency exchange rate movements and our actual exposure.

Additionally, Brexit could adversely affect U.K., European and worldwide economic market conditions and could contribute to instability in global financial and foreign exchange markets, including volatility in the value of the British Pound and Euro. The U.K. officially left the E.U. on January 31, 2020, and the TCA was ratified by the U.K. Parliament on December 31, 2020. We recognize that there remains significant uncertainties surrounding the impact of the TCA and other ongoing Brexit negotiations, and will continue to monitor any changes that may arise and assess their potential impact on our business.

Our foreign subsidiaries operate in currencies other than the U.S. Dollar. The functional currencies of our foreign subsidiaries are generally denominated in the local currency. Increases or decreases in the value of the U.S. Dollar against these currencies will affect our operating results and the value of our balance sheet items denominated in foreign currencies. Our most significant exposures to translation risk relate to functional currency assets and liabilities that are denominated in the British Pound and Euro. For our foreign subsidiaries whose functional currencies are denominated in currencies other than the U.S. Dollar, the unrealized changes in the net investments were losses of $5.0 million, losses of $1.5 million, and gains of $3.3 million and gains of $0.8 million for fiscal 2022, fiscal 2021, and fiscal 2020, and fiscal 2019, respectively. These translation gains and losses are reflected in shareholders' equity as a component of accumulated other comprehensive income (loss).

Our primary exposure to interest rate risk is associated with our revolving credit facility, which has variable interest rates for our borrowings based on our consolidated net leverage ratio and certain referencecontractual rates, at our election, permitted under the terms of the credit agreement. We had no outstanding borrowings under our revolving credit facility as of January 1,December 31, 2022. A hypothetical change in the interest rate of 10% would not have a material impact to our net income.

From time to time, we may maintain an investment portfolio, often consisting mainly of money market mutual funds that may be withdrawn upon request. These money market mutual funds are subject to interest rate risk. However, a hypothetical change in the interest rates of 10% would not have a material impact to the fair values of these securities at January 1,December 31, 2022.

We have included our consolidated financial statements in this annual report on pages FS-5FS-4 to FS-31, which includes the report of Grant Thornton LLP (PCAOB ID: 248) and the report of Ernst & Young LLP (PCAOB ID: 42). We have provided an index to our consolidated financial statements on page FS-1.

None

Under the supervision and with the participation of our management, including our President and Chief Executive Officer and our Chief Financial Officer, we evaluated the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures as of the end of the period covered by this report. This is done in order to ensure that information we are required to disclose in the reports that are filed or submitted under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 ("the Exchange Act"), as amended, is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in the SEC's rules and forms. Based upon that evaluation, our President and Chief Executive Officer and our Chief Financial Officer concluded that our disclosure controls and procedures were effective as of January 1,December 31, 2022.

Our management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting (as such term is defined in Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f) under the Exchange Act). Under the supervision and with the participation of our management, including our President and Chief Executive Officer and our Chief Financial Officer, we assessed the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting as of the end of the period covered by this report based on the framework in "Internal Control—Integrated Framework (2013)" issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission. Based on that assessment, our President and Chief Executive Officer and our Chief Financial Officer concluded that our internal control over financial reporting was effective to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of our financial reporting and the preparation of our financial statements for external purposes in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles as of January 1,December 31, 2022.

Our independent registered public accounting firm, Grant Thornton LLP, has issued an audit report on their assessment of our internal control over financial reporting. The audit report is included herein.

Our evaluation of our internal control over financial reporting discussed in Section (b) did not identify any changes in our internal control over financial reporting during the fourth quarter of fiscal 20212022 that materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.

None.

Not Applicable.

We also have audited, in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (“PCAOB”), the consolidated financial statements of the Company as of and for the year ended January 1,December 31, 2022, and our report dated March 3, 20222, 2023 expressed an unqualified opinion on those financial statements.

The Company’s management is responsible for maintaining effective internal control over financial reporting and for its assessment of the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting, included in the accompanying Management’s Report on Internal Controls over Financial Reporting. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Company’s internal control over financial reporting based on our audit. We are a public accounting firm registered with the PCAOB and are required to be independent with respect to the Company in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.

We conducted our audit in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether effective internal control over financial reporting was maintained in all material respects. Our audit included obtaining an understanding of internal control over financial reporting, assessing the risk that a material weakness exists, testing and evaluating the design and operating effectiveness of internal control based on the assessed risk, and performing such other procedures as we considered necessary in the circumstances. We believe that our audit provides a reasonable basis for our opinion.

A company’s internal control over financial reporting is a process designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. A company’s internal control over financial reporting includes those policies and procedures that (1) pertain to the maintenance of records that, in reasonable detail, accurately and fairly reflect the transactions and dispositions of the assets of the company; (2) provide reasonable assurance that transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, and that receipts and expenditures of the company are being made only in accordance with authorizations of management and directors of the company; and (3) provide reasonable assurance regarding prevention or timely detection of unauthorized acquisition, use, or disposition of the company’s assets that could have a material effect on the financial statements.

Because of its inherent limitations, internal control over financial reporting may not prevent or detect misstatements. Also, projections of any evaluation of effectiveness to future periods are subject to the risk that controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions, or that the degree of compliance with the policies or procedures may deteriorate.

We have omitted the information required in Part III of this annual report because we intend to include that information in our definitive proxy statement for the 20222023 annual meeting of shareholders, which we expect to file within 120 days (or such greater number as permitted by SEC rules) after the end of fiscal 2021.2022. We incorporate that information in this annual report by reference to the proxy statement to be filed in connection with the 20222023 annual meeting of our shareholders, which we will refer to herein as our "2022"2023 annual proxy statement."

We incorporate the information required by this item by reference to the sections captioned "Corporate Governance" (specifically, its subsections captioned "Overview," "Executive officers and directors" and "Audit committee") and "Delinquent Section 16(a) Reports" in our 20222023 annual proxy statement.

We incorporate the information required by this item by reference to the section captioned "Compensation of Directors and Executive Officers" in our 20222023 annual proxy statement.

We incorporate the information required by this item by reference to the sections captioned "Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management" and "Equity Compensation Plans" in our 20222023 annual proxy statement.

We incorporate the information required by this item by reference to the sections captioned "Transactions with Related Parties" and "Corporate Governance" (specifically, its subsection captioned "Overview") in our 20222023 annual proxy statement.

We incorporate the information required by this item by reference to the section captioned "Principal Accountant Fees and Services" in our 20222023 annual proxy statement.

None.

Pursuant to the requirements of Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, this report has been signed below by the following persons on behalf of the registrant in the capacities and on the dates indicated.

We have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheets of CRA International, Inc. (a Massachusetts corporation) and subsidiaries (the "Company") as of January 1,December 31, 2022 and January 2, 2021,1, 2022, the related consolidated statements of operations, comprehensive income, changes in shareholders’ equity, and cash flows for each of the twothree years in the period ended January 1,December 31, 2022, and the related notes (collectively referred to as the “financial statements”). In our opinion, the financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Company as of January 1,December 31, 2022 and January 2, 2021,1, 2022, and the results of its operations and its cash flows for each of the twothree years in the period ended January 1,December 31, 2022, in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.

These financial statements are the responsibility of the Company’s management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Company’s financial statements based on our audits. We are a public accounting firm registered with the PCAOB and are required to be independent with respect to the Company in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.

We conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement, whether due to error or fraud. Our audits included performing procedures to assess the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements, whether due to error or fraud, and performing procedures that respond to those risks. Such procedures included examining, on a test basis, evidence regarding the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. Our audits also included evaluating the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the financial statements. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.

As described further in Notes 1 and 2 to the consolidated financial statements, the Company recognizes revenue from fixed-price arrangements using the ratio of costs incurred to total estimated costs for completing a performance obligation. We identified the Company’s estimates of total costs to complete a performance obligation in a fixed-price contract as a critical audit matter.

The principal considerations for our determination that the Company’s estimates of total costs to complete a performance obligation in a fixed-price arrangement is a critical audit matter are the significant management judgement in estimating forecasted direct labor, subcontract labor and other direct costs remaining to complete a performance obligation and to determine the related revenue recognized. Significant management estimates are subject to estimation uncertainty and require significant auditor subjectivity in evaluating the results of our procedures and the reasonableness of those estimates.

Our audit procedures related to the estimates of total costs to complete a performance obligation included the following, among others.