conversion rates, international revenues would have been higher than reported under GAAP by approximately $0.7 million in the second quarter of fiscal 2020. Using these constant currency rates, which we believe provides a more comprehensive view of trends in our business, our revenue decreased in North America and Europe by 0.9% and 13.1%, respectively, and increased in Asia Pacific by 7.1% during the second quarter of fiscal 2020.
The number of consultants on assignment as of November 23, 2019 was 3,072 compared to 3,389 consultants engaged as of November 25, 2018. We operated 72 (23 abroad) offices as of November 23, 2019 and 74 (26 abroad) as of November 24, 2018.
Our clients do not sign long-term contracts with us. As such, there can be no assurance as to future demand levels for the services we provide or that future results can be reliably predicted by considering past trends.
Direct Cost of Services. Direct cost of services decreased $5.3 million, or 4.5%, to $110.1 million for the three months ended November 23, 2019 from $115.4 million for the three months ended November 24, 2018. The decrease in the amount of direct cost of services between periods was primarily attributable to a decrease of 2.0% in the number of hours worked and a decrease of 1.6% in the average pay rate per hour between the two quarters.
Direct cost of services as a percentage of revenue was 59.7% and 61.1% for the three months ended November 23, 2019 and November 24, 2018, respectively. The direct cost of services as a percentage of revenue improved in the second quarter of fiscal 2020 compared to prior year quarter primarily due to an improvement in the Company’s bill/pay ratio as well as a decrease in holiday pay for consultants in the U.S. (second quarter of fiscal 2020 included only Labor Day while the second quarter of fiscal 2019 included Labor Day and Thanksgiving).
Our target direct cost of services percentage is 60% in all of our markets.
Selling, General and Administrative Expenses. Selling, general and administrative expenses (“SG&A”) as a percentage of revenue was 29.1% for both the three months ended November 23, 2019 and November 24, 2018. SG&A was $53.8 million for the second quarter of fiscal 2020 and $55.0 million for the comparable prior year period. The year-over-year decrease is primarily attributable to: (1) a $2.5 million decrease in incentive compensation as a result of the decrease in second quarter revenue, (2) a $0.9 million decrease in business expenses as management continues to closely manage discretionary spend and (3) $0.8 million less in severance expense, partially offset by $2.9 million in additional payroll and benefit costs due to additional headcount related to project delivery and digital transformation efforts, including Veracity.
Management and administrative headcount was 962 at the end of the second quarter of fiscal 2020 and 912 at the end of the second quarter of fiscal 2019.
Sequential Operations. On a sequential quarter basis, fiscal 2020 second quarter revenues increased approximately 7.1% (7.3% constant currency), from $172.2 million to $184.5 million. Second quarter revenue includes a full quarter of Veracity and reflects active pipeline management and business development coupled with fewer holidays in the U.S. as well as seasonal impact (second quarter of fiscal 2020 included Labor Day while the first quarter of fiscal 2020 included Memorial Day and July 4th holidays in the U.S. and summer holiday breaks taken by our consultants), resulting in a 6.2% increase in hours worked. Average bill rates increased 0.8% from the first quarter. The Company’s sequential revenue increased in North America and Europe by 8.6% and 3.2% respectively and decreased in Asia Pacific by 2.8%. On a constant currency basis, using the comparable first quarter fiscal 2020 conversion rates, sequential revenue increased in North America (8.6%), Europe (4.0%) and decreased in Asia Pacific (1.9%). Asia Pacific revenue decreased due to the week-long holidays in both Japan and China, two of the Company’s largest markets in Asia.
Direct cost of services as a percentage of revenue was 59.7% and 60.8% in the second quarter of fiscal 2020 and first quarter of fiscal 2020, respectively. The decrease in the direct cost of services percentage in the second quarter of 2020 is primarily due to a decrease in holiday pay for consultants in the U.S. as a result of fewer holidays (Labor Day in the second quarter of fiscal 2020 compared to the Memorial Day and July 4th holidays in the first quarter) as well as lower payroll taxes.
SG&A as a percentage of revenue was 29.1% for the second quarter of fiscal 2020 compared to 33.1% for the first quarter of fiscal 2020. SG&A in the second quarter decreased $3.2 million to $53.8 million from $57.0 million in the previous quarter. The primary reasons for the decrease were: (1) severance cost of $0.4 million in the first quarter related to a former officer of the Company, (2) $0.7 million of costs related to exit activities in Sweden and Belgium in the first quarter, (3) $0.6 million of acquisition costs related to Veracity in the first quarter, (4) $0.5 million in retention bonuses in the first quarter and (5) a decrease of $0.7 million in business expenses as management continues to closely manage discretionary spend.
Amortization and Depreciation Expense. Amortization of intangible assets was $1.5 million and $1.0 million in the second quarter of fiscal 2020 and fiscal 2019, respectively. The increase in amortization expense is primarily due to the amortization of identifiable intangible assets acquired from Veracity during the first quarter of fiscal 2020.
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