| Significant Accounting Policies [Text Block] | (1)
SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES Description of business and basis of presentation National Research Corporation, doing business as NRC Health (“NRC Health,” the “Company,” “we,” “our,” “us” or similar terms), is a leading provider of analytics and insights that facilitate measurement and improvement of the patient and employee experience while also increasing patient engagement and customer loyalty for healthcare organizations in the United States. Our purpose is to humanize healthcare and support organizations in their understanding of each person they serve not as point-in-time insights, but as an ongoing relationship. We believe that understanding the story is the key to unlocking the highest-quality and truly personalized care. Our end-to-end solutions enable health care organizations to understand what matters most to each person they serve – before, during, after, and outside of clinical encounters – to gain a longitudinal understanding of how life and health intersect, with the goal of developing lasting, trusting relationships. Our portfolio of solutions represents a unique set of capabilities that individually and collectively provide value to our clients. Our condensed consolidated balance sheet at December 31, 2023 was derived from our audited consolidated balance sheet as of that date. All other financial statements contained herein are unaudited and, in the opinion of management, include all adjustments (consisting only of normal recurring adjustments) that we consider necessary for a fair presentation of financial position, results of operations and cash flows in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States. Information and footnote disclosures included in financial statements prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States have been condensed or omitted. These condensed consolidated financial statements should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements and notes thereto that are included in our Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) on February 27, 2024. The preparation of financial statements in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States requires management to make certain estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenue and expenses during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from those estimates. The condensed consolidated financial statements include the accounts of the Company and our wholly-owned subsidiary, National Research Corporation Canada, until it was formally dissolved in August 2024. All significant intercompany transactions and balances have been eliminated. Our Canadian subsidiary used Canadian dollars as its functional currency. We translated its assets and liabilities into U.S. dollars at the exchange rate in effect at the balance sheet date. We translated its revenue and expenses at the average exchange rate during the period. During December 2022, we substantially liquidated our investment in Canada. As a result, currency translation changes were recognized in Other income (expense), net in our Condensed Consolidated Statements of Income. In the three-month period ended June 30, 2024 we repatriated the remaining cash from Canada. Revenue Recognition We derive a majority of our revenues from our annually renewable subscription-based service agreements with our customers, which include performance measurement and improvement services, healthcare analytics and governance education services. Such agreements are generally cancelable on short or no notice without penalty. See Note 3 for further information about our contracts with customers. We account for revenue using the following steps:
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Identify the contract, or contracts, with a customer;
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Identify the performance obligations in the contract;
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Determine the transaction price;
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Allocate the transaction price to the identified performance obligations; and
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Recognize revenue when, or as, we satisfy the performance obligations. Our revenue arrangements with a client may include combinations of more than one service offering which may be executed at the same time, or within close proximity of one another. We combine contracts with the same customer into a single contract for accounting purposes when the contract is entered into at or near the same time and the contracts are negotiated together. For contracts that contain more than one separately identifiable performance obligation, the total transaction price is allocated to the identified performance obligations based upon the relative stand-alone selling prices of the performance obligations. The stand-alone selling prices are based on an observable price for services sold to other comparable customers, when available, or an estimated selling price using a cost-plus margin or residual approach. We estimate the amount of total contract consideration we expect to receive for variable arrangements based on the most likely amount we expect to earn from the arrangement based on the expected quantities of services we expect to provide and the contractual pricing based on those quantities. We only include some or a portion of variable consideration in the transaction price when it is probable that a significant reversal in the amount of cumulative revenue recognized will not occur. We consider the sensitivity of the estimate, our relationship and experience with the client and variable services being performed, the range of possible revenue amounts and the magnitude of the variable consideration to the overall arrangement. The majority of our revenue arrangements are for a twelve-month period but we also have multi-year arrangements. Our revenue arrangements do not contain any significant financing element due to the contract terms and the timing between when consideration is received and when the service is provided. We typically bill customers annually or quarterly in advance of services but may also bill monthly. Our arrangements with customers consist principally of four different types of arrangements: 1) subscription-based service agreements; 2) one-time specified services performed at a single point in time; 3) fixed, non-subscription service agreements; and 4) unit-priced service agreements. Subscription-based services - One-time services Fixed, non-subscription services Unit-price services Revenue is presented net of any sales tax charged to our clients that we are required to remit to taxing authorities. We recognize contract assets or unbilled receivables related to revenue recognized for services completed but not invoiced to the clients. Unbilled receivables are classified as receivables when we have an unconditional right to contract consideration. A contract liability is recognized as deferred revenue when we invoice clients in advance of performing the related services under the terms of a contract. Deferred revenue is recognized as revenue when we have satisfied the related performance obligation. Deferred Contract Costs Deferred contract costs, net is stated at gross deferred costs less accumulated amortization. We defer commissions and incentives, including payroll taxes, and certain implementation costs if they are incremental and recoverable costs of obtaining a renewable customer contract. Deferred contract costs are amortized over the estimated term of the contract, including renewals, which generally ranges from three five
Three months ended
Three months ended
Nine months ended
Nine months ended
(In thousands)
Direct Expenses $ 30 $ 67 $ 128 $ 146
Selling, general and administrative expenses 219 278 655 915
Total amortization $ 249 $ 345 $ 783 $ 1,061 Additional expense included in selling, general and administrative expenses for impairment of costs capitalized due to lost clients was $3,000 and $26,000 for the three-month periods ended September 30, 2024 and 2023, respectively and $37,000 and $41,000 in the nine-month periods ended September 30, 2024 and 2023, respectively. Trade Accounts Receivable Trade accounts receivable are recorded at the invoiced amount. The allowance for doubtful accounts is our best estimate of the amount of probable credit losses in our existing accounts receivable, determined based on our historical write-off experience, current economic conditions and reasonable and supportable forecasts about the future. We review the allowance for doubtful accounts monthly. Account balances are charged off against the allowance after all means of collection have been exhausted and the potential for recovery is considered remote. The following table provides the activity in the allowance for doubtful accounts for the nine-month periods ended September 30, 2024 and 2023 (In thousands):
Balance at Beginning of Period
Bad Debt Expense (Benefit)
Write-offs
Recoveries
Balance at End of Period
Nine months ended September 30, 2024 $ 75 $ (72 ) $ 9 $ 51 $ 45
Nine months ended September 30, 2023 $ 65 $ 100 $ 89 $ 9 $ 85 Leases We determine whether a lease is included in an agreement at inception. We recognize a lease liability and a right-of-use (“ROU”) asset on the balance sheet for our operating leases under which we are lessee. Operating lease ROU assets are included in operating lease right-of-use assets in our condensed consolidated balance sheet. Finance lease assets are included in property and equipment. Operating and finance lease liabilities are included in other current liabilities and other long-term liabilities. Certain lease arrangements may include options to extend or terminate the lease. We include these provisions in the ROU asset and lease liabilities only when it is reasonably certain that we will exercise that option. Lease expense for operating lease payments is recognized on a straight-line basis over the lease term and is included in direct expenses and selling, general and administrative expenses. Our lease agreements do not contain any residual value guarantees. ROU assets represent our right to use an underlying asset for the lease term and lease liabilities represent our obligation to make lease payments during the lease term. ROU assets and lease liabilities are recorded at lease commencement based on the estimated present value of lease payments. Because the rate of interest implicit in each lease is not readily determinable, we use our estimated incremental collateralized borrowing rate at lease commencement, to calculate the present value of lease payments. When determining the appropriate incremental borrowing rate, we consider our available credit facilities, recently issued debt and public interest rate information. Due to remote working arrangements, we reassessed our office needs and subleased our Seattle location under an agreement considered to be an operating lease beginning in May 2021. We have not been legally released from our primary obligations under the original lease and therefore we continue to account for the original lease separately. Rent income from the sublessee is included in the statement of operations on a straight-line basis as an offset to rent expense associated with the original operating lease included in other expenses. Fair Value Measurements Our valuation techniques are based on maximizing observable inputs and minimizing the use of unobservable inputs when measuring fair value. Observable inputs reflect readily obtainable data from independent sources, while unobservable inputs reflect our market assumptions. The inputs are then classified into the following hierarchy: (1) Level 1 Inputs—quoted prices in active markets for identical assets and liabilities; (2) Level 2 Inputs—observable market-based inputs other than Level 1 inputs, such as quoted prices for similar assets or liabilities in active markets, quoted prices for similar or identical assets or liabilities in markets that are not active, or other inputs that are observable or can be corroborated by observable market data; (3) Level 3 Inputs—unobservable inputs. There were no transfers between levels during the nine months ended September 30, 2024. The following details our assets and liabilities measured at fair value on a recurring basis:
Level 1
Level 2
Level 3
Total
(In thousands)
As of September 30, 2024
Financial Assets:
Money Market Funds $ 3,157 $ - $ - $ 3,157
Total Cash Equivalents $ 3,157 $ - $ - $ 3,157
Financial Liabilities:
Contingent Consideration Liability $ - - $ 799 $ 799
As of December 31, 2023
Financial Assets:
Money Market Funds $ 6,471 $ - $ - $ 6,471
Total Cash Equivalents $ 6,471 $ - $ - $ 6,471 Our contingent consideration liability relates to potential future payments to the former owners of Nobl Health (“Nobl”) which was acquired in the third quarter of 2024 (See Note 2). The potential future payments are contingent upon the achievement of certain customer contract metrics. Contingent consideration was recognized at the date of acquisition and is remeasured at each reporting date at its estimated fair value. The remeasured fair value could differ materially from the initial estimates and uses significant unobservable inputs classified as Level 3 inputs. We measured fair value using a discounted cash flow model based on the present value of expected future payments, which considers the likelihood of meeting contract thresholds at future payment dates. Significant increases or decreases to any of the inputs in isolation could result in a significantly higher or lower liability. The change to the contingent consideration liability from the acquisition date, at each reporting date and the final amount paid, which is capped at $1.0 million, will be recognized in earnings. We recorded an increase of $23,000 to the fair value of contingent consideration, from $776,000 at the acquisition date to $799,000 at September 30, 2024, which is included in selling, general and administrative expenses. Our long-term debt described in Note 4 is recorded at historical cost. The fair value of fixed rate long-term debt in 2023 was classified in Level 2 of the fair value hierarchy and was estimated based primarily on estimated current rates available for debt of the same remaining duration and adjusted for nonperformance and credit. The fair value of our variable rate long-term debt is believed to approximate the carrying value because we believe the current rate reasonably estimates the current market rate for our debt. The following are the carrying amount and estimated fair values of long-term debt:
September 30,
December 31, 2023
(In thousands)
Total carrying amount of long-term debt $ 48,742 $ 36,787
Estimated fair value of long-term debt $ 48,742 $ 36,403 The carrying amounts of accounts receivable, line of credit, accounts payable, and accrued expenses approximate their fair value. All non-financial assets that are not recognized or disclosed at fair value in the financial statements on a recurring basis, which includes ROU assets, property and equipment, goodwill, intangibles and cost method investments, are measured at fair value in certain circumstances (for example, when there is evidence of impairment). As of September 30, 2024 and December 31, 2023, there was no Annually, we consider whether the recorded goodwill and indefinite lived intangibles have been impaired. However, goodwill and intangibles must be tested between annual tests if an event occurs or circumstances change to indicate that it is more likely than not that an impairment loss has been incurred (“triggering event”). Commitments and Contingencies |
