1289848--2/24/2009--Huron_Consulting_Group

related topics

{personnel, key, retain}

{customer, product, revenue}

{debt, indebtedness, cash}

{acquisition, growth, future}

{cost, contract, operation}

{interest, director, officer}

{competitive, industry, competition}

{property, intellectual, protect}

{condition, economic, financial}

{capital, credit, financial}

{cost, operation, labor}

{financial, litigation, operation}

{operation, international, foreign}

{product, market, service}

An inability to retain our senior management team and other managing directors would be detrimental to the success of our business. Our inability to hire and retain talented people in an industry where there is great competition for talent could have a serious negative effect on our prospects and results of operations. Additional hiring and business acquisitions could disrupt our operations, increase our costs or otherwise harm our business. If we are unable to manage the growth of our business successfully, we may not be able to sustain profitability. Our international expansion could result in additional risks. Our substantial indebtedness and the current credit crisis could adversely affect our ability to raise additional capital to fund our operations and obligations, expose us to interest rate risk to the extent of our variable rate debt, and could adversely affect our financial results. Our intellectual property rights in our Huron Consulting Group name are important, and any inability to use that name could negatively impact our ability to build brand identity. Our financial results could suffer if we are unable to achieve or maintain adequate utilization and suitable billing rates for our consultants. Expanding our service offerings or number of offices may not be profitable. Our ability to maintain and attract new business depends upon our reputation, the professional reputation of our revenue-generating employees and the quality of our services. The consulting services industry is highly competitive, and we may not be able to compete effectively. The profitability of our fixed-fee engagements with clients may not meet our expectations if we underestimate the cost of these engagements. Revenues from our performance-based engagements are difficult to predict, and the timing and extent of recovery of our costs is uncertain. A significant portion of our revenues is derived from a limited number of clients, and our engagement agreements, including those related to our largest clients, can be terminated by our clients with little or no notice and without penalty, which may cause our operating results to be unpredictable. Conflicts of interest could preclude us from accepting engagements thereby causing decreased utilization and revenues. Our engagements could result in professional liability, which could be very costly and hurt our reputation. As a holding company, we are totally dependent on distributions from our operating subsidiaries to pay dividends or other obligations and there may also be other restrictions on our ability to pay dividends in the future. The nature of our services and the current economic environment make evaluating our business difficult.

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1289848--2/24/2009--Huron_Consulting_Group_Inc.