2.                        Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

 

The Company follows accounting standards established by the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) to ensure consistent reporting of financial condition, results of operations and cash flows. References to Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (“GAAP”) in these footnotes are to the FASB Accounting Standards CodificationTM, sometimes referred to as the codification or ASC.

 

Principles of Consolidation—The consolidated financial statements include the accounts of Envestnet and its wholly-owned subsidiaries. All significant intercompany transactions and balances have been eliminated in consolidation. Accounts denominated in a non-U.S. currency have been re-measured using the U.S. dollar as the functional currency.

 

Management Estimates—Management of the Company has made certain estimates and assumptions relating to the reporting of assets, liabilities, revenues and expenses and the disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities to prepare these consolidated financial statements in conformity with GAAP. Significant areas requiring the use of management estimates relate to estimating uncollectible receivables, revenue recognition, costs capitalized for internally developed software, valuations and assumptions used for impairment testing of goodwill, intangible and other long-lived assets, fair value of stock and stock options issued, fair value of customer inducement assets and liabilities, fair value of contingent consideration, realization of deferred tax assets, uncertain tax positions and assumptions used to allocate purchase prices in business combinations. Actual results could differ materially from these estimates under different assumptions or conditions.

 

Revenue Recognition—The Company recognizes revenue from services related to asset management and administration, licensing and professional services fees. The Company recognizes revenue when all of the following conditions are satisfied: (i) there is persuasive evidence of an arrangement, (ii) the service or product has been provided to the customer and no uncertainties exist surrounding product acceptances (iii) the amount of fees to be paid by the customer is fixed or determinable; and (iv) the collection of fees is reasonably assured.

 

·                  Asset management and administration fees — The Company derives revenues from fees charged as a percentage of the assets that are managed or administered on its technology platform by financial advisors, financial institutions, and their clients (collectively “customers”) and for services the Company provides to its customers. Such services include investment manager due diligence and research, portfolio diagnostics, proposal generation, investment model management, rebalancing and trading, portfolio performance reporting and monitoring solutions, billing, and back office and middle-office operations and administration. Investment decisions for assets under management or administration are made by our customers. The asset management and administration fees the Company earns are generally based upon a contractual percentage of assets managed or administered on our platform based on preceding quarter-end values. The contractual fee percentages vary based on the level and type of services the Company provides to its customers. Fees related to assets under management or administration increase or decrease based on values of existing customer accounts. The values are affected by inflows or outflows of customer funds and market fluctuations.

 

·                  Licensing and professional services fees—

 

Licensing— The Company derives licensing fees from recurring contractual fixed fee contracts with larger financial institutions or enterprise clients. Licensing contracts allow the customer to provide a unique configuration of platform features and investment solutions for their advisors. The licensing fees vary based on the type of services provided and our revenues received under license agreements are recognized over the contractual term. The Company’s license agreements do not generally provide its customers the ability to take possession of the software or host the software on the customers’ own systems or through a hosting arrangement with an unrelated party.

 

When the Company enters into arrangements with multiple deliverables, exclusive of arrangements with software deliverables, it applies the FASB’s guidance for revenue arrangements with multiple deliverables and evaluates each deliverable to determine whether it represents a separate unit of accounting based on the following criteria: (i) whether the delivered item has value to the customer on a stand-alone basis, and (ii) if the contract includes a general right of return relative to the delivered item, delivery or performance of the undelivered item(s) is considered probable and substantially in the control of the Company. Revenue is allocated to each unit of accounting or element based on relative selling prices. The Company determines relative selling prices by using either (i) vendor-specific objective evidence (“VSOE”) if it exists; or (ii) third-party evidence (“TPE”) of selling price. When neither VSOE nor TPE of selling price exists for a deliverable, the Company uses its best estimate of the selling price for that deliverable.

 

After determining which deliverables represent a separate unit of accounting, each unit is then accounted for under the applicable revenue recognition guidance. In cases where elements cannot be treated as separate units of accounting, the elements are combined into a single unit of accounting for revenue recognition purposes. If one of the elements that are combined into a single unit of accounting is fees from professional services, including implementation related services or customized service platform software development, the professional service fees are recognized over the course of the expected customer relationship. We have estimated the life of the customer relationship by considering both the historical retention rate of our customers while not exceeding the number of years over which we can accurately forecast future revenues. We currently estimate this term to be five years.

 

When the Company enters into arrangements with multiple deliverables involving software, the Company applies the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants’ (“AICPA”) accounting guidance for software. The entire arrangement fee is allocated to each element in the arrangement based on the respective VSOE of fair value of each element.

 

Professional services— The Company derives professional service fees from providing contractual customized service platform software development, which are recognized under a proportional performance model utilizing an output-based approach.  The Company’s contracts generally have fixed prices, and generally specify or quantify interim deliverables.

 

Cash received by the Company in advance of the performance of services is deferred and recognized as revenue when earned. Certain portions of the Company’s revenues require management’s consideration of the nature of the client relationship in determining whether to recognize as revenue the gross amount billed or net amount retained after payments are made to providers for certain services related to the product or service offering.

 

The Company uses the following factors to determine whether to record revenue on a gross or net basis:

 

·                  the Company has a direct contract with the third party service provider;

 

·                  the Company has discretion in establishing fees paid by the customer and fees due to the third party service provider; and

 

·                  the Company has credit risk

 

When customer fees include charges for third party service providers where the Company has a direct contract with such third party service providers, gross revenue recognized by the Company equals the fee paid by the customer. The cost of revenues recognized by the Company is the amount due to the third party service provider.

 

In instances where the Company does not have a direct contract with the third party service provider, the Company cannot exercise discretion in establishing fees paid by the customer and fees due to the third party service provider, and the Company does not have credit risk, the Company records the revenue on a net basis.

 

Deferred Revenue—Deferred revenue primarily consists of implementation and set up fees, professional services, and license fee payments received in advance from customers.

 

Cost of Revenues—Cost of revenues primarily include expenses related to third party investment management and clearing, custody and brokerage services. Generally, these expenses are calculated based upon a contractual percentage of the market value of assets held in customer accounts measured as of the end of each quarter and are recognized ratably throughout the quarter based on the number of days in the quarter.

 

Allowance for Doubtful Accounts—The Company evaluates the need for an allowance for doubtful accounts for potentially uncollectible fees receivable. In establishing the amount of the allowance, if any, customer-specific information is considered related to delinquent accounts, including historical loss experience and current economic conditions. As of December 31, 2013 and 2012, the Company’s allowance for doubtful accounts was $203 and $0, respectively.  The following table summarizes the changes to the allowance for doubtful accounts:

 

		December 31, 2013
Balance, beginning of year		$	—
Add: Provisions for doubtful accounts		203
Less: Write-offs		—
Balance, end of year		$	203

 

Segments—The Company’s chief operating decision maker is its chief executive officer, who reviews financial information presented on a consolidated basis. Historically, the Company has determined that it has a single reporting segment and operating unit structure. As a result of the acquisitions as discussed in Note 3, the Company has re-examined its reporting and operating structure and has determined it continues to maintain a single reporting segment and operating unit structure.

 

Fair Value of Financial Instruments—The carrying amounts of financial instruments, net of any allowances, including cash equivalents, fees receivable, accounts payable and accrued expenses are considered to be reasonable estimates of their fair values due to their short-term nature.

 

Cash and Cash Equivalents—The Company considers all highly liquid investments purchased with an original maturity of three months or less to be cash equivalents. Cash and cash equivalents are recorded at cost, which approximates fair value. The Company’s financial instruments that are exposed to concentrations of credit risk consist primarily of cash and cash equivalents. The Company maintains its cash accounts at financial institutions in excess of amounts insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”). The Company monitors such credit risk and has not experienced any losses related to such risk.

 

Investments— Investments are recorded at cost and reviewed for impairment. Investments are included in “Other non-current assets” on the consolidated balance sheets and consist of non-marketable investments in privately held companies, as well as other alternative investments.  The Company reviews these investments on a regular basis to evaluate the carrying amount and economic viability of these investments. This policy includes, but is not limited to, reviewing each of the investee’s cash position, financing needs, earnings/revenue outlook, operational performance, management/ownership changes and competition. The evaluation process is based on information that the Company requests from these investees. This information is not subject to the same disclosure regulations as U.S. publicly traded companies, and as such, the basis for these evaluations is subject to the timing and accuracy of the data received from these investees.

 

The Company’s investments are assessed for impairment when a review of the investee’s operations indicates that there is a decline in value of the investment and the decline is other than temporary. Such indicators include, but are not limited to, limited capital resources, limited prospects of receiving additional financing, and prospects for liquidity of the related securities. Impaired investments are written down to estimated fair value. The Company estimates fair value using a variety of valuation methodologies, including comparing the investee with publicly traded companies in similar lines of business, applying valuation multiples to estimated future operating results and estimated discounted future cash flows. There were impairments to investments of $47, $0 and $0 during the years ended December 31, 2013, 2012 and 2011, respectively.

 

Property and Equipment—Property and equipment are stated at cost less accumulated depreciation and amortization. Depreciation of furniture and equipment is computed using the straight-line method based on estimated useful lives of the depreciable assets. Leasehold improvements are amortized on a straight-line basis over their estimated economic useful lives or the remaining lease term, whichever is shorter. Improvements are capitalized, while repairs and maintenance costs are charged to operations as incurred. Assets are reviewed for recoverability whenever events or circumstances indicate the carrying value may not be recoverable.

 

Customer Inducements—Payments made to customers as an inducement are capitalized and amortized against revenue on a straight-line basis over the term of the agreement.

 

Internally Developed Software—Costs incurred in the preliminary stages of development are expensed as incurred. Once an application has reached the development stage, internal and external costs, if direct and incremental, are capitalized until the software is substantially complete and ready for its intended use. Capitalization ceases upon completion of all substantial testing. The Company also capitalizes costs related to specific upgrades and enhancements when it is probable the expenditures will result in additional functionality. Maintenance and training costs are expensed as incurred. Internally developed software is amortized on a straight-line basis over its estimated useful life. Management evaluates the useful lives of these assets on an annual basis and tests for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances occur that could impact the recoverability of these assets. There were no impairments of internally developed software during the years ended December 31, 2013, 2012 and 2011.

 

Goodwill and Intangible Assets—Goodwill consists of the excess of the purchase price over the fair value of identifiable net assets of businesses acquired. Goodwill is reviewed for impairment each year using a two-step process that is performed at least annually or whenever events or circumstances indicate that impairment may have occurred. The Company has concluded that it has a single reporting unit. The first step is a comparison of the fair value of the reporting unit with its carrying amount, including goodwill. If the fair value of the reporting unit exceeds its carrying value, goodwill of the reporting unit is not considered impaired and the second step is unnecessary. If the carrying value of the reporting unit exceeds its fair value, a second test is performed to measure the amount of impairment by comparing the carrying amount of the goodwill to a determination of the implied fair value of the goodwill. If the carrying amount of the goodwill is greater than the implied value, an impairment loss is recognized for the difference. The implied value of the goodwill is determined as of the test date by performing a purchase price allocation, as if the reporting unit had just been acquired, using currently estimated fair values of the individual assets and liabilities of the reporting unit, together with an estimate of the fair value of the reporting unit taken as a whole. The estimate of the fair value of the reporting unit is based upon information available regarding prices of similar groups of assets, or other valuation techniques including present value techniques based upon estimates of future cash flows. No impairment charges have been recorded for the years ended December 31, 2013, 2012 and 2011.

 

Intangible assets are recorded at cost less accumulated amortization. Intangible assets are reviewed for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances may affect the recoverability of the net assets. Such reviews include an analysis of current results and take into consideration the undiscounted value of projected operating cash flows.

 

Long-Lived Assets—Long-lived assets, such as property, equipment, capitalized internal use software and intangible assets subject to amortization are reviewed for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of an asset group may not be recoverable. Recoverability of assets to be held and used is measured by a comparison of the carrying amount of an asset group to estimated undiscounted future cash flows expected to be generated by the asset group. If the carrying amount of an asset group exceeds its estimated future cash flows, an impairment charge is recognized by the amount by which the carrying amount of the asset group exceeds the fair value of the asset group. All long-lived assets of the Company are located in the U.S., except for approximately $997 and $764 as of December 31, 2013 and 2012, respectively, which are located in India.

 

Management evaluates the useful lives of these assets on an annual basis and tests for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances occur that could impact recoverability of these assets. There were impairments to long-lived assets of $283, $0 and $0 during the years ended December 31, 2013, 2012 and 2011, respectively.

 

Leases—In certain circumstances, the Company enters into leases with free rent periods, rent escalations or lease incentives over the term of the lease. In such cases, the Company calculates the total payments over the term of the lease and records them ratably as rent expense over that term.

 

Income Taxes—The Company uses the asset and liability method to account for income taxes. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are recognized for the future tax consequences attributable to differences between the financial statement carrying amounts of existing assets and liabilities and their respective tax bases and net operating loss carryforwards. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are measured using enacted tax rates expected to apply to taxable income in the years in which those temporary differences are expected to be recovered or settled. The effect on deferred tax assets and liabilities of a change in tax rates is recognized in income in the period that includes the enactment date. The Company records a valuation allowance to reduce deferred tax assets to an amount that is more likely than not to be realized.

 

The Company follows authoritative guidance related to how uncertain tax positions should be recognized, measured, disclosed and presented in the consolidated financial statements. This requires the evaluation of tax positions taken or expected to be taken in the course of preparing the Company’s tax returns to determine whether the tax positions are  “more-likely-than-not” of being sustained “when challenged” or “when examined” by the applicable tax authority.  The tax benefits recognized in the consolidated financial statements from tax positions are measured based on the largest benefit that has a greater than 50% likelihood of being realized upon ultimate settlement.

 

Advertising Costs—The Company expenses all advertising costs as incurred and they are classified within general and administration expenses. Advertising costs totaled approximately $1,028, $1,504 and $1,388 for the years ended December 31, 2013, 2012 and 2011, respectively.

 

Research and Development—The Company intends to continue to invest in its technology platform and software and service offerings to provide financial advisors with access to investment solutions and services that address the widest range of financial advisors’ front-, middle-and back-office needs. In the years ended December 31, 2013, 2012 and 2011, our technology development expenses totaled $5,998, $6,309, and $4,942, respectively, exclusive of capitalization of internally developed software and related amortization.

 

Business Combinations—The Company accounts for business combinations under the acquisition method. The cost of an acquired company is assigned to the tangible and intangible assets acquired and the liabilities assumed on the basis of their fair values at the date of acquisition. The determination of fair values of assets acquired and liabilities assumed requires management to make estimates and use valuation techniques when market values are not readily available. Any excess of purchase price over the fair value of net tangible and intangible assets acquired is allocated to goodwill. Transaction costs associated with business combinations are expensed as incurred.

 

Stock-Based Compensation—Compensation cost relating to stock-based awards made to employees and directors is recognized in the consolidated financial statements using the Black-Scholes option-pricing model in the case of non-qualified stock option awards, and intrinsic value in the case of restricted stock awards. The Company measures the cost of such awards based on the estimated fair value of the award measured at the grant date and recognizes the expense on a straight-line basis over the requisite service period, which is the vesting period.

 

Determining the fair value of stock options requires the Company to make several estimates, including the volatility of its stock price, the expected life of the option, forfeiture rate, dividend yield and interest rates. Prior to July 28, 2010, the Company was not a publicly traded company. Accordingly, the Company had limited historical information on the price of its stock as well as employees’ stock option exercise behavior. Because of this limitation, the Company cannot rely on its historical experience alone to develop assumptions for stock-price volatility and the expected life of its options. The Company estimates the expected life of its options using the “Simplified Method.” The Company estimates stock-price volatility with reference to a peer group of publicly traded companies. Determining the companies to include in this peer group involves judgment. The Company utilizes a risk-free interest rate, which is based on the yield of U.S. zero coupon securities with a maturity equal to the expected life of the options. The Company has not and does not expect to pay dividends on its common shares.

 

The Company is required to estimate expected forfeitures of stock-based awards at the grant date and recognize compensation cost only for those awards expected to vest. The forfeiture assumption is ultimately adjusted to the actual forfeiture rate. Therefore, changes in the forfeiture assumptions may impact the total amount of expense ultimately recognized over the vesting period. Estimated forfeitures will be reassessed in subsequent periods and may change based on new facts and circumstances.

 

Reclassifications—Certain reclassifications were made to the December 31, 2012 consolidated balance sheet to conform to the 2013 presentation.

 

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

 

There are no recent accounting pronouncements that have or are expected to have a material effect on our operating results or financial position.