International economic trends, foreign governmental policy actions and the following factors may have a material adverse effect on the performance of our business:
- difficulties and costs of staffing and managing international operations among diverse geographies, languages and cultures;
- currency restrictions, transfer-pricing regulations and adverse tax consequences, which may affect our ability to transfer capital and profits;
- adverse changes in regulatory, tax or trade policies or uncertainty about potential changes in such regulatory, tax or trade policies;
- responsibility for complying with numerous, potentially conflicting and frequently complex and changing laws in multiple jurisdictions (e.g., with respect to data privacy and protection, sustainability, corrupt practices, embargoes, trade sanctions, employment and licensing);
- the impact of regional or country-specific business cycles and economic instability, including those related to public health or safety events;
- greater difficulty in collecting accounts receivable or delays in client payments in some geographic regions;
- potential interest rate and /or inflation rate increases and less available and more expensive debt capital;
- foreign ownership restrictions in certain countries, particularly in Asia Pacific and the Middle East, or the risk that such restrictions will be adopted in the future; and
- changes in laws or policies governing foreign trade or investment and use of foreign operations or workers, and any negative sentiments towards multinational companies as a result of any such changes to laws or policies as well as other geopolitical risks.
Our international operations require us to comply with a broad range of complex legal, geopolitical and regulatory environments in which we operate. We may not be successful in complying with regulations in all situations and violations may result in criminal or material civil sanctions and other costs against us or our employees, and may have a material adverse effect on our reputation and business. Furthermore, our efforts to comply with developments in these laws may adversely impact our business.
We have committed resources to expand our worldwide sales and marketing activities, to globalize our service offerings and products in select markets and to develop local sales and support channels. If we are unable to successfully implement these plans, maintain adequate long-term strategies that successfully manage the risks associated with our global business or adequately manage operational fluctuations, our business, financial condition or results of operations could be harmed. In addition, we have established operations and seek to grow our presence in many emerging markets to further expand our global platform. However, we may not be successful in effectively evaluating and monitoring the key business, operational, legal and compliance risks specific to those markets. The political and cultural risks present in emerging countries could also harm our ability to successfully execute our operations or manage our businesses there.