JACK HENRY & ASSOCIATES INC

Previous wording

Data security breaches, failures, or other incidents could damage our reputation and business. Our business relies upon receiving, processing, storing, and transmitting sensitive information relating to our operations, associates, and clients. If we fail to maintain a sufficient digital security infrastructure, address security vulnerabilities and new threats, or deploy adequate technologies to secure our systems against attack, we may be subject to security breaches that compromise confidential information, adversely affect our ability to operate our business, damage our reputation and business, adversely affect our results of operations and financial condition, and expose us to liability. We rely on third parties for various business purposes, and these third parties face similar security risks. A security failure by one of these third parties could expose our data or subject our information systems to interruption of operations and security vulnerabilities. Our information systems rely on hardware, software, and other technological elements, whether developed in-house or provided by third parties, that occasionally need to be patched or updated to address existing or potential security vulnerabilities. If these vulnerabilities are not remediated in a timely manner, our systems and data may be at risk of compromise or interruption.

Current wording

Data security breaches, failures, or other incidents could damage our reputation and business. Our business relies upon receiving, processing, storing, and transmitting sensitive information relating to our operations, associates, and clients. If we fail to maintain a sufficient digital security infrastructure, address security vulnerabilities and new threats, or deploy adequate technologies to secure our systems against attack, we may be subject to security breaches that compromise confidential information, including valuable intellectual property, proprietary information, trade secrets, know-how, or source code, which could lead to their theft, misuse, unauthorized disclosure, or misappropriation. Such incidents could adversely affect our ability to operate our business, damage our reputation and business, adversely affect our results of operations and financial condition, and expose us to liability. We rely on third parties for various business purposes, and these third parties face similar security risks. A security failure by one of these third parties could expose our data or subject our information systems to interruption of operations and security vulnerabilities. Our information systems rely on hardware, software, and other technological elements, whether developed in-house or provided by third parties, that occasionally need to be patched or updated to address existing or potential security vulnerabilities. If these vulnerabilities are not remediated in a timely manner, our systems and data may be at risk of compromise or interruption.

Previous wording

Our services and infrastructure are increasingly reliant on the internet. Computer networks and the internet are vulnerable to disruptive problems such as denial of service attacks or other cyber-attacks carried out by cyber criminals or state-sponsored actors. We anticipate that unauthorized parties will continue to attempt to obtain access to confidential information or to destroy data, often through the introduction of computer viruses, ransomware or malware, cyber-attacks, and other means, which are constantly evolving and at times difficult to detect. Those same parties may also attempt to fraudulently induce associates, clients, vendors, or other users of our systems through phishing schemes or other social engineering methods to disclose sensitive information to gain access to our data or that of our clients or their customer/members. Any such coordinated attacks, if successful, can lead to data loss and exfiltration, disruption to systems and services, and damage to our reputation as a secure financial technology company.

Current wording

Our services and infrastructure are increasingly reliant on the internet. Computer networks and the internet are vulnerable to disruptive problems such as denial of service attacks or other cyber-attacks carried out by cyber criminals or state-sponsored actors. We are continually subject to attempts by unauthorized parties to access confidential information or to destroy data, often through the introduction of computer viruses, ransomware or malware, and cyber-attacks. The use of artificial intelligence increasingly enabling their sophistication and accelerating their evolution, including through automated phishing and the rapid development of new malware, which continue to evolve and can be difficult to detect. Those same parties may also attempt to fraudulently induce associates, clients, vendors, or other authorized users of our systems through phishing schemes or other social engineering methods to disclose sensitive information to gain access to our data or that of our clients or their accountholders. Any such coordinated attacks, if successful, can lead to data loss and exfiltration, disruption to systems and services, and damage to our reputation as a secure financial technology company.

Previous wording

We are also subject to the risk that our associates may intercept and transmit unauthorized confidential or proprietary information or that corporate-owned computers used by associates are stolen, or client data media is lost in shipment. An interception, misuse, or mishandling of personal, confidential, or proprietary information being sent to or received from a client or third party could result in legal liability, remediation costs, regulatory action, and reputational harm, any of which could adversely affect our results of operations and financial condition.

Current wording

We are also subject to the risk that our associates may, unintentionally or with malicious intent, intercept and transmit unauthorized confidential or proprietary information or that corporate-owned computers used by associates are stolen, or client data media is lost in shipment. An interception, misuse, or mishandling of personal, confidential, or proprietary information being sent to or received from a client or third party could result in legal liability, remediation costs, regulatory action, and reputational harm, any of which could adversely affect our results of operations and financial condition.

Previous wording

Like other financial institution service providers, we frequently face third-party attempts to discover and exploit system weaknesses or to circumvent our security measures. We anticipate that attempts to attack our systems, services, and infrastructure, and those of our clients, third-party service providers and other vendors, may grow in frequency and sophistication. We cannot be certain that our security controls and infrastructure will be adequate to continue to protect our systems and data and our efforts may not be sufficient to combat all current and future technological risks and threats. Advances in computer capabilities, new discoveries in the field of cryptography, the use of artificial intelligence, or other events or developments may render our security measures inadequate. Security risks may result in liability to our clients or other third parties, damage to our reputation, and may deter financial institutions from purchasing our products. The significant amount of capital and other resources we currently expend to protect against the threat of security breaches may prove insufficient to prevent a breach. We cannot ensure that any limitation-of-liability provisions in our client and user agreements, contracts with third-party vendors, or other contracts are sufficient to protect us from liabilities or damages with respect to claims relating to a security breach or similar matters. The insurance coverage we maintain to address data security risks may be insufficient to cover all types of claims or losses that may arise, and there is no assurance that such insurance coverage will continue to be available to us on economically reasonable terms, or at all. In the event of a security breach, we may need to spend substantial additional capital and resources alleviating problems caused by such breach. Under state, federal, and foreign laws requiring consumer notification of security breaches, the costs to remediate security breaches can be substantial. Addressing security problems may result in interruptions, delays, or cessation of service to users, any of which could harm our business.

Current wording

Like other financial institution service providers, we continually face third-party attempts to discover and exploit system weaknesses or to circumvent our security measures. We anticipate that attempts to attack our systems, services, and infrastructure, and those of our clients, third-party service providers and other vendors, will grow in frequency and sophistication. We cannot be certain that our security controls and infrastructure will be adequate to continue to protect our systems and data and our efforts may not be sufficient to combat all current and future technological risks and threats. These risks are further heightened by the fact that a significant portion of our associates and contractors work remotely outside of Company-controlled facilities using networks and devices that are not physically controlled by the Company, potentially limiting the effectiveness of our security controls. Advances in computer capabilities, new discoveries in the field of cryptography, the use of artificial intelligence, or other events or developments may render our security measures inadequate. Security risks may result in liability to our clients or other third parties, damage to our reputation, and may deter financial institutions from purchasing our products. The significant amount of capital and other resources we currently expend to protect against the threat of security breaches may prove insufficient to prevent a breach. We cannot ensure that any limitation-of-liability provisions in our client and user agreements, contracts with third-party vendors, or other contracts are sufficient to protect us from liabilities or damages with respect to claims relating to a security breach or similar matters. The insurance coverage we maintain to address data security risks may be insufficient to cover all types of claims or losses that may arise, and there is no assurance that such insurance coverage will continue to be available to us on economically reasonable terms, or at all. In the event of a security breach, we may need to spend substantial additional capital and resources alleviating problems caused by such breach. Under state, federal, and foreign laws, including those requiring consumer notification of security breaches, the costs to remediate security breaches can be substantial. Addressing security problems may result in interruptions, delays, or cessation of service to users, any of which could harm our business.

Previous wording

Failure to maintain sufficient technological infrastructure or an operational failure in our outsourcing facilities could expose us to damage claims, increase regulatory scrutiny, and cause us to lose clients. Our products and services require substantial investments in technological infrastructure, and we have experienced significant growth in the number of users, transactions, and data that our technological infrastructure supports. If we fail to adequately invest in and support our technological infrastructure and processing capacity, we may not be able to support our clients’ processing needs and may be more susceptible to interruptions and delays in services. Damage or destruction that interrupts our outsourcing operations could cause delays and failures in processing which could hurt our relationship with clients, damage our reputation, expose us to damage claims, and cause us to incur substantial additional expense to relocate operations and repair or replace damaged equipment. Events that could cause operational failures include, but are not limited to, hardware and software defects, breakdowns or malfunctions, cybersecurity incidents, human error, power losses, disruptions in telecommunications services, computer viruses or other malware, or other events. Our facilities are also subject to physical risks related to natural disasters or severe weather events, such as tornados, flooding, hurricanes, and heat waves. Climate change may increase the likelihood and severity of such events. Our back-up systems and procedures may prove insufficient or otherwise fail to prevent disruption, such as a prolonged interruption of our transaction processing services. If an interruption extends for more than several hours, we may experience data loss or a reduction in revenues by reason of such interruption. Any significant interruption of service could reduce revenue, have a negative impact on our reputation, result in damage claims, lead our present and potential clients to choose other service providers, and lead to increased regulatory scrutiny of the critical services we provide to financial institutions, with resulting increases in compliance burdens and costs. Implementing modifications and upgrades to our technological infrastructure subject us to inherent costs and risks associated with changing systems, policies, procedures, and monitoring tools.

Current wording

Failure to maintain sufficient technological infrastructure or an operational failure in our outsourcing facilities could expose us to damage claims, increase regulatory scrutiny, and cause us to lose clients. Our products and services require substantial investments in technological infrastructure, and we have experienced significant growth in the number of users, transactions, and data that our technological infrastructure supports. If we fail to adequately invest in and support our technological infrastructure and processing capacity, we may not be able to support our clients’ processing needs and may be more susceptible to interruptions and delays in services. Damage or destruction that interrupts our outsourcing operations could cause delays and failures in processing which could hurt our relationship with clients, damage our reputation, expose us to damage claims, and cause us to incur substantial additional expenses to relocate operations and repair or replace damaged equipment. Events that could cause operational failures include, but are not limited to, hardware and software defects, breakdowns or malfunctions, cybersecurity incidents, human error, power losses, disruptions in telecommunications services, computer viruses or other malware, or other events. Our facilities are also subject to physical risks related to natural disasters or severe weather events, such as tornados, flooding, hurricanes, and heat waves. Climate change may increase the likelihood and severity of such events. Our back-up systems and procedures may prove insufficient or otherwise fail to prevent disruption, such as a prolonged interruption of our transaction processing services. If an interruption extends for more than several hours, we may experience data loss or a reduction in revenues due to such interruption. Any significant interruption of service could reduce revenue, have a negative impact on our reputation and the reputation of our clients, result in damage claims, lead our present and potential clients to choose other service providers, and lead to increased regulatory scrutiny of the critical services we provide to financial institutions, with resulting increases in compliance burdens and costs. Implementing modifications and upgrades to our technological infrastructure subjects us to inherent costs and risks associated with changing systems, policies, procedures, and monitoring tools.

Previous wording

Failures of third-party service providers we rely upon could lead to financial loss. We rely on third-party service providers to support key portions of our operations. We also rely on third-party service providers to provide part, or all of, certain services we deliver to clients. As we continue to move more computing, storage, and processing services out of our data centers and facilities and into third-party hosting environments, our reliance on these providers and their systems will increase. This reliance is further concentrated as we use certain third-party vendors to provide large portions of our hosting needs. While we have selected these third-party vendors carefully, we do not control their actions. A failure of these services by a third party could have a material impact upon our delivery of services to our clients. Such a failure could lead to damage claims, loss of clients, and reputational harm, depending on the duration and severity of the failure. Third parties perform significant operational services on our behalf. These third-party vendors are subject to similar risks as us including, but not limited to, compliance with applicable laws and regulations, hardware and software defects, breakdowns or malfunctions, cybersecurity incidents, human error, failures in internal controls, power losses, disruptions in telecommunications services, computer viruses or other malware, natural disasters or severe weather events, or other events. One or more of our vendors may experience a cybersecurity event or operational disruption and, if any such event does occur, it may not be adequately addressed, either operationally or financially, by the third-party vendor. Certain of our vendors may have limited indemnification obligations or may not have the financial capacity to satisfy their indemnification obligations. If a critical vendor is unable to meet our needs in a timely manner or if the services or products provided by such a vendor are terminated or otherwise delayed and if we are not able to develop alternative sources for these services and products quickly and cost-effectively, our clients could be negatively impacted, and it could have a material adverse effect on our business.

Current wording

Failures of third-party service providers we rely upon could lead to financial loss. We rely on third-party service providers to support key portions of our operations. We also rely on third-party service providers to provide part, or all, of certain services we deliver to clients. As we continue to move more computing, storage, and processing services out of our data centers and facilities and into third-party hosting environments, our reliance on these providers and their systems will increase. This reliance is further concentrated as we use certain third-party vendors to provide large portions of our hosting needs. While we have selected these third-party vendors carefully, we do not control their actions. A failure of these services by a third party could have a material impact upon our delivery of services to our clients. Such a failure could lead to damage claims, loss of clients, and reputational harm, depending on the duration and severity of the failure. Third parties perform significant operational services on our behalf. These third-party vendors are subject to similar risks as us including, but not limited to, compliance with applicable laws and regulations, hardware and software defects, breakdowns or malfunctions, cybersecurity incidents, human error, failures in internal controls, power losses, disruptions in telecommunications services, computer viruses or other malware, natural disasters or severe weather events, or other events. One or more of our vendors may experience a cybersecurity event or operational disruption and, if any such event does occur, it may not be adequately addressed, either operationally or financially, by the third-party vendor. Certain of our vendors may have limited indemnification obligations or may not have the financial capacity to satisfy their indemnification obligations. If a critical vendor is unable to meet our needs in a timely manner or if the services or products provided by such a vendor are terminated or otherwise delayed and if we are not able to develop alternative sources for these services and products timely and cost-effectively, our clients could be negatively impacted, and it could have a material adverse effect on our business.

Previous wording

Failure to achieve favorable renewals of service contracts could negatively affect our business. Our contracts with our clients for outsourced data processing and electronic payment transaction processing services generally run for a period of six years. We will continue to experience a significant number of these contracts coming up for renewal each year. Renewal time presents our clients with the opportunity to consider other providers or to renegotiate their contracts with us, including reducing the services we provide or negotiating the prices paid for our services. If we are not successful in achieving high renewal rates upon favorable terms, revenues and profit margins will suffer. We may experience increased costs for services from our third-party vendors due to inflation or other cost expansion, but because our client contracts typically have longer terms than our vendor contracts, our ability to pass on those higher costs to clients may be limited. If inflation or costs outpace our contractual ability to adjust pricing during the contractual terms of our client contracts, our revenues and profit margins could be negatively impacted.

Current wording

Failure to achieve favorable renewals of service contracts could negatively affect our business. Our contracts with our clients for outsourced data processing and electronic payment transaction processing services generally run for a period of six years. We will continue to experience a significant number of these contracts coming up for renewal each year. Renewal time presents our clients with the opportunity to consider other providers or to renegotiate their contracts with us, including reducing the services we provide or negotiating the prices paid for our services. Certain of our renewals have resulted in price compression between the former and renegotiated contracts. If that trend accelerates or becomes more pronounced, it could negatively impact our results of operations. If we are not successful in achieving high renewal rates upon favorable terms, revenues and profit margins will suffer. We may experience increased costs for services from our third-party vendors due to inflation or other cost expansion, but because our client contracts typically have longer terms than our vendor contracts, our ability to pass on those higher costs to clients may be limited. If inflation or costs outpace our contractual ability to adjust pricing during the contractual terms of our client contracts, our revenues and profit margins could be negatively impacted.

Previous wording

The use of emerging technologies like artificial intelligence, machine learning, and generative artificial intelligence could lead to unintended consequences and result in reputational harm and increased litigation. We continue to evaluate emerging technologies like artificial intelligence, machine learning, and generative artificial intelligence for incorporation into our business to augment our products and services. Such technologies present unique business opportunities along with ever-changing legal and regulatory risks. Both state and federal regulations relating to these emerging technologies are quickly and constantly evolving and may require significant resources to modify and maintain business practices to comply with U.S. laws, the nature of which cannot be determined at this time. Our failure to accurately identify and address our responsibilities and liabilities in this new environment could negatively affect any solutions we develop incorporating such technology and could subject us to reputational harm, regulatory action, or litigation, which may harm our financial condition and operating results. These same risks apply to our third-party service providers who are implementing these tools into the products or services they provide to us. Any failures to manage and mitigate these risks by these third-party service providers may negatively affect the products and services we provide our clients.

Current wording

The increasing adoption of artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), and generative artificial intelligence into our products introduces significant and evolving risks that could lead to unintended consequences, result in reputational harm, and increased litigation. Our business currently utilizes AI and ML and we continue to evaluate and expand their use, including generative AI, to augment our products and services. While these technologies offer distinct business opportunities, they also bring evolving legal, regulatory, and operational risks. Both state and federal regulations relating to these emerging technologies are quickly and constantly evolving and may require significant resources to modify and maintain business practices to comply with U.S. laws, the nature of which cannot be determined at this time. From an operational standpoint, AI algorithms and training methodologies may create accuracy issues, unintended biases, factual errors, misrepresentations, offensive language, inappropriate statements, or other unexpected outcomes that could undermine product and service quality or lead to errors in our decision-making and solution development. Ineffective or inadequate AI development, testing, evaluation, deployment, content labeling, or governance may impair public acceptance or cause harm, resulting in offerings not working as intended, and we also face explainability risk from our potential inability to interpret or justify AI model decisions, which may lead to concerns about trust, regulatory compliance, and accountability. Additionally, the use of AI tools by associates—whether authorized or not—for internal functions or business operations may result in unintended or unreliable outputs, which could negatively impact the quality, accuracy, or consistency of work product and decision-making. Our failure to accurately identify and address our responsibilities and liabilities in this new environment could negatively affect any solutions we develop incorporating such technology and could subject us to reputational harm, regulatory action, or litigation, which may harm our financial condition and operating results. These same risks apply to our third-party service providers who are implementing these tools into the products or services they provide to us. Any failures to manage and mitigate these risks by these third-party service providers may negatively affect the products and services we provide our clients.

Previous wording

Compliance with new and existing privacy laws, regulations, and rules may adversely impact our expenses, development, and strategy. We are subject to complex laws, rules, and regulations related to data privacy and cybersecurity. If we fail to comply with such requirements, we could be subject to reputational harm, regulatory enforcement, and litigation. The use, confidentiality, and security of private client information is under increased scrutiny. Regulatory agencies, Congress, state legislatures, and foreign regulatory and governmental bodies are considering numerous regulatory and statutory proposals to protect the interests of consumers and to require compliance with standards and policies that have not been defined. The number of state privacy and cybersecurity laws and regulations has grown tremendously over the past several years, creating an increasingly complex patchwork of data privacy and security requirements. This includes industry-specific rules such as those enacted by the New York Department of Financial Services that require covered financial institutions to have a cybersecurity program along with other compliance requirements as well as comprehensive consumer data privacy rules such as the California Consumer Privacy Act, the Iowa Consumer Data Protection Act, and the Virginia Consumer Data Protection Act. Though several privacy concepts are common across the laws, each state requires compliance with standards and policies that are not cohesive with other laws and are often further amended by regulatory action. The unique data protection regulations issued by multiple agencies have created a fragmented series of requirements that makes it increasingly complex to comply with all the mandates in an efficient manner and may increase costs to deliver affected products and services as those requirements are established. In addition, compliance with these laws and regulations may require changes to our technology and our internal processes and procedures, including the way that we handle, process, and store data, which could divert company resources and negatively impact growth opportunities. We will also be affected by these regulations as a third-party provider to clients who are subject to such regulations and will seek our assistance in their compliance efforts.

Current wording

Compliance with new and existing data privacy and cybersecurity laws, regulations, and rules may adversely impact our expenses, development, and strategy. We are subject to complex laws, rules, and regulations related to data privacy and cybersecurity. If we fail to comply with such requirements, we could be subject to reputational harm, regulatory enforcement, and litigation. The use, confidentiality, and security of private client information is under increased scrutiny. Regulatory agencies, Congress, state legislatures, and foreign regulatory and governmental bodies are considering numerous regulatory and statutory proposals to protect the interests of consumers and to require compliance with standards and policies that have not been defined. The number of state privacy and cybersecurity laws and regulations has grown tremendously over the past several years, resulting in an increasingly complex and fragmented regulatory landscape. These laws often include industry-specific requirements and board consumer data protection obligations. While many of these frameworks share common principles each jurisdiction imposes unique compliance standards, definitions, and obligations that may not align with one another. This lack of uniformity, combined with frequent legislative updates and regulatory amendments, creates ongoing challenges for organizations seeking to maintain consistent and compliant data governance practices across multiple jurisdictions. Further, the FTC and state attorneys general may interpret federal and state consumer protection laws as imposing standards for the collection, use, dissemination, and security of data. In addition, compliance with these laws and regulations may require changes to our technology and our internal processes and procedures, including the way that we handle, process, and store data, which could divert company resources and negatively impact growth opportunities. We will also be affected by these regulations as a third-party provider to clients who are subject to such regulations and will seek our assistance in their compliance efforts.

Previous wording

Our business may be adversely impacted by general U.S. and global market and economic conditions or specific conditions in the financial services industry. We derive most of our revenue from products and services we provide to the financial services industry. If the general economic environment worsens, including if inflation or interest rates continue to increase or remain at higher than recent historical levels, or if conditions or regulatory requirements within the financial services industry change, such as if financial institutions are required to increase reserve amounts or become subject to new regulatory assessments, clients may be less willing or able to pay the cost of our products and services, and we could face a reduction in demand from current and potential clients for our products and services, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, and financial condition. In addition, a growing portion of our revenue is derived from transaction processing fees, which depend heavily on levels of consumer and business spending. Deterioration in general economic conditions could negatively impact consumer confidence and spending, resulting in reduced transaction volumes and our related revenues.

Current wording

Our business may be adversely impacted by general U.S. and global market and economic conditions or specific conditions in the financial services industry. We derive most of our revenue from products and services we provide to the financial services industry. If the general economic environment worsens, including if inflation or interest rates continue to increase or remain at higher than recent historical levels, or if conditions or regulatory requirements within the financial services industry change—such as if financial institutions are required to increase reserve amounts, become subject to new regulatory assessments, or if tariffs or other trade restrictions are imposed or increased—clients may be less willing or able to pay the cost of our products and services, and we could face a reduction in demand from current and potential clients for our products and services, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, and financial condition. In addition, a growing portion of our revenue is derived from transaction processing fees, which depend heavily on levels of consumer and business spending. Deterioration in general economic conditions could negatively impact consumer confidence and spending, resulting in reduced transaction volumes and our related revenues.

Previous wording

Consolidation and failures of financial institutions will continue to reduce the number of our clients and potential clients. Our primary market consists of approximately 4,540 commercial and savings banks and more than 4,700 credit unions. The number of commercial banks and credit unions in the United States has experienced a steady decrease over recent decades due to mergers and acquisitions and financial failures and we expect this trend to continue as more consolidation occurs. Such events may reduce the number of our current and potential clients, which could negatively impact our results of operations. A client who merges with, or is acquired by, an entity that is not our client, or a client that is closed by regulatory action, can lead to a reduction or loss of services and negatively impact our results of operation.

Current wording

Consolidation and failures of financial institutions will continue to reduce the number of our clients and potential clients. Our primary market consists of approximately 4,440 commercial and savings banks and more than 4,550 credit unions. The number of commercial banks and credit unions in the United States has experienced a steady decrease over recent decades due to mergers and acquisitions and financial failures and we expect this trend to continue as more consolidation occurs. Such events may reduce the number of our current and potential clients, which could negatively impact our results of operations. A client who merges with, or is acquired by, an entity that is not our client, or a client that is closed by regulatory action, can lead to a reduction or loss of services and negatively impact our results of operation.

Previous wording

The loss of key associates and difficulties in hiring and retaining associates could adversely affect our business. We depend on the contributions and abilities of our senior management and other key associates. Our Company has grown significantly in recent years and our management remains concentrated in a small number of highly qualified individuals. If we lose one or more of our key associates, we could suffer a loss of managerial experience, and management resources would have to be diverted from other activities to compensate for this loss. We do not have employment agreements with any of our executive officers. Further, we continue to face a competitive market for hiring and retaining skilled associates. Difficulties in hiring and retaining skilled associates may restrict our ability to adequately support our business needs and/or result in increased personnel costs. There is no assurance that we will be able to attract and retain the personnel necessary to maintain the Company’s strategic direction.

Current wording

The loss of key associates and difficulties in hiring and retaining associates could adversely affect our business. We depend on the contributions and abilities of our senior management and other key associates. Our Company has grown significantly in recent years and our management remains concentrated in a small number of highly qualified individuals. If we lose one or more of our key associates, we could suffer a loss of managerial experience, and management resources would have to be diverted from other activities to compensate for this loss. We do not have employment agreements with any of our executive officers. We continue to face a competitive market for hiring and retaining skilled associates. Difficulties in hiring and retaining skilled associates may restrict our ability to adequately support our business needs and/or result in increased personnel costs. These challenges are further compounded by the fact that a substantial portion of our workforce operate in hybrid or fully remote arrangements, which introduces additional complexities related to employee engagement, collaboration, training, and the preservation of corporate culture. As we navigate these dynamics, there is no assurance that we will be able to attract and retain the personnel necessary to maintain the Company’s strategic direction.

Previous wording

An increase in interest rates could increase our borrowing costs. Although our debt borrowing levels have historically been low, we may require additional or increased borrowings in the future under existing or new debt facilities to support operations, finance acquisitions, or fund stock repurchases. Our current credit facilities bear interest at variable rates. Increases in interest rates on variable-rate debt would increase our interest expense, which could negatively impact our results of operations.

Current wording

Changes in interest rates could increase our borrowing costs or result in decreased interest income. Although our debt borrowing levels have historically been low, we may require additional or increased borrowings in the future under existing or new debt facilities to support operations, finance acquisitions, or fund stock repurchases. Our current credit facilities bear interest at variable rates. Increases in interest rates on variable-rate debt would increase our interest expense, which could negatively impact our results of operations. Conversely, if interest rates substantially decrease, we would collect less interest income on settlement accounts.