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ASGN

asgn · NYSE Technology
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Sector Technology
Industry Information Technology Services
Employees 1001-5000
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FY2012 Annual Report · ASGN
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2012 AnnuAl RepoRt

Tested.
Proven.
Focused on 
Our Future

Financial 
Highlights

Revenue by Service Offering for 2012

TECHNOLOGY  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . .

 $854,100,000

  Apex Systems

  Oxford Global Resources

HEALTHCARE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . .

 $222,800,000

  Nurse Travel

    Healthcare Staffing

  Health Information Management

  Allied Travel

  VISTA Staffing Solutions

LIFE SCIENCES  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . .  $162,800,000

  Lab Support

  Valesta

  Sharpstream

Total Revenue           $1,239,700,000

Totals for 2010-2012

40,000

30,000

20,000

10,000

Total
Contract
Professionals

2
6
0
,
2
3

0
3
2
,
4
1

8
2
3
,
2
1

0

2010    2011    2012

Total
Clients

1
1
5

,

6

7
4
3

,

5

7
0
8
4

,

2010       2011       2012

7,000

5,250

3,500

1,750

0

Total 
Revenue

0
0
0
,
0
0
7
,
9
3
2
,
1
$

0
0
0
,
1
8
2
,
7
9
5
$

0
0
0
,
5
6
0
,
8
3
4
$

2010     2011      2012

1,250

1,000

750

500

250

s
n
o

i
l
l
i

M
n

I

0

%
1
.
3
1

TechnologyHealthcareLife Sciences68.9%18.0% 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Dear Shareholders:We achieved many milestones in 2012 that strengthened our company’s presence in the marketplace. We took a monumental step forward in our company’s growth with the acquisition of Apex Systems, a mid-level IT staffing company that perfectly complements the existing high-end IT offerings of our technology division, Oxford Global Resources. With this acquisition, combined with our organic growth, we exceeded our goal of $1 billion in revenues, and $100 million in EBITDA, and became one of the largest publicly traded professional staffing companies in the world. Tested CircumstancesAs I reflect on 2012 and all that our company accomplished during the year, I can’t help but look back to the recent economic tailspin when the future of many businesses was uncertain. The strength of our business was also tested during this time; however, despite the wavering economy, our service offerings – Technology, Healthcare, and Life Sciences – were able to withstand and deliver strong performances. With our disciplined management, diversified business model, and hardworking employees, we maintained our market share and have since grown to become a perennial leader in the staffing industry.Proven performanceWe ended 2012 with best-in-class results, outperforming our competitors. As a company, we surpassed our financial estimates; hired more than 300 new sales, recruiting and support personnel; paid down our debt faster than expected; and dramatically reduced our capital costs.Below are several highlights from 2012:• Achieved full-year revenues of $1,239.7 million, compared to $597.3 million in 2011 – an increase of 107.6 percent.• Achieved full-year net income of $42.7 million, compared to $24.3 million in 2011.• Acquired Apex Systems, a $791 million IT staffing firm with a nationwide presence in 53 markets.• Achieved a 2012 high of $20.63 per share surpassing our 2011 high of $11.74.• Transferred our stock listing to the New York Stock Exchange.• Commemorated 20 years as a publicly traded company.Our outstanding 2012 results continue to demonstrate the soundness of our business model that is based on diversification in the clients and industries we serve and our focus on providing skilled professionals with in-demand math and science skill sets.Thriving into the futureOver the past few years we’ve seen a strong trajectory in our company’s growth, and I am confident that the fields we serve will remain central to our national and global economies and continue to provide long-term value to our shareholders.  To keep at the forefront of our industry, it’s also important for us to continually evaluate our business to see how we can maximize our efficiencies, capitalize on our service offerings, and best position ourselves in the marketplace. With the assistance of an outside consulting firm, our Board of Directors and executive committee are currently working on a new five-year strategic plan that will greatly enhance our opportunities for success.Thank you for your ongoing interest in On Assignment, and I look forward to continuing to report back to you industry-leading results.Sincerely, Peter T. Dameris President and Chief Executive OfficerTo Our Valued ShareholdersTechnology

This service offering provides staffing for IT and engineering consultants, project teams, and strategic outsourcing services 
for mission-critical projects. The two Technology segments provide highly-skilled and mission-critical professionals who 
are in demand for contract, contract-to-hire and permanent placement positions.

Technology is 68.9 percent of On Assignment’s total revenue. Below is the revenue for each technology segment.

Our Apex segment, a leading provider of information technology staffing and services, has back-office activities based 
in Richmond, Virginia with 53 branch offices nationwide supporting our sales, recruiting and field activities. Our Apex 
segment provides mission-critical IT operations professionals for contract, contract-to-hire and permanent placement
positions to Fortune 1000 and mid-market clients across the United States, and offers consulting services for other select 
project-based needs.

Clients

903

Placements

15,946

Revenue

*

$508.7
million

% Revenue

*

41.0%
of total
(rounded)

*Financials are reflected as of the date of acquisition (May 15, 2012).

Oxford  Global  Resources  specializes  in  providing  high-end  IT  and  engineering  consultants,  project  teams,  and  strategic 

outsourcing  services  for  mission-critical  projects.  Oxford  combines  international  reach  with  local  depth,  serving  clients 

across North America and Europe through four distinct divisions.

Clients

1,600

Placements

4,041

Revenue

$345.4
million

% Revenue

27.9%
of total
(rounded)

2012 On Assignment 
Corporate Milestones

Acquisition of Apex Systems

MAy 15

With the acquisition of Apex Systems, On Assignment exceeded its goal of $1 billion in revenues and $100 million in 
EBITDA. The pro forma revenue results for the 2012 year is listed below.

$1,522,000,000
Total Revenue

Life Sciences

This service offering provides staffing in scientific, clinical research, and executive search, with operations in the United 
States, Canada, and Europe. The three Life Sciences divisions provide highly skilled professionals who are in demand for 
project-based, contract, contract-to-hire, and direct hire placement.

Life Sciences is 13.1 percent of On Assignment’s total revenue. Below is the combined revenue for the Life Sciences divisions.

Professionals placed include biochemists, chemists, biologists, molecular biologists, food scientists, 

environmental scientists, validation engineers, QA/QC techs, microbiologists, regulatory affairs specialists, 

lab assistants, and lab technicians.

Professionals placed include medical writers, clinical research associates, SAS programmers, drug safety 

specialists, regulatory affairs specialists, biostatisticians, project managers, and clinical scientists.

Provides global retained search services for mid- and senior-level management positions in the pharmaceutical, 

biotechnology, vaccines, and medical device industries, filling roles across the entire value chain.

Clients

1,825

Placements

5,833

Revenue

$162.8
million

% Revenue

13.1%
of total
(rounded)

On Assignment appoints Michael J. McGowan 
as Chief Operating Officer

On Assignment reports record 
second quarter results

On Assignment transfers stock 
exchange listing to NYSE

On Assignment expands and realigns 
management resources and appoints 
Edward Pierce as Chief Financial Officer 

MAy 24

jul 26

Aug 20

sep 04

Healthcare

This  service  offering  is  comprised  of  our  Healthcare  and  Physician  segments  with  comprehensive  staffing  for  most  disciplines 
within the healthcare industry. Healthcare professionals are placed in contract, contract-to-hire, direct hire, and travel positions at 
hospitals, physicians’ offices, clinics, reference laboratories, and managed healthcare organizations.

Healthcare is 18.0 percent of On Assignment’s total revenue. Below is the revenue for our Healthcare and Physician segments.

Healthcare Segment

Professionals placed include nurse practitioners, 
physician assistants, and RNs in all specialties, 
including ICU, ER, OR, PEDS, NICU, and L&D.

In February 2013, On Assignment divested its nurse travel business. 

Provides staffing solutions to meet the increased 
demand for allied healthcare professionals across the 
nation. Experienced travelers are placed in a variety 
of assignments ranging from 4 to 26 weeks.

Allied healthcare professionals are placed in the areas 
of nursing, clinical laboratory, therapy, diagnostic 
imaging, respiratory care, office/administrative, dental, 
and pharmacy.

Flexible coding and auditing staffing solutions are 
provided to acute care facilities, utilizing local, 
regional, and travel professionals.

Clients

1,534

Placements

5,059

Revenue

$120.1
million

% Revenue

9.7%
of total
(rounded)

Physician Segment

VISTA works with physicians from nearly every medical specialty, placing them in hospitals, clinics, urgent care centers, 
community-based practices, and government facilities (VA).

Clients

649

Placements

1,183

Revenue

$102.7
million

% Revenue

8.3%
of total
(rounded)

UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, DC 20549
FORM 10-K

 ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE

SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2012 

 TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE

SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

Commission File Number 0-20540
ON ASSIGNMENT, INC.
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

Delaware

(State or other jurisdiction of

incorporation or organization)

95-4023433

(I.R.S. Employer

Identification No.)

26745 Malibu Hills Road
Calabasas, California 91301
(Address of Principal Executive Offices)
Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: (818) 878-7900

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

Title of each class

Common Stock, $0.01 par value

Name of each exchange on which registered

New York Stock Exchange

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act:
None
(Title of Class)

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. Yes 

 No 

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act. Yes 

 No 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 
1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such 
filing requirements of the past 90 days.  Yes 

 No 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically and posted on its corporate Web site, if any, every Interactive Data File 
required to be submitted and posted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the 
registrant was required to submit and post such files).    Yes 

   No 

Indicate by check mark if disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to Item 405 of Regulation S-K is not contained herein, and will not be contained, to 
the best of registrant’s knowledge, in definitive proxy or information statements incorporated by reference in Part III of this Form 10-K or any 
amendment to this Form 10-K.  

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer or a smaller reporting company. 
See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,”  “accelerated filer” and “smaller reporting company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act. 

Large accelerated filer  

Accelerated filer 

Non-accelerated filer 

Smaller reporting company  

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act). Yes 

 No 

As of June 30, 2012, the aggregate market value of our common stock held by non-affiliates of the registrant was approximately $616,647,781.

As of March 8, 2013, the registrant had 53,084,637 outstanding shares of Common Stock, $0.01 par value.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Portions of the registrant’s proxy statement for the 2013 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, to be filed within 120 days of the close of the registrant’s 
fiscal year 2012, are incorporated by reference into Part III of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

2

 
ON ASSIGNMENT, INC.
ANNUAL REPORT ON FORM 10-K FOR THE FISCAL YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2012
TABLE OF CONTENTS

PART I

Item 1.

Item 1A.

Item 1B.

Item 2.

Item 3.

Item 4.

PART II

Item 5.

Item 6.

Item 7.

Item 7A.

Item 8.

Item 9.

Item 9A.

Item 9B.

PART III

Item 10.

Item 11.

Item 12.

Item 13.

Item 14.

PART IV

Item 15.

SIGNATURES

Business

Risk Factors

Unresolved Staff Comments

Properties

Legal Proceedings

Mine Safety Disclosures

Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of 
Equity Securities

Selected Financial Data

Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations

Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk

Financial Statements and Supplementary Data

Changes in and Disagreements With Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosure

Controls and Procedures

Other Information

Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance

Executive Compensation

Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder 
Matters

Certain Relationships and Related Transactions and Director Independence

Principal Accounting Fees and Services

Exhibits and Financial Statement Schedule

5

13

19

19

19

19

20

22

22

31

32

60

60

60

61
61

61

61

61

61

62

3

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
SPECIAL NOTE ON FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This Annual Report on Form 10-K contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 

1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Such statements are based upon current 
expectations, as well as management’s beliefs and assumptions, and involve a high degree of risk and uncertainty. Any statements contained 
herein that are not statements of historical fact may be deemed to be forward-looking statements. Statements that include the words 
“believes,” “anticipates,” “plans,” “expects,” “intends,” and similar expressions that convey uncertainty of future events or outcomes are 
forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements include statements regarding our anticipated financial and operating performance 
for future periods. Our actual results could differ materially from those discussed or suggested in the forward-looking statements herein. 
Factors that could cause or contribute to these differences or prove our forward-looking statements, by hindsight, to be overly optimistic or 
unachievable include, but are not limited to actual demand for our services, our ability to attract, train, and retain qualified staffing 
consultants (which includes our sales and recruiting staff), our ability to remain competitive in obtaining and retaining temporary staffing 
clients, the availability of qualified temporary nurses and other qualified contract professionals, our ability to manage our growth efficiently 
and effectively, continued performance of our information systems and the factors described in Item 1A of this Annual Report on Form 10-K 
under the Section titled ”Risk Factors.” Other factors also may contribute to the differences between our forward-looking statements and our 
actual results. In addition, as a result of these and other factors, our past financial performance should not be relied on as an indication of 
future performance. All forward-looking statements in this document are based on information available to us as of the date we file this 
Annual Report on Form 10-K, and we assume no obligation to update any forward-looking statement or the reasons why our actual results 
may differ.

4

 
Item 1. Business

Overview and History

PART I

On Assignment, Inc. (NYSE: ASGN), is a leading global provider of highly skilled, hard-to-find professionals in the growing life sciences, 
healthcare,  and  technology  sectors,  where  quality  people  are  the  key  to  success. The  Company goes  beyond  matching  résumés  with  job 
descriptions to match people they know into positions they understand, for contract, contract-to-hire, and direct hire assignments. Our business 
currently consists of five operating segments: Apex, Oxford (formerly IT and Engineering), Life Sciences, Healthcare and Physician.

We were incorporated on December 30, 1985, and thereafter commenced operation of our Lab Support line of business (now included 
in our Life Sciences operating segment), our first contract staffing line of business. Expansion within the Life Sciences segment and into other 
industries has primarily been achieved through acquisitions, and utilizing our experience and unique approach in servicing our clients and contract 
professionals. Since 1985, we have acquired more than 10 companies.

On May 15, 2012, we acquired Apex Systems, Inc. (Apex), a privately-owned provider of information technology staffing and 

services headquartered in Richmond, Virginia. Apex is in its own operating segment, within the Technology sector.

On February 28, 2011, we acquired Warphi N.V. (Valesta), a privately-owned provider of specialized clinical research staffing 
headquartered in Belgium. Valesta is included in the Life Sciences operating segment. On July 31, 2011, we acquired HealthCare Partners, 
Inc. (HCP), a privately-owned provider of physician staffing headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. HCP is included in our Physician operating 
segment.

On April 16, 2010, we acquired The Cambridge Group Ltd., a Connecticut-based  privately-owned  firm specializing in clinical research, 
IT, and physician staffing services and accordingly, is included in each of our Life Sciences, Oxford and Physician operating segments. On July 
19, 2010, the Company acquired Sharpstream Holdings Limited, a London-based privately-owned  provider of executive search services in the 
life sciences sector and is included in our Life Sciences operating segment. Sharpstream provides search services across Europe, Asia, and the 
United States.

Financial  information  regarding  our  operating  segments  and  our  domestic  and  international  revenues  is  included  under  “Financial 

Statements and Supplementary Data” in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Our principal executive office is located at 26745 Malibu Hills Road, Calabasas, California 91301 and our telephone number is (818) 

878-7900. We have approximately 130 branch offices in 34 states within the United States and in seven foreign countries.

Industry and Market Dynamics

The U.S. employment projections published by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics as of February 2012 estimates that total employment 
for the next decade will grow by 20.5 million jobs, or 14 percent, between 2010 and 2020. By comparison, under the previous estimate for the 
2008 to 2018 period, total employment was projected to grow by 10 percent. The increase in projected growth from the prior period is largely 
due to the relatively lower starting base in 2010, compared to employment levels in 2008. Within the employment industries, the U.S. Bureau 
of Labor Statistics, according to such projections, estimates that employment growth in the healthcare and social assistance sector will add the 
most jobs, followed by the professional and business services sector.

The Staffing Industry Analysts: Staffing Industry Insight (dated September 2012), an independent staffing industry publication, estimates 
that total staffing industry revenues were $127 billion in 2012 and are forecasted to be $134 billion in 2013, in each case, up from $117 billion 
in 2011. The biggest industry segment, contract labor, is forecasted to grow at an annual rate of 6 percent in 2013 with revenues of $105 billion, 
while permanent placement is forecasted to grow by 6 percent in 2013 with revenues of $16 billion. Within the contract help segment, professional 
staffing is expected to grow at an annual rate of 7 percent in 2013 to revenues of $56 billion. The temporary staffing (or contract labor) industry 
is historically cyclical and typically has a strong correlation to employment and GDP growth. We anticipate that our healthcare, life sciences 
and technology clients will increase their use of outsourced labor through professional staffing firms to meet the need for increases in capacity 
of their workforce. By using outsourced labor, these end users will benefit from cost structure advantages, improved flexibility to fluctuating 
demand in business and access to greater expertise. 

 Sales and Fulfillment

Our strategy is to serve the needs of our targeted industries by effectively understanding and matching client staffing needs with 

qualified contract professionals. In contrast to the mass market approach generally used for contract office/clerical and light industrial 
personnel, we believe effective assignments of contract healthcare, life science, physician and technology professionals require the people 
involved in making assignments to have significant knowledge of the client’s industry and the ability to assess the specific needs of the client 
as well as the contract professionals’ qualifications. We believe that face-to-face selling in many circumstances is significantly more effective 
than the telephonic solicitation of clients, a tactic favored by many of our competitors. We believe our strategy of using industry professionals 
to develop professional relationships provides us with a competitive advantage in our industry which is recognized by our clients.

5

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Our corporate offices are organized to perform many functions that allow staffing consultants and recruiters to focus more effectively 

on business development and the assignment of contract professionals. These functions include the recruiting and hiring of staffing 
consultants, recruiters and support staff, as well as ongoing training, coaching and administrative support. Our corporate offices also select, 
open and maintain branch offices.

Clients

During the year ended December 31, 2012, we provided contract professionals to approximately 6,511 clients. In 2012, we had no 

single customer that represented five percent or more of our revenues.

All contract assignments, regardless of their planned length, may be terminated with limited notice by the client or the contract 
professional. The duration of agreements with clients are generally dictated by the contract. Usually, contracts with clients may be terminated 
with 30 days notice by us or by the clients and, oftentimes, assignments may be terminated with less than one week’s notice. 

The Contract Professional

Contract professionals often work with a number of staffing companies and develop relationships or loyalty based on a variety of 

factors, including competitive salaries and benefits, availability and diversity of assignments, quality and duration of assignments and 
responsiveness to requests for placement. Contract professionals seeking traveling positions are also interested in the quality of travel and 
housing accommodations as well as the quality of the clinical experience while on assignment.

Each contract professional’s employment or independent contractor’s relationship with us is terminable at will. A locum tenens 

physician may generally terminate his or her contract for non-emergency reasons upon 30 or 60 days notice. 

Hourly wage or contract rates for our contract professionals are established based on their specific skills and whether or not the 
assignment involves travel away from the professional’s primary residence. Our staffing consultants are our employees or are subcontracted 
from other corporate entities. For our consultant employees, we pay the related costs of employment including social security taxes, federal 
and state unemployment taxes, workers’ compensation insurance and other similar costs. After achieving minimum service periods and hours 
worked, we also provide our contract professional employees with paid holidays and allow participation in our 401(k) Retirement Savings 
Plan.

Strategy

We remain committed to growing our operations in the technology, healthcare and life sciences sectors that we currently serve, 

primarily through supporting our core service offerings and growing our newer service lines of business. In February of 2013, we sold our 
Nurse Travel business. This decision was based on the relatively small size of the travel nursing market which had contracted significantly 
more than other healthcare staffing markets during the recession, the fact that its gross margins were significantly lower than the gross 
margins in our other businesses and the difficulty we believed we would have achieving a reasonable scale. We will continue to look at 
acquisition opportunities which supplement our internal growth. In 2012, we acquired all of the outstanding shares of Apex Systems, Inc., a 
privately-owned provider of information technology staffing and services headquartered in Richmond, Virginia.

In 2012, we continued to focus on increasing market share in each of our segments, maintaining or increasing our gross margins, 
expanding our service offerings and controlling our operating costs. We have increased interaction between our segments so that they can 
share best practices.

As part of our initiative to improve our sales capabilities, field operations, and back office processing efficiency, we continue to make 

strategic investments enhancing our primary business systems. Our front office system (RecruitMax) supports all domestic and foreign Lab 
Support locations along with our Allied Healthcare operations. Deployment for these platforms began in 2004 and was principally completed 
in 2008. The RecruitMax application interfaces with the existing enterprise-wide information system, PeopleSoft, used in all of our domestic 
lines of business and provides additional functionality, including applicant tracking and search tools, customer and candidate contact 
management and sales management tools. Our next major front office development initiative supporting the Oxford segment is currently 
underway. Apex uses Bullhorn for its front office system.

We continue to extend the use and capabilities of PeopleSoft in domestic and European operations. The Physician staffing segment 

was migrated to the PeopleSoft platform in 2011. Our ongoing plan is to deploy a common front-office system integrated with the PeopleSoft 
platform wherever efficiencies can be realized.

We improved our pay-bill processing efficiencies by deploying an on-line time collection system. This secure web-based application 
is a self-service tool that captures time by assignment and allows our customers to provide an  electronic approval. This particular extension 
of PeopleSoft has been fully operational at the Oxford unit for over three years and the roll-out continues for other business segments. Life 
Sciences and Allied Healthcare largely completed this deployment in 2012. Customer adoption has been very good and we are planning a 
number of enhancements for meeting unique customer needs throughout 2013. 

Moderate investments are planned to keep our wide area network and computing platform running with high availability hardware. 

All primary business operates from a secure data center.

6

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
We will continue to invest in leasehold improvements as we expand, relocate, and rationalize our branch facilities and leverage 

favorable commercial real estate terms for cost savings.

We believe these improvements should continue to increase the productivity of our staffing consultants and streamline corporate 

operations.

During 2012, we substantially added to the number of recruiters and sales personnel employed by the company. Over the course of the 

year, the average number of recruiters and sales personnel employed by the company increased 94.0 percent, primarily related to the 
acquisition of Apex. In 2013, we anticipate that the markets we serve will improve with the economy. We have made small investments in 
enhancing our permanent placement capabilities and we will continue to invest in our existing businesses to support growth. In addition, we 
will continue to review acquisition opportunities that may enable us to leverage our current infrastructure and capabilities, increase our 
service offerings and expand our geographic reach.

In late 2012, we engaged a third party to assist and facilitate the development of a new strategic plan. This is similar to the process we 
completed in 2010. The objectives of that plan were met with the acquisition of Apex. We anticipate that the process will be completed in the 
middle of 2013.

Competition

Some of our competitors are larger than us and have substantially greater financial and marketing resources than we do. We also 

compete with privately-owned temporary staffing companies on a regional and local basis. Frequently, the strongest competition in a 
particular market is a privately-held local company with established relationships. These companies oftentimes are extremely competitive on 
pricing. While their pricing strategies are not necessarily sustainable, they can be problematic for us in the short-term.

The principal competitive factors in attracting qualified candidates for temporary employment or engagements are salaries, contract 

rates and benefits, availability and variety of assignments, quality and duration of assignments and responsiveness to requests for placement. 
We believe that many people seeking temporary employment or engagements through us are also pursuing employment through other means, 
including other temporary staffing. Therefore, the speed at which we place prospective contract professionals and the availability of 
appropriate assignments are important factors in our ability to complete assignments of qualified candidates. In addition to having high 
quality contract professionals to assign in a timely manner, the principal competitive factors in obtaining and retaining clients in the 
temporary staffing industry are properly assessing the clients’ specific job requirements, the appropriateness of the contract professional 
assigned to the client, the price of services and the monitoring of client satisfaction. Although we believe we compete favorably with respect 
to these factors, we expect competition to continue to increase.

Operating Segments

Apex

Our Apex segment, a leading provider of information technology staffing and services, has back-office activities based in Richmond, 
Virginia with 53 branch offices nationwide supporting our sales, recruiting and field activities. Apex segment revenues for 2012 were $508.7 
million and represented 41.0 percent of our total revenues. Apex segment revenues were $791.0 million on a pro forma basis, as if the 
acquisition had occurred at the beginning of the year. The Staffing Industry Analysts: Staffing Industry Insight (dated September 2012), 
estimates that the IT staffing market will increase eight percent in 2013. Demand is driven by a shortage of IT professionals with specialized 
skills. Additionally, the demand for project-based work has created an ideal climate to boost the segment. 

Our Apex segment provides mission-critical IT operations professionals for contract, contract-to-hire and permanent placement 
positions to Fortune 1000 and mid-market clients across the United States, and offers consulting services for other select project-based needs. 
Apex provides staffing and services support for companies from all major industries, including financial services, business services, 
consumer and industrials, technology, healthcare, government services, and communications. Apex's Consulting Services group is growing to 
meet the increasing demands of the marketplace. The Consulting Services group supplements Apex's technical staffing solutions by providing 
deliverable-based services to also help organizations drive better business performance. Apex's consulting services offerings include managed 
processes, such as support service centers and centers of excellence; managed projects, such as software development, mobile applications, 
migration services, and consulting; and managed implementations, such as Enterprise Resource Planning and Electronic Health Records. 

Candidate quality is Apex's priority. Apex's proactive approach and thorough screening process is central to the business. Based upon 

the customer's requirements, Apex's skill-based recruiters will source candidates utilizing several tools, such as a pipeline of pre-screened 
candidates, Apex's applicant tracking system with over 1.7 million candidates nationwide, referrals, open houses/networking, social 
networking, and diversity-based technical communities. 

Apex segment's professionals include mission-critical daily IT operations professionals across 13 primary skill disciplines that cover 

the entire IT project life-cycle. This includes skill disciplines within infrastructure, application development, project management, and 
healthcare IT. These contract professionals encompass a wide variety of backgrounds and levels of experience within information technology. 
Specialized skills and training are typically dictated by recent technological advancements and trends impacting demand across the enterprise. 
Such specialization includes healthcare IT, Java, Microsoft, cloud computing, mobile development, and enterprise resource planning. 

7

 
 
 
 
 
 
Contract professionals assigned to clients are generally our employees, although clients provide on-the-job supervisors to control and direct 
professionals and approve hours worked. Apex is responsible for many of the activities typically handled by the client's human resources 
department.  

Apex's clients range from the large financial services companies and government contractors to local hospitals seeking support for 

Internal Classification of Diseases conversions. Assignments in our Apex segment typically vary from four to 12 months, although they can 
be longer.

Apex's competition include TEKsystems, Robert Half International (RHI), Kforce, and Insight Global. 

Oxford (formerly IT and Engineering)

Our Oxford segment (formerly the IT and Engineering segment) is based in Beverly, Massachusetts where all of the segment’s back-
office activities are located. Oxford combines international reach with local depth, serving clients through a network of recruiting centers in 
North America and Europe, and branch offices in major metropolitan markets across the United States. Oxford segment revenues for 2012 
were $345.4 million and represented 27.9 percent of our total revenues. The Staffing Industry Analysts: Staffing Industry Insight (dated 
September 2012) estimates that the IT staffing market will increase eight percent in 2013. Demand in our Oxford business segment is driven 
by a shortage of IT and engineering professionals with specialized skills that organizations need quickly but cannot find on their own. 
Additionally, the push for adoption of health information technology and compliance with FDA regulations is accelerating demand for 
Oxford's services.

Oxford assigns highly qualified professionals in select IT and engineering technical disciplines which include enterprise resource 

planning, business intelligence, customer relationship management, supply chain management, database administration, application 
development, IT infrastructure, and healthcare applications. Oxford's engineering specialties include hardware, software, mechanical and 
electrical, as well as validation, regulatory compliance, and quality assurance. Assignments are highly diversified across the client base, 
averaging fewer than two contract assignments per client.

The segment serves the market in two separate operating formats. The first operating format, Oxford International, consists of nine 
sales and recruiting centers in the U.S. and one in Cork, Ireland that pro-actively recruit skilled IT and engineering professionals and fulfill 
client needs for temporary consultants and permanent employees across North America and Europe. The right candidates for these 
assignments often reside in locations that are remote from the client work-site and will travel away from their homes to perform the 
assignments. The second operating format, Oxford and Associates, consists of 14 branch offices across the United States that recruit 
technology professionals local to their metropolitan market to fulfill needs for local clients. In each of these formats, we employ both client-
oriented sales people and recruiters. Because our Oxford segment concentrates in select disciplines within the IT and engineering markets, 
our sales people and recruiters specialize in a given discipline. Our competitive advantage comes from our ability to respond very quickly 
with high quality candidates to a client's request, thus Oxford's tagline “The Right Talent. Right Now.®”

Oxford’s professionals are experts in specific information technology and engineering disciplines. Typically, they have a great deal of 

knowledge and experience in a fairly narrow field which makes them uniquely qualified to fill a given assignment. Contract professionals 
assigned to clients are generally our employees. Clients provide on-the-job supervisors for these professionals, control and direct their work, 
and approve all hours worked. Oxford is responsible for many of the activities typically handled by the client’s human resources department, 
as well as billing, payroll, and related financial activities.

In our Oxford segment, we supply services to clients in a wide range of industries. Our clients range from large companies that may, 

for example, be installing new enterprise-wide computer systems and have a need for a subject matter expert with a specific technical and 
industry-specific experience, to mid-sized medical device manufacturers who needs specialized mechanical engineers. Assignments in our 
Oxford segment typically have a term of approximately five months.

Oxford’s competition includes local and regional specialty staffing companies as well as large IT consulting firms like Accenture, Inc. 

and International Business Machines Corporation (IBM), and international staffing firms such as Aerotek and Robert Half International, Inc.

Life Sciences

Our Life Sciences segment includes our domestic and international life science staffing businesses, which operate from local branch 
offices in the United States, United Kingdom, Netherlands, Belgium, Canada, Spain and China. At December 31, 2012, we had 48 Life Sciences 
segment branch offices, of which 13 share office space with our Healthcare segment. Life Sciences segment revenues for 2012 were $162.8 
million and represented 13.1 percent of our total revenues. The Staffing Industry Analysts: Staffing Industry Insight (dated September 2012), 
states that the life sciences professional staffing market will grow by seven percent in 2013. Demand for staffing in our Life Sciences segment 
is driven primarily by clients with research and development projects across a wide array of industries.

We provide locally-based, contract and permanent life science professionals to clients in the biotechnology, pharmaceutical, food and 

beverage, personal care, chemical, medical device, automotive, municipal, education and environmental industries.

We have developed a tailored approach to the assignment-making process that utilizes staffing consultants. Unlike traditional 
approaches that tend to be focused on telephonic solicitation, our Life Sciences staffing consultants are experienced professionals who work 

8

 
in our branch office network to enable face-to-face meetings with clients and contract professionals. Most of our staffing consultants are 
either focused on sales and business development or on fulfillment. Sales and business development staffing consultants meet with clients’ 
managers to understand client needs, formulate position descriptions and assess workplace environments. Fulfillment staffing consultants 
meet with candidates to assess their qualifications and interests and place these contract professionals on quality assignments with clients.

Our Life Sciences segment’s professionals include chemists, clinical research associates, clinical lab assistants, engineers, biologists, 

biochemists, microbiologists, molecular biologists, biostatisticians, drug safety specialists, SAS programmers, medical writers, food 
scientists, regulatory affairs specialists, lab assistants and other skilled scientific professionals. These contract professionals range from 
individuals with bachelor’s and/or master’s degrees and considerable experience to technicians with limited chemistry or biology 
backgrounds and lab experience. Contract professionals assigned to clients are generally our employees, although clients provide on-the-job 
supervisors for these professionals. Therefore, clients control and direct the work of contract professionals and approve hours worked, while 
we are responsible for many of the activities typically handled by the client’s human resources department.

Our primary contacts with our clients are a mix of end users and process facilitators. End users consist of lab directors, managers and 
department heads. Facilitators consist of human resource managers, procurement departments and administrators. Facilitators are more price 
sensitive than end users who typically are more focused on technical capabilities. Assignments in our Life Sciences segment vary from three 
to 12 months.

We believe our Life Sciences segment is one of the few nationwide temporary staffing providers specializing exclusively in the 
placement of life science professionals. Although other nationwide temporary staffing companies compete with us with respect to scientific, 
clinical laboratory, medical billing and collection personnel, many of these companies focus on office/clerical and light and heavy industrial 
personnel, which account for a significant portion of the overall contract staffing market. These competitors include Manpower, Inc., Kelly 
Services, Inc., Adecco SA, Yoh Company and the Allegis Group.

Healthcare

Our Healthcare segment includes our Allied Healthcare and Nurse Travel lines of business. Allied Healthcare operates from various 
locations throughout the United States. At December 31, 2012, we had 22 Allied Healthcare branch offices in the United States, of which 13 
share office space with the Life Sciences segment. Nurse Travel operates from our locations in Cincinnati, Ohio, Tupelo, Mississippi and San 
Diego, California. Healthcare segment revenues for 2012 were $120.1 million and represented 9.7 percent of our total revenues. We sold Nurse 
Travel, which was not deemed core to our operations, in February 2013 for $31.0 million in cash. Nurse Travel revenues were $62.2 million or 
approximately 5 percent of our total revenues. The Staffing Industry Analysts: Staffing Industry Insight (dated September 2012), estimates that 
the healthcare staffing market will grow by 8 percent in 2013. 

The combination of healthcare clients facing shortages of operations-critical staff that limit their ability to generate revenues and increased 
demand for health services and advances in life science and medical technology is expected to create significant demand for workers with 
specialized science and medical skills. Also influencing the demand for these workers is the departure of mature professionals from the ranks 
of full-time employment as they retire, reduced hours worked and the pursuit of other career opportunities. 

Our Healthcare segment provides locally-based and traveling contract professionals to healthcare clients, including hospitals, 

integrated delivery systems, imaging centers, clinics, physician offices, reference laboratories, universities, managed care organizations, 
rehabilitation facilities, long-term care facilities and third-party administrators. In doing so, we address healthcare occupations that require 
“high demand and highly-skilled” staff, such as operating room nurses and health information professionals who are essential to hospitals' 
ability to care for patients and maintain business and revenues.

Our Allied Healthcare line of business has developed a tailored approach to the assignment-making process that utilizes staffing 
consultants. Staffing consultants are experienced professionals who work in our branch offices and personally meet with clients and contract 
professionals. Our staffing consultants are typically either focused primarily on sales and business development or on fulfillment. Sales and 
business development staffing consultants meet with clients to understand their staffing needs, formulate position descriptions and assess 
workplace environments. Fulfillment staffing consultants meet with candidates to assess their qualifications and interests and place these 
contract professionals on quality assignments with clients.

Our Healthcare segment’s contract professionals include nurses, specialty nurses, health information management professionals, 
dialysis technicians, surgical technicians, imaging technicians, x-ray technicians, medical technologists, medical assistants, pharmacists, 
pharmacy technicians, respiratory therapists, phlebotomists, coders, billers, claims processors and collections staff, and dental professionals - 
including dental assistants, hygienists and dentists and rehabilitation therapists. The nurses and contract professionals we assign to our clients 
are usually our employees, although clients provide on-the-job supervisors for these nurses and professionals. Therefore, clients control and 
direct the work of nurses and approve hours worked, while we are responsible for many of the activities typically handled by the client’s 
human resources department.

In our Healthcare segment, we serve a diverse collection of healthcare clients, as mentioned above. Assignments in our Healthcare 

segment typically have a term of two to 13 weeks.

Our Nurse Travel sales, account management, and recruiting functions align with traditional nurse travel companies with an added 

emphasis on rapid response fulfillment. We employ regional sales directors and account managers to identify and sell a variety of nurse 

9

 
  
 
staffing solutions to healthcare clients nationally. Our recruiters seek the most experienced, highly skilled nurses and place them on 
assignments as contract professionals with healthcare providers. The critical nature of these occupations to drive revenue motivates clients to 
respond to our ability to rapidly fill open positions with experienced nurses.

In the Nurse Travel line of business, our competitors include AMN Healthcare Services, Inc., Cross Country, Inc. and several 
privately-held companies. In the Allied Healthcare line of business, our competitors include Cross Country, Inc., AMN Healthcare Services, 
Inc., Kforce Inc. and the Allegis Group.

Physician

Our Physician segment is the leading provider of physician staffing, known as locum tenens coverage, and permanent physician search 
services. The majority of our recruiters are located in Salt Lake City, Utah and Atlanta, Georgia. The Physician segment revenues for 2012 were 
$102.7 million and represented 8.3 percent of our total revenues. The Staffing Industry Analysts: Staffing Industry Insight (dated September 
2012), states that the physician staffing market will increase nine percent in 2013. An ongoing shortage of physicians and potential impacts of 
healthcare reform could fuel future growth.

Our Physician staffing business places physicians in a wide range of specialties throughout the United States, as well as Australia and 
New Zealand, under the brand VISTA, placing them in hospitals, community-based practices and federal, state and local facilities. We provide 
short and long-term locum tenens services and full-service physician search and consulting services. The physician staffing market requires a 
high degree of specialized knowledge about credentialing and qualifications, as well as unique insurance requirements that make it more difficult 
to replicate than certain other types of staffing markets. Our Physician segment operates out of two primary recruitment centers with several 
branch offices.

The sales and fulfillment functions at our Physician segment are similar to those of our competitors. Vista's client sales specialists are 

organized by geographic territories so that a single individual can handle a client’s physician staffing needs for all disciplines. Vista's 
recruiters and schedulers are organized by physician specialty and identify physician candidates with the skills, experience and availability to 
meet our clients’ needs. In addition, we have four branch locations that also carry out recruiting functions.

The physicians in our Physician segment come from 33 different specialties including emergency medicine, psychiatry, 

anesthesiology, radiology, family practice, surgical specialties, internal medicine, pediatrics, obstetrics and gynecology. The physicians we 
place at clients are independent contractors. Clients assign shifts and approve hours worked, while we are responsible for issuing payments to 
the physicians for services rendered to our clients.

Clients in our Physician segment include hospitals, doctors’ practice groups, large healthcare systems and government agencies. We 

are called on to supply temporary and permanent doctors because of the difficulty that healthcare providers have finding qualified 
practitioners. Assignments in our Physician segment typically have a term of two to six weeks.

Like our Healthcare segment, our Physician segment competes in the healthcare market, serving hospitals, doctors’ practice groups 

and private healthcare systems and government administrated healthcare agencies. Our competitors include CHG Healthcare Services, 
TeamHealth, Inc., Cross Country, Inc. and AMN Healthcare Services, Inc., along with several other privately-held companies providing 
locum tenens services.

Seasonality

Demand for our staffing services historically has been lower during the first and fourth quarters due to fewer business days resulting 

from client shutdowns, adverse weather conditions and a decline in the number of contract professionals willing to work during the 
holidays. As is common in the staffing industry, we run special incentive programs to keep our contract professionals, particularly nurses, 
working through the holidays. Demand for our staffing services usually increases in the second and third quarters of the year. In addition, our 
cost of services typically increases in the first quarter primarily due to the reset of payroll taxes.

Employees

At December 31, 2012, we employed approximately 2,500 full-time regular employees, including staffing consultants, regional sales 

directors, account managers, recruiters and corporate office employees. During 2012, we employed approximately 30,850 contract 
professionals and 1,180 locum tenens physicians.

Government Regulation

The healthcare industry is subject to extensive and complex federal and state laws and regulations related to professional licensure, 

certification, conduct of operations, payment for services, payment for referrals and insurance. Our operations are subject to additional state 
and local regulations that require temporary staffing companies placing healthcare personnel to be licensed or separately registered to an 
extent beyond that required by temporary staffing companies that only place non-healthcare personnel. To date, we have not experienced any 
material difficulties in complying with such regulations and obtaining required licensure.

10

 
 
 
   
 
 
 
 
 
 
Some states require state licensure with associated fees for businesses that employ and/or assign certain healthcare personnel at 
hospitals and other healthcare facilities. We are currently licensed in all the states that require such licenses. In addition, many of the contract 
healthcare professionals that we employ are required to be individually licensed and/or certified under applicable state laws. We take 
reasonable steps to ensure that our contract professionals possess all current licenses and certifications required for each placement. We 
provide state mandated workers’ compensation insurance, unemployment insurance and professional liability insurance for our contract 
professionals who are employees and our regular employees. We provide medical malpractice insurance for the non-physician placements 
through On Assignment Healthcare Staffing. We provide separate medical malpractice insurance coverage for our locum tenens physicians 
placed through VISTA. These expenses have a direct effect on our cost of services, margins and likelihood of achieving or maintaining 
profitability.

For a further discussion of government regulation associated with our business, see “Risk Factors” within Item 1A of Part I of 

this Form 10-K.

Executive Officers of the Company

The executive officers of On Assignment, Inc. are as follows:

Name

Peter T. Dameris

Edward L. Pierce

James L. Brill

Michael J. McGowan

Rand Blazer

Ted Hanson

Emmett B. McGrath

Christian Rutherford

Christina Gibson

Age

Position

53

56

61

59

62

43

51

39

42

Chief Executive Officer and President

Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

Senior Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer

Chief Operating Officer of On Assignment and President, Oxford

President, Apex

Chief Financial Officer, Apex

President, Life Sciences and Allied Healthcare

President VISTA

Vice President of Finance and Corporate Controller

Peter T. Dameris joined the Company in November 2003 as Executive Vice President, Chief Operating Officer and was promoted to 

President and Chief Executive Officer in September 2004. He was appointed to the Board of Directors of the Company in February 2005. 
From February 2001 through October 2002, Mr. Dameris served as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Quanta 
Services, Inc. (NYSE: PWR), a leading provider of specialized contracting services for the electric and gas utility, cable and 
telecommunications industries. From December 1994 through September 2000, Mr. Dameris served in a number of different positions at 
Metamor Worldwide, Inc., an international, publicly-traded IT consulting/staffing company, including Chairman of the Board, President and 
Chief Executive Officer, Executive Vice President, General Counsel, Senior Vice President and Secretary. In June 2000, Mr. Dameris 
successfully negotiated the sale of Metamor for $1.9 billion. From November 2002 to January 2006, Mr. Dameris was a member of the Board 
of Directors of BindView Corporation (acquired by Symatec Corporation in January 2006).  Mr. Dameris holds a Juris Doctorate from the 
University of Texas Law School and a Bachelor’s in Business Administration from Southern Methodist University.

Edward L. Pierce joined the Company in September 2012 as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. Prior to this 

appointment, Mr. Pierce served on the Board of Directors for the Company from December 2007 to August 2012. From March 2011 through 
August 2012, Mr. Pierce was an executive in residence at Flexpoint Ford, a private equity firm. From February 2008 to March 2011, Mr. 
Pierce served as the President of First Acceptance Corporation, a publicly-traded retailer, servicer and underwriter of non-standard private 
passenger automobile insurance. Mr. Pierce served as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of First Acceptance Corporation 
from October 2006 through February 2008. From May 2001 through February 2006, Mr. Pierce served as Executive Vice President and Chief 
Financial Officer and as a director of BindView Development Corporation, a publicly-traded network security software development 
company. From November 1994 through January 2001, Mr. Pierce held various financial management positions, including Executive Vice 
President and Chief Financial Officer of Metamor Worldwide, Inc., a publicly-traded information technology consulting/staffing company. 
Mr. Pierce received his Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from Harding University and began his career with Arthur Andersen & Co. 
in Houston, Texas.

James L. Brill joined the Company in January 2007 as Senior Vice President, Finance and Chief Financial Officer and was appointed 

to Senior Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer in September 2012. Mr. Brill was Vice President, Finance and Chief Financial 
Officer of Diagnostic Products Corporation, a manufacturer of immuno-diagnostic kits, from July 1999 until it was acquired by Siemens in 
July 2006. From August 1998 to June 1999, Mr. Brill served as Chief Financial Officer of Jafra Cosmetics International, a marketing and 
direct-selling company in the skin care and beauty industry, and as Vice President of Finance and Administration and Chief Financial Officer 
of Vertel Corporation, a provider of middleware for the telecommunications industry, from 1996 to 1998. Mr. Brill also served as Senior Vice 
President, Finance and Chief Financial Officer of Merisel, Inc., a computer hardware and software distributor, from 1988 to 1996. Mr. Brill 
has been a member of the Board of Directors of Onvia Inc. since March 2004. He holds a Bachelor’s of Science degree from the United 
States Naval Academy and a Master’s of Business Administration degree from the University of California Los Angeles.

11

 
 
 
 
 
 
Michael J. McGowan is Chief Operating Officer of the Company and President of Oxford. He was promoted to Chief Operating 

Officer in May 2012 and has held the position of President of Oxford since 1998. He joined Oxford in May of 1997 as Chief Operating 
Officer. Formerly, Mr. McGowan was Senior Vice President and General Manager for Kelly Services’ Middle Markets Division, a provider of 
staffing solutions. Prior to that time he was Vice President & General Manager for The MEDSTAT Group, a healthcare information firm, and 
held increasingly senior positions for Automatic Data Processing (ADP), a provider of human resources, payroll and tax and benefits 
administration solutions, during a sixteen year tenure. Mr. McGowan holds a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from 
Michigan State University and a Master’s of Business Administration degree from the Eli Broad Graduate School of Management, also at 
Michigan State University. Mr. McGowan joined On Assignment as a result of the Company’s acquisition of Oxford in January 2007.

Rand Blazer joined On Assignment as President of Apex as a result of the Company's acquisition of Apex in May 2012. Prior to the 

acquisition, Mr. Blazer served as Apex's Chief Operating Officer. Formerly, Mr. Blazer served as President of Public Sector for SAP America. 
From 2000 through 2004, Mr. Blazer was Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of BearingPoint, one of the world's largest consulting and 
systems integration firms, based in McLean, VA. Under his leadership, the firm, then known as KPMG Consulting, launched the second-
largest IPO of NASDAQ's history, becoming the first of the Big Five consulting firms to separate from its audit and tax parent and become an 
independent, publicly-traded company. From 1977 through 2000, Mr. Blazer held increasing senior positions with KPMG. Mr. Blazer has 
been a member of the Board of Directors of AtSite since September 2012. Mr. Blazer holds a Bachelor's degree in Economics from McDaniel 
College and a Master's of Business Administration from the University of Kentucky. 

Ted Hanson joined On Assignment as Chief Financial Officer of Apex as a result of the Company's acquisition of Apex in May 2012. 
 Mr. Hanson joined Apex in November 1998 as Corporate Controller and became Chief Financial Officer in January 2001. From 1991 to 1998, 
he worked at Keiter, Stephens, Hurst, Gary and Shreaves, an independent CPA firm in Virginia.  He currently serves as Vice Chairman of the 
Massey Cancer Advisory Board and as a past Treasurer and President of the Board of Directors of the Metropolitan Richmond Sportsbackers. 
Mr. Hanson holds Bachelors of Science degree from Virginia Tech and a Master's of Business Administration from Virginia Commonwealth 
University.  Mr. Hanson is a Certified Public Accountant.  

Emmett B. McGrath joined the Company in September 2004 as President, Life Sciences U.S., and in August 2005, Mr. McGrath 

was appointed as President of Life Sciences Europe. Mr. McGrath was appointed as President of Allied Healthcare in November 2007. From 
February 1985 through August 2004, Mr. McGrath worked at Yoh Company, a privately-held IT staffing firm. During his tenure at Yoh, 
Mr. McGrath held various staffing positions, including Technical Recruiter, Account Manager, Branch and District Management, Vice 
President and Regional President. As Regional President, Mr. McGrath was responsible for core lines of businesses, including Scientific, 
Information Technology, Engineering, Healthcare, Telecommunications and Vendor on Premise (VOP) programs. In addition, Mr. McGrath 
served on Yoh’s Executive Committee and the Chairman’s Board of the Day & Zimmermann Group, Yoh’s parent company. Mr. McGrath 
received a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Business Administration, with an emphasis in Human Resources, from California State University, 
Northridge in 1991.

Christian Rutherford is President of Vista, On Assignment’s physician staffing division. Mr. Rutherford is an 18-year veteran of the 

U.S. staffing industry. From January 2004 through December 2008, Mr. Rutherford held senior leadership roles at CompHealth, the largest 
locum tenens company in the nation, including President of Weatherby Locums and President of RN Network. In February 2009, Mr. 
Rutherford began working for Medfinders, a large, national healthcare staffing company. There, he served as President of Linde Healthcare, 
Kendall and Davis. In November 2009, Mr. Rutherford was promoted to Chief Operating Officer and Board member of Medfinders and 
served in that capacity until the fourth quarter of 2010 when Medfinders was sold to AMN Healthcare. Prior to joining as President of VISTA, 
Mr. Rutherford served as a consultant to On Assignment. Mr. Rutherford holds a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Business from the 
University of Utah.

Christina Gibson joined the Company in May 2007 as Vice President of Finance and Corporate Controller. Ms. Gibson is responsible 

for the day-to-day accounting operations of the Company and its subsidiaries, managing Sarbanes-Oxley compliance, and external and 
internal financial reporting for the Company. Prior to joining the Company, Ms. Gibson was the Vice President and Controller for Digital 
Insight, an internet banking software company from April 2005 to May 2007. From May 2000 through April 2005, Ms. Gibson worked at 
Tekelec, a telecommunications equipment provider. During her tenure at Tekelec, Ms. Gibson served as the Director of Finance as well as the 
Assistant Vice President and Corporate Controller. She holds a Bachelors of Science degree in accounting from the University of Southern 
California and is a Certified Public Accountant.

Available Information and Access to Reports

We electronically file our Annual Report on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K, and all 

amendments to those reports with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). You may read and copy any of our reports that are filed 
with the SEC in the following manner:

•  At  the  SEC’s  Public  Reference  Room at  100  F  Street  NE, Washington,  DC  20549. You  may  obtain  information  on  the 

operation of the Public Reference Room by calling the SEC at (800) SEC-0330;

•  At the SEC’s website, http://www.sec.gov;
•  At our website, http://www.onassignment.com; or
• 

By contacting our Investor Relations Department at (818) 878-7900.

12

 
 
 
Our reports are available through any of the foregoing means and are available free of charge on our website as soon as practicable 

after such material is electronically filed with or furnished to the SEC. Also available on our website (http://www.onassignment.com), free of 
charge, are copies of our Code of Ethics for the Principal Executive Officer and Senior Financial Officers, Code of Business Conduct and 
Ethics and the charters for the committees of our Board of Directors. We intend to disclose any amendment to, or waiver from, a provision of 
our Code of Ethics for Principal Executive Officer and Senior Financial Officers on our website within five business days following the date 
of the amendment or waiver.

Item 1A. Risk Factors

Our business is subject to a number of risks including, but not limited to, the following:

Global market and economic developments could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Demand for the contract staffing services that we provide is significantly affected by global market and economic conditions. As 

economic activity slows, particularly any negative effect on healthcare, research and development and quality control and capital spending, 
many clients or potential clients reduce their use of and reliance upon contract professionals. During periods of reduced economic activity, we 
may also be subject to increased competition for market share and pricing pressure. As a result, a recession or periods of reduced economic 
activity could harm our business and results of operations.

Economic conditions remain uncertain. Concerns continue about the systemic impact of energy costs, geopolitical issues, low 
consumer confidence, high unemployment and underemployment, and the global housing and mortgage markets. As a result of these market 
conditions, the cost and availability of credit has been and may continue to be adversely affected by illiquid credit markets and wider credit 
spreads. Continued turbulence in the U.S. and international markets and economies may adversely affect our liquidity and financial condition, 
as well as the liquidity and financial condition of our lenders and clients. This could impact our ability to draw on all, or a substantial portion, 
of our credit facilities, refinance maturing liabilities and access the capital markets to meet liquidity needs, as well as expose us to risks in 
collecting our accounts receivable.

If we are not able to remain competitive in obtaining and retaining temporary staffing clients, our future growth will suffer. Agreements 
may be terminated by clients and contract professionals at will and the termination of a significant number of such agreements would 
adversely affect our revenues and results of operations.

The contract staffing industry is highly competitive and fragmented with limited barriers to entry. We compete in national, regional 

and local markets with full-service agencies, and in regional and local markets with specialized contract staffing agencies. Many of these 
companies have significantly greater marketing and financial resources than we do.  The success of our business depends upon our ability to 
continually secure new orders from clients and to fill those orders with our contract professionals. 

Our agreements do not provide for exclusive use of our services, and clients are free to place orders with our competitors. Each 

contract professional’s employment or independent contractor’s relationship with us is terminable at will. If clients terminate a significant 
number of our staffing agreements or assignments and we are unable to generate new contract staffing orders to replace lost revenues or a 
significant number of our contract professionals terminate their employment with us and we are unable to find suitable replacements, the 
growth of our business could be adversely affected and our revenues and results of operations could be harmed. As a result, it is imperative to 
our business that we maintain positive relationships with our clients and contract professionals. 

To the extent that competitors seek to gain or retain market share by reducing prices or increasing marketing expenditures, we could 

lose revenues and our margins could decline, which could seriously harm our operating results and cause the trading price of our stock to 
decline. As we expand into new geographic markets, our success will depend in part on our ability to gain market share from competitors. We 
expect competition for clients to increase in the future, and the success and growth of our business depends on our ability to remain 
competitive.

In addition, we continue to participate in an increasing number of third party contracts as a subcontractor and that requires us to 

participate in vendor management contracts, which may subject us to greater risks or lower margins.

If Apex is unable to sustain its rate of growth, the growth prospects and future results of On Assignment are likely to be adversely 
affected.

Over the past eight years, Apex has undergone revenue and earnings growth. This growth has come from Apex's focus on information 

technology staffing, increased market share with existing clients, addition of new clients, national presence and infrastructure that promotes 
high operating leverage. There is no assurance that Apex will be able to continue this pace of growth in the future. Such growth also could be 
negatively affected by many factors, including future technology industry conditions, the effects of integration with the Company's business 
or macroeconomic events. If Apex's growth rate slows, or if it fails to grow at the pace anticipated by the Company, the growth prospects and 
future results of the Company are likely to be adversely affected.

13

 
 
 
Fluctuation in patient occupancy rates at client facilities could adversely affect demand for services of our Healthcare and Physician 
segments and our results of operations.

Client demand for our Healthcare and Physician segment services is significantly impacted by changes in patient occupancy rates at 

our hospital and healthcare clients’ facilities. Increases in occupancy often result in increased client need for contract professionals before 
full-time employees can be hired. During periods of decreased occupancy, however, hospitals and other healthcare facilities typically reduce 
their use of contract professionals before laying off their regular, full-time employees. During periods of decreased occupancy, we may 
experience increased competition to service clients, including pricing pressure. Occupancy at certain healthcare clients’ facilities also 
fluctuates due to the seasonality of some elective procedures and patients declining elective procedures. Periods of decreased occupancy at 
client healthcare facilities could materially adversely affect our results of operations.

If we cannot attract, develop and retain qualified and skilled sales and recruiting staff, our business growth will suffer.

A key component of our ability to grow our business is our ability to attract, develop and retain qualified and skilled sales and 

recruiting staff, particularly persons with industry experience. The available pool of qualified staffing consultant candidates is limited, and 
further constrained by the industry practice of entering into non-compete agreements with these employees, which may restrict their ability to 
accept employment with other staffing firms, including us. We cannot assure that we will be able to recruit, develop and retain qualified sales 
and recruiting staff in sufficient numbers, or that our staffing consultants will achieve productivity levels sufficient to enable growth of our 
business. Failure to attract and retain productive sales and recruiting staff could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results 
of operations.

If we are unable to attract and retain qualified contract professionals, our business could be negatively impacted.

Our business is substantially dependent upon our ability to attract and retain contract professionals who possess the skills, experience, 
and licenses, as required, to meet the specified requirements of our clients. We compete for such contract professionals with other temporary 
staffing companies and with our clients and potential clients. There can be no assurance that qualified healthcare, nursing, life sciences, 
physician, IT and engineering professionals will be available to us in adequate numbers to staff our operating segments. Moreover, our 
contract professionals are often hired to become regular employees of our clients. Attracting and retaining contract professionals depends on 
several factors, including our ability to provide contract professionals with desirable assignments and competitive benefits and wages. The 
cost of attracting and retaining contract professionals may be higher than we anticipate and, as a result, if we are unable to pass these costs on 
to our clients, our likelihood of achieving or maintaining profitability could decline. In periods of high unemployment, contract professionals 
frequently opt for full-time employment directly with clients and, due to a large pool of available candidates, clients are able to directly hire 
and recruit qualified candidates without the involvement of staffing agencies. If we are unable to attract and retain a sufficient number of 
contract professionals to meet client demand, we may be required to forgo staffing and revenue opportunities, which may hurt the growth of 
our business.

Reclassification of our independent contractors by tax authorities could materially and adversely affect our business model and could 
require us to pay significant retroactive wages, taxes and penalties.

We consider our locum tenens physicians to be independent contractors rather than employees. As such, we do not withhold or pay 

income or other employment related taxes, or provide workers’ compensation insurance for them. Our classification of locum tenens 
physicians as independent contractors is consistent with general industry standard, but can nonetheless be challenged by the contractors 
themselves or by relevant taxing authorities. If federal or state taxing authorities determine that locums tenens physicians engaged as 
independent contractors are employees, our business model for that segment would be materially and adversely affected. Although we believe 
we qualify for safe harbor under the provisions of Section 530 of the Revenue Act of 1978, Pub. L. No. 95-600, and any similar applicable 
state laws, we could incur significant liability for past wages, taxes, penalties and other employment benefits if we could not so qualify. In 
addition, many states have laws that prohibit non-physician owned companies from employing physicians. If our independent contractor 
physicians are classified as employees, we could be found in violation of such state laws, which could subject us to liability in those states 
and thereby negatively impact our profitability.

Our costs of providing travel and housing for traveling contract professionals may be higher than we anticipate and, as a result, our 
margins could decline.

If our travel and housing costs, including the costs of airline tickets, rental cars, apartments and rental furniture for our traveling 
contract professionals exceed the levels we anticipate, and we are unable to pass such increases on to our clients, our margins may decline. To 
the extent the length of our apartment leases exceed the terms of our staffing contracts, we bear the risk that we will be obligated to pay rent 
for housing we do not use. If we cannot source a sufficient number of appropriate short-term leases in regional markets, or if, for any reason, 
we are unable to efficiently utilize the apartments we do lease, we may be required to pay rent for unutilized or underutilized 
housing. Effective management of travel costs will be necessary to prevent a decrease in gross profit and gross and operating margins.

Future changes in reimbursement trends could hamper our Healthcare and Physician segments clients’ ability to pay us, which would 
harm our financial results.

Many of our Healthcare and Physician segments’ clients are reimbursed under the federal Medicare program and state Medicaid 

programs for the services they provide. In recent years, federal and state governments have made significant changes in these programs that 

14

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
have reduced reimbursement rates. In addition, insurance companies and managed care organizations seek to control costs by requiring that 
healthcare providers, such as hospitals, discount their services in exchange for exclusive or preferred participation in their benefit plans. 
Future federal and state legislation or evolving commercial reimbursement trends may further reduce, or change conditions for, our clients’ 
reimbursement. Limitations on reimbursement could reduce our clients’ cash flows, thereby hampering their ability to pay us.

If our insurance costs increase significantly, these incremental costs could negatively affect our financial results.

The costs related to obtaining and maintaining workers’ compensation insurance, medical malpractice insurance, professional and 
general liability insurance and health insurance for our contract professionals have been increasing. If the cost of carrying this insurance 
continues to increase significantly, this may reduce our gross and operating margins and affect our financial results.

We may be subject to increases in payroll-related costs and unemployment insurance taxes, resulting in lower margins.

We currently pay federal, state and local payroll costs and taxes for our corporate employees and contract professional employees. If 

we are subject to significant increases in costs associated with payroll and unemployment taxes, we may not be able to increase client bill 
rates to cover the additional expense and this may reduce our gross and operating margins and affect our financial results.

Significant legal actions and claims could subject us to substantial uninsured liabilities, result in damage to our business reputation, 
discontinuation of our client relationships and adversely affect our recruitment and retention efforts.

In recent years, we have been subject to an increasing number of legal actions alleging malpractice, vicarious liability, intentional 

torts, negligent hiring, discrimination, sexual harassment, retroactive entitlement to employee benefits, violation of wage and hour 
requirements, or related legal theories. We may be subject to liability in such cases even if the contribution to the alleged injury was minimal. 
Many of these actions involve large claims and significant defense costs. In addition, we may be subject to claims related to torts or crimes 
committed by our corporate employees or contract professionals. In most instances, we are required to indemnify clients against some or all 
of these risks. A failure of any of our corporate employees or contract professionals to observe our policies and guidelines intended to reduce 
these risks; relevant client policies and guidelines or applicable federal, state or local laws, rules and regulations could result in negative 
publicity, payment of fines or other damages. We may be subject to possible claims by our clients related to errors and omissions, misuse of 
proprietary information, breach of confidentiality, discrimination and harassment, theft and other criminal activity, malpractice and other 
claims stemming from the improper activities or alleged activities of our contract professionals. 

To protect ourselves from the cost of these types of claims, we maintain workers’ compensation, medical malpractice, errors and 
omissions, employment practices and general liability insurance coverage in amounts and with deductibles that we believe are appropriate for 
our operations. Our coverage includes a large retention amount, and our insurance coverage may not cover all claims against us or continue to 
be available to us at a reasonable cost. If we are unable to maintain adequate insurance coverage, we may be exposed to substantial liabilities. 
Claims raised by clients stemming from the improper actions of our contract professionals, even if without merit, could cause us to incur 
significant expense associated with the costs or damages related to such claims. Further, such claims by clients could damage our business 
reputation and result in the discontinuation of client relationships. Any associated negative publicity could adversely affect our ability to 
attract and retain qualified contract professionals in the future.

We operate in a regulated industry and changes in regulations or violations of regulations may result in increased costs or sanctions that 
could reduce our revenues and profitability.

Our organization is subject to extensive and complex federal and state laws and regulations including but not limited to laws and 

regulations related to professional licensure, payroll tax, conduct of operations, payment for services and payment for referrals. If we fail to 
comply with the laws and regulations that are directly applicable to our business, we could suffer civil and/or criminal penalties or be subject 
to injunctions or cease and desist orders.

Extensive and complex laws that apply to our hospital and healthcare facility clients, including laws related to Medicare, Medicaid 

and other federal and state healthcare programs, could indirectly affect the demand or the prices paid for our services. For example, our 
hospital and healthcare facility clients could suffer civil and/or criminal penalties and/or be excluded from participating in Medicare, 
Medicaid and other healthcare programs if they fail to comply with the laws and regulations applicable to their businesses. In addition, our 
hospital and healthcare facility clients could receive reduced reimbursements or be excluded from coverage because of a change in the rates 
or conditions set by federal or state governments. In turn, violations of or changes to these laws and regulations that adversely affect our 
hospital and healthcare facility clients could also adversely affect the prices that these clients are willing or able to pay for our services.

U.S. healthcare legislation could negatively impact our results of operations.

In March 2010, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 
(collectively, the Acts) were signed into U.S. law. The Acts represent comprehensive healthcare reform legislation that, in addition to other 
provisions, will require that we provide healthcare coverage to our temporary employees in the United States or incur penalties. Although our 
intent is to bill these costs to our customers, there can be no assurance that we will be able to increase client bill rates in a sufficient amount to 
cover the increased costs. This may reduce our gross and operating margins and negatively impact our financial results. Additionally, since 
significant provisions of the Acts will not become effective until 2014, possible future changes to the Acts could significantly impact any 

15

 
 
 
 
 
 
estimates we develop during that period. While we are unable at this time to estimate the net impact of the Acts, we believe the net financial 
impact on our results of operations could be significant.

We may not successfully make or integrate acquisitions, which could harm our business and growth.

As part of our growth strategy, we intend to opportunistically pursue selected acquisitions. We compete with other companies in the 

professional staffing and consulting industries for acquisition opportunities, and we cannot assure that we will be able to affect future 
acquisitions on commercially reasonable terms or at all. To the extent we enter into acquisition transactions in the future, we may experience:

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

• 

delays in realizing or a failure to realize the benefits, cost savings and synergies that we anticipate;
difficulties or higher-than-anticipated costs associated with integrating any acquired companies into our businesses;
attrition of key personnel from acquired businesses;
diversion of management’s attention from other business concerns;
inability to maintain the business relationships and reputation of the acquired companies;
difficulties in integrating the acquired companies into our information systems, controls, policies and procedures;
additional risks relating to the businesses or industry of the acquired companies that are different from ours;
unexpected liabilities, costs or charges;
unforeseen operating difficulties that require significant financial and managerial resources that would otherwise be available for 
the ongoing development or expansion of our existing operations; and
impairment related to goodwill and other identifiable intangible assets acquired

To undertake more transactions, additional financing may be necessary and, if used, would result in additional debt, dilution of 
outstanding equity, or both. We may face unexpected contingent liabilities arising from these or future acquisitions that could harm our 
business.

Impairment of goodwill or identifiable intangible assets could materially impact future results of operations.

We have approximately $498.4 million in goodwill and $263.8 million in identifiable intangible assets at December 31, 2012. As part 

of the testing of goodwill impairment, Accounting Standards Codification Topic 350, Intangibles - Goodwill and Other, requires the 
Company to estimate the fair value of its reporting units on at least an annual basis and more frequently if an event occurs or circumstances 
change that would more likely than not reduce the fair value of a reporting unit below its carrying amount. The impairment tests consist of 
comparing the fair value of a reporting unit with its carrying amount including goodwill. We determine the fair value of each reporting unit 
based upon a weighted average calculation using the fair value derived from a discounted cash flow analysis and a market approach analysis. 
Discounted cash flows are developed for each reporting unit based on assumptions including revenue growth expectations, gross margins, 
operating expense projections, working capital, capital expense requirements and tax rates. The multi-year financial forecasts for each 
reporting unit used in the cash flow models considered several key business drivers such as new product lines, historical performance and 
industry and economic trends, among other considerations. The market approach considers multiples of financial metrics, primarily EBITDA, 
based on trading multiples of a group of guideline public companies in the staffing industry, which multiples are then applied to the 
corresponding financial metrics of our reporting units to derive an indication of fair value. There are inherent uncertainties related to the 
factors, and management's judgment in applying these factors. At October 31, 2012, we performed our annual goodwill impairment test and 
concluded that there was no impairment. Future declines in our market capitalization or any other impairment indicators subsequent to the 
balance sheet date could be an early indication that remaining goodwill may become impaired in the future. Although a future impairment of 
goodwill and indefinite lived identifiable intangible assets would not affect our cash flow, it would negatively impact our operating results.

Intangible assets with indefinite lives consist of trademarks. We test trademarks for impairment on an annual basis, on October 31. In 
order to test the trademarks for impairment, we determine the fair value of the trademarks and compare such amount to its carrying value. We 
determine the fair value of the trademarks using a projected discounted cash flow analysis based on the relief-from-royalty approach. The 
principal factors used in the discounted cash flow analysis requiring judgment are projected net sales, discount rate, royalty rate and terminal 
value assumption. The royalty rate used in the analysis is based on transactions that have occurred in our industry. Intangible assets having 
finite lives are amortized over their useful lives and are tested for recoverability whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that 
the carrying amount may not be recoverable. Customer relations are amortized using an accelerated method. Contractor relations and non-
compete agreements are amortized using the straight-line method. We did not have any impairment of indefinite lived or finite lived 
intangibles in 2012.

We are subject to business risks associated with international operations, which could make our international operations significantly 
more costly.

During 2012, we had international sales in all countries in the European Union, in Canada, New Zealand and Australia. In 2012, our 

international operations comprised approximately 6.3 percent of total sales compared with 11.4 percent and 7.0 percent in 2011 and 2010, 
respectively. We have limited experience in marketing, selling and supporting our services outside of North America. Operations in certain 
markets are subject to risks inherent in international business activities, including:

• 
• 
• 

fluctuations in currency exchange rates;
complicated work permit requirements;
varying economic and political conditions;

16

 
 
 
 
• 
• 
• 
• 

seasonal reductions in business activity during the summer months in Europe and Asia;
overlapping or differing tax structures;
difficulties collecting accounts receivable; and
regulations concerning pay rates, benefits, vacation, union membership, redundancy payments and the termination of employment.

Our inability to effectively manage our international operations could result in increased costs and adversely affect our results of 

operations.

Adverse results in tax examinations could subject us to unforeseen liabilities and impact our financial results.

We are subject to periodic tax audits. Adverse findings or assessments made by taxing authorities as the result of an audit could have 

an adverse effect on our financial results, if we are unable to sustain our position with the relevant jurisdiction.

If our information systems do not function in a cost effective manner, our business will be harmed.

The operation of our business is dependent on the proper functioning of our information systems. In 2012, we continued to upgrade 

our information technology systems, including our PeopleSoft and Recruitmax Technology enterprise-wide information systems used in daily 
operations to identify and match staffing resources and client assignments, track regulatory credentialing, manage scheduling, and perform 
billing and accounts receivable functions. If the systems fail to perform reliably or otherwise do not meet our expectations, or if we fail to 
successfully complete the implementation of other modules of the systems, we could experience business interruptions that could result in 
deferred or lost sales. Our information systems are vulnerable to fire, storm, flood, power loss, telecommunications failures, physical or 
software break-ins, viruses, security breaches and similar events. Our network infrastructure is currently located at our facility in Salt Lake 
City, Utah. As a result, any system failure or service outage at this primary facility could result in a loss of service for the duration of the 
failure of the outage. Our location in Southern California is susceptible to earthquakes and has experienced power shortages and outages in 
the past, which could result in system failures or outages. If our information systems fail or are otherwise unavailable, these functions would 
have to be accomplished manually, which could impact our ability to respond to business opportunities quickly, to pay our staff in a timely 
fashion and to bill for services efficiently.

The loss of key members of our senior management team could adversely affect the execution of our business strategy and our financial 
results.

We believe that the successful execution of our business strategy and our ability to build upon the significant recent investments in our 

business and acquisitions of new businesses depends on the continued employment of key members of our senior management team. If any 
members of our senior management team become unable or unwilling to continue in their present positions, our financial results and our 
business could be materially adversely affected.

Failure of internal controls may leave us susceptible to errors and fraud.

Our management, including our CEO and CFO, does not expect that our disclosure controls and internal controls will prevent all 

errors and all fraud. A control system, no matter how well conceived and operated, can provide only reasonable assurance that the objectives 
of the control system are met. Furthermore, because of the inherent limitations in all control systems, no evaluation of controls can provide 
absolute assurance that all control issues and instances of fraud, if any, would be detected.

Failure to comply with restrictive covenants under our debt instruments could trigger prepayment obligations or additional costs.

Our failure to comply with restrictive covenants under our credit facilities and other debt instruments could result in an event of 

default, which, if not cured or waived, could result in the requirement to repay such borrowings before their due date. Some covenants are 
tied to our operating results and thus may be breached if we do not perform as expected. The lenders may require fees and expenses to be paid 
or other changes to terms in connection with waivers or amendments. If we are forced to refinance these borrowings on less favorable terms, 
our results of operations and financial condition could be adversely affected by increased costs and/or rates.

The trading price of our common stock has experienced significant fluctuations, which could make it difficult for us to access the public 
markets for financing or use our common stock as consideration in a strategic transaction.

In 2012, the trading price of our common stock experienced significant fluctuations, ranging from a high of $20.93 to a low of $10.65. 
The closing price of our common stock on the NYSE was $24.85 on March 8, 2013. Our common stock may continue to fluctuate widely as a 
result of a large number of factors, many of which are beyond our control, including:

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

period to period fluctuations in our financial results or those of our competitors;
failure to meet previously announced guidance or analysts’ expectations of our quarterly results;
announcements by us or our competitors of acquisitions, significant contracts, commercial relationships or capital commitments;
commencement of, or involvement in, litigation;
any major change in our board or management;
changes in government regulations, including those related to Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement policies;
recommendations by securities analysts or changes in earnings estimates;

17

 
 
 
 
 
 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

announcements about our earnings that are not in line with analyst expectations;
the volume of shares of common stock available for public sale;
announcements by our competitors of their earnings that are not in line with analyst expectations;
sales of stock by us or by our shareholders;
short sales, hedging and other derivative transactions in shares of our common stock; and
general economic conditions, slow or negative growth of unrelated markets and other external factors.

The stock market has experienced extreme price and volume fluctuations that have affected the trading prices of the common stock of 

many companies involved in the temporary staffing industry. As a result of these fluctuations, we may encounter difficulty should we 
determine to access the public markets for financing or use our common stock as consideration in a strategic transaction.

Our results of operations may vary from quarter to quarter as a result of a number of factors, which may make it difficult to evaluate our 
business and could cause instability in the trading price of our common stock.

Factors that may cause our quarterly results to fluctuate include:

• 

• 
• 

the level of demand for our temporary staffing services and the efficiency with which we source and assign our contract professionals 
and support our staffing consultants in the execution of their duties;
changes in our pricing policies or those of our competitors; and
our ability to control costs and manage our accounts receivable balances.

Most temporary staffing companies experience seasonal declines in demand during the first and fourth quarters, as a result of fewer 

business days and the reduced number of contract professionals willing to work during the holidays. Historically, we have experienced 
variability in the duration and depth of these seasonal declines, which in turn have materially affected our quarterly results of operations and 
made period-to-period comparisons of our financial and operating performance difficult.

If our operating results are below the expectations of public market analysts or investors in a given quarter, the trading price of our 

common stock could decline.

Future sales of our common stock and the future exercise of options may cause the market price of our common stock to decline and may 
result in substantial dilution.

We cannot predict what effect, if any, future sales of our common stock, or the availability of our common stock for sale will have on 
the market price of our common stock. Sales of substantial amounts of our common stock in the public market by management or us, or the 
perception that such sales could occur, could adversely affect the market price of our common stock and may make it more difficult for you to 
sell your common stock at a time and price which you may deem appropriate.

We have adopted anti-takeover measures that could prevent a change in our control.

We adopted a shareholder rights plan that has certain anti-takeover effects and will cause substantial dilution to a person or group that 

attempts to acquire us in a manner or on terms that have not been approved by our board of directors. This plan could delay or impede the 
removal of incumbent directors and could make more difficult a merger, tender offer or proxy contest involving us, even if such events could 
be beneficial, in the short-term, to the interests of our shareholders. In addition, such provisions could limit the price that some investors 
might be willing to pay in the future for shares of our common stock. Our certificate of incorporation and bylaws contain provisions that limit 
liability and provide for indemnification of our directors and officers, and provide that our stockholders can take action only at a duly called 
meeting of stockholders. These provisions and others also may have the effect of deterring hostile takeovers or delaying changes in control or 
management.

Provisions in our corporate documents and Delaware law may delay or prevent a change in control that our stockholders consider 
favorable.

Provisions in our certificate of incorporation and bylaws could have the effect of delaying or preventing a change of control or 

changes in our management. These provisions include the following:

•  Our board of directors has the right to elect directors to fill a vacancy created by the expansion of the board of directors or the 
resignation, death or removal of a director, which prevents stockholders from being able to fill vacancies on our board of directors.
•  Our stockholders may not act by written consent. In addition, a holder or holders controlling a majority of our capital stock would 
not be able to take certain actions without holding a stockholder’s meeting, and only stockholders owning at least 50 percent of our 
entire voting stock must request in writing in order to call a special meeting of stockholders (which is in addition to the authority 
held by our board of directors to call a special stockholder meeting).
Stockholders must provide advance notice to nominate individuals for election to the board of directors or to propose matters that 
can be acted upon at a stockholders’ meeting. These provisions may discourage or deter a potential acquirer from conducting a 
solicitation of proxies to elect the acquirer’s own slate of directors or otherwise attempting to obtain control of our company.
•  Our board of directors may issue, without stockholder approval, up to one million shares of undesignated or “blank check” preferred 
stock. The ability to issue undesignated or “blank check” preferred stock makes it possible for our board of directors to issue preferred 

• 

18

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
stock with voting or other rights or preferences that could impede the success of any attempt or make it more difficult for a third 
party to acquire us.

As a Delaware corporation, we are also subject to certain Delaware anti-takeover provisions, including Section 203 of the Delaware 
General Corporation Law. Under these provisions, a corporation may not engage in a business combination with any large stockholders who 
hold 15 percent or more of our outstanding voting capital stock in a merger or business combination unless the holder has held the stock for 3 
years, the board of directors has expressly approved the merger or business transaction or at least two-thirds of the outstanding voting capital 
stock not owned by such large stockholder approve the merger or the transaction. These provisions of Delaware law may have the effect of 
delaying, deferring or preventing a change of control, and may discourage bids for our common stock at a premium over its market price. In 
addition, our board of directors could rely on these provisions of Delaware law to discourage, prevent or delay an acquisition of us.

Item 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments

Not applicable.

Item 2. Properties

As of December 31, 2012, we leased approximately 37,200 square feet of office space through November 2021 for our field support 

and corporate headquarters in Calabasas, California. Additionally, we leased 16,600 square feet of office space through February 2016 for our 
field support offices in Blue Ash, Ohio. As of December 31, 2012, we leased approximately 56,000 square feet of office space through 
December 2016 at our VISTA headquarters in Salt Lake City, Utah; 48,300 square feet of office space through December 2015 at our Oxford 
headquarters in Beverly, Massachusetts; and 21,700 square feet of office space through March 2017 at our Apex headquarters in Richmond, 
Virginia.

In addition, as of December 31, 2012, we lease approximately 670,000 square feet of total office space in approximately 130 branch 

office locations in the United States, United Kingdom, Netherlands, Belgium, Ireland, Spain, China and Canada. A branch office typically 
occupies space ranging from approximately 1,000 to 5,000 square feet with lease terms that typically range from six months to five years.

Item 3. Legal Proceedings

We are involved in various legal proceedings, claims and litigation arising in the ordinary course of business. However, based on the 

facts currently available, we do not believe that the disposition of matters that are pending or asserted will have a material effect on our 
financial position, results of operations or cash flows.

Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures

Not applicable.

19

 
 
 
 
 
 
PART II

Item 5. Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities

Price Range of Common Stock

Our common stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange, or NYSE, under the symbol ASGN. Prior to August 31, 2012, our common 
stock was listed on the NASDAQ Global Select Market, or Nasdaq. The following table sets forth the range of high and low sales prices as 
reported on the Nasdaq and the NYSE, as applicable for each quarterly period within the two most recent fiscal years. At March 8, 2013, we 
had approximately 70 holders of record, approximately 8,700 beneficial owners of our common stock and 53,084,637 shares outstanding.

Year Ended December 31, 2012

First Quarter 

Second Quarter                                   

Third Quarter                              

Fourth Quarter                                  

Year Ended December 31, 2011

First Quarter

Second Quarter                                   

Third Quarter                                

Fourth Quarter                                  

Price Range of
Common Stock

High

Low

$

$

$

$

$

$

$

$

18.25

19.37

20.93

20.74

10.87

11.67

11.25

11.94

$

$

$

$

$

$

$

$

10.65

14.48

14.50

18.00

7.77

8.06

6.27

6.68

Since inception, we have not declared or paid any cash dividends on our common stock, and we currently plan to retain all earnings to 

support the development and expansion of our business and we have no present intention of paying any dividends on our common stock in 
the foreseeable future. However, the board of directors periodically reviews our dividend policy to determine whether the declaration of 
dividends is appropriate. Terms of our senior credit facility restrict our ability to pay dividends of more than $2.5 million in total over the 
term of the agreement.

Stock Performance Graph

The following graph compares the performance of On Assignment’s common stock price during the period from December 31, 2007 

to December 31, 2012 with the composite prices of companies listed on the NYSE, the NASDAQ and of companies included in the SIC Code 
No. 736—Personnel Supply Services Companies Index. The companies listed in the SIC Code No. 736 include peer companies in the same 
industry or line of business as On Assignment.

The graph depicts the results of investing $100 in On Assignment’s common stock, the NYSE market index, the NASDAQ market 

index and an index of the companies listed in the SIC Code No. 736 on December 31, 2007 and assumes that dividends were reinvested 
during the period.

The comparisons shown in the graph below are based upon historical data, and we caution stockholders that the stock price 

performance shown in the graph below is not indicative of, nor intended to forecast, potential future performance.

20

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
ASSUMES $100 INVESTED ON JANUARY 1, 2007
ASSUMES DIVIDEND REINVESTED
FISCAL YEAR ENDING DECEMBER 31, 2012

2012

2011

2010

2009

2008

2007

Year Ended December 31,

On Assignment, Inc. (ASGN)

SIC Code No. 736 Index—Personnel
Supply Services Company Index

NASDAQ Market Index

NYSE Stock Market Index

$

$

$

$

289.25

89.03

120.41

99.46

$

$

$

$

159.46

77.60

102.26

85.62

$

$

$

$

116.25

108.06

103.08

88.89

$

$

$

$

102.00

85.80

87.24

78.24

$

$

$

$

80.88

58.83

60.02

60.85

$

$

$

$

100.00

100.00

100.00

100.00

Common Stock Repurchases

There were no purchases of equity securities during the year ended December 31, 2012.

On October 25, 2010, the Board of Directors authorized additional corporate stock repurchases subject to an overall repurchase cost 
limitation of $20.0 million. Under this program, the Company, through a third party, may repurchase shares in open market purchases or in 
privately negotiated transactions over a four year period. In 2010, the Company repurchased and retired 291,212 shares of its common stock 
at a total cost of $2.0 million. In 2011, the Company repurchased and retired 323,361 shares of its common stock at a total cost of $2.2 
million. The Company’s remaining authorized cost limitation to repurchase its common stock was $15.8 million as of December 31, 2012.

21

 
 
 
Item 6. Selected Financial Data

The following table presents selected financial data of On Assignment. This selected financial data should be read in conjunction with 

the consolidated financial statements and notes thereto included under “Financial Statements and Supplementary Data” in Part II, Item 8 of 
this report.

Summary Results of Operations:

Revenues

Cost of services

Gross profit

Selling, general and administrative expenses

Amortization of intangible assets

Impairment of goodwill

Operating income

Interest expense, net

Income (loss) before income taxes

Provision for income taxes

Net income (loss)

Earnings (loss) per share:

Basic

Diluted

Number of shares and share equivalents used to calculate 
earnings (loss) per share:
Basic

Diluted

Balance Sheet Data (at end of period):

Year Ended December 31,

2012

2011

2010

2009

2008

(in thousands, except per share data)

$ 1,239,705

$

597,281

$

438,065

$

416,613

$

618,058

855,382

384,323

273,528

18,016

—

92,779

(17,823)

74,956

32,303

42,653

0.91

0.89

$

$

$

397,176

200,105

153,360

2,346

—

44,399

(2,936)

41,463

17,166

24,297

0.66

0.64

$

$

$

288,609

149,456

128,715

2,115

15,399

3,227

(8,168)

(4,941)

4,956

(9,897) $

280,245

136,368

115,066

6,075

—

15,227

(6,442)

8,785

4,078

4,707

(0.27) $

(0.27) $

0.13

0.13

$

$

$

418,602

199,456

146,506

9,436

—

43,514

(9,283)

34,231

15,261

18,970

0.53

0.53

$

$

$

46,739

47,826

36,876

37,758

36,429

36,429

36,011

36,335

35,487

35,858

Cash and cash equivalents

$

27,479

$

17,739

$

18,409

$

25,974

$

Working capital

Total assets

Long-term liabilities

Stockholders' equity

175,030

1,098,021

446,571

532,723

74,705

410,665

107,513

246,743

50,596

341,116

76,579

219,487

62,238

343,462

84,847

226,661

46,271

91,192

401,850

129,805

218,514

Our working capital at December 31, 2012 was $175.0 million, including $27.5 million in cash and cash equivalents. On May 15, 

2012, we acquired Apex. The acquisition was completed by utilizing existing cash and the proceeds from a new senior secured credit facility 
and the issuance of 14.3 million shares of common stock. For further discussion regarding the new credit facility, see Note 5 to our 
Consolidated Financial Statements appearing in Part II, Item 8 of this report.

Item 7 - Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations

The following discussion should be read in conjunction with the other sections of this Annual Report on Form 10-K, including Special Note 
on Forward-looking Statements and Part I, "Item 1A — Risk Factors".

OVERVIEW

On Assignment, Inc. is a leading global provider of in-demand, skilled professionals in the growing technology, healthcare, and life 

sciences sectors. We provide clients with short- and long-term placement of contract, contract-to-hire, and direct hire professionals. 

Our Technology service offering consists of two complementary segments uniquely positioned in the marketplace to offer our clients a 

broad spectrum of information technology, or IT, staffing solutions: Apex and Oxford, which was formerly known as the IT and Engineering 
segment. Our Apex segment provides mission-critical daily IT operation professionals for contract and contract-to-hire positions to Fortune 
1000 and mid-market clients across the United States. Our Oxford segment proactively recruits and delivers high-end information technology, 

22

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
engineering, regulatory, and compliance professionals for consulting assignments and permanent placements across the United States, 
Canada, and Europe.

Our Healthcare service offering consists of two segments: Healthcare, which includes our Nurse Travel and Allied Healthcare lines of 

business, and Physician. Our Healthcare segment offers our healthcare clients locally-based and traveling contract professionals, from a 
number of healthcare, medical, financial and allied occupations. Our Healthcare segment contract professionals include nurses, specialty 
nurses, health information management professionals, dialysis technicians, surgical technicians, imaging technicians, x-ray technicians, 
medical technologists, medical assistants, pharmacists, pharmacy technicians, respiratory therapists, phlebotomists, coders, billers, claims 
processors and collections staff, and dental professionals - including dental assistants, hygienists and dentists and rehabilitation therapists. 
Our Physician segment is a leading provider of physician staffing, known as locum tenens, and permanent physician search services. Our 
Physician segment provides short- and long-term locum tenens services and full-service physician search and consulting services, primarily in 
the United States, with some locum tenens placements in Australia and New Zealand. We work with physicians in a wide range of specialties, 
placing them in hospitals, community-based practices and federal, state and local facilities.

Our Life Sciences service offering segment provides locally-based contract life science professionals to clients in the biotechnology, 

pharmaceutical, food and beverage, medical device, personal care, chemical, automotive, educational and environmental industries. Our 
contract professionals include chemists, clinical research associates, clinical lab assistants, engineers, biologists, biochemists, microbiologists, 
molecular biologists, food scientists, regulatory affairs specialists, lab assistants, biostatisticians, drug safety specialists, SAS programmers, 
medical writers, and other skilled scientific professionals.

Results of Operations

The following table summarizes selected statement of operations data expressed as a percentage of revenues:

Revenues

Cost of services

Gross profit

Selling, general and administrative expenses

Amortization of intangible assets

Impairment of goodwill

Operating income

Interest expense, net

Income (loss) before income taxes

Provision for income taxes

Net income (loss)

* Columns may not foot due to rounding.

Year Ended December 31,

2012

2011

2010

100.0%

100.0%

100.0 %

69.0

31.0

22.1

1.5

—

7.5

(1.4)

6.0

2.6

3.4%

66.5

33.5

25.7

0.4

—

7.4

(0.5)

6.9

2.9

4.1%

65.9

34.1

29.4

0.5

3.5

0.7

(1.9)

(1.2)

1.1

(2.3)%

RESULTS OF OPERATIONS FOR THE YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2012 COMPARED WITH THE YEAR ENDED 
DECEMBER 31, 2011

Revenues by segment (in thousands):

Apex

Oxford (formerly IT and Engineering)

Life Sciences

Healthcare

Physician

Year Ended December 31,

Change

2012

2011

$

%

$

508,743

$

— $

508,743

345,380

162,799

120,104

102,679

266,742

155,324

94,598

80,617

78,638

7,475

25,506

22,062

—%

29.5%

4.8%

27.0%

27.4%

$

1,239,705

$

597,281

$

642,424

107.6%

Revenues increased $642.4 million, or 107.6 percent, mainly due to the acquisition of Apex and 22.4 percent year-over-year growth of 

our other business segments. Apex revenues for the year ended December 31, 2012 were $508.7 million or 41.0 percent of total revenues. 
Apex was acquired on May 15, 2012 and is reported in the Apex segment. 

Oxford segment revenues increased $78.6 million, or 29.5 percent, comprised of a 23.5 percent increase in the average number of 
contract professionals on assignment, a 4.7 percent increase in average bill rate and a $1.1 million increase in conversion and permanent 

23

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
placement revenue. Revenues for Oxford's Healthcare IT line of business increased by approximately 119 percent, the Engineering - 
Regulatory and Compliance line of business increased by approximately 39 percent, while the remaining lines of business grew by 
approximately 17 percent. Due to the limited availability of senior IT and engineering consultants, the demand for our services have 
increased. We have continued to focus on diversifying this segment across clients and industries and have selectively added staffing 
consultants necessary for current and future growth. In their September report Staffing Industry Analysts say the US IT Staffing market “will 
attain an all-time high of $24.9 billion in 2013”.

Life Sciences segment revenues increased $7.5 million, or 4.8 percent, comprised of a 5.0 percent increase in the average number of 

contract professionals on assignment and a 0.5 percent increase in the average bill rate, which was slightly offset by a $0.8 million decrease in 
conversion and permanent placement revenue. The increase was achieved despite the termination in early 2012 of a low-margin account that 
generated approximately $3.1 million in revenue in 2011. The year-over-year increase in revenues was attributable to inclusion of a full year's 
operating results from Valesta, which was acquired on February 28, 2011 and increased demand from our other service offerings as our clients 
end markets improved. In 2012, Valesta accounted for $24.5 million in revenues up from $20.4 million in 2011. 

Healthcare segment (comprised of our Nurse Travel and Allied Healthcare lines of business) revenues increased $25.5 million, or 27.0 

percent. Nurse Travel revenues were $62.2 million, up $12.5 million year-over-year primarily due to higher revenues from staffing services 
supporting customers experiencing labor disruptions ($13.5 million in revenues during the year ended December 31, 2012 and $7.1 million in 
2011). The average number of nurses on assignment increased 14.1 percent, which was slightly offset by a 1.3 percent decrease in the average 
bill rate. Allied Healthcare revenues were $57.9 million, up $13.0 million, or 28.8 percent. The average number of contract professionals on 
assignment increased 23.4 percent, the average bill rate increased 2.0 percent, and conversion and permanent placement revenue increased 
$0.3 million. The increase in revenues was attributable to improved economic trends in the healthcare sector, which resulted in a higher 
number of contract professionals on assignment, open orders and average bill rates. The Allied Healthcare operating environment continued 
to demonstrate signs of improvement as economic trends in our end markets showed signs of stabilization and growth as evidenced by year-
over-year growth in the number of clients and contractors on billing, average bill rate and billable hours. Although the Healthcare segment 
remains soft, we continue to see signs of improvement in demand for contract professionals. 

Physician segment revenues increased $22.1 million, or 27.4 percent. The increase in Physician segment revenues was attributable to 
inclusion of a full year's operating results from HCP, which was acquired on July 31, 2011 and a $7.8 million increase in our legacy physician 
business. HCP accounted for $25.5 million in revenues in 2012 up from $11.2 million in 2011. The increase in legacy physician revenues was 
due to a 4.3 percent increase in the average number of physicians placed and working, a 4.8 percent increase in average bill rate and a $0.6 
million increase in direct hire and conversation fee revenues. 

Gross Profit and Gross Margins

Gross Profit by segment (in thousands):

Apex

Oxford (formerly IT and Engineering)

Life Sciences

Healthcare

Physician

Year Ended December 31,

2012

2011

Gross Profit

Gross Margin

Gross Profit

Gross Margin

$

140,669

27.7% $

122,043

55,874

34,282

31,455

35.3%

34.3%

28.5%

30.6%

—

94,967

52,643

26,637

25,858

$

384,323

31.0% $

200,105

—%
35.6%

33.9%

28.2%

32.1%

33.5%

The year-over-year gross profit increase was primarily due to higher revenues, which was partially offset by a 250 basis point 
contraction in consolidated gross margin. The decrease in gross margin was primarily attributable to the inclusion of Apex, which has a lower 
gross margin than our other segments. 

Oxford segment gross profit increased $27.1 million, or 28.5 percent, primarily due to a $78.6 million, or 29.5 percent increase in 
revenues, which was partially offset by a 26 basis point contraction in gross margin. The contraction in gross margin was primarily due to 
increases in consultant payroll taxes and benefits offset by a $1.1 million increase in direct hire and conversion fee revenue.

Life Sciences segment gross profit increased $3.2 million, or 6.1 percent. The increase in gross profit was primarily due to a 4.8 
percent increase in revenues and a 43 basis point expansion in gross margin. The expansion in gross margin was due to a 1.9 percent increase 
in bill/pay spread, which was partially offset by an increase in travel related expense, an increase in payroll taxes related to higher European 
payroll tax rates for Valesta employees, and a $0.8 million decrease in direct hire and conversion fee revenue.

Healthcare segment gross profit increased $7.6 million, or 28.7 percent. The increase in gross profit was due to a 27.0 percent increase 
in revenues and a 38 basis point expansion in gross margin. Within this segment, Allied Healthcare gross profit increased 28.8 percent, while 
gross margin was flat. Nurse Travel gross profit increased 28.6 percent and gross margin increased 66 basis points. The expansion in gross 

24

  
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
margin was primarily due to a $6.4 million increase in revenues from labor disruption in 2012 which have higher gross margin than other 
Nurse Travel revenues.  

Physician segment gross profit increased $5.6 million, or 21.6 percent. The increase in gross profit was due to a $22.1 million, or 27.4 

percent increase in revenues, partially offset by a 145 basis point contraction in gross margin. The contraction in gross margin was primarily 
due to a 7.7 percent decrease in bill/pay spread in part related to a greater concentration of government work at HCP, which has a lower gross 
margin than the legacy Physician business. The Physician segment also experienced an increase in non-billable expenses, which was partially 
offset by a $0.5 million favorable actuarial adjustment to our medical malpractice insurance expense. 

Selling, General and Administrative Expenses. Selling, general and administrative (SG&A) expenses include field operating expenses, such 
as costs associated with our network of staffing consultants and branch offices for each of our five segments, including staffing consultant 
compensation, rent, other office expenses, marketing and recruiting expenses for our contract professionals. SG&A expenses also include our 
corporate and branch office support expenses, such as the salaries of corporate operations and support personnel, recruiting and training 
expenses for field staff, marketing staff expenses, expenses related to being a publicly-traded company and other general and administrative 
expenses.

For the year ended December 31, 2012, SG&A expenses increased $120.2 million, or 78.4 percent, to $273.5 million from $153.4 

million in 2011. The increase in SG&A expenses was primarily due to (i) $88.6 million of SG&A expenses from Apex, which was acquired 
on May 15, 2012, (ii) $10.6 million in acquisition costs primarily related to the recent acquisition of Apex, and (iii) $20.8 million, or 18.1 
percent increase, in compensation and benefits excluding Apex. The increase in compensation and benefits was due to a $9.0 million increase 
in compensation expenses primarily as a result of headcount additions to support anticipated higher growth in certain segments and increased 
headcount related to the Valesta and HCP acquisitions, and an $11.8 million increase in bonuses and commissions as a result of increased 
revenue and the attainment of incentive compensation targets. Total SG&A expenses as a percentage of revenues decreased to 22.1 percent 
for 2012 compared with 25.7 percent in 2011. Excluding acquisition-related costs of $10.6 million, total SG&A expenses as a percentage of 
revenues was 21.2 percent for 2012.

Amortization of Intangible Assets. Amortization of intangible assets was $18.0 million compared with $2.3 million in 2011. The $15.7 
million increase was due to amortization related to $104.8 million of identifiable intangible assets acquired related to the Apex acquisition in 
May 2012. Apex's customer relationships were valued at $92.1 million and are being amortized using an accelerated method. 

Interest Expense. Interest expense was $17.8 million compared with $2.9 million in the same period in 2011. This increase was primarily due 
to higher debt outstanding for the new senior secured credit agreement closed in May 2012 to fund the cash portion of the acquisition of 
Apex.

Provision for Income Taxes. The provision for income taxes was $32.3 million compared with $17.2 million for the same period in the prior 
year. The annual effective tax rate was 43.1 percent for 2012 and 41.4 percent for 2011. The increase in the annual effective tax rate in 2012 
relates to the addition of Apex and their higher non-deductible expenses as well as valuation allowances on deferred tax assets of certain of 
our foreign subsidiaries.

RESULTS OF OPERATIONS FOR THE YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2011 COMPARED WITH THE YEAR ENDED 
DECEMBER 31, 2010

Revenues by segment (in thousands):

Oxford (formerly IT and Engineering)

Life Sciences

Healthcare

Physician

Year Ended December 31,

Change

2011

2010

$

%

$

$

266,742

$

178,688

$

155,324

94,598

80,617

109,495

76,287

73,595

88,054

45,829

18,311

7,022

597,281

$

438,065

$

159,216

49.3%

41.9%

24.0%

9.5%

36.3%

Revenues increased $159.2 million, or 36.3 percent, mainly due to growth in all four segments which was partially due to our 
acquisitions of Cambridge, Sharpstream, Valesta and HCP. Cambridge and Sharpstream were acquired in 2010, Valesta was acquired during 
the first quarter of 2011 and HCP was acquired on July 31, 2011. Cambridge is reported under the Life Sciences, Oxford and Physician 
segments; Sharpstream and Valesta are reported under the Life Sciences segment and HCP is reported under the Physician segment. 
Consolidated revenues for the year ended December 31, 2011 included $48.1 million related to our Cambridge, Sharpstream, Valesta and 
HCP acquisitions compared with $9.9 million related to the Cambridge and Sharpstream acquisitions in 2010.

Oxford segment revenues increased $88.1 million, or 49.3 percent, comprised of a 41.0 percent increase in the average number of 

contract professionals on assignment and a 5.8 percent increase in average bill rate. The increase in revenue was also due to a $0.9 million, or 
46.4 percent increase in direct hire and conversion fee revenues. Oxford segment revenues for the year ended December 31, 2011 included 
$4.3 million in revenue from our Cambridge acquisition in April 2010, compared with $2.2 million in 2010. Because many of our placements 

25

   
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
involve capital projects, we believe that one of the reasons the demand for our services has increased with the progressing economic recovery 
is that more companies have increased their capital spending.

Life Sciences segment revenues increased $45.8 million, or 41.9 percent, comprised of a $42.4 million increase in staffing revenues 
and a $3.4 million, or 46.7 percent increase in direct hire and conversion fees. The increase in staffing revenues resulted from a 29.1 percent 
increase in the average number of contract professionals on assignment and a 7.8 percent increase in average bill rate. The year-over-year 
increase in revenues was primarily attributable to increased demand for our service offerings as our clients’ end markets have improved in 
2011 with the progressing economic recovery and an increase in revenues of $24.8 million from the business acquired in 2010 and 2011.

Revenues for our Healthcare segment (comprised of our Nurse Travel and Allied Healthcare lines of business) increased $18.3 
million, or 24.0 percent. The increase in revenues in the Healthcare segment was attributable to improved economic trends in the healthcare 
sector, which contributed to the increase in the number of contract professionals on assignment, open orders and average bill rates and 
supporting customers who were undergoing system conversions. Although the Healthcare segment was soft, we continued to see signs of 
improvement in demand. Nurse Travel revenues increased $12.9 million, or 35.1 percent, to $49.6 million, comprised of a 29.5 percent 
increase in the average number of nurses on assignment and a 2.0 percent increase in the average bill rate. Revenues related to staffing 
resulting from labor disruptions at customer sites included $7.1 million in 2011 and $5.0 million in 2010. Allied Healthcare revenues 
increased $5.4 million, or 13.7 percent, to $45.0 million, comprised of a 5.9 percent increase in average number of contract professionals on 
assignment and a 2.5 percent increase in the average bill rate. The Allied Healthcare operating environment continued to demonstrate signs of 
improvement as economic trends in our end markets showed signs of stabilization and growth as evidenced by year-over-year growth in the 
number of contractors and clients on billing, average bill rate, permanent placement activity and billable hours.

Physician segment revenues increased $7.0 million, or 9.5 percent, comprised of a 16.5 percent increase in the average number of 

physicians on assignment, a 1.9 percent decrease in average bill rate and a $0.3 million, or 8.5 percent decrease in direct hire and conversion 
fees revenue Physician segment revenues for year ended December 31, 2011 included $11.4 million related to our HCP and Cambridge 
acquisitions. The legacy physician staffing business decreased year over year. We attribute this to continued uncertainty related to healthcare 
reform, fewer physicians deciding to retire, current economic conditions and high unemployment which have reduced the number of elective 
procedures and lowered patient census at client facilities.

Gross Profit and Gross Margins

Gross Profit by segment (in thousands):

Oxford (formerly IT and Engineering)

Life Sciences

Healthcare

Physician

Year Ended December 31,

2011

2010

Gross Profit

Gross Margin

Gross Profit

Gross Margin

$

94,967

52,643

26,637

25,858

35.6% $

33.9%

28.2%

32.1%

64,775

37,776

23,058

23,847

$

200,105

33.5% $

149,456

36.3%

34.5%

30.2%

32.4%

34.1%

The year-over-year gross profit increase was primarily due to higher revenues, which was partially offset by a 62 basis point 

contraction in consolidated gross margin. The contraction in gross margin was primarily due to margin contraction in the Healthcare and 
Oxford segments.

Oxford segment gross profit increased $30.2 million, or 46.6 percent, primarily due to an $88.1 million, or 49.3 percent, increase in 

revenues, partially offset by a 65 basis point contraction in gross margin. The contraction in gross margin was in part due to a $4.7 million, or 
35.2 percent, increase in other employee expenses, and a benefit in 2010 from employment tax credits related to the HIRE Act, which expired 
on December 31, 2010, partially offset by a $0.9 million increase in direct hire and conversion fee revenues and a 5.0 percent increase in bill/
pay spread.

Life Sciences segment gross profit increased $14.9 million, or 39.4 percent. The increase in gross profit was primarily due to a 41.9 

percent increase in revenues, offset by a 61 basis point contraction in gross margin. The contraction in gross margin was mainly due to a 
benefit in 2010 from employment tax credits related to the HIRE Act, which expired on December 31, 2010, higher European payroll tax 
rates and holiday pay related to Valesta employees and an increase in unemployment insurance expenses. This contraction was partially offset 
by a $3.4 million increase in direct hire and conversion fee revenues mainly from our Sharpstream acquisition and an 11.4 percent increase in 
bill/pay spread.

Healthcare segment gross profit increased $3.6 million, or 15.5 percent. The increase in gross profit was due to a 24.0 percent 

increase in revenues, partially offset by a 207 basis point contraction in gross margin. The contraction in gross margin was mainly due to an 
abnormally high gross margin in Nurse Travel in 2010, related to supporting a customer with labor disruptions when we did not have to have 
nurses travel. and thus the related costs, a $1.8 million increase in travel related expenses, a $1.9 million increase in other employee expenses, 
and a $0.7 million increase in unemployment insurance expense. The contraction in gross margin was partially offset by an 8.1 percent 

26

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
increase in bill/pay spread. Within this segment, Allied Healthcare gross profit increased 11.0 percent while gross margin decreased 77 basis 
points and Nurse Travel gross profit increased 21.3 percent while gross margin decreased 283 basis points.

Physician segment gross profit increased $2.0 million, or 8.4 percent. The increase in gross profit was due to a $7.0 million, or 9.5 

percent, increase in revenues, partially offset by a 32 basis point contraction in gross margin. The contraction in gross margin was primarily 
due to a 7.0 percent decrease in bill/pay spread, in part a result of the acquisition of HCP which has a higher concentration of lower gross 
margin government business, and a $0.3 million, or 8.5 percent, decrease in direct hire revenue and conversion fee revenues, partially offset 
by a $1.5 million decrease in medical malpractice insurance expense primarily due to favorable claims development.

Selling, General and Administrative Expenses. For the year ended December 31, 2011, SG&A expenses increased $24.9 million, or 19.0 
percent, to $155.7 million in 2011. The increase in SG&A expenses was primarily due to a $20.1 million, or 21.1 percent, increase in 
compensation and benefits. The increase in compensation and benefits was due to (i) an $11.7 million increase in compensation expenses 
primarily as a result of increased headcount related to the Cambridge, Sharpstream, Valesta and HCP acquisitions and headcount additions to 
support anticipated high growth in certain segments, (ii) an $8.4 million increase in bonuses and commissions as a result of increased revenue 
and the anticipated attainment of incentive compensation targets, and (iii) a $0.5 million increase in acquisition costs primarily related to the 
recent acquisitions. Additionally, non-compensation and benefits related SG&A expenses increased $2.9 million as a result of the Valesta and 
HCP acquisitions which were both completed in 2011. This increase in SG&A expenses was partially offset by a $1.9 million gain related to 
the settlements of the Cambridge earn-out and Sharpstream earn-out. Total SG&A expenses as a percentage of revenues decreased to 26.1 
percent for the year ended December 31, 2011 compared with 29.9 percent in the same period in 2010.

Impairment of Goodwill. We recognized a goodwill impairment charge of $15.4 million related to Nurse Travel during 2010. The goodwill 
impairment charge for Nurse Travel was a result of the decreased fair value of the reporting unit due to lowered growth expectations in the 
later years because of uncertainty regarding the timing of the recovery of the Nurse Travel industry.

Interest Expense. Interest expense was $3.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2011 compared with $8.3 million in 2010. This 
decrease was related to the $2.8 million write-off of unamortized capitalized loan costs in 2010, related to the old borrowing facility that was 
paid in full in December 2010, as well as lower interest rates in 2011.

Provision for Income Taxes. The provision for income taxes was $17.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2011 compared with $5.0 
million in 2010. The annual effective tax rate was 41.4 percent for the year ended December 31, 2011 and 47.4 percent in 2010 excluding the 
impact of the goodwill impairment charge. The decrease in the tax rate in 2011 was primarily related to the year-over-year increase in income 
before income taxes for 2011 while permanent differences increased, but not as much as the increase to the income before income taxes, 
which lowered the annual effective rate. Refer to Note 9 - Income Taxes for detailed information reconciling the statutory tax rate to the 
effective tax rate.

Liquidity and Capital Resources

Our working capital at December 31, 2012 was $175.0 million and our cash and cash equivalents were $27.5 million, of which $8.0 

million was held in foreign countries. Cash held in foreign countries is not available to fund domestic operations unless repatriated, which 
would require the accrual and payment of taxes. We do not intend to repatriate cash held in foreign countries. Our operating cash flows have 
been our primary source of liquidity and historically have been sufficient to fund our working capital and capital expenditure needs. Our 
working capital requirements consist primarily of the financing of accounts receivable, payroll expenses and the periodic payments of 
principal and interest on our loans.

Net cash provided by operating activities was $40.7 million for 2012 compared with $23.4 million for 2011. Cash provided by 
operating activities in 2012 was primarily driven by income from operations offset by an increase working capital (excluding cash) related to 
the high growth of the business. Cash provided by operating activities in 2011 was primarily driven by income from operations, an increase in 
accrued payroll and contract professional pay, offset by an increase in accounts receivable.

Net cash used in investing activities was $363.0 million during 2012 compared with $41.1 million during 2011. Cash paid for 
acquisitions was $347.7 million and capital expenditures for information technology projects, leasehold improvements and various property 
and equipment purchases increased $5.9 million to $14.4 million in 2012. We estimate that capital expenditures for 2013 will be 
approximately $16.0 million.

Net cash provided by financing activities was $331.9 million for 2012, compared with $17.5 million provided by financing activities 

in 2011. During 2012, principal payments of long-term debt were $173.2 million, versus $20.5 million paid down during 2011. Proceeds from 
new borrowings on the term loan and line of credit were $513.0 million and $40.5 million in 2012 and 2011, respectively.

Under terms of the credit facility, the term loan facility is repayable at the minimum rate of $2.5 million per quarter and we are 

required to reduce the term loan by up to 50 percent of our excess cash flow based on leverage ratios, as defined by the agreement for each 
year end over the next seven years. We are required to maintain certain financial covenants, including a maximum leverage ratio. Our 
leverage ratio (consolidated funded debt to trailing 12 months EBITDA) is currently limited to no more than 4.25 to 1.00 and reduces over 
time to 3.00 to1.00. As of December 31, 2012, the leverage ratio was approximately 2.73 to 1.00 and we were in compliance with all such 
covenants. Additionally, the agreement, which is secured by substantially all of our assets, provides for certain limitations on our ability to, 

27

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
among other things, incur additional debt, offer loans, and declare dividends. As of December 31, 2012, we had $72.2 million of borrowing 
available under our credit facility.

We continue to make progress on enhancements to our front-office and back-office information systems. These enhancements include 
the consolidation of back-office systems across all corporate functions, as well as enhancements to and broader application of our front-office 
software across all lines of business.

We believe that our working capital as of December 31, 2012, our credit facility and expected operating cash flows will be sufficient 
to fund future requirements of our debt repayment obligations, accounts payable and related payroll expenses, as well as capital expenditure 
initiatives for the next twelve months.

Commitments and Contingencies

We lease space for our corporate and branch offices. Rent expense was $14.1 million in 2012, $8.6 million in 2011 and $8.4 million in 

2010.

The following table sets forth, on an aggregate basis, at December 31, 2012, the amounts of specified contractual cash obligations 

required to be paid in the periods shown (in thousands):

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

Thereafter

Total

Long-term debt obligations

$

10,000

$

10,000

$

10,000

$

10,000

$

52,500

$ 334,088

$ 426,588

Operating lease obligations

Related party leases

13,545

1,266

11,117

1,299

9,210

1,168

6,386

694

3,588

175

6,764

—

50,610

4,602

Total

$

24,811

$

22,416

$

20,378

$

17,080

$

56,263

$ 340,852

$ 481,800

For additional information about these contractual cash obligations, see Note 8 - Commitments and Contingencies to our Consolidated 

Financial Statements appearing in Part II, Item 8 of this report. Interest payments related to our bank debt are not set forth in the table above.

We have large retention policies for our workers' compensation and medical malpractice exposures. In connection with this program, 

we pay a base premium plus actual losses incurred up to certain levels and are insured for losses greater than certain levels per occurrence and 
in the aggregate. The workers' compensation and medical malpractice loss reserves liability is determined based on claims filed and claims 
incurred but not yet reported. We account for claims incurred but not yet reported based on estimates derived from historical claims 
experience and current trends of industry data. Changes in estimates, differences in estimates and actual payments for claims are recognized 
in the period that the estimates changed or payments were made. The workers' compensation and medical malpractice loss reserves liability 
was $10.3 million and $10.4 million at December 31, 2012 and 2011, respectively. Additionally, we have unused stand-by letters of credit 
outstanding to secure obligations for workers’ compensation claims with various insurance carriers. The unused stand-by letters of credit at 
December 31, 2012 and 2011 were $2.8 million and $2.4 million, respectively.

As of December 31, 2012 and 2011, we have an income tax reserve in other long-term liabilities related to our uncertain tax positions 

of $0.4 million and $0.3 million, respectively.

We are involved in various other legal proceedings, claims and litigation arising in the ordinary course of business. However, based on 

the facts currently available, we do not believe that the disposition of matters that are pending or asserted will have a material effect on our 
consolidated financial statements.

We are subject to earn-out obligations entered into in connection with acquisitions. If the acquired businesses meet predetermined 

targets, we are obligated to make additional cash payments in accordance with the terms of such earn-out obligations. At December 31, 2012, 
the Company has potential future earn-out obligations of approximately $9.1 million through 2013.

Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements

As of December 31, 2012, the Company had no significant off-balance sheet arrangements other than operating leases and unused 

stand-by letters of credit outstanding.

Accounting Standards Updates

See Note 1 - Summary of Significant Accounting Policies, to the Consolidated Financial Statements in Part II, Item 8 of this report for 

a discussion of new accounting pronouncements.

28

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Critical Accounting Policies

Our accounting policies are described in Note 1 of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements in Part II, Item 8 of this report. We 

prepare our financial statements in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States, which require us to make 
estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosures of contingent assets and liabilities at the 
date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the year. Actual results could differ from those 
estimates. We consider the following policies to be most critical in understanding the judgments that are involved in preparing our financial 
statements and the uncertainties that could impact our results of operations, financial condition and cash flows.

Allowance for Doubtful Accounts and Billing Adjustments. We estimate an allowance for doubtful accounts, as well as an allowance 

for billing adjustments related to trade receivables based on our analysis of historical collection and adjustment experience. We apply bad 
debt percentages based on experience to the outstanding accounts receivable balances at the end of the period, as well as analyze specific 
reserves as needed. Impaired receivables, or portions thereof, are charged off when deemed uncollectible. If we experience a significant 
change in collections or billing adjustment experience, our estimates of the recoverability of accounts receivable could change by a material 
amount.

Workers’ Compensation and Medical Malpractice Loss Reserves. We carry retention policies for our workers’ compensation and 

medical malpractice exposures. In connection with these programs, we pay a base premium plus actual losses incurred, not to exceed certain 
stop-loss limits. We are insured for losses above these limits, both per occurrence and in the aggregate. The workers' compensation and 
medical malpractice loss reserves are based upon an actuarial report obtained from a third party and determined based on claims filed and 
claims incurred but not reported. We account for claims incurred but not yet reported based on estimates derived from historical claims 
experience and current trends of industry data. Changes in estimates and differences in estimates and actual payments for claims are 
recognized in the period that the estimates changed or the payments were made.

Contingencies. We record an estimated loss from a loss contingency when information available prior to issuance of our financial 

statements indicates it is probable that an asset has been impaired or a liability has been incurred at the date of the financial statements, and 
the amount of the loss can be reasonably estimated. Accounting for contingencies, such as legal settlements, workers’ compensation matters 
and medical malpractice insurance matters, requires us to use our judgment. While we believe that our accruals for these matters are 
adequate, if the actual loss from a loss contingency is significantly different than the estimated loss, results of operations may be over or 
understated.

Income taxes. We account for income taxes using the liability method. 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. 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. Deferred tax assets are reduced by a valuation allowance if it 
is more likely than not that a portion of the deferred tax asset will not be realized.

We make a comprehensive review of our uncertain tax positions regularly. In this regard, an uncertain tax position represents our 

expected treatment of a tax position taken in a filed return, or planned to be taken in a future tax return or claim that has not been reflected in 
measuring income tax expense for financial reporting purposes. In general, until these positions are sustained by the taxing authorities or 
statutes expire for the year that the position was taken, we do not recognize the tax benefits resulting from such positions and report the tax 
effects as a liability for uncertain tax positions in our consolidated balance sheets.

Goodwill and Identifiable Intangible Assets. Goodwill and intangible assets with indefinite lives are tested for impairment on an 
annual basis as of October 31, and for goodwill whenever an event occurs or circumstances change that would more likely than not reduce the 
fair value of a reporting unit below its carrying amount and for indefinite lived intangibles, if events or changes in circumstances indicate that 
it is more likely than not that the asset is impaired.

During the quarter ended December 31, 2012, we changed the date of the annual impairment test for goodwill from December 31 to 

October 31. The change is preferable because it alleviates constraints on accounting resources during the year-end reporting process and 
better aligns the timing of the assessment with our planning and forecasting process, which occurs primarily in the third quarter. The resulting 
change in accounting principle related to changing the annual goodwill impairment test date did not delay, accelerate or avoid an impairment 
charge. Due to significant judgments and estimates that are utilized in the goodwill impairment analysis, we determined it was impracticable 
to objectively determine, without the use of hindsight, projected cash flows and related valuation estimates as of each October 31 for periods 
prior to October 31, 2012. As such, we have prospectively applied the change in the annual goodwill impairment test date from October 31, 
2012.

Intangible assets with indefinite lives consist of trademarks. We test trademarks for impairment on an annual basis, on October 31. In 
order to test the trademarks for impairment, we determine the fair value of the trademarks and compare such amount to its carrying value. We 
determine the fair value of the trademarks using a projected discounted cash flow analysis based on the relief-from-royalty approach. The 
principal factors used in the discounted cash flow analysis requiring judgment are projected net sales, discount rate, royalty rate and terminal 
value assumption. The royalty rate used in the analysis is based on transactions that have occurred in our industry. Intangible assets having 
finite lives are amortized over their useful lives and are tested for recoverability whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that 
the carrying amount may not be recoverable. Customer relations are amortized using an accelerated method. Contractor relations and non-

29

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
compete agreements are amortized using the straight-line method. Other than the goodwill impairment in 2010 discussed below, we did not 
have any impairment of indefinite lived or finite lived intangibles in 2012, 2011, or 2010.

Goodwill is tested for impairment using a two-step process in which the first step compares the fair value of a reporting unit, which is 

generally an operating segment or one level below the operating segment level which is a business and for which discrete financial 
information is available and reviewed by segment management, to the reporting unit's carrying value. We determine the fair value of each 
reporting unit based upon a weighted average calculation using the fair value derived from a discounted cash flow analysis and a market 
approach analysis. Discounted cash flows are developed for each reporting unit based on assumptions including revenue growth expectations, 
gross margins, operating expense projections, working capital, capital expense requirements and tax rates. The multi-year financial forecasts 
for each reporting unit used in the cash flow models considered several key business drivers such as new product lines, historical performance 
and industry and economic trends, among other considerations. The market approach considers multiples of financial metrics, primarily 
EBITDA, based on trading multiples of a group of guideline public companies in the staffing industry, which multiples are then applied to the 
corresponding financial metrics of our reporting units to derive an indication of fair value.

If after performing the first step of the goodwill impairment test, the fair value of the reporting unit does not exceed its carrying value, 

we perform a second step of the goodwill impairment test for that reporting unit. The second step measures the amount of goodwill 
impairment by comparing the implied fair value of the respective reporting unit goodwill with the carrying value of that goodwill. The 
implied fair value of goodwill is determined under the same approach utilized to estimate the amount of goodwill recognized in a business 
combination. This approach requires we allocate the fair value of the respective reporting unit as calculated in the first step of the goodwill 
impairment test to the reporting unit assets, including identifiable intangible assets, which typically includes tradenames, staffing databases 
and customer relationships, and reporting unit liabilities, based on the estimated fair values of such assets and liabilities, with any excess 
reporting unit fair value representing the implied fair value of goodwill for that reporting unit. The reporting unit goodwill impairment loss, if 
any, is measured as the amount by which the carrying value of goodwill exceeds the implied fair value of goodwill calculated in the second 
step of the goodwill impairment test.

The principal factors used in the discounted cash flow analysis requiring judgment are the projected results of operations, discount 

rate, and terminal value assumptions. The discount rate is determined using the weighted average cost of capital (WACC). The WACC takes 
into account the relative weights of each component of an average market participant's capital structure (equity and debt). It also considers 
our risk-free rate of return, equity market risk premium, beta and size premium adjustment. A range of discount rates are utilized across the 
reporting units based on the entity size of each reporting unit. The terminal value assumptions are applied subsequent to the tenth year of the 
discounted cash flow model.

We performed step one goodwill impairment tests for each reporting unit as of October 31, 2012 as this is our new annual impairment 

test date. No impairment charge was recorded for any of the reporting units as of October 31, 2012. The fair value of all reporting units 
exceeded their respective carrying values by approximately 21 percent or more. The discount rate used in the cash flow analysis ranged 
between approximately 13 to 15 percent.

Based upon the annual goodwill impairment test in 2011, there was no goodwill impairment charge. We recognized a goodwill 
impairment charge of $15.4 million in the fourth quarter of 2010. Goodwill for the Company's impaired reporting unit, Nurse Travel, with a 
carrying amount of $15.4 million was written down to the implied fair value of $0 resulting in an impairment charge of $15.4 million.

The discounted cash flows and the resulting fair value estimates of our reporting units are sensitive to changes in assumptions. An 

increase of less than eight percent in the discount rate of a reporting unit could cause the fair value of certain significant reporting units to be 
below their carrying value. Changes in the timing of the recovery and the impact on our operations and costs may also affect the sensitivity of 
the projections including achieving future cost savings resulting from initiatives which contemplate further synergies from system and 
operational improvements in infrastructure and field support which were included in our forecasts. Ultimately, future changes in these 
assumptions may impact the estimated fair value of a reporting unit and cause the fair value of the reporting unit to be below its carrying 
value, which would require a step two analysis and may result in impairment of goodwill.

Due to the many variables inherent in the estimation of a reporting unit's fair value and the relative size of recorded goodwill, changes 
in assumptions may have a material effect on the results of our impairment analysis. Downward revisions of our forecasts, extended delays in 
the economic recovery, or a sustained decline of our stock price resulting in market capitalization significantly below book value could lead 
to an impairment of goodwill or intangible assets with indefinite lives in future periods.

Impairment or Disposal of Long-Lived Assets. We evaluate long-lived assets, other than goodwill and identifiable intangible assets 
with indefinite lives, for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying value of an asset may not be 
recoverable. An impairment loss is recognized when the sum of the undiscounted future cash flows is less than the carrying amount of the 
asset, in which case a write-down is recorded to reduce the related asset to its estimated fair value. There was no impairment of long-lived 
assets as of December 31, 2012, 2011 or 2010.

Business Combinations. The purchase price of an acquisition is allocated to the underlying assets acquired and liabilities assumed 

based upon their estimated fair values at the date of acquisition. To the extent the purchase price exceeds the fair value of the net identifiable 
tangible and intangible assets acquired and liabilities assumed, such excess is allocated to goodwill. We determine the estimated fair values 
after review and consideration of relevant information including discounted cash flows, quoted market prices and estimates made by 
management. Accordingly, these can be affected by contract performance and other factors over time, which may cause final amounts to 

30

differ materially from original estimates. We adjust the preliminary purchase price allocation, as necessary, up to one year after the acquisition 
closing date if we obtain more information regarding asset valuations and liabilities assumed.

Goodwill acquired in business combinations is assigned to the reporting unit(s) expected to benefit from the combination as of the 

acquisition date. Acquisition related costs are recognized separately from the acquisition and are expensed as incurred.

Stock-Based Compensation. We record compensation expense for restricted stock awards and stock units based on the fair market 
value of the awards on the date of grant. Market-based awards, which are based on achievement of targets indexed to our share price, are 
valued using a Monte Carlo simulation model. Compensation expense for performance-based awards is measured based on the amount of 
shares ultimately expected to vest, estimated at each reporting date based on management’s expectations regarding the relevant performance 
criteria. We account for stock options granted and ESPP shares based on an estimated fair market value using a Black-Scholes option 
valuation model. This methodology requires the use of subjective assumptions, including expected stock price volatility and the estimated life 
of each award. The fair value of equity-based compensation awards less the estimated forfeitures is amortized over the service period of the 
award.

Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk

We are exposed to certain market risks arising from transactions in the normal course of business, principally risks associated with 

foreign currency fluctuations and interest rates. We are exposed to foreign currency risk from the translation of foreign operations into U.S. 
dollars. Based on the relative size and nature of our foreign operations, we do not believe that a ten percent change in the value of foreign 
currencies relative to the U.S. dollar would have a material impact on our financial statements. Our primary exposure to market risk is interest 
rate risk associated with our debt instruments. See “Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of 
Operations” for further description of our debt instruments.

On February 18, 2011, we entered into an interest rate swap agreement to hedge a portion of our interest rate exposure on our senior 

secured credit agreement. The swap has a notional amount of $25.0 million and fixes a portion of our base borrowing rate, which is a floating 
rate based on a LIBOR swap rate that resets periodically.

Effective August 8, 2012, the Company entered into three interest rate cap agreements to hedge a portion of its interest rate exposure 

on its senior secured debt (collectively referred to as the Interest Rate Caps). Under the terms of the Interest Rate Caps, the one month LIBOR 
rate will not exceed 3.0 percent. From a practical standpoint, the interest rate in the hedged portion of the debt is limited to a maximum of 3.0 
percent plus the Eurodollar applicable margin. The total initial notional amount was $223.1 million and is scheduled to decline over the term 
of the Interest Rate Caps. Each of the Interest Rate Caps terminates on August 10, 2015.

As of December 31, 2012, we had $426.6 million outstanding under the senior secured credit agreement, $401.6 million of which 

bears interest at variable-rates. We have the option to determine the variable interest rate as the Eurodollar rate or the base rate (which is the 
highest of the bank’s prime rate, one-half of 1.0 percent in excess of the overnight federal funds rate, and 1.0 percent in excess of the one-
month Eurodollar rate), plus in each case, an applicable margin.

Excluding the effect of our interest rate swap agreement and interest rate caps, a hypothetical 1.0 percent change in interest rates on 

variable rate debt would have resulted in interest expense fluctuating approximately $4.3 million based on $426.6 million of debt outstanding 
for any twelve month period. Including the effect of our interest rate swap agreement and interest rate cap agreements, a 1.0 percent change in 
interest rates on variable debt would have resulted in interest expense fluctuating approximately $4.0 million based on $401.6 million of debt 
outstanding for any twelve month period. We have not entered into any market risk sensitive instruments for trading purposes.

31

 
Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data

REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM

To the Board of Directors and Stockholders of On Assignment, Inc.
Calabasas, California

We have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheets of On Assignment, Inc. and subsidiaries (the “Company”) as of December 
31, 2012 and 2011, and the related consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive income (loss), stockholders' equity, and cash 
flows for each of the three years in the period ended December 31, 2012. Our audits also included the financial statement schedule listed in 
the Index at Item 15. These financial statements and financial statement schedule are the responsibility of the Company's management. Our 
responsibility is to express an opinion on these financial statements and financial statement schedule based on our audits.

We conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States). Those 
standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material 
misstatement. An audit includes examining, on a test basis, evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. An 
audit also includes assessing the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall 
financial statement presentation. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.

In our opinion, such consolidated financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of On Assignment, Inc. and 
subsidiaries as of December 31, 2012 and 2011, and the results of their operations and their cash flows for each of the three years in the 
period ended December 31, 2012, in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America. Also, in our 
opinion, such financial statement schedule, when considered in relation to the basic consolidated financial statements taken as a whole, 
presents fairly, in all material respects, the information set forth therein.

As discussed in Note 4 to the consolidated financial statements, on May 15, 2012, the Company acquired all the outstanding shares of Apex 
Systems, Inc.

We have also audited, in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States), the Company's 
internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2012, based on the criteria established in Internal Control-Integrated Framework 
issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission and our report dated March 18, 2013 expressed an 
unqualified opinion on the Company's internal control over financial reporting.

/s/ Deloitte & Touche LLP

Los Angeles, California
March 18, 2013

32

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
ON ASSIGNMENT, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
(In thousands, except share and per share data)

ASSETS

Current Assets:

Cash and cash equivalents

Accounts receivable, net of $3,970 and $2,777, respectively

Prepaid expenses

Deferred income tax assets

Other

Total current assets

Property and equipment, net

Goodwill

Identifiable intangible assets, net

Other

Total Assets

LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY

Current Liabilities:

Current portion of long-term debt

Accounts payable

Accrued payroll and contract professional pay

Deferred compensation

Workers’ compensation and medical malpractice loss reserves

Current portion of accrued earn-outs

Other

Total current liabilities

Deferred income tax liabilities

Long-term debt, net of current portion

Accrued earn-outs

Other long-term liabilities

Total liabilities

Commitments and Contingencies

Stockholders’ Equity:

Preferred Stock, $0.01 par value, 1,000,000 shares authorized, no shares issued

Common Stock, $0.01 par value, 75,000,000 shares authorized, 52,960,570 and 
37,012,250 issued and outstanding, respectively

Paid-in capital

Retained earnings

Accumulated other comprehensive loss

Total stockholders’ equity

Total Liabilities and Stockholders’ Equity

See notes to consolidated financial statements.

33

December 31,

2012

2011

$

27,479

$

243,003

8,839

10,147

4,289

293,757

26,862

498,356

263,840

15,206

17,739

93,925

6,645

9,271

3,534

131,114

18,057

229,234

30,206

2,054

$ 1,098,021

$

410,665

$

10,000

$

6,810

59,962

10,000

10,327

6,563

15,065

118,727

23,009

416,588

1,014

5,960

5,000

4,112

24,948

1,896

10,401

3,488

6,564

56,409

14,856

81,750

6,368

4,539

565,298

163,922

—

530

—

370

471,711

229,377

61,687

(1,205)

532,723

$ 1,098,021

$

19,034

(2,038)

246,743

410,665

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
ON ASSIGNMENT, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS AND COMPREHENSIVE INCOME (LOSS)
(In thousands, except per share data)

Revenues

Cost of services

Gross profit

Selling, general and administrative expenses

Amortization of intangible assets

Impairment of goodwill

Operating income

Interest expense, net

Income (loss) before income taxes

Provision for income taxes

Net income (loss)

Earnings (loss) per share:

Basic

Diluted

Number of shares and share equivalents used to calculate earnings (loss) per share:

Basic

Diluted

Year Ended December 31,

2012

2011

2010

$

1,239,705

$

597,281

$

438,065

855,382

384,323

273,528

18,016

—

92,779

(17,823)

74,956

32,303

397,176

200,105

153,360

2,346

—

44,399

(2,936)

41,463

17,166

$

42,653

$

24,297

$

288,609

149,456

128,715

2,115

15,399

3,227

(8,168)

(4,941)

4,956

(9,897)

$

$

0.91

0.89

$

$

0.66

0.64

$

$

(0.27 )

(0.27 )

46,739

47,826

36,876

37,758

36,429

36,429

Reconciliation of net income (loss) to comprehensive income (loss):

Net income (loss)

Changes in fair value of derivative, net of income tax of $21 and $227, respectively

Foreign currency translation adjustment

Comprehensive income (loss)

$

$

42,653

$

24,297

$

(9,897)

(21)

854

(380)

(1,662)

—

(1,122)

43,486

$

22,255

$

(11,019)

See notes to consolidated financial statements.

34

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
ON ASSIGNMENT, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY
(In thousands, except share data)

Balance at January 1, 2010

36,262,810

$

363

$

220,082

$

5,090

$

1,126

$

226,661

Common Stock

Shares

Amount

Paid-in
Capital

Retained
Earnings
(Accumulated
Deficit)

Accumulated 
Other 
Comprehensive 
Income (Loss)

Total

36,398,811

365

224,139

Exercise of common stock options

Stock repurchase and retirement of shares

Stock-based compensation expense

68,200

(291,212)

—

Vesting of restricted stock units and restricted stock awards

359,013

Vesting of restricted stock units and restricted stock awards

455,871

Tax deficiency from stock-based compensation

Translation adjustments

Net loss

Balance at December 31, 2010

Exercise of common stock options

Employee stock purchase plan

Stock repurchase and retirement of shares

Stock-based compensation expense

Tax benefit from stock-based compensation

Fair value adjustment of derivatives, net of income tax

Translation adjustments

Net income

Balance at December 31, 2011

Exercise of common stock options

Employee stock purchase plan

Stock-based compensation expense

Tax benefit from stock-based compensation

Acquisition of Apex

Fair value adjustment of derivatives, net of income tax

Translation adjustments

Net income

Balance at December 31, 2012

293,893

187,036

(323,361)

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

968,206

154,934

—

—

14,304,528

—

—

—

Vesting of restricted stock units and restricted stock awards

520,652

1

(3)

—

4

—

—

—

332

(1,783)

7,151

(1,309)

(334)

—

—

2

2

(3)

—

4

—

—

—

—

1,722

975

(1,985)

5,868

(2,223)

881

—

—

—

10

2

—

5

—

143

—

—

—

7,031

1,342

9,558

(5,540)

4,528

225,415

—

—

—

—

(214)

—

—

—

—

(9,897)

(5,021)

—

—

(242)

—

—

—

—

—

24,297

19,034

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

42,653

—

—

—

—

—

(1,122)

—

4

—

—

—

—

—

—

(380)

(1,662)

—

333

(2,000)

7,151

(1,305)

(334)

(1,122)

(9,897)

219,487

1,724

977

(2,230)

5,868

(2,219)

881

(380)

(1,662)

24,297

(2,038)

246,743

—

—

—

—

—

—

(21)

854

—

7,041

1,344

9,558

(5,535)

4,528

225,558

(21)

854

42,653

37,012,250

370

229,377

52,960,570

$

530

$

471,711

$

61,687

$

(1,205) $

532,723

See notes to consolidated financial statements.

35

 
 
ON ASSIGNMENT, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS
(In thousands)

Cash Flows from Operating Activities:

Net income (loss)

Adjustments to reconcile net income (loss) to net cash provided by operating activities:

Depreciation

Amortization of intangible assets

Provision for doubtful accounts and billing adjustments

Deferred income tax (benefit) provision

Stock-based compensation

Amortization of deferred loan costs

Gross excess tax benefits from stock-based compensation

Impairment of goodwill

Workers’ compensation and medical malpractice provision

Other

Changes in operating assets and liabilities, net of effects of acquisitions:

Accounts receivable

Prepaid expenses

Prepaid income taxes

Accounts payable

Accrued payroll and contract professional pay

Workers’ compensation and medical malpractice loss reserves

Other

Net cash provided by operating activities

Cash Flows from Investing Activities:

Cash paid for property and equipment

Cash paid for acquisitions, net of cash acquired

Other

Net cash used in investing activities

Cash Flows from Financing Activities:

Principal payments of long-term debt

Proceeds from term debt

Proceeds from stock transactions

Payment of employment taxes related to release of restricted stock awards

Gross excess tax benefits from stock-based compensation

Repurchase of common stock

Debt issuance or amendment costs

Payments of other long-term liabilities

Other

Net cash provided by (used in) financing activities

Effect of exchange rate changes on cash and cash equivalents

Net Increase (Decrease) in Cash and Cash Equivalents

Cash and Cash Equivalents at Beginning of Year

Cash and Cash Equivalents at End of Year

 Year Ended December 31,

2012

2011

2010

$

42,653

$

24,297

$

(9,897)

6,686

18,016

(166)

4,970

9,706

1,960

(4,638)

—

3,594

(362)

(18,604)

(1,881)

4,047

1,987

(28,053)

(2,049)

2,831

40,697

(14,354)

(347,743)

(869)

6,505

2,346

1,127

3,748

6,927

460

(1,113)

—

3,196

(1,765)

(25,079)

(1,633)

(1,292)

(1,812)

6,400

(1,467)

2,574

23,419

(8,411)

(32,818)

109

5,881

2,115

644

2,274

7,749

961

(205)

15,399

4,310

1,993

(10,532)

(501)

4,223

1,032

3,880

(3,948)

1,483

26,861

(6,302)

(10,458)

179

(362,966)

(41,120)

(16,581)

(173,163)

513,000

8,384

(2,627)

4,638

—

(17,113)

(1,198)

(43)

331,878

131

9,740

17,739

(20,500)

40,500

2,701

(2,214)

1,113

(2,230)

(87)

(1,731)

(43)

17,509

(478)

(670)

18,409

$

27,479

$

17,739

$

(79,163)

68,000

333

(1,955)

205

(2,000)

(1,938)

(52)

(44)

(16,614)

(1,231)

(7,565)

25,974

18,409

36

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
$

$

$

16,163

2,659

30,504

7,726

4,934

(2,578)

5,478

10,458

1,761

—

43,164

$

12,219

33,915

14,722

266,788

251,555

54,958

573,301

225,558

2,907

$

$

$

$

$

$

— $

— $

— $

10,346

369

$

324

$

$

—

96

3,700

383

Supplemental Disclosure of Cash Flow Information

Cash paid for:

Income taxes

Interest

Acquisitions:

Goodwill

Identifiable intangible assets acquired

Net tangible assets acquired

Fair value of assets acquired, net of cash received

Non-Cash Investing and Financing Activities:

Equity consideration for acquisition

Payable for employment taxes withheld related to release of restricted stock awards

Accrued earn-out payments

Acquisition of property and equipment through accounts payable

See notes to consolidated financial statements.

$

$

$

$

$

$

$

$

37

 
 
 
 
 
 
ON ASSIGNMENT, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

1. Summary of Significant Accounting Policies.

Principles of Consolidation. The consolidated financial statements include the accounts of the Company and its wholly-owned 

subsidiaries. All intercompany accounts and transactions have been eliminated.

Use of Estimates. The preparation of financial statements in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles requires 
management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets 
and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. Actual 
results could differ from those estimates.

Revenue Recognition. Revenues from contract assignments, net of sales adjustments and discounts, are recognized when earned, based 

on hours worked by the Company’s contract professionals on a weekly basis. Conversion and direct hire fees are recognized when 
employment candidates begin permanent employment. The Company records a sales allowance against consolidated revenues, which is an 
estimate based on historical billing adjustment experience. The sales allowance is recorded as a reduction to revenues and an increase to the 
allowance for billing adjustments. The billing adjustment reserve includes an allowance for fallouts. Fallouts are direct hire and conversion 
fees that do not complete the contingency period, which is typically 90 days or less. The Company includes reimbursed expenses, in revenues 
and the associated amounts of reimbursable expenses in cost of services.

The Company records revenues on a gross basis as a principal or on a net basis as an agent depending on the arrangement. The key 

indicators as to whether it acts as a principal or an agent are whether the Company (i) has the direct contractual relationships with its 
customers, (ii) bears the risks and rewards of the transactions, and (iii) has the discretion to select the contract professionals and establish 
their price.

Income Taxes. Income taxes are accounted for using the liability method. 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. 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. Deferred tax assets are reduced by a valuation allowance if it 
is more likely than not that a portion of the deferred tax asset will not be realized.

The Company makes a comprehensive review of its uncertain tax positions regularly. An uncertain tax position represents the 
Company’s expected treatment of a tax position taken in a filed return, or planned to be taken in a future tax return or claim that has not been 
reflected in measuring income tax expense for financial reporting purposes. In general, until these positions are sustained by the taxing 
authorities or statutes expire for the year that the position was taken, the Company does not recognize the tax benefits resulting from such 
positions and reports the tax effects as a liability for uncertain tax positions.

Foreign Currency Translation. The functional currency of the Company’s foreign operations is their local currency, and as such, their 

assets and liabilities are translated into U.S. dollars at the rate of exchange in effect on the balance sheet date. Revenue and expenses are 
translated at the average rates of exchange prevailing during each monthly period. The related translation adjustments are recorded as 
cumulative foreign currency translation adjustments in accumulated other comprehensive income as a separate component of stockholders’ 
equity. Gains and losses resulting from foreign currency transactions, which are not material, are included in Selling, general and 
administrative (SG&A) expenses in the Consolidated Statements of Operations and Comprehensive Income (Loss).

Cash and Cash Equivalents. The Company considers all highly liquid investments with a maturity of three months or less on the date 

of purchase to be cash equivalents.

Allowance for Doubtful Accounts and Billing Adjustments. The Company estimates an allowance for doubtful accounts and an 
allowance for billing adjustments related to trade receivables based on an analysis of historical collection and billing adjustment experience. 
The Company applies bad debt percentages based on experience to the outstanding accounts receivable balances at the end of the period, as 
well as analyzes specific reserves as needed. Impaired receivables, or portions thereof, are written-off when deemed uncollectible.

Property and Equipment. Property and equipment are stated at cost. Depreciation and amortization are provided using the straight-line 

method over the estimated useful lives of the related assets, generally three to five years. Leasehold improvements are amortized over the 
shorter of the life of the related asset or the remaining term of the lease. Costs associated with customized internal-use software systems that 
have reached the application development stage and meet recoverability tests are capitalized. Such capitalized costs include external direct 
costs utilized in developing or obtaining the applications and payroll and payroll-related expenses for employees who are directly associated 
with the application development.

Goodwill and Identifiable Intangible Assets. Goodwill and intangible assets with indefinite lives are tested for impairment on an 
annual basis as of October 31, and for goodwill whenever an event occurs or circumstances change that would more likely than not reduce the 
fair value of a reporting unit below its carrying amount and for indefinite lived intangibles, if events or changes in circumstances indicate that 
it is more likely than not that the asset is impaired.

38

 
 
 
 
 
During the quarter ended December 31, 2012, the Company changed the date of the annual impairment test for goodwill from 
December 31 to October 31. The change is preferable because it alleviates constraints on accounting resources during the year-end financial 
statement close and reporting process and better aligns the timing of the assessment with our planning and forecasting process, which occurs 
primarily in the third quarter. The change in accounting principle related to the annual goodwill impairment test date did not delay, accelerate 
or avoid an impairment charge. Due to significant judgments and estimates that are utilized in the goodwill impairment analysis, the 
Company determined it was impracticable to objectively determine, without the use of hindsight, projected cash flows and related valuation 
estimates as of each October 31 for periods prior to October 31, 2012. As such, the Company has prospectively applied the change in the 
annual goodwill impairment test date from October 31, 2012.

Intangible assets with indefinite lives consist of trademarks. The Company tests trademarks for impairment on an annual basis, on 

October 31. In order to test the trademarks for impairment, the Company determines the fair value of the trademarks and compares such 
amount to its carrying value. The fair value of the trademarks is determined using a projected discounted cash flow analysis based on the 
relief-from-royalty approach. The principal factors used in the discounted cash flow analysis requiring judgment are projected net sales, 
discount rate, royalty rate and terminal value assumption. The royalty rate used in the analysis is based on transactions that have occurred in 
our industry. Intangible assets having finite lives are amortized over their useful lives and are tested for recoverability whenever events or 
changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount may not be recoverable. Customer relations are amortized using an accelerated 
method. Contractor relations and non-compete agreements are amortized using the straight-line method. Other than the goodwill impairment 
in 2010 discussed below, we did not have any impairment of indefinite lived or finite lived intangibles in 2012, 2011, or 2010.

Goodwill is tested for impairment using a two-step process in which the first step compares the fair value of a reporting unit, which is 

generally an operating segment or one level below the operating segment level, which is a business and for which discrete financial 
information is available and reviewed by segment management, to the reporting unit's carrying value. The second step measures the amount 
of impairment by comparing the implied fair value of the respective reporting unit's goodwill with the carrying value of that goodwill. The 
goodwill impairment loss is measured by the amount the carrying value of goodwill exceeds the implied fair value of goodwill.

The Company performed the step one goodwill impairment tests for each reporting unit as of October 31, 2012 as this is the annual 

impairment test date. No impairment charge was recorded for any of the reporting units as of October 31, 2012. Based upon the annual 
goodwill impairment test in 2011, there was no goodwill impairment charge. The Company recognized a goodwill impairment charge of 
$15.4 million in the fourth quarter of 2010. Goodwill for the Company's impaired reporting unit, Nurse Travel, with a carrying amount of 
$15.4 million was written down to the implied fair value of $0 resulting in an impairment charge of $15.4 million.

Impairment or Disposal of Long-Lived Assets. The Company evaluates long-lived assets, other than goodwill and identifiable 

intangible assets with indefinite lives, for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying value of an 
asset may not be recoverable. An impairment loss is recognized when the sum of the undiscounted future cash flows is less than the carrying 
amount of the asset, in which case a write-down is recorded to reduce the related asset to its estimated fair value.

Workers’ Compensation and Medical Malpractice Loss Reserves. The Company carries retention policies for its workers’ 
compensation liability and medical malpractice liability exposures. In connection with these programs, the Company pays a base premium 
plus actual losses incurred, not to exceed certain stop-loss limits. The Company is insured for losses above these limits, both per occurrence 
and in the aggregate. The workers' compensation and medical malpractice loss reserves are based upon an actuarial report obtained from a 
third party and determined based on claims filed and claims incurred but not reported. The Company accounts for claims incurred but not yet 
reported based on estimates derived from historical claims experience and current trends of industry data. Changes in estimates and 
differences in estimates and actual payments for claims are recognized in the period that the estimates changed or the payments were made.

Contingencies. The Company records an estimated loss from a loss contingency when information available prior to issuance of its 

financial statements indicates it is probable that an asset has been impaired or a liability has been incurred at the date of the financial 
statements, and the amount of the loss can be reasonably estimated. Accounting for contingencies, such as legal settlements, workers’ 
compensation matters and medical malpractice insurance matters, requires the Company to use judgment.

 Business Combinations. The purchase price of an acquisition is allocated to the underlying assets acquired and liabilities assumed 

based upon their estimated fair values at the date of acquisition. To the extent the purchase price exceeds the fair value of the net identifiable 
tangible and intangible assets acquired and liabilities assumed, such excess is allocated to goodwill. The Company determines the estimated 
fair values after review and consideration of relevant information including discounted cash flows, quoted market prices and estimates made 
by management. Accordingly, these can be affected by contract performance and other factors over time, which may cause final amounts to 
differ materially from original estimates. The Company adjusts the preliminary purchase price allocation, as necessary, up to one year after 
the acquisition closing date if it obtains more information regarding asset valuations and liabilities assumed.

Goodwill acquired in business combinations is assigned to the reporting unit(s) expected to benefit from the combination as of the 

acquisition date. Acquisition related costs are recognized separately from the acquisition and are expensed as incurred.

Stock-Based Compensation. The Company records compensation expense for restricted stock awards and stock units based on the fair 
market value of the awards on the date of grant. Market-based awards, which are based on achievement of targets indexed to the Company’s 
share price, are valued using a Monte Carlo simulation model. Compensation expense for performance-based awards is measured based on 
the amount of shares ultimately expected to vest, estimated at each reporting date based on management’s expectations regarding the relevant 

39

 
 
 
performance criteria. The Company accounts for stock options granted and ESPP shares based on an estimated fair market value using a 
Black-Scholes option valuation model. This methodology requires the use of subjective assumptions including expected stock price volatility 
and the estimated life of each award. The fair value of equity-based compensation awards less the estimated forfeitures is amortized over the 
vesting period of the award.

Concentration of Credit Risk. Financial instruments that potentially subject the Company to credit risks consist primarily of cash, cash 

equivalents and trade receivables. The Company places its cash and cash equivalents in low risk investments with quality credit institutions 
and limits the amount of credit exposure with any single institution above FDIC insured limits. Concentration of credit risk with respect to 
accounts receivable is limited because of the large number of geographically dispersed customers, thus spreading the trade credit risk. The 
Company performs ongoing credit evaluations to identify risks and maintains an allowance to address these risks.

Derivative Instruments. The Company utilizes derivative financial instruments to manage interest rate risk. The Company does not use 

derivative financial instruments for trading or speculative purposes, nor does it use leveraged financial instruments.

Advertising Costs. Advertising costs, which are expensed as incurred, were $5.3 million in 2012, $3.2 million in 2011, and $3.1 

million in 2010.

2. Accounting Standards Updates. 

In February 2013, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) issued Accounting Standards Update No. 2013-02, Reporting of 
Amounts Reclassified Out of Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income (ASU 2013-02). Under ASU 2013-02, an entity is required to provide 
information about the amounts reclassified out of Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income (AOCI) by component. In addition, an entity is 
required to present, either on the face of the financial statements or in the notes, significant amounts reclassified out of AOCI by the respective 
line items of net income, but only if the amount reclassified is required to be reclassified in its entirety in the same reporting period. For amounts 
that are not required to be reclassified in their entirety to net income, an entity is required to cross-reference to other disclosures that provide 
additional details about those amounts. ASU 2013-02 does not change the current requirements for reporting net income or other comprehensive 
income in the financial statements. ASU 2013-02 is effective for us on January 1, 2013.

In  July  2012,  the  FASB  issued Accounting  Standards  Update  No.  2012-02,  Intangibles-Goodwill  and  Other  (Topic  350)  —  Testing 
Indefinite-Lived Intangible Assets for Impairment (ASU 2012-02), allowing entities the option to first assess qualitative factors to determine 
whether it is necessary to perform the quantitative impairment test. If the qualitative assessment indicates it is more-likely-than-not that the fair 
value of an indefinite lived intangible asset is less than its carrying amount, the quantitative impairment test is required. Otherwise, no testing 
is required. ASU 2012-02 is effective for the Company in the period beginning January 1, 2013. The adoption of this ASU is not expected to 
have a material impact on the Company's consolidated financial statements.

In December 2011, the FASB issued FASB ASU No. 2011-11, Balance Sheet (Topic 210)—Disclosures about Offsetting Assets and 
Liabilities. ASU 2011-11 requires an entity to disclose information about offsetting and related arrangements to enable users of its financial 
statements to understand the effect of those arrangements on its financial position. Entities are required to disclose both gross and net information 
about these instruments. ASU 2011-11 is effective for annual reporting periods beginning on or after January 1, 2013, and interim periods within 
those annual periods. The adoption of this ASU is not expected to have a material impact on the Company's consolidated financial statements.

In September 2011, the FASB issued ASU No. 2011-08, Testing Goodwill for Impairment (Topic 350) — Intangibles—Goodwill and 
Other (ASU 2011-08), to allow entities to use a qualitative approach to test goodwill for impairment. ASU 2011-08 permits an entity to first 
perform a qualitative assessment to determine whether it is more likely than not that the fair value of a reporting unit is less than its carrying 
value. If so, it is necessary to perform the currently prescribed two-step goodwill impairment test. Otherwise, the two step goodwill 
impairment test is not required. ASU 2011-08 was effective for the Company in the first quarter of fiscal 2012 and earlier adoption was 
permitted. The adoption of ASU 2011-08 did not have a material impact on the consolidated financial statements.

In June 2011, the FASB issued ASU No. 2011-05, Presentation of Comprehensive Income (Topic 220) — Comprehensive Income 
(ASU 2011-05), to require an entity to present the total of comprehensive income, the components of net income, and the components of 
other comprehensive income either in a single continuous statement of comprehensive income or in two separate but consecutive statements. 
ASU 2011-05 eliminates the option to present the components of other comprehensive income as part of the statement of equity. ASU 
2011-05 was effective for the Company in the first quarter of fiscal 2012 and was applied retrospectively. In December 2011, the FASB 
issued ASU 2011-12, Deferral of the Effective Date for Amendments to the Presentation of Reclassifications of Items out of Accumulated 
Other Comprehensive Income in Accounting Standards Update No. 2011-05, which defers certain aspects of ASU 2011-05 related to the 
presentation of reclassification adjustments. The adoption of ASU 2011-05 only impacted the presentation of the consolidated financial 
statements.

In May 2011, the FASB issued ASU No. 2011-04, Amendments to Achieve Common Fair Value Measurement and Disclosure 

Requirements in U.S. GAAP and International Financial Reporting Standards (Topic 820) — Fair Value Measurement (ASU 2011-04), to 
provide a consistent definition of fair value and ensure that the fair value measurement and disclosure requirements are similar between U.S. 
Generally Accepted Accounting Principles and International Financial Reporting Standards. ASU 2011-04 changes certain fair value 
measurement principles and enhances the disclosure requirements particularly for Level 3 fair value measurements. ASU 2011-04 became 
effective for the Company in the first quarter of fiscal 2012; see Note 14 - Fair Value Measurements for required disclosures.

40

 
 
 
 
 
 
3. Property and Equipment.

Property and equipment at December 31, 2012 and 2011 consisted of the following (in thousands):

Furniture, fixtures and equipment

Computers and related equipment

Computer software

Leasehold improvements

Work-in-progress

Less -- accumulated depreciation and amortization

2012

2011

$

6,891

$

6,918

32,871

5,417

9,937

62,034

(35,172)

5,776

5,414

27,306

4,633

4,751

47,880

(29,823)

$

26,862

$

18,057

Depreciation and amortization expense related to property and equipment was $6.7 million in 2012, $6.5 million in 2011 and $5.9 

million in 2010.

The Company has capitalized costs related to its various technology initiatives. The net book value of the property and equipment 

related to software development was $12.1 million as of December 31, 2012 and $8.5 million as of December 31, 2011, which includes work-
in-progress of $7.5 million and $3.9 million, respectively.

4. Acquisitions. 

On May 15, 2012, the Company acquired all of the outstanding shares of Apex Systems, Inc., a privately-owned provider of 
information technology staffing headquartered in Richmond, Virginia. The primary reason for the acquisition was to expand the Company's 
information technology staffing services. The purchase price totaled approximately $610.8 million, comprised of $385.0 million paid in cash 
at closing, $0.3 million paid in the third quarter related to the net working capital adjustments, and 14.3 million shares of common stock of 
the Company issued to the holders of shares of common stock and options to purchase common stock of Apex immediately prior to the 
effective time of the merger. Acquisition costs related to this transaction totaled approximately $9.8 million and were expensed in 2012. 
Goodwill and the identifiable intangible assets are deductible for tax purposes. The results of operations of Apex have been combined with 
those of the Company since the acquisition date. Apex revenues and net loss included in the Statement of Operations for the year-ended 
December 31, 2012 were $508.7 million and $(7.3) million, respectively.

On July 31, 2011, the Company acquired all of the outstanding shares of HealthCare Partners, Inc. (HCP), a privately-owned provider 

of physician staffing headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. The primary reasons for the acquisition were to expand the Physician segment 
business operations geographic coverage and to leverage the Company’s infrastructure. The purchase price for HCP was approximately $19.1 
million comprised of $15.7 million in cash paid at closing and potential future earn-out consideration of $3.4 million (the maximum earn-out 
opportunity is capped at $3.7 million) based on estimated financial performance of HCP through 2013. Acquisition costs of approximately 
$57,000 were expensed in 2011. The Company discontinued the use of the HCP tradename during 2012. Goodwill is deductible for tax 
purposes. The results of operations for the acquisition have been combined with those of the Company since the acquisition date.

On February 28, 2011, the Company acquired all of the outstanding shares of Warphi N.V. and its subsidiaries (collectively, Valesta), a 

privately-owned provider of specialized clinical research staffing headquartered in Belgium. The primary reasons for the acquisition were to 
expand the Life Sciences business operations and to leverage the Company’s infrastructure. The purchase price for Valesta totaled $23.7 
million, comprised of $16.8 million in cash paid at closing and potential future earn-out consideration of $6.9 million (the maximum earn-out 
is capped at a Euro value of €5.0 million  or approximately $6.6 million at December 31, 2012 exchange rates) based on estimated financial 
performance of Valesta through 2013. Acquisition costs of approximately $0.4 million were expensed in 2011. Goodwill is not deductible for 
tax purposes. The results of operations for the acquisition have been combined with those of the Company since the acquisition date.

On July 19, 2010, the Company acquired all of the outstanding shares of Sharpstream Holdings Limited (Sharpstream), a privately-

owned provider of search services for executives to middle managers in the life sciences sector. The primary reasons for the Sharpstream 
acquisition were to expand our Life Sciences business operations, further expand our global presence and to leverage the Company’s 
infrastructure. The purchase price totaled $8.6 million, comprised of $7.2 million in cash paid at closing, plus potential future earn-out 
consideration of up to $1.4 million. Acquisition costs of $0.1 million related to the purchase were expensed in 2010. Goodwill is not 
deductible for tax purposes. The results of operations for the acquisition have been combined with those of the Company since the acquisition 
date. 

On April 16, 2010, the Company acquired all of the outstanding shares of The Cambridge Group Ltd. and Cambridge Contract 
Staffing Group, Inc. (Cambridge), a Connecticut-based privately-held provider of specialized staffing services. The primary reasons for the 
Cambridge acquisition were to expand our Life Sciences, Oxford, and Physician business operations and to leverage the Company’s 
infrastructure. The purchase price totaled $7.6 million, comprised of $5.3 million in cash paid at closing, plus potential future earn-out 

41

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
consideration of up to $2.3 million. Acquisition costs of $0.1 million related to the purchase were expensed in 2010. Goodwill is not 
deductible for tax purposes. The results of operations for the acquisition have been combined with those of the Company since the acquisition 
date.

Assets and liabilities of the acquired companies were recorded at their estimated fair values at the dates of acquisition. The excess 
purchase price over the fair value of net tangible assets and identifiable intangible assets acquired has been allocated to goodwill. The fair 
value assigned to identifiable intangible assets was determined primarily by using a discounted cash flow method. The Company's allocation 
for the purchase price for Apex, except for the pre-acquisition contingencies and income taxes related to the acquisition, have been finalized. 
Any material measurement period adjustments will be recorded retrospectively to the acquisition date.   

During 2012, the Company adjusted Valesta's purchase price allocation. The adjustment was to correct the tax impact of the 
amortization of identifiable intangible assets. The adjustment was not material and had no impact on the consolidated statements of 
operations and comprehensive income (loss); accordingly it was not presented retrospectively.

The fair value of earn-out obligations was based on the present value of the expected future payments to be made to the sellers of the 
acquired businesses in accordance with the respective purchase agreements. See Note - 14 Fair Value Measurements for further information 
regarding the fair value of earn-outs and the level 3 rollforward disclosure.

The following tables summarize (in thousands) the purchase price allocations for the acquisitions of Apex, which is subject to 

finalization during the measurement period and HCP and Valesta:

2012 Acquisition

2011 Acquisitions

Apex

HCP

Valesta

Total

Current assets

Property and equipment

Goodwill

Identifiable intangible assets

Other

Total assets acquired

Current liabilities

Other

Total liabilities assumed

Total purchase price

$

169,844

$

3,950

$

902

266,788

251,555

494

689,583

77,905

850

78,755

123

14,398

1,784

13

20,268

1,070

49

1,119

$

$

$

$

6,332

299

17,911

5,679

26

30,247

4,774

1,814

6,588

$

10,282

422

32,309

7,463

39

50,515

5,844

1,863

7,707

$

$

610,828

$

19,149

$

23,659

$

42,808

$

$

$

The following table summarizes (in thousands) the allocation of the purchase price among the identifiable intangible assets for the 

acquisition of Apex, HCP and Valesta:

Contractor relations
Customer relations
Non-compete agreements
Trademarks

Useful life
2 – 5 years
2 – 10 years
2 – 7 years
indefinite

Identifiable Intangible Asset Value

2012 Acquisition
Apex

HCP

2011 Acquisitions
Valesta

Total

$

$

10,589
92,147
2,076
146,743
251,555

$

$

814
950
20
—
1,784

$

$

266
2,395
440
2,578
5,679

$

$

1,080
3,345
460
2,578
7,463

The summary below (in thousands, except for per share data) presents pro forma consolidated results of operations for the years ended 
December 31, 2012 and 2011 as if the acquisitions of HCP and Valesta occurred on January 1, 2010, and the acquisition of Apex occurred on 
January 1, 2011. The acquisitions in 2010 were not material to the Company, therefore pro forma information related to these acquisitions has 
not been presented. The pro forma financial information gives effect to certain adjustments, including: the amortization of intangible assets 
and interest expense on acquisition-related debt, changes in the management fees, and increased number of common shares as a result of the 
acquisition. Acquisition-related costs are assumed to have occurred at the beginning of the year prior to acquisition. The pro forma financial 
information is not necessarily indicative of the operating results that would have occurred if the acquisition had been consummated as of the 
date indicated, nor are they necessarily indicative of future operating results. 

42

 
 
Revenues
Operating income
Net income

Basic earnings per share
Diluted earnings per share

Weighted average number of shares outstanding
Weighted average number of shares and dilutive shares outstanding

$
$
$

$
$

2012

2011

(unaudited)

$
$
$

$
$

1,521,982
121,565
55,615

1.07
1.05

52,103
53,190

1,316,165
68,608
26,109

0.51
0.50

51,180
52,062

5. Long-Term Debt.

Long-term debt at December 31, 2012 and 2011 consisted of the following (in thousands):

2012

2011

New Senior Secured Debt --

$100 million term A loan facility, due May 2017

$

92,500

$

$365 million term B loan facility, due May 2019

$75 million revolving credit facility, due May 2017

Old Senior Secured Debt (repaid May 2012) --

$75 million revolving credit facility

$50 million term loan facility

334,088

—

—

—

$

426,588

$

—

—

—

43,000

43,750

86,750

On May 15, 2012, in connection with the Apex acquisition, the Company entered into a new senior secured credit agreement. The new 
credit agreement consists of (i) a $100.0 million, five-year term loan A facility, (ii) a $365.0 million, seven-year term loan B facility and (iii) a 
$75.0 million, five-year revolving loan facility with a $15.0 million sublimit for letters of credit. The new credit agreement also provides the 
ability to increase the loan facilities for up to $75.0 million in additional principal amount of revolving or term B loans, subject to receipt of 
lender commitments and satisfaction of specified conditions.

Borrowings under the new credit agreement bear interest at a variable rate based upon, at the Company’s option, either the Eurodollar 

rate or the base rate, plus in each case, an applicable margin. The applicable margin for Eurodollar rate loans for the revolving loans and the 
term A loans ranges, based on the applicable leverage ratio, from 2.75 percent to 3.25 percent per annum and the applicable margin for base 
rate loans ranges, based on the applicable leverage ratio, from 1.75 percent to 2.25 percent per annum. The applicable margin for Eurodollar 
rate loans for the term B loans is 3.75 percent per annum and the applicable margin for base rate loans is 2.75 percent per annum. The 
Company is required to pay a commitment fee equal to 0.50 percent per annum on the undrawn portion available under the revolving loan 
facility if its leverage ratio is greater than or equal to 3.00 to 1.00, a commitment fee equal to 0.40 percent per annum if its leverage ratio is 
less than 3.00 to 1.00 but greater than or equal to 2.00 to 1.00 and a commitment fee equal to 0.30 percent per annum if its leverage ratio is 
less than 2.00 to 1.00. Additionally, the Company is required to pay variable per annum fees equal to the applicable margin for Eurodollar rate 
loans in respect of outstanding letters of credit. At December 31, 2012, borrowings on the term A loan bore interest at 3.2 percent, and 
borrowings on the term B loan bore interest at 5.0 percent. The weighted average interest rate at December 31, 2012 was 4.6 percent.

The Company is required to make quarterly amortization payments on the term loan A facility in the amount of $2.5 million. The 
Company is also required to make mandatory prepayments of loans under the new credit agreement, subject to specified exceptions, from 
excess cash flows and with the proceeds of asset sales, debt issuances and specified other events.

The Company’s obligations under the new credit agreement are guaranteed by substantially all of its direct and indirect domestic 

subsidiaries. The obligations under the new credit agreement and the guarantees are secured by a lien on substantially all of the Company’s 
tangible and intangible property and by a pledge of all of the equity interests in its direct and indirect domestic subsidiaries.

The new credit agreement also places limits on the Company’s and its subsidiaries’ ability to incur liens, incur additional 

indebtedness, make loans and investments, engage in mergers and acquisitions, engage in asset sales, declare dividends or redeem or 
repurchase capital stock, alter the business conducted by the Company and its subsidiaries, transact with affiliates, prepay, redeem or 
purchase subordinated debt and amend or otherwise alter debt agreements. The Company's leverage ratio (consolidated funded debt to trailing 
12 months earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA)) is currently limited to no more than 4.25 to 1.00 and 
reduces over time to 3.00 to 1.00. As of December 31, 2012, the leverage ratio was approximately 2.73 to 1.00. A failure to comply with these 

43

 
 
  
covenants could permit the lenders under the new credit agreement to declare all amounts borrowed under the new credit agreement, together 
with accrued interest and fees, to be immediately due and payable.

As of December 31, 2012 and 2011, the Company was in compliance with all of its debt covenants. As of December 31, 2012, the 

Company had $72.2 million of borrowing available under our credit facility.

6. Goodwill and Other Identifiable Intangible Assets.

The changes in the carrying amount of goodwill for the years ended December 31, 2012 and 2011 are as follows (in thousands):

Apex

Oxford

Life Sciences

Healthcare

Physician

Total

Balance as of December 31, 2010
Gross goodwill
Accumulated impairment

$

Valesta acquisition (see Note 4)
HCP acquisition (see Note 4)
Translation adjustment
Balance as of December 31, 2011
Gross goodwill
Accumulated impairment

Apex acquisition (see Note 4)
Acquisition accounting
Translation adjustment
Balance as of December 31, 2012
Gross goodwill
Accumulated impairment

— $
—
—
—
—
—

—
—
—
266,788
—
—

266,788
—

$

149,483
—
149,483
—
—
—

149,483
—
149,483
—
—
—

149,483
—

12,561
—
12,561
16,097
—
(990)

27,668
—
27,668
—
1,814
529

30,011
—

$

122,230
(121,717 )

$

513
—
—
—

122,230
(121,717)
513
—
—
—

122,230
(121,717)

$

37,163
—
37,163
—
14,407
—

51,570
—
51,570
—
(9)
—

51,561
—

321,437
(121,717)
199,720
16,097
14,407
(990)

350,951
(121,717)
229,234
266,788
1,805
529

620,073
(121,717)

$

266,788

$

149,483

$

30,011

$

513

$

51,561

$

498,356

Subsequent to the issuance of the Company's annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2011, the Company 

identified an error of $1.8 million to record deferred tax liabilities and a corresponding increase in goodwill related to Valesta's intangible 
assets. The Company considers this an immaterial adjustment and has corrected the goodwill and deferred tax liabilities as of December 31, 
2012 reflecting the adjustment in the accompanying consolidated balance sheets, the adjustments in the non-cash supplemental disclosures in 
the consolidated statements of cash flows and related footnote disclosures. This adjustment has no effect on the Company's consolidated 
statements of operations and comprehensive income (loss).

As of December 31, 2012 and December 31, 2011, the Company had the following acquired intangible assets (in thousands):

2012

2011

Estimated
Useful
Life

Gross
Carrying
Amount

Accumulated
Amortization

Net Carrying
Amount

Gross
Carrying
Amount

Accumulated
Amortization

Net Carrying
Amount

Subject to amortization:

Customer relations

Contractor relations

3 months –
10 years

2 - 7 years

Non-compete agreements

2 - 7 years

Not subject to amortization:

Trademarks

Goodwill

Total

37,871

2,986

144,142

171,852

498,356

$

103,285

$

23,338

$

79,947

$

11,077

$

7,891

$

27,754

1,062

52,154

10,117

1,924

91,988

27,276

899

39,252

25,599

604

34,094

3,186

1,677

295

5,158

—

—

171,852

498,356

25,048

229,234

—

—

25,048

229,234

$

814,350

$

52,154

$

762,196

$

293,534

$

34,094

$

259,440

44

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Amortization expense for intangible assets with finite lives was $18.0 million in 2012, $2.3 million in 2011 and $2.1 million in 

2010. Estimated amortization for the each of the next five fiscal years and thereafter follows (in thousands):

2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
Thereafter

$

$

20,973
16,823
14,305
12,369
8,996
18,522
91,988

Goodwill and other intangible assets having an indefinite useful life are not amortized for financial statement purposes. Goodwill and 

intangible assets with indefinite lives are reviewed for impairment on an annual basis as of October 31 and whenever certain events or 
changes in circumstances occur. No impairment charge was recorded for any of the reporting units as of October 31, 2012. Based upon the 
annual goodwill impairment test in 2011, there was no goodwill impairment charge. The Company recognized a goodwill impairment charge 
of $15.4 million in the fourth quarter of 2010. Goodwill for the Company's impaired reporting unit, Nurse Travel, with a carrying amount of 
$15.4 million was written down to the implied fair value of $0 resulting in an impairment charge of $15.4 million.

7. 401(k) Retirement Savings Plan, Deferred Compensation Plan and Change in Control Severance Plan.

Under the Company’s 401(k) Retirement Savings Plan, which covers eligible employees of On Assignment and its wholly-owned 
subsidiaries, Assignment Ready Inc., On Assignment Staffing Services, Inc., VISTA, and Oxford, eligible employees may elect to have a 
portion of their salary deferred and contributed to the plans. The amount of salary deferred, up to certain limits set by the IRS, is not subject 
to federal and state income tax at the time of deferral, but together with any earnings on deferred amounts, is subject to taxation upon 
distribution. The plan covers all eligible employees and permits matching or other discretionary contributions at the Company’s discretion. 
Eligible employees may enroll once they complete three months of service prior to the next quarterly offering. Apex sponsors a 401(k) plan 
for the benefit of all eligible Apex employees. Employees are eligible to participate after 12 months of service, 1000 hours of work, and 
attaining the age of 18. Under the terms of the plan, employees are entitled to contribute a portion of their total compensation, within 
limitations established by the Internal Revenue Code. The Company pledged to make contributions to the 401(k) plans of $3.7 million in 
2012 and made contributions of $1.1 million and $0.4 million in 2011 and 2010, respectively.

Effective January 1, 1998, the Company implemented the On Assignment, Inc. Deferred Compensation Plan. On September 4, 2008, 
effective as of January 1, 2008, the Company amended the On Assignment Deferred Compensation Plan and adopted a new plan, called the 
On Assignment Deferred Compensation Plan – Effective January 1, 2008, applicable to deferrals made on or after January 1, 2005 (referred 
to herein as the 2008 Deferred Compensation Plan). On April 20, 2011, the Company’s Board of Directors authorized and directed the 
termination of the 1998 Deferred Compensation Plan and the 2008 Deferred Compensation Plan (collectively referred to as the Plans), 
effective May 2, 2011. 

The deferred compensation liability under the deferred compensation plans was approximately $1.9 million at December 31, 2011. 

Life insurance policies were maintained as a funding source to the plans, under which the Company is the sole owner and beneficiary of such 
insurance. At December 31, 2011, the cash surrender value of these life insurance policies was $2.1 million, reflected in other current assets 
in the accompanying Consolidated Balance Sheets. As a result of the termination, the Company received $1.5 million related to the cash 
surrender value of the life insurance proceeds, which were maintained as a funding source to the deferred compensation plans, and in June 
2012, distributed $1.2 million to plan participants according to the terms of the Plans.

As a result of the merger with Apex, the Company assumed a long-term incentive program, which began in 2010, that provides for a 
total award of up to $10.0 million to eligible employees, based on the attainment by Apex of stipulated revenues and EBITDA goals during a 
three year performance period. The Company determined that it was probable that the revenue and EBITDA goals for Apex would be reached 
in 2012 and the Company accrued approximately $7.9 million at May 15, 2012 (the effective date of the acquisition), and $10.0 million at 
December 31, 2012, which are included in deferred compensation in the Consolidated Balance Sheet. 

The Company adopted the On Assignment, Inc. Change in Control Severance Plan (the CIC Plan) to provide severance benefits for 
officers and certain other employees who are terminated following an acquisition of the Company. This CIC Plan was adopted as of February 
12, 2004 and amended and restated on December 11, 2008. Under the CIC Plan, eligible employees with titles of vice president or higher who 
are involuntarily terminated within eighteen months after a change in control, as defined in the CIC Plan will be entitled to (i) a payment equal 
to the employee's annual salary plus the employee's target bonus, payable in a lump sum, and (ii) a lump sum payment representing the cost of 
continuation of health and welfare benefits, under the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985 (COBRA). Severance pay 
under the CIC Plan varies depending on the eligible employee's length of service and position with the Company.

The Company entered into an Amended and Restated Executive Change of Control Agreement with the Chief Executive Officer on 
December 11, 2008, primarily for the purpose of causing his previous agreement to meet the requirements of Code Section 409A. This agreement 
supersedes the CIC Plan and provides, in the event of an involuntary termination occurring within six months and ten days following a change 
of control of the Company, that the Chief Executive Officer is entitled to the benefits including salary and bonus payments, continuation of 

45

 
 
 
 
 
health  and  welfare  benefits  and  car  allowance,  cash  payments  equal  to  insurance  premiums  and  retirement  and  deferred  compensation 
contributions,  and  payment  for  outplacement  services. Additionally,  under  the  arrangements,  immediately  prior  to  a  change  of  control,  all 
outstanding Company stock options, restricted stock and stock units held by the Chief Executive Officer will become fully vested (and, in the 
case  of  options,  remain  exercisable  for  an  extended  period),  subject  to  any  express  limitations  contained  in  the  Chief  Executive  Officer's 
employment agreement. In addition, the agreement entitles the Chief Executive Officer to tax gross-up payments in the event that any payments 
are subject to “golden parachute” excise taxes under IRS Code Section 280G.

The Company entered into an Executive Change of Control Agreement with the Chief Financial Officer on September 1, 2012. This 

agreement supersedes the CIC Plan and provides, in the event of an involuntary termination occurring within six months and ten days 
following a change of control of the Company, for benefits including salary and bonus payments, car allowance, healthcare coverage, cash 
payment equal to premiums for life insurance and disability insurance, and payment for outplacement services. Immediately prior to a change 
of control, all outstanding Company stock options, restricted stock and stock units held by the officer will become fully vested (and, in the 
case of options, remain exercisable for an extended period). The agreement provides that the Chief Financial Officer with a best pay cap 
reduction for any excess parachute payments under Code Section 280G unless he would receive a greater after-tax benefit without the 
reduction and after paying the related excise tax.

8. Commitments and Contingencies.

The Company leases its facilities and certain office equipment under operating leases, which expire at various dates through 2022. 
Certain leases contain rent escalations and/or renewal options. Rent expense for all significant leases is recognized on a straight-line basis. 
The balance of the deferred rent liability reflected in other current liabilities in the accompanying Consolidated Balance Sheets was $0.3 
million  at December 31, 2012 and 2011 and the balance reflected in other long-term liabilities was $3.8 million and $2.1 million, at 
December 31, 2012 and 2011 respectively.

The following is a summary of specified contractual cash obligation payments by the Company as of December 31, 2012 (in 

thousands):

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

Thereafter

Total

Long-Term
Debt

Operating  
Leases

Related Party
Leases

Total

$

10,000

$

13,545

$

1,266

$

10,000

10,000

10,000

52,500

334,088

11,117

9,210

6,386

3,588

6,764

1,299

1,168

694

175

—

$

426,588

$

50,610

$

4,602

$

24,811

22,416

20,378

17,080

56,263

340,852

481,800

Rent expense, which is included in SG&A expenses, was $14.1 million for 2012, $8.6 million for 2011, and $8.4 million for 2010.

As discussed in Note 1, the Company carries large retention policies for its workers’ compensation liability and its medical 

malpractice exposures.  The workers' compensation and medical malpractice loss reserves are based upon an actuarial report obtained from a 
third party and determined based on claims filed and claims incurred but not reported. The Company accounts for claims incurred but not yet 
reported based on estimates derived from historical claims experience and current trends of industry data. Changes in estimates, differences in 
estimates and actual payments for claims are recognized in the period that the estimates changed or the payments were made. The workers' 
compensation and medical malpractice loss reserves were approximately $10.3 million and $10.4 million at December 31, 2012 and 2011, 
respectively. Additionally, the Company has unused stand-by letters of credit outstanding to secure obligations for workers’ 
compensation claims with various insurance carriers. The unused stand-by letters of credit at December 31, 2012 and December 31, 2011 
were $2.8 million and $2.4 million, respectively.

The Company is subject to earn-out obligations entered into in connection with certain of its acquisitions. If the acquired businesses 
meet predetermined financial targets, the Company is obligated to make additional cash payments in accordance with the terms of such earn-
out obligations. As of December 31, 2012, the Company has potential future earn-out obligations of approximately $9.1 million through 
2013.

The Company has entered into various non-cancelable operating leases, primarily related to its facilities and certain office equipment 

used in the ordinary course of business. As a result of the Apex acquisition, the Company leases two properties owned by related parties.

At December 31, 2012 and 2011, the Company has an income tax reserve in other long-term liabilities related to uncertain tax 

positions of $0.4 million and $0.3 million, respectively.

46

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Legal Proceedings

The Company is involved in various legal proceedings, claims and litigation arising in the ordinary course of business. However, 

based on the facts currently available, the Company does not believe that the disposition of matters that are pending or asserted will have a 
material effect on its consolidated financial statements.

9. Income Taxes.

The provision (benefit) for income taxes consists of the following (in thousands):

Current:

Federal

State

Foreign

Deferred:

Federal

State

Foreign

Change in valuation allowance

Year Ended December 31,

2012

2011

2010

$

20,849

$

9,814

$

1,748

3,353

2,645

26,847

5,467

565

(822)

5,210

246

1,447

1,465

12,726

3,759

488

(261)

3,986

454

$

32,303

$

17,166

$

522

412

2,682

2,271

—

(212)

2,059

215

4,956

Income (loss) before income taxes consists of the following (in thousands):

United States

Foreign

Year Ended December 31,

2012

2011

2010

$

$

72,184

2,772

74,956

$

$

37,405

4,058

41,463

$

$

(6,071)

1,130

(4,941)

47

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
The components of deferred tax assets (liabilities) are as follows (in thousands):

Deferred income tax assets (liabilities):

Current:

Allowance for doubtful accounts

Employee related accruals

State taxes

Workers’ compensation and medical malpractice loss reserves

Prepaid insurance

Other

Non-current:

Intangibles

Depreciation expense

Stock-based compensation

Net operating loss carryforwards

Other

Valuation allowance

Total net deferred income tax liability

December 31,
2012

December 31,
2011

$

1,150

$

3,419

1,064

4,683

(631)

462

10,147

(23,662)

(4,449)

2,852

1,191

1,975

(22,093)

(916)

$

(12,862) $

1,007

2,923

534

4,277

(319)

849

9,271

(15,559)

(3,867)

3,428

1,054

758

(14,186)

(670)

(5,585)

The reconciliation between the amount computed by applying the U.S. federal statutory tax rate of 35.0 percent for 2012, 35.0 percent 

for 2011, and 34.0 percent for 2010 to income before income taxes and the income tax provision is as follows (in thousands):

Income tax provision at the statutory rate

State income taxes, net of federal benefit

Impairment of goodwill

Permanent difference – disallowed meals and entertainment expenses

Permanent difference – settlement of earn-out

Valuation allowance related to foreign jurisdictions

Income tax contingency

Foreign tax rate differential

Other

Year Ended December 31,

2012

2011

2010

$

26,235

$

14,512

$

(1,680)

2,952

—

1,822

—

246

276

14

758

1,527

—

1,093

(445)

454

(91)

(222)

338

460

5,236

614

—

215

(16)

(181)

308

$

32,303

$

17,166

$

4,956

As of December 31, 2012, the Company had no federal net operating losses, state net operating losses of approximately $9.5 million 

and foreign net operating losses of approximately $3.1 million. The state net operating losses can be carried forward up to 20 years and begin 
expiring in 2013. The foreign net operating losses in the United Kingdom can be carried forward indefinitely and the net operating losses in 
Spain can be carried forward up to 18 years beginning from the first period of profits. The Company has recorded a valuation allowance of 
approximately $0.9 million and $0.7 million at December 31, 2012 and December 31, 2011, respectively, related to net operating loss 
carryforwards.

At December 31, 2012, the Company had accumulated net foreign earnings of $13.0 million. The Company did not provide deferred 

taxes on the excess of the financial reporting over the tax basis in its investment in foreign subsidiaries since the Company intends to 
permanently reinvest the undistributed earnings of its foreign subsidiaries. The determination of additional deferred taxes that have not been 
provided is not practicable.

The Company had gross deferred tax assets of $17.7 million and $14.4 million and gross deferred tax liabilities of $30.5 million and 

$19.9 million at December 31, 2012 and 2011, respectively. 

48

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
The Company receives a tax deduction for stock-based awards upon exercise of a non-qualified stock options or as the result of 

disqualifying dispositions made by directors, officers and employees. A disqualifying disposition occurs when stock acquired through the 
exercise of incentive stock options or the Employee Stock Purchase Plan is disposed of prior to the required holding period. The Company 
also receives a tax deduction upon the vesting of restricted stock units or restricted stock awards. The Company received tax deductions of 
$22.8 million and $7.5 million, respectively, from stock-based awards in 2012 and 2011.

As of December 31, 2012, the Company had $0.4 million of gross unrecognized tax benefits, which includes penalties and interest, all 
of which was carried in other long-term liabilities. If the Company’s positions are sustained by the taxing authority in favor of the Company, 
the entire $0.4 million would reduce the Company’s effective tax rate. The Company recognizes interest and penalties related to uncertain tax 
positions in income tax expense. The amount of interest and penalties recognized in the financial statements is not significant.

The following is a reconciliation of the total amounts of unrecognized tax benefits (in thousands):

Unrecognized Tax Benefit beginning of year

Gross decreases - tax positions in prior year

Reductions for tax positions as a result of a lapse of the applicable statute of limitations

Gross increases - tax positions in prior year

Unrecognized Tax Benefit end of year

Year Ended December 31,

2012

2011

2010

251

$

358

$

(34)

—

159

376

—

(107)

—

$

251

$

397

(39)

—

—

358

$

$

The Company believes that there will be no significant increases or decreases to unrecognized tax benefits within the next twelve 

months.

The Company is subject to taxation in the United States and various states and foreign jurisdictions. The IRS has examined and 

concluded all tax matters for years through 2009. 

10. Earnings per Share.

Basic earnings per share are computed based upon the weighted average number of shares outstanding and diluted earnings per share 

are computed based upon the weighted average number of shares and dilutive share equivalents (consisting of incentive stock options, non-
qualified stock options, restricted stock units, restricted stock awards and employee stock purchase plan contributions) outstanding during the 
periods using the treasury stock method.

The following is a reconciliation of the shares used to compute basic and diluted earnings per share (in thousands):

Weighted average number of common shares

Dilutive effect of stock-based awards

Number of shares used to compute diluted earnings per share

Year Ended December 31,

2012

2011

2010

46,739

1,087

47,826

36,876

882

37,758

36,429

—

36,429

The following table presents the weighted average share equivalents outstanding during each period that were excluded from the 

computation of diluted earnings per share because the exercise price for these options was greater than the average market price of the 
Company’s shares of common stock during the respective periods. Also excluded from the computation of diluted earnings per share were 
other share equivalents that became anti-dilutive when applying the treasury stock method.

Anti-dilutive common share equivalents outstanding

11. Stock-based Compensation: Incentive Award Plan and Employee Stock Purchase Plan.

Year Ended December 31,

2012

2011

2010

83

1,039

1,339

The Company believes that stock-based compensation better aligns the interests of its employees and directors with those of its 

shareholders versus exclusively providing cash-based compensation. Stock-based compensation provides incentives to retain and motivate 
executive officers and key employees responsible for driving Company performance and maintaining important relationships that contribute 
to the growth of the Company.

49

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Compensation expense charged to operations related to stock-based compensation was $9.7 million, $6.9 million, and $7.7 million for 

each of the years ended December 31, 2012, 2011 and 2010, respectively, and is included in the Consolidated Statements of Operations and 
Comprehensive Income (Loss) in SG&A expenses. The Company has recognized an income tax benefit of $3.5 million, $2.5 million, and 
$2.9 million for the years ended December 31, 2012, 2011 and 2010, respectively in the consolidated statements of operations for stock-based 
compensation arrangements.

Effective June 3, 2010, shareholders of the Company approved the adoption of the On Assignment, Inc. 2010 Incentive Award Plan 
(the 2010 Plan), which replaced the Company’s Restated 1987 Stock Option Plan (the 1987 Plan). The 2010 Plan permits the grant of stock 
options, including incentive stock options, nonqualified stock options, restricted stock awards (RSAs), dividend equivalent rights, stock 
payments, deferred stock, restricted stock units (RSUs), performance shares and other incentive awards, stock appreciation rights and cash 
awards to its employees, directors and consultants for up to 2,184,983 shares of common stock, which included 884,983 shares that remained 
available for issuance under the 1987 Plan as of June 3, 2010. The 2010 Plan allows for stock option awards to be granted with an exercise 
price equal to the closing market price of the Company’s stock at the date of grant. Stock option awards generally vest over four years of 
continuous service with the Company and generally have ten-year contractual terms. RSUs and RSAs generally vest over a three year 
continuous service period, though individual award vesting terms vary within these parameters. Certain stock option awards and RSUs and 
RSAs provide for accelerated vesting in the event of a change in control (see Note 7). Options or awards that are canceled or forfeited are 
added back to the pool of shares available for issuance under the 2010 Plan. As of December 31, 2012, there were 1,502,481 shares available 
for issuance under the 2010 Plan.

The fair value of each option award is estimated on the date of grant using a Black-Scholes option valuation model that incorporates 
assumptions disclosed in the table below. Expected volatility is based on historical volatility of the underlying stock for a period consistent 
with the expected lives of the stock options as the Company believes this is a reasonable representation of future volatility. Additionally, the 
Company analyzes historical stock option exercise behavior and vesting patterns for RSUs and RSAs in order to estimate employee turnover 
rates (i.e. forfeiture rates). The forfeiture rate, set by management, is used to estimate the number of options and awards that will eventually 
vest and the associated impact on stock-based compensation expense. The expected life, or term, of options granted is derived from historical 
exercise behavior and represents the period of time that stock option awards are expected to be outstanding. The Company has selected a risk-
free rate based on the implied yield available on U.S. Treasury Securities with a maturity equivalent to the options’ expected term. For RSUs 
and RSAs, the Company records compensation expense based on the fair market value of the awards on the grant date.

The preceding paragraphs describe the general terms of most stock-based incentive awards granted by the Company. However, the 

Company has granted a discrete set of stock-based awards to its Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and other corporate officers that differ from 
those generally stated terms. The grant-date fair-value of these awards, which was determined by applying certain provisions of the stock 
compensation guidance relative to performance-based and market-based awards, is generally being expensed over the vesting term. The 
impact of these awards is reflected in the detailed RSU and RSA disclosures below. All awards are subject to the officer’s continued 
employment through such vesting dates, however, the vesting of certain awards will accelerate upon the occurrence of a change in control of 
the Company and/or upon certain qualifying terminations of employment.

2012 Employment Inducement Incentive Award Plan 

Effective May 15, 2012 (amended and restated as of December 13, 2012), the Board of Directors adopted the 2012 Employment 
Inducement Incentive Award Plan (2012 Inducement Award Plan).  The 2012 Inducement Award Plan includes terms similar to the 2010 Plan 
and allows for grants of stock to employees as employment inducement awards pursuant to NYSE rules.

CEO Awards

The Company granted discrete stock-based awards to its CEO as follows: (i) a market based award in 2010 with a grant date fair 
market value of $0.5 million. The award was expensed over a service period of 2.6 years and the number of shares were determined by 
dividing $0.5 million by the closing price of the Company stock on February 1, 2013, contingent upon the achievement of defined market 
targets, which were met, (ii) a performance based award on March 8, 2011, which had a grant date fair market value of $1.0 million and was 
expensed over a service period of 9.9 months, the financial performance objectives were met by the Company during the twelve month period 
ending December 31, 2011 and 24,654 shares vested on December 31, 2012 and the remaining number of shares will be determined by 
dividing $0.5 million by the closing price of the Company’s stock on February 1, 2014, and (iii) a performance based award on March 23, 
2012, which had a grant date fair market value of $1.5 million and was expensed over a service period of 9.3 months, the financial 
performance objectives were met by the Company during the twelve month period ending December 31, 2012 and 24,654 shares vested on 
December 31, 2012 and the remaining number of shares will be determined by dividing $0.5 million by the closing price of the Company’s 
stock on each of February 1, 2014 and February 1, 2015. The Company classifies these awards as liability awards until the number of shares 
is determined. The liability of $2.0 million related to these awards is included in other accrued expenses and other long-term liabilities in the 
accompanying Consolidated Balance Sheets as of December 31, 2012.

On December 31, 2012, the CEO was awarded 39,448 RSUs with a grant date fair market value of $0.8 million, contingent upon the 
Company meeting certain financial performance objectives based on adjusted EBITDA approved by the Compensation Committee over the 
twelve-month period ending December 31, 2013 and continued employment through January 1, 2014. 

50

 
 
 
 
On March 5, 2012, the CEO was awarded 45,372 RSUs with a grant date fair market value of $0.6 million, of which 22,686  shares 

vested on December 31, 2012 and the remaining 22,686 shares will vest on January 4, 2014. As of December 31, 2012, the performance 
targets had been fully achieved and certified by the Compensation Committee of the Board of Directors.

On March 8, 2011, the CEO was awarded 58,754 RSUs with a grant date fair market value of $0.6 million, which vested in two equal 

components of $0.3 million on January 1, 2012 and December 31, 2012. As of December 31, 2011, the performance targets had been fully 
achieved and certified by the Compensation Committee.

On March 17, 2010, the CEO was granted 67,568 RSUs, with a grant-date fair value of $0.5 million, of which 33,784 RSUs vested on 

February 1, 2011 and 33,784 RSUs vested on February 1, 2012. As of December 31, 2011, the performance targets had been fully achieved 
and certified by the Compensation Committee and the grant-date fair value was expensed over the respective vesting periods for each of the 
two components.

On November 4, 2009, the Company entered into an employment agreement with the CEO that provided for three annual stock award 

grants with grant-date values of $0.8 million each, based on performance objectives for 2010 through 2012 that vested on February 1, 2011, 
January 1, 2012, and December 31, 2012, respectively, contingent upon achieving positive adjusted EBITDA, which were met for each of the 
respective periods.

The grant-date fair value of the RSUs are expensed over the vesting term, based on an estimate of the percentage achievement of the 

applicable performance targets. All awards were subject to the CEO’s continued employment through applicable vesting dates. All awards 
may vest on an accelerated basis in part or in full upon the occurrence of certain events.

Other Executive Officer Awards

The Company records stock-based compensation expense over the vesting period of the awards based on the probability that the 

performance objectives will be met and that the executives will maintain their employment through the respective vesting dates.

In the first quarter of 2012, the Company granted RSUs to certain executive officers with an aggregate grant-date fair value of $1.7 
million. Of the $1.7 million, $0.9 million will vest in three equal annual increments subject to continued employment on each succeeding 
grant-date anniversary. The remaining $0.8 million vested on December 31, 2012, as certain performance objectives approved by the 
Compensation Committee were attained and certified by the Compensation Committee.

On May 15, 2012, the Company granted RSUs to certain executive officers in conjunction with the acquisition of Apex. The aggregate 

grant-date fair value of these grants was $0.8 million. Of the $0.8 million, $0.6 million will vest in three equal annual increments subject to 
continued employment on each succeeding grant-date anniversary. The remaining $0.2 million will vest on May 31, 2013, subject to 
continued employment, Apex attaining certain performance objectives and certification by the Compensation Committee.

In the first quarter of 2011, the Company granted RSUs to certain executive officers with an aggregate grant-date fair value of $1.6 

million Of the $1.6 million, $0.9 million will vest in three annual increments subject to continued employment on each succeeding grant-date 
anniversary. The remaining $0.7 million vested on January 3, 2012, as certain performance objectives approved by the Compensation 
Committee were attained and certified by the Compensation Committee.

In the first quarter of 2010, the Company granted RSUs to certain executive officers with an aggregate grant-date fair value of $1.2 

million. Sixty percent of the total RSU awards will vest in three annual increments subject to continued employment on each succeeding 
grant-date anniversary. Forty percent of the awards will vest in three consecutive annual installments contingent upon the officer attaining 
certain performance objectives certified by the Compensation Committee. Accordingly, the Company records stock-based compensation 
expense over the vesting period of these awards based on the probability that the performance objectives will be met and that the executives 
will maintain their employment through the respective vesting dates.

Stock Options

The following table displays the weighted average assumptions that have been applied to estimate the fair value of stock option 

awards on the date of grant:

Dividend yield

Risk-free interest rate

Expected volatility

Expected lives

Year Ended December 31,

2012

2011

2010

—

1.19%

64.15%

—

0.92%

75.67%

—

1.47%

73.26%

7.3 years

3.6 years

3.6 years

51

 
 
 
 
 
The following summarizes pricing and term information for options outstanding as of December 31, 2012:

Range of Exercise Prices

$

$

2.82

6.86

10.46

11.56

12.91

2.82

-

-

-

-

-

-

$

$

6.68

10.20

11.39

12.90

16.51

16.51

Number 
Outstanding at
December 31,
2012

275,164

280,731

308,390

275,950

146,125

1,286,360

Options Outstanding
Weighted Average
Remaining
Contractual Life
(years)
3.4

7.5

6.5

4.1

7.0

5.6

Weighted
Average
Exercise Price

$

$

5.33

8.03

10.88

12.25

14.98

9.83

Options Exercisable

Number 
Exercisable at 
December 31,
2012

Weighted
Average
Exercise Price

270,436

$

130,360

182,132

275,950

67,625

926,503

$

5.33

7.86

11.18

12.25

13.30

9.48

The following table is a summary of stock option activity under the Plan as of December 31, 2012 and changes for the year then 

ended:

Outstanding at January 1, 2012

Granted

Exercised

Canceled

Outstanding at December 31, 2012

Incentive
Stock
Options

Non-
Qualified
Stock
Options

221,466

2,041,738

—

78,500

(87,973)

(880,233)

(4,070)

(83,068)

129,423

1,156,937

Vested and Expected to Vest at December 31, 2012

129,324

1,091,043

Exercisable at December 31, 2012

129,192

797,311

Weighted
Average
Exercise
Price Per
Share

Weighted 
Average 
Remaining 
Contractual
Term (Years)

Aggregate
Intrinsic
Value

$

$

$

$

$

$

$

8.62

16.43

7.27

12.78

9.83

9.70

9.48

5.3

$ 6,928,000

5.6

5.4

4.5

$ 13,442,000

$ 12,910,000

$ 10,007,000

The table above includes 54,000 non-employee director stock options outstanding as of January 1, 2012. There were no non-employee 

director stock options outstanding as of December 31, 2012.

The weighted-average grant-date fair value of options granted during the years ended December 31, 2012, 2011 and 2010 was $10.34, 
$5.04, and $3.80 per option, respectively. The total intrinsic value of options exercised during the years ended December 31, 2012, 2011 and 
2010 was $9.7 million, $1.3 million, and $0.2 million.

As of December 31, 2012 there was unrecognized compensation expense of $1.5 million related to unvested stock options based on 
options that are expected to vest. The unrecognized compensation expense is expected to be recognized over a weighted-average period of 
2.65 years.

Restricted Stock Units and Restricted Stock Awards

A summary of the status of the Company’s unvested RSUs and RSAs as of December 31, 2012 and changes during the year then 

ended are presented below:

Unvested RSUs and RSAs outstanding at January 1, 2012

Granted

Market value share count adjustment for liability awards

Vested

Forfeited

Unvested RSUs and RSAs outstanding at December 31, 2012

Unvested and expected to vest RSUs and RSAs outstanding at December 31, 2012

52

Weighted
Average
Grant-Date
Fair Value Per
Unit / Award

Restricted Stock
Units / Awards

1,208,166

$

1,168,172

(84,858)

(865,833)

(34,813)

1,390,834

1,149,735

$

$

8.99

16.94

20.28

10.04

9.67

14.31

14.50

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
The number of shares vested in the table above includes 345,181 shares surrendered by the employees to the Company for payment of 

minimum tax withholding obligations. Shares of stock withheld for purposes of satisfying minimum tax withholding obligations are again 
available for issuance under the Plan.

The table above includes 760,788 RSUs with an aggregate grant-date fair value of $12.3 million granted on May 15, 2012 to certain 

Apex employees. The grants generally vest 25 percent on the first anniversary of the grant date and in 12 quarterly installments thereafter, 
subject to continued employment. 

Additionally, the table above includes 42,392 RSUs that were awarded to non-employee directors on September 1, 2012, of which 

21,196 shares vested immediately upon issuance and the remaining shares will vest on September 1, 2013. The weighted average grant-date 
fair value of these awards was $16.51. There was unrecognized compensation expense of $210,000 as of December 31, 2012 related to these 
RSUs that will be recorded over the remaining term of eight months.

In December 2012, the Company converted certain RSUs for six executive officers to RSAs and accelerated the vesting of those 

awards. The original vesting dates for these awards were in January 2013. The awards were accelerated in order to provide an opportunity to 
accelerate the application of taxes applicable to all or a portion of the equity awards and thereby provide each executive with the certainty of 
known 2012 tax consequences. There was no incremental compensation cost as a result of this acceleration.

The weighted-average grant-date fair value of RSUs and RSAs granted during the years ended December 31, 2012, 2011 and 2010 
was $16.01, $9.18 and $7.26 per award, respectively. The total intrinsic value of RSUs and RSAs vested during the years ended December 
31, 2012, 2011 and 2010 was $13.7 million, $6.4 million and $3.7 million, respectively.

As of December 31, 2012, there was unrecognized compensation expense of $12.8 million related to unvested RSUs and RSAs based 
on awards that are expected to vest. The unrecognized compensation expense is expected to be recognized over a weighted-average period of 
2.6 years.

Employee Stock Purchase Plan

Effective June 3, 2010, the date of shareholder approval of the On Assignment 2010 Employee Stock Purchase Plan (the ESPP), the 

Company reinstated the employee stock purchase program for issuance of up to 3,500,000 shares of common stock with the first offering 
periods. The ESPP allows eligible employees to purchase common stock of the Company, through payroll deductions, at 85 percent of the 
lower of the market price on the first day or the last day of semi-annual purchase periods. The ESPP is intended to qualify as an “employee 
stock purchase plan” under IRS Code Section 423. Eligible employees may contribute up to a certain percentage set by the plan administrator 
of their eligible earnings toward the purchase of the stock (subject to certain IRS limitations). 

In accordance with the ESPP, shares of common stock are transferred to participating employees at the conclusion of each six month 

enrollment period, which now end on the last business day of the month in March and September each year. The Company issued 154,934 
and 187,036 shares of common stock in 2012 and 2011, respectively, under the ESPP. In 2010, no shares were issued under the ESPP.

Compensation expense of shares purchased under the ESPP is measured based on a Black-Scholes option-pricing model. The model 
accounts for the discount from market value and applies an expected life in line with each six month purchase period. The weighted average 
fair value of stock purchased under the ESPP was $3.53 and $2.10 for the years ended December 31, 2012 and 2011, respectively. The stock-
based compensation expense related to the ESPP was $0.8 million in 2012, $0.4 million in 2011 and $0.1 million in 2010.

12. Business Segments.

The Company has five reportable segments: Apex, Oxford (formerly IT and Engineering), Life Sciences, Healthcare and Physician.   

The Apex segment provides mission-critical IT operations professionals for contract, contract-to-hire and permanent placement 
positions to Fortune 1000 and mid-market clients across the United States, and offers consulting services for other select project-based needs. 
Apex provides staffing and services support for companies from all major industries, including financial services, business services, 
consumer and industrials, technology, healthcare, government services, and communications. 

The Oxford segment provides high-end contract and direct placement services of information technology and engineering 

professionals with expertise in specialized information technology; software and hardware engineering; and mechanical, electrical, validation 
and telecommunications engineering fields.

The Life Sciences segment provides contract, contract-to-permanent and direct placement services of laboratory and scientific 
professionals to the biotechnology, pharmaceutical, food and beverage, medical device, personal care, chemical and environmental industries. 
These contract staffing specialties include chemists, clinical research associates, clinical lab assistants, engineers, biologists, biochemists, 
microbiologists, molecular biologists, food scientists, regulatory affairs specialists, lab assistants and other skilled scientific professionals.

The Healthcare segment includes the combined results of the Nurse Travel and Allied Healthcare lines of business. The lines of 

business have been aggregated into the Healthcare segment based on similar economic characteristics, end-market customers and 

53

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
management personnel. The Healthcare segment provides contract, contract-to-permanent and direct placement of professionals from a 
number of healthcare, medical financial and allied occupations. These contract staffing specialties include nurses, specialty nurses, respiratory 
therapists, surgical technicians, imaging technicians, x-ray technicians, medical technologists, phlebotomists, coders, billers, claims 
processors and collections staff.

The Physician segment provides contract and direct placement physicians to healthcare organizations. The Physician segment works 

with nearly all medical specialties, placing locum tenens physicians in hospitals, community-based practices, and federal, state and local 
facilities.

The Company’s management evaluates the performance of each segment primarily based on revenues, gross profit and operating 

income. The information in the following table is derived directly from the segments’ internal financial reporting used for corporate 
management purposes.

The following table represents revenues, gross profit and operating income by reportable segment (in thousands):

Revenues:

Apex

Oxford (formerly IT and Engineering)

Life Sciences

Healthcare

Physician

Gross Profit:

Apex

Oxford (formerly IT and Engineering)

Life Sciences

Healthcare

Physician

Operating Income (Loss):

Apex (1)

Oxford (formerly IT and Engineering)

Life Sciences

Healthcare

Physician

____

Year Ended December 31,

2012

2011

2010

$

508,743

$

— $

—

345,380

162,799

120,104

102,679

$

1,239,705

$

140,669

$

$

122,043

55,874

34,282

31,455

384,323

21,593

48,802

11,626

2,375

8,383

$

$

$

$

266,742

155,324

94,598

80,617

178,688

109,495

76,287

73,595

597,281

$

438,065

— $

94,967

52,643

26,637

25,858

—

64,775

37,776

23,058

23,847

200,105

$

149,456

— $

31,816

10,727

(3,491)

5,347

—

13,910

5,305

(20,998)

5,010

3,227

$

92,779

$

44,399

$

(1) Apex operating income includes acquisition related costs of $9.8 million for the twelve months ended December 31, 2012.

The Company does not report Life Sciences and Healthcare segments’ total assets separately as the operations are largely centralized. 

The following table represents total assets as allocated by reportable segment (in thousands):

Total Assets:

Apex

Oxford (formerly IT and Engineering)

Life Sciences and Healthcare

Physician

December 31,

2012

2011

2010

$

$

642,594

$

— $

231,211

139,601

84,615

218,810

107,915

83,940

1,098,021

$

410,665

$

—

202,229

74,979

63,908

341,116

54

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
The Company does not report all assets by segment for all reportable segments. The following table represents identifiable assets by 

reportable segment (in thousands):

Gross Accounts Receivable:

Apex

Oxford (formerly IT and Engineering)

Life Sciences

Healthcare

Physician

December 31,

2012

2011

2010

$

$

132,575

$

— $

56,336

21,041

18,116

18,905

47,658

21,727

11,568

15,749

246,973

$

96,702

$

—

30,725

14,107

9,628

10,233

64,693

The Company operates internationally, with operations in the United States, Europe, Canada, China, Australia, and New Zealand. The 

following table represents revenues by geographic location (in thousands):

Revenues:

Domestic

Foreign

Year Ended December 31,

2012

2011

2010

$

$

1,161,936

77,769

1,239,705

$

$

529,150

68,131

597,281

$

$

407,317

30,748

438,065

The following table represents long-lived assets by geographic location (in thousands):

Long-lived Assets:

Domestic

Foreign

13. Derivative Instruments.

December 31,

2012

2011

2010

$

$

40,062

2,006

42,068

$

$

19,078

1,033

20,111

$

$

19,826

754

20,580

The Company utilizes derivative financial instruments to manage interest rate risk. The Company does not use derivative financial 

instruments for trading or speculative purposes, nor does it use leveraged financial instruments. The Company reports its derivative 
instruments separately as assets and liabilities unless a legal right of set-off exists under a master netting agreement enforceable by law. The 
Company’s derivative instruments are recorded at their fair value, and are included in other long-term assets, other long-term liabilities and 
other liabilities in the Consolidated Balance Sheets.

Effective August 8, 2012, the Company entered into three interest rate cap agreements to hedge a portion of its interest rate exposure 

on its senior secured debt (collectively referred to as the Interest Rate Caps). Under the terms of the Interest Rate Caps, the one month LIBOR 
rate will not exceed 3.0 percent. From a practical standpoint, the interest rate in the hedged portion of the debt is limited to a maximum of 3.0 
percent plus the Eurodollar applicable margin. The total initial notional amount was $223.1 million and is scheduled to decline over the term 
of the Interest Rate Caps. Each of the Interest Rate Caps terminates on August 10, 2015. 

On February 18, 2011, the Company entered into an interest rate swap agreement to hedge a portion of its interest rate exposure on its 

senior secured debt (the Interest Rate Swap). The Interest Rate Swap has a notional amount of $25.0 million and fixes a portion of the 
Company’s base borrowing rate, which is a floating rate based on a LIBOR swap rate that resets periodically.  

The Interest Rate Caps and the Interest Rate Swap were designated as hedging instruments for accounting purposes and are accounted 

for as a cash flow hedges. The effective portion of unrealized losses on cash flow hedges are included in accumulated other comprehensive 
income until the periodic interest settlements occur, at which time they will be recorded as interest expense in the Consolidated Statements of 
Operations and Comprehensive Income. The Company expects to reclassify losses of $0.4 million (pretax) from accumulated other 
comprehensive income to interest expense in the Consolidated Statements of Operation within the next twelve months.

55

 
 
 
 
 
   
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
As a result of the use of derivative instruments, the Company is exposed to risk that the counterparties will fail to meet their 

contractual obligations. To mitigate the counterparty credit risk, the Company only enters into contracts with carefully selected major 
financial institutions based upon their credit ratings and other factors, and continually assess the creditworthiness of counterparties. As of 
December 31, 2012, the counterparty to the interest rate contracts had investment grade ratings and has performed in accordance with their 
contractual obligations.

The fair values of derivative instruments in the Consolidated Balance Sheets as of December 31, 2012 and 2011 are as follows (in 

thousands):

Derivative designated as hedging instrument under ASC 815

Balance Sheet Classification

2012

2011

Interest rate contracts

Interest rate contracts

Interest rate contracts

Other long-term assets

Other liabilities

Other long-term liabilities

$

$

69

$

(362)

(55)

(348) $

—

(310)

(298)

(608)

The following tables reflect the effect of derivative instruments on the Consolidated Statements of Operations and Comprehensive 

Income (Loss) for the years ended December 31, 2012, 2011 and 2010 (in thousands):

Derivatives in Cash Flow Hedging Relationships

Amount of Gain/Loss Recognized in Accumulated Other 
Comprehensive Income on Derivative

2012

2011

2010

Interest rate contracts

$

(21) $

(380) $

—

Location of Gain/Loss Reclassified from 
Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income 
into Income

Amount of Gain/Loss Reclassified from 
Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income 
into Income

Interest rate contracts

Interest expense

14. Fair Value Measurements.

2012

2011

2010

$

369

$

310

$

—

The valuation techniques utilized are based upon observable and unobservable inputs. Observable inputs reflect market data obtained 
from independent sources, while unobservable inputs reflect internal market assumptions. These two types of inputs create the following fair 
value hierarchy:

Level 1: Quoted market prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities.
Level 2: Observable market based inputs or unobservable inputs that are corroborated by market data.
Level 3: Unobservable inputs that are not corroborated by market data.

The recorded values of cash and cash equivalents, accounts receivable, accounts payable and accrued expenses approximate their fair 

value based on their short-term nature. Long-term debt recorded in the Company’s Consolidated Balance Sheets at December 31, 2012 was 
$426.6 million. The fair value of the long-term debt was determined using the quoted price technique, based on Level 2 inputs including the 
yields of comparable companies with similar credit characteristics, was $430.0 million.

The interest rate swap and interest rate caps are measured using the income approach. The fair value reflects the estimated amounts 

that the Company would pay or receive based on the present value of the expected cash flows derived from market rates and prices. As such, 
these derivative instruments are classified within Level 2.

The Company has obligations, to be paid in cash, to the former owners of Valesta and HCP, if certain future financial goals are 
met. The fair value of this contingent consideration is determined using an expected present value technique. Expected cash flows are 
determined using the probability - weighted average of possible outcomes that would occur should certain financial metrics be reached. There 
is no market data available to use in valuing the contingent consideration, therefore, the Company developed its own assumptions related to 
the future financial performance of the businesses to evaluate the fair value of these liabilities. As such, the contingent consideration is 
classified within Level 3.

In connection with estimating the fair value of the contingent consideration, the Company develops various scenarios (base case, 

downside case, and upside case) and weights each according to the probability of occurrence. The probabilities range from 10 percent to 80 
percent, with the most significant weighting given to the base case at 80 percent. These scenarios are developed based on the expected 
financial performance of the acquired companies, with revenue growth rates being a primary input to the calculation. These revenue growth 
56

 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
rates range from (4.0) percent to 16.1 percent. An increase or decrease in the probability of achievement of any of these scenarios could result 
in a significant increase or decrease to the estimated fair value.

The fair value is reviewed on a quarterly basis based on most recent financial performance of the most recent fiscal quarter. An 
analysis is performed at the end of each fiscal quarter to compare actual results to forecasted financial performance. If performance has 
deviated from projected levels, the valuation is updated for the latest information available.

The significant assumptions that may materially affect the fair value are developed in conjunction with the guidance of the division 
presidents, division vice presidents, and chief financial officer to ensure that the most accurate and latest financial projections are used and 
compared with the most recent financial results in the fair value measurement.

The liabilities for the contingent consideration were established at the time of the acquisition and are evaluated at each reporting 

period. The current liability is included in the Consolidated Balance Sheets in the current portion of accrued earn-outs and the non-current 
portion is included in accrued earn-outs. Fair value adjustments are included in the Consolidated Statements of Operations and 
Comprehensive Income in S&GA expenses.

The assets and liabilities measured at fair value on a recurring basis are as follows (in thousands):

As of December 31, 2012

Fair Value Measurements Using

Total

Quoted Prices in 
Active Markets 
for Identical 
Assets
(Level 1)

Significant Other 
Observable 
Inputs
(Level 2)

Significant 
Unobservable 
Inputs
(Level 3)

Interest rate contracts

Contingent consideration to be paid in cash for the acquisitions

$

$

— $

— $

(348 ) $

— $

— $
(7,577 ) $

(348)
(7,577)

As of December 31, 2011

Fair Value Measurements Using

Total

Quoted Prices in 
Active Markets 
for Identical 
Assets
(Level 1)

Significant Other 
Observable 
Inputs
(Level 2)

Significant 
Unobservable 
Inputs
(Level 3)

Interest rate contracts

Contingent consideration to be paid in cash for the acquisitions

$

$

— $

— $

(608 ) $

— $

— $
(9,856 ) $

(608)
(9,856)

Reconciliations of liabilities measured and carried at fair value on a recurring basis with the use of significant unobservable inputs 

(Level 3) are as follows (in thousands):

Contingent consideration for acquisitions --

Balance at beginning of year

Additions for acquisitions

Payments on contingent consideration

Settlements of contingent consideration

Fair value adjustments

Foreign currency translation adjustment

Year Ended December 31,

2012

2011

$

(9,856 ) $

—

1,198

—

1,215

(134)

(3,700 )

(10,346 )

1,731

1,369

640

450

Balance at end of year

$

(7,577 ) $

(9,856 )

Certain assets and liabilities, such as goodwill, are not measured at fair value on an ongoing basis but are subject to fair value 
adjustments in certain circumstances (e.g., when there is evidence of impairment). For 2012, no fair value adjustments were required for non-
financial assets or liabilities.

57

 
 
 
 
 
  
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
15. Subsequent Event.

On February 12, 2013, the Company sold its Nurse Travel Division, included in the Healthcare segment, for $31.0 million in cash. 

The Nurse Travel Division was not deemed to be a core offering and represented approximately five percent of revenues in 2012. The 
Company has agreed to provide certain back office services during a transitional period. 

16. Unaudited Quarterly Results.

The following tables present unaudited quarterly financial information during the years ended December 31, 2012 and 2011. In the 

opinion of the Company’s management, the quarterly information contains all adjustments, consisting only of normal recurring accruals, 
necessary for a fair presentation thereof. The operating results for any quarter are not necessarily indicative of the results for any future 
periods. 

Subsequent to the issuance of the Company's quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the second quarter of 2012, the Company identified 
an immaterial classification error of $0.5 million related to certain vendor fees paid by Apex Systems, Inc., which we acquired in May 2012 
(see Note 4 - Acquisitions). Such fees should have been recorded as revenues, rather than in costs of services. The Company considers this an 
immaterial reclassification and has presented the revenues and cost of services for the year ended December 31, 2012 reflecting the 
reclassification in the pro forma revenues in Note 4 - Acquisitions, and revenues in the table below. The Company will present the corrected 
results for the three and six months ended June 30, 2012 in future filings. This reclassification has no effect on the Company's consolidated 
balance sheets or consolidated statement of cash flows. 

Revenues

Gross profit

Net income

Earnings per share:

Basic

Diluted

Revenues

Gross profit

Net income

Earnings per share:

Basic

Diluted

2012

Dec. 31,

Sep. 30,

Jun. 30,

Mar. 31,

(in thousands, except per share data)

401,659

121,282

11,322

0.22

0.21

$

$

$

$

$

388,283

119,039

17,433

0.33

0.33

$

$

$

$

$

282,685

88,954

8,515

0.19

0.19

$

$

$

$

$

167,078

55,048

5,383

0.14

0.14

2011

Dec. 31,

Sep. 30,

Jun. 30,

Mar. 31,

(in thousands, except per share data)

161,790

53,629

7,501

0.20

0.20

$

$

$

$

$

162,370

54,528

7,767

0.21

0.21

$

$

$

$

$

143,683

48,794

5,865

0.16

0.16

$

$

$

$

$

129,438

43,154

3,164

0.09

0.08

$

$

$

$

$

$

$

$

$

$

58

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM

To the Board of Directors and Stockholders of On Assignment, Inc.
Calabasas, California

We have audited the internal control over financial reporting of On Assignment, Inc. and subsidiaries (the “Company”) as of December 31, 
2012, based on criteria established in Internal Control - Integrated Framework issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the 
Treadway Commission. As described in Management's Report on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting, management excluded from its 
assessment the internal control over financial reporting at Apex Systems, Inc., which was acquired on May 15, 2012 and whose financial 
statements constitute 47% and 59% of net and total assets, respectively, 41% of revenues, and -17% of net income of the consolidated 
financial statement amounts as of and for the year ended December 31, 2012.  Accordingly, our audit did not include the internal control over 
financial reporting at Apex Systems, Inc. The Company's management is responsible for maintaining effective internal control over financial 
reporting and for its assessment of the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting, included in the accompanying Management's 
Report on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Company's internal control over 
financial reporting based on our audit.

We conducted our audit in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States). Those 
standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether effective internal control over financial 
reporting was maintained in all material respects. Our audit included obtaining an understanding of internal control over financial reporting, 
assessing the risk that a material weakness exists, testing and evaluating the design and operating effectiveness of internal control based on 
the assessed risk, and performing such other procedures as we considered necessary in the circumstances. We believe that our audit provides a 
reasonable basis for our opinion.

A company's internal control over financial reporting is a process designed by, or under the supervision of, the company's principal executive 
and principal financial officers, or persons performing similar functions, and effected by the company's board of directors, management, and 
other personnel to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for 
external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. A company's internal control over financial reporting includes 
those policies and procedures that (1) pertain to the maintenance of records that, in reasonable detail, accurately and fairly reflect the 
transactions and dispositions of the assets of the company; (2) provide reasonable assurance that transactions are recorded as necessary to 
permit preparation of financial statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, and that receipts and expenditures of 
the company are being made only in accordance with authorizations of management and directors of the company; and (3) provide reasonable 
assurance regarding prevention or timely detection of unauthorized acquisition, use, or disposition of the company's assets that could have a 
material effect on the financial statements.

Because of the inherent limitations of internal control over financial reporting, including the possibility of collusion or improper management 
override of controls, material misstatements due to error or fraud may not be prevented or detected on a timely basis. Also, projections of any 
evaluation of the effectiveness of the internal control over financial reporting to future periods are subject to the risk that the controls may 
become inadequate because of changes in conditions, or that the degree of compliance with the policies or procedures may deteriorate.

In our opinion, the Company maintained, in all material respects, effective internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2012, 
based on the criteria established in Internal Control - Integrated Framework issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the 
Treadway Commission.

We have also audited, in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States), the consolidated 
financial statements and financial statement schedule as of and for the year ended December 31, 2012 of the Company and our report dated 
March 18, 2013 expressed an unqualified opinion on those financial statements and financial statement schedule and included an explanatory 
paragraph regarding the acquisition of Apex Systems, Inc.

/s/ Deloitte & Touche LLP

Los Angeles, California
March 18, 2013

59

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Item 9. Changes in and Disagreements With Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosure

Not applicable.

Item 9A. Controls and Procedures

Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures

As of the end of the period covered by this report, the Company’s management carried out an evaluation, under the supervision and 
with the participation of our Principal Executive Officer and Principal Financial Officer, of the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and 
procedures (as defined in Rule 13a-15(e) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934). Based on this evaluation, our Principal Executive Officer 
and Principal Financial Officer have concluded that our disclosure controls and procedures are effective as of the end of the period covered by 
this report. The term “disclosure controls and procedures” means controls and other procedures of the Company that are designed to ensure 
that information required to be disclosed by the Company in the reports that it files or submits under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 is 
recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in the Securities and Exchange Commission’s rules and 
forms. “Disclosure controls and procedures” include, without limitation, controls and procedures designed to ensure that information required 
to be disclosed by the Company in the reports that it files or submits under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 is accumulated and 
communicated to the Company’s management, including its principal executive and principal financial officers, or persons performing similar 
functions, as appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure.

Management’s Report on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting

Management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Rule 

13a-15(f) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934) for the Company. The term “internal control over financial reporting” is defined as a 
process designed by, or under the supervision of, the Company’s principal executive and principal financial officers, or persons performing 
similar functions, and effected by the Company’s board of directors, management and other personnel, to provide reasonable assurance 
regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally 
accepted accounting principles and includes those policies and procedures that:

• 

• 

• 

Pertain to the maintenance of records that, in reasonable detail, accurately and fairly reflect the transactions and dispositions 
of the assets of the Company;
Provide reasonable assurance that the transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in 
accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, and that receipts and expenditures of the Company are being made 
only in accordance with authorizations of management and directors of the Company; and
Provide reasonable assurance regarding prevention of timely detection of unauthorized acquisition, use, or disposition of the 
Company’s assets that could have a material effect on the financial statements.

Because of its inherent limitations, internal control over financial reporting may not prevent or detect misstatements. Also, projections 
of any evaluation of effectiveness to future periods are subject to risk that controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions, 
or that the degree of compliance with policies or procedures may deteriorate.

Management, under the supervision and with the participation of our Principal Executive Officer and Principal Financial Officer, 

assessed the effectiveness of the Company’s internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2012. In making this assessment, 
management used the criteria set forth by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission in Internal Control-
Integrated Framework. Based on our assessment and those criteria, management believes that the Company maintained effective internal 
control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2012. Our independent registered public accounting firm, Deloitte & Touche LLP, has 
included an attestation report on our internal control over financial reporting, which is included above.

For purposes of conducting its 2012 evaluation of the effectiveness of the Company's internal control over financial reporting,

management has excluded the acquisition of Apex, completed on May 15, 2012, whose financial statements constitute 47 percent and 59 
percent of net and total assets, respectively, 41.0 percent of revenues, and -17.0 percent of net income, of the consolidated financial statement 
amounts as of and for the year ended December 31, 2012. Refer to Note 4 in Part II, Item 8 of this report for further discussion of the 
acquisitions and their impact on the Company's Consolidated Financial Statements.

Changes in Internal Controls

There were no changes in the Company’s internal control over financial reporting that occurred during the Company’s fourth quarter 

that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, the Company’s internal control over financial reporting.

Item 9B. Other Information

None.

60

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Item 10. Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance

PART III

Information responsive to this item will be set forth in the Company’s proxy statement for use in connection with its 2013 Annual 

Meeting of Stockholders (the 2013 Proxy Statement) and is incorporated herein by reference. The 2013 Proxy Statement will be filed with the 
SEC within 120 days after the end of the Company’s fiscal year. The information under the heading “Executive Officers of the Registrant” in 
Part I, Item 1 of this Form 10-K is also incorporated by reference in this section.

Item 11. Executive Compensation

Information responsive to this item will be set forth in the 2013 Proxy Statement to be filed with the SEC within 120 days after the 

end of the Company’s fiscal year and is incorporated herein by reference.

Item 12. Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters

Information responsive to this item will be set forth in the 2013 Proxy Statement to be filed with the SEC within 120 days after the 

end of the Company’s fiscal year and is incorporated herein by reference.

Item 13. Certain Relationships and Related Transactions and Director Independence

Information responsive to this Item will be set forth in the 2013 Proxy Statement to be filed with the SEC within 120 days after the 

end of the Company’s fiscal year and is incorporated herein by reference.

Item 14. Principal Accounting Fees and Services

Information responsive to this Item will be set forth in the 2013 Proxy Statement, to be filed with the SEC within 120 days after the 

end of the Company’s fiscal year and is incorporated herein by reference.

PART IV

Item 15. Exhibits and Financial Statement Schedule

(a) List of documents filed as part of this report

1. Financial Statements:
  Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
  Consolidated Balance Sheets at December 31, 2012 and 2011 

Consolidated Statements of Operations and Comprehensive Income (Loss) for the Years Ended December 31, 2012, 2011 and 2010 
Consolidated Statements of Stockholders’ Equity for the Years Ended December 31, 2012, 2011 and 2010 
Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows for the Years Ended December 31, 2012, 2011 and 2010 
Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements

2. Financial Statement Schedule:

Schedule II—Valuation and Qualifying Accounts
Schedules other than those referred to above have been omitted because they are not applicable or not required under the 
instructions contained in Regulation S-X or because the information is included elsewhere in the financial statements or notes 
thereto.

(b) Exhibits

See Index to Exhibits.

61

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Pursuant to the requirements of the Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this 

to report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized, on this 18th day of March 2013.

SIGNATURES

ON ASSIGNMENT, INC.

/s/ Peter T. Dameris

Peter T. Dameris

Chief Executive Officer and President

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, this report has been signed below by the following persons on 

behalf of the registrant and in the capacities indicated and on the dates indicated.

Signature

Title

Date

 /s/ Peter T. Dameris

Peter T. Dameris

 /s/ Edward L. Pierce

Edward L. Pierce

/s/ William E. Brock

William E. Brock

/s/ Jonathan S. Holman

Jonathan S. Holman

/s/ Marty R. Kittrell

Marty R. Kittrell

/s/ Jeremy M. Jones

Jeremy M. Jones

/s/ Brian J. Callaghan

Brian J. Callaghan

/s/ Edwin A. Sheridan IV

Edwin A. Sheridan IV

Chief Executive Officer, President and Director

March 18, 2013

(Principal Executive Officer)

Executive Vice President, Finance and Chief 
Financial Officer

(Principal Financial and Accounting Officer)

Director

Director

Director

Director

Director

Director

March 18, 2013

March 18, 2013

March 18, 2013

March 18, 2013

March 18, 2013

March 18, 2013

March 18, 2013

62

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
ON ASSIGNMENT, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
SCHEDULE II—VALUATION AND QUALIFYING ACCOUNTS
Year Ended December 31, 2012, 2011 and 2010 
(In thousands)

Year ended December 31, 2012

Description

Allowance for doubtful accounts and billing adjustments

Workers’ compensation and medical malpractice loss reserves

Year ended December 31, 2011

Allowance for doubtful accounts and billing adjustments

Workers’ compensation and medical malpractice loss reserves

Year ended December 31, 2010

Allowance for doubtful accounts and billing adjustments

Workers’ compensation and medical malpractice loss reserves

$

$

$

$

$

$

Balance at
beginning of
year

Provisions

Deductions
from reserves

Balance at end
of year

2,777  

10,401  

(166)  

3,594  

1,359

$

(3,668) $

3,970

10,327

2,175  

10,244  

1,127  

2,339  

(525) $

(2,182) $

2,777

10,401

1,949  

10,349  

644  

4,310  

(418) $

(4,415) $

2,175

10,244

63

 
 
 
 
 
 
   
   
 
 
 
   
   
 
 
   
   
 
 
INDEX TO EXHIBITS

Number
2.1

3.1

3.2

3.3

4.1

4.2

Footnote Description

(19)

Agreement of Merger, dated as of March 20, 2012, by and among On Assignment, Inc., Apex Systems, Inc., OA
Acquisition Corp. and Jeffrey E. Veatch, as the Shareholder Representative.

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

(6)

Certificate of Amendment of Restated Certificate of Incorporation of On Assignment, Inc., as filed with the
Secretary of State of the State of Delaware on August 24, 2000.

Restated Certificate of Incorporation of On Assignment, Inc., as amended.

Amended and Restated Bylaws of On Assignment, Inc.

Specimen Common Stock Certificate.

Rights Agreement, dated as of June 4, 2003, between On Assignment, Inc. and U.S. Stock Transfer Corporation,
as Rights Agent, which includes the form of Certificate of Designation of the Series A Junior Participating
Preferred Stock as Exhibit A, the Summary of Rights to Purchase Series A Junior Participating Preferred Shares
as Exhibit B and the form of Rights Certificate as Exhibit C.

4.3

(21)

Investor Rights Agreement, dated as of May 15, 2012, by and among On Assignment, Inc., Jeffrey E. Veatch as
the shareholder representative, and the former shareholders and certain former option holders of Apex Systems,
Inc.

10.1

10.2

10.3

10.4

10.5

10.6

10.7

10.80

10.90

10.10

10.11

10.12

10.13

10.14

10.15*

10.16

10.17

10.18

10.19

10.20

10.21

10.22

10.23

10.24

10.25

(20)

(21)

(16)

(8)

(10)

(8)

(12)

(5)

(7)

(9)

(9)

(11)

(11)

(24)

(25)

(25)

(15)

(15)

(17)

(22)

(22)

(14)

(24)

(14)

Amendment No. 2 to Security Agreement, dated as of March 6, 2012, by and among On Assignment, Inc., its
subsidiaries named therein, Bank of America, N.A., as administrative agent and the other secured parties thereto.

Credit Agreement, dated as of May 15, 2012, among On Assignment, Inc., Wells Fargo Bank, National
Association, as administrative agent, Bank of America, N.A. and Deutsche Bank Securities Inc., as co-
syndication agents, Fifth Third Bank, as documentation agent and the lenders party thereto.

Office Lease, dated August 18, 2010, by and between On Assignment, Inc. and Calabasas BDC, Inc.

On Assignment, Inc. Restated 1987 Stock Option Plan, as amended and restated April 7, 2006. †

First Amendment to the On Assignment, Inc. Restated 1987 Stock Option Plan, dated January 23, 2007. †

Second Amendment to the On Assignment, Inc. Restated 1987 Stock Option Plan, dated April 17, 2007. †

Third Amendment to the On Assignment, Inc. Restated 1987 Stock Option Plan, dated December 11, 2008. †

On Assignment, Inc. Restated 1987 Stock Option Plan Form of Option Agreement. †

On Assignment, Inc. Restated 1987 Stock Option Plan Form of Stock Unit Agreement. †

On Assignment, Inc. 2010 Employee Stock Purchase Plan, dated March 18, 2010. †

On Assignment, Inc. 2010 Incentive Award Plan, dated March 18, 2010. †

On Assignment, Inc. 2010 Incentive Award Plan Form of Stock Option Agreement †

On Assignment, Inc. 2010 Incentive Award Plan Form of Restricted Stock Unit Award Agreement †

On Assignment, Inc. 2010 Incentive Award Plan Form of Restricted Stock Award Agreement. †

On Assignment, Inc. Amended and Restated 2012 Employment Inducement Incentive Award Plan. †

On Assignment, Inc. Amended and Restated 2012 Employment Inducement Incentive Award Plan Form of
Restricted Stock Unit Award Agreement. †

On Assignment, Inc. Amended and Restated 2012 Employment Inducement Incentive Award Plan Form of Stock
Option Grant Agreement. †

On Assignment, Inc. Nonqualified Inducement Stock Option Grant Agreement between On Assignment, Inc. and
James Brill.†

On Assignment, Inc. Nonqualified Inducement Stock Option Grant Agreement between On Assignment, Inc. and
Michael McGowan.†

On Assignment, Inc. Amended and Restated Change in Control Severance Plan and Summary Plan Description.
†

Employment Agreement, by and between On Assignment, Inc. and Edward Pierce, dated September 1, 2012. †

Executive Change of Control Agreement, by and between On Assignment, Inc. and Edward Pierce, dated
September 1, 2012. †

Amended and Restated Executive Change in Control Agreement between On Assignment, Inc. and Peter T.
Dameris, dated December 11, 2008. †

Amended and Restated Senior Executive Agreement between On Assignment, Inc. and Peter Dameris, dated
December 13, 2012. †

Amended and Restated Employment Agreement between Oxford Global Resources, Inc., On Assignment, Inc. 
and Michael J. McGowan, dated December 30, 2008. †

64

  
10.26

10.27

10.28

10.29*

10.30*

10.31*

10.32*

10.33*

(18)

(18)

(14)

Second Amended and Restated Employment Agreement between On Assignment, Inc., VISTA Staffing
Solutions, Inc. and Mark S. Brouse, dated August 1, 2011. †

Employment Agreement between On Assignment, Inc., VISTA Staffing Solutions, Inc. and Christian Rutherford,
dated August 1, 2011. †

Amended and Restated Senior Executive Agreement between On Assignment, Inc. and Emmett McGrath, dated
December 11, 2008. †

Employment Agreement between Theodore S. Hanson and Apex Systems, Inc., dated January 15, 2008. †

Amendment No. 1 to the Employment Agreement between Theodore S. Hanson and Apex Systems, Inc., dated 
December 31, 2008. †

Amendment No. 2 to the Employment Agreement between Theodore S. Hanson and Apex Systems, Inc., dated 
February 12, 2011.†

Amendment No. 3 to the Employment Agreement between On Assignment, Inc., Theodore S. Hanson, and Apex
Systems, Inc., dated May 15, 2012. †

Amendment No. 4 to the Employment Agreement between On Assignment, Inc., Theodore S. Hanson and Apex
Systems, Inc., dated May 15, 2012. †

10.34

(22)

Amended and Restated Employment Agreement, by and between On Assignment, Inc. and James Brill, dated
September 1, 2012. †

10.35*

10.36*

10.37*

10.38*

10.39*

10.40

10.41*

10.42

10.43

10.44*

10.45*

10.46*

10.47*

18*

21.1*

23.1*

31.1*

31.2*

32.1*

Employment Agreement between Rand Blazer and Apex Systems, Inc., dated January 8, 2007. †

Amendment No. 1 to the Employment Agreement between Rand Blazer and Apex Systems, Inc., dated 
December 31, 2008. †

Amendment No. 2 to the Employment Agreement between Rand Blazer and Apex Systems, Inc. dated August 3,
2008.†

Amendment No. 3 to the Employment Agreement by and between Rand Blazer, On Assignment, Inc. and Apex
Systems, Inc., dated May 15, 2012. †

Amendment No. 4 to the Employment Agreement by and between Rand Blazer, On Assignment, Inc. and Apex 
Systems, Inc., dated May 15, 2012. †

(10)

Form of Indemnification Agreement.†

Indemnification Agreement by and between On Assignment, Inc. and Rand Blazer, dated May 15, 2012. †

(13)

  Indemnification Agreement by and between On Assignment, Inc. and Christian Rutherford, dated November 1, 
2011. †

(23)

Indemnification Agreement by and between On Assignment, Inc. and Marty Kittrell, dated September 1, 2012. †

Indemnification Agreement by and between On Assignment, Inc. and Theodore S. Hanson, dated May 15, 2012. 
†

Indemnification Agreement by and between On Assignment, Inc. and Edwin A. Sheridan, IV, dated May 15, 
2012. †

Indemnification Agreement by and between On Assignment, Inc. and Brian J. Callaghan, dated May 15, 2012.†

Indemnification Agreement by and between On Assignment, Inc. and Jeffrey E. Veatch, dated May 15, 2012. †

Preferability Letter of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm.

  Subsidiaries of the Registrant.

  Consent of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm.

  Certification of Peter T. Dameris, Chief Executive Officer and President pursuant to Rule 13a-14(a) or 15d-14(a).

  Certification of Edward L. Pierce, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer pursuant to Rule 13a-14
(a) or 15d-14(a).

  Certification of Peter T. Dameris, Chief Executive Officer and President, and Edward L. Pierce, Executive Vice
President and Chief Financial Officer pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350.

101.INS*    

101.SCH*    

101.CAL*    

101.DEF*    

101.LAB*    

101.PRE*    

____

*

†

  XBRL Instance Document

  XBRL Taxonomy Extension Schema Document

  XBRL Taxonomy Extension Calculation Linkbase Document

  XBRL Taxonomy Extension Definition Linkbase Document

  XBRL Taxonomy Extension Label Linkbase Document

  XBRL Taxonomy Extension Presentation Linkbase Document

  Filed herewith.

  These exhibits relate to management contracts or compensatory plans, contracts or arrangements in which
directors and/or executive officers of the Registrant may participate.

65

 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
(1)

(2)
(3)

(4)

(5)

(6)

(7)

(8)

(9)

(10)

(11)

(12)

(13)

(14)

(15)

(16)

(17)

(18)

(19)

(20)

(21)

(22)

(23)

(24)

(25)

  Incorporated by reference from an exhibit filed with our Current Report on Form 8-K (File No. 0-20540) filed
with the Securities and Exchange Commission on October 5, 2000.

Incorporated by reference from an exhibit filed with our Annual Report on Form 10-K (File No. 0-20540) filed
with the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 30, 1993.

Incorporated by reference from an exhibit filed with our Current Report on Form 8-K (File No. 0-20540) filed
with the Securities and Exchange Commission on May 3, 2002.

Incorporated by reference from an exhibit filed with our Registration Statement on Form S-1 (File No. 33-50646)
declared effective by the Securities and Exchange Commission on September 21, 1992.

Incorporated by reference from an exhibit filed with our Annual Report on Form 10-K (File No. 0-20540) filed
with the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 16, 2005.

Incorporated by reference from an exhibit filed with our Current Report on Form 8-K (File No. 0-20540) filed
with the Securities and Exchange Commission on June 5, 2003.

Incorporated by reference from an exhibit filed with our Current Report on Form 8-K (File No. 000-20540) filed
with the Securities and Exchange Commission on August 8, 2005.

Incorporated by reference from an exhibit filed with our Registration Statement on Form S-8 (File No.
333-143907) filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on June 20, 2007.

Incorporated by reference from our Proxy Statement on Schedule 14A (File No. 000-20540) filed with the
Securities and Exchange Commission on April 27, 2010.

Incorporated by reference from an exhibit filed with our Annual Report on Form 10-K (File No. 0-20540) filed
with the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 16, 2007.

Incorporated by reference from an exhibit filed with our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q (File No. 000-20540)
filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on August 9, 2010.

Incorporated by reference from an exhibit filed with our Current Report on Form 8-K (File No. 000-20540) filed
with the Securities and Exchange Commission on December 16, 2008.

Incorporated by reference from an exhibit filed with our Annual Report on Form 10-K (File No. 0-20540) filed
with the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 14, 2012.

Incorporated by reference from an exhibit filed with our Annual Report on Form 10-K (File No. 0-20540) filed
with the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 16, 2009.

Incorporated by reference from an exhibit filed with our Registration Statement on Form S-8 (File No.
333-148000) filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on December 12, 2007.

Incorporated by reference from an exhibit filed with our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q (File No. 000-20540)
filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on November 8, 2010.

Incorporated by reference from an exhibit filed with our Annual Report on Form 10-K (File No. 0-20540) filed
with the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 16, 2010.

Incorporated by reference from an exhibit filed with our Current Report on Form 8-K (File No. 000-20540) filed
with the Securities and Exchange Commission on August 5, 2011.

Incorporated by reference from an exhibit filed with our Current Report on Form 8-K (File No. 000-20540) filed
with the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 26, 2012.

Incorporated by reference from an exhibit filed with our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q (File No. 000-20540)
filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on May 9, 2012.

Incorporated by reference from an exhibit filed with our Current Report on Form 8-K (File No. 000-20540) filed
with the Securities and Exchange Commission on May 15, 2012.

Incorporated by reference from an exhibit filed with our Current Report on Form 8-K (File No. 000-20540) filed
with the Securities and Exchange Commission on September 7, 2012.

Incorporated by reference from an exhibit filed with our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q (File No. 000-20540)
filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on November 8, 2012.

Incorporated by reference from an exhibit filed with our Current Report on Form 8-K (File No. 000-20540) filed
with the Securities and Exchange Commission on December 18, 2012.

Incorporated by reference from an exhibit filed with our Registration Statement on Form S-8 (File No.
333-183863) filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on September 12, 2012.

66

   
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
1985
On Assignment founded as Lab Support

This page intentionally left blank.

1985
On Assignment founded as Lab Support

This page intentionally left blank.

About On Assignment

Our Profile
On  Assignment,  Inc .  (NYSE:  ASGN),  is  a  leading 
global provider of in-demand, skilled professionals in 
the growing life sciences, healthcare, and technology 
sectors, where quality people are the key to success . 
We go beyond matching résumés with job descriptions 
into  positions  we 
to  match  people  we  know 
understand for temporary, contract-to-hire, and direct 
hire  assignments .  Clients  recognize  On  Assignment 
for  our  quality  candidates,  quick  response,  and 
successful  assignments .  Professionals  think  of  us  as 
career-building partners with the depth and breadth of 
experience to help them reach their goals . 

On  Assignment  was  founded  in  1985  and  went 
public  in  1992 .  Our  Corporate  headquarters  are 
located  in  Calabasas,  California,  with  a  network  of 
approximately  130  branch  offices  throughout  the 
United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Netherlands, 
Ireland,  Belgium,  and  Spain .  Additionally,  physician 
placements  are  made  in  Australia  and  New  Zealand . 
The corporate offices are organized to perform many 
functions that allow staffing consultants and recruiters 
to  focus  more  effectively  on  business  development 
and successful matching of professionals . 

Our Mission 
On  Assignment’s  mission  is  to  help  organizations 
thrive  and  people  build  rewarding  careers  by  putting  
in-demand, skilled professionals to work exactly when 
and where they are needed .

Our Business Model 
Our business model reflects our focus on in-demand, 
skilled  professionals  in  the  growing  life  sciences, 
technology, and healthcare fields, and is as follows:

•  Strong revenue growth
•  Significant investment in our people and support 

systems

•  Profit margins that are one of the highest in the 

staffing industry

•  Leadership in our core segments through 

specialized divisions

•  Leveraging of our branch office network
•  Growth into new sectors that fit this profile

Common Stock
On Assignment, Inc . common stock is traded on the 
New York Stock Exchange under the symbol ASGN .

Independent Accountants
Deloitte & Touche LLP
Los Angeles, CA

Legal Counsel 
Latham & Watkins LLP
Los Angeles, CA

Transfer Agent 
Computershare
Canton, MA

Board of Directors Jeremy Jones 2, 3, 4 Chairman of the Board, On Assignment, Inc.  Director, OxySure SystemsPeter T. Dameris 1 President and Chief Executive Officer, On Assignment, Inc.Senator William E. Brock 3, 4  Chairman of Nominating and Corporate Governance CommitteeBoard Member, Strayer Education, Inc.Former U.S. Secretary of LaborFormer U.S. Senator, TennesseeJonathan S. Holman 2, 3, 4Chairman of Compensation CommitteePresident, The Holman Group, Inc.Marty Kittrell 2Chairman of Audit CommitteeDirector and Audit Committee Chair, NiSource CorporationEdwin A. Sheridan, IVMember, Board of DirectorsFounder and Former Co-Chief Executive Officer, Apex SystemsBrian J. CallaghanMember, Board of DirectorsFounder and Former Co-Chief Executive Officer, Apex SystemsJeffrey E. VeatchNon-Executive Observer, Board of DirectorsFounder and Former Co-Chief Executive Officer, Apex SystemsPeter T. Dameris President and Chief Executive OfficerEdward Pierce Executive Vice President, Chief Financial OfficerMichael J. McGowan Chief Operating Officer, On Assignment President, Oxford Global ResourcesRand Blazer President, ApexEmmett McGrath President, Life Sciences  and Allied HealthcareChristian Rutherford President, VISTA Staffing SolutionsExecutive Officers and Senior ManagementJim Brill Senior Vice President, Chief Administrative Officer and TreasurerMichael Payne Senior Vice President, Shared Services and Chief Information OfficerChristina Gibson Vice President, Finance and Corporate ControllerTarini Ramaprakash Vice President and General CounselForm 10-KAdditional copies of our Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 18, 2013, are available without charge upon request to:On Assignment, Inc. Investor Relations Department 26745 Malibu Hills Road Calabasas, CA 91301 Telephone: 818.878.79001 Member of the Stock Option Committee2 Member of the Audit Committee3 Member of the Compensation Committee4 Member of the Nominating and       Corporate Governance Committee 
Putting People First since 1985.

NYSE: ASGN 
26745 Malibu Hills Road
Calabasas, CA 91301
818.878.7900
www.onassignment.com