CBIZ (CBZ) Risk Analysis

In 2009, the Environmental Protection Agency ("EPA") published its findings that emissions of carbon dioxide, methane, and other greenhouse gases (“GHGs”), present an endangerment to public health and the environment because emissions of such gases are, according to the EPA, contributing to the warming of the earth's atmosphere and other climate changes. Based on these findings, the EPA has adopted a series of regulations under the Clean Air Act that require monitoring, reporting and/or emission controls of GHGs for certain emission sources. In addition, almost one-half of the states have taken legal measures to reduce emissions of GHGs primarily through the planned development of GHG emission inventories and/or regional GHG cap and trade programs. Most of these cap and trade programs work by requiring either major sources of emissions or major producers of fuels to acquire and surrender emission allowances, with the number of allowances available for purchase reduced each year until the overall GHG emission reduction goal is achieved. The adoption and implementation of any regulations imposing GHG reporting obligations on, or limiting emissions of GHGs from, our equipment and operations could require us to incur costs to monitor and to reduce emissions of GHGs associated with our operations.

We face competition from a number of sources in the business services industry. Many of our competitors are large companies that may have greater financial, technical, marketing and other resources. Our principal competitors include financial and management consulting firms, the consulting practices of major accounting firms, local and regional business services companies, independent contractors, the in-house or former in-house resources of our clients, as well as new entrants into our markets. We cannot assure you that, as our industry continues to evolve, additional competitors will not enter the industry or that our clients will not choose to conduct more of their business services internally or through alternative business services providers. Although we monitor industry trends and respond accordingly, we cannot assure you that we will be able to anticipate and successfully respond to such trends in a timely manner. We cannot be certain that we will be able to effectively compete against current and future competitors, or that competitive pressure will not have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Specifically, legislation or other changes could afford our clients and their employees the ability to seek insurance coverage through other means direct access with insurance carriers or other similar avenues, which could eliminate or adversely alter the remuneration brokers receive from insurance carriers for their services. Furthermore, statutory or regulatory changes may result in establishing alternatives to employer-sponsored healthcare insurance or replace it with government-sponsored health insurance programs. These changes could materially alter the healthcare industry in the United States and our ability to provide effective services in these areas may be substantially limited and adversely affect revenue and margins in our healthcare benefit business.

Our systems, like others in the industries we serve, are vulnerable to cybersecurity risks, and we are subject to potential disruption caused by such activities. Companies like ours are subject to frequent attacks on their systems. Such attacks may have various goals, from seeking confidential information to causing operational disruption. We have experienced cyber-attacks and other security breaches in the past. Although to date such activities have not resulted in material disruptions to our operations or materially affected our business strategy, results of operations or financial condition, no assurance can be provided that we will not experience material disruptions or suffer material adverse effects in the future. Any future significant violations of our data security privacy could result in the loss of business, litigation, regulatory investigations, penalties, ongoing expenses related to notifications and client credit monitoring and support, and other expenses, any of which could damage our reputation and adversely affect the growth of our business. Additional events or cyberattacks in the future could exacerbate the foregoing risks and create additional challenges to maintaining client relationships and our reputation. While we have deployed resources that are responsible for maintaining what we consider to be appropriate levels of cybersecurity, and while we utilize third-party technology products and services to help identify threats and protect our information technology systems and infrastructure against security breaches and cyber-incidents, we do not believe such resources or products and services can provide absolute protection against all potential risks and incidents. We make risk-based decisions on the measures to implement, and our responsive and precautionary measures may not be adequate or effective to prevent, identify, or mitigate attacks by hackers, foreign governments, or other actors or breaches caused by employee error, malfeasance, or other disruptions. We are also dependent on security measures that some of our third-party vendors and customers are taking to protect their own systems and infrastructures. In the past, our third-party vendors have experienced issues with their security measures. Although to date such issues have not resulted in material disruptions or materially affected our business, financial condition, or results of operations, no assurance can be provided that we will not experience material disruptions or suffer material adverse effects in the future if our third-party vendors do not maintain adequate security measures, do not require their sub-contractors to maintain adequate security measures, do not perform as anticipated and in accordance with contractual requirements, or become targets of cyberattacks.

Even if we successfully integrate Marcum, there can be no assurance we will realize the anticipated benefits of the Transaction. While our management and advisors have spent significant time and resources evaluating Marcum’s business, it is difficult to predict future performance and the benefits from a transaction involving large and complex organizations. In addition, we assumed Marcum’s liabilities other than specified excluded liabilities that were not contributed by Marcum to MAG prior to closing of the Transaction. It is possible that we may have underestimated the liabilities that we assumed, or we may have assumed liabilities that are unknown or that we did not foresee and were not excluded from Marcum’s contribution to Marcum Advisory Group ("MAG"). If the liabilities that we assumed are more than we anticipate, or insurance coverage is not available to us in sufficient amounts to cover the liabilities that we assumed, it could increase the effective cost of the Transaction and adversely impact our financial condition and results of operations. The performance and benefits that we ultimately achieve may be influenced by a variety of factors, many of which are outside of our control. If we do not achieve the anticipated benefits of the Transaction, at all or in the expected timeframe, or become responsible for costs or liabilities that we did not foresee, our business could be adversely affected.

We license software from third parties, much of which is integral to our systems and our business. The licenses are generally terminable if we breach our obligations under the license agreements. If any of these relationships were terminated or if any of these parties were to cease doing business or cease to support the applications we currently utilize, we may be forced to spend significant time and money to replace the licensed software. However, we cannot assure you that the necessary replacements will be available on reasonable terms, if at all.

We may face risks related to public health threats or widespread outbreak of a communicable illness. A widespread outbreak of a communicable disease or a public health crisis could adversely affect the global and domestic economy and our business partners’ ability to conduct business in the United States for an indefinite period of time. Any mitigation measures implemented by foreign, federal, state, and local governments in response to future public health threats could adversely impact the ability of our employees, contractors, suppliers, customers, and other business partners to conduct business activities. Future public health threats or widespread outbreaks of communicable illnesses could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations, and will depend on numerous factors that we may not be able to predict, the duration and severity of the public health threat or pandemic, governmental actions in response to the public health threat or pandemic, the impact of business and economic disruptions on our clients and their demand for our services, and our clients’ ability to pay for our services.