A strong financial foundation is crucial to support and advance our mission impact around the world. As a privately held company, Abt carefully manages its risk and finances to maintain a healthy balance sheet. While we experienced steady growth in FY17 and FY18, last year’s market volatility, including the 35-day U.S. government shutdown, Brexit uncertainties in the U.K., and the subsequent delays in bid opportunities and awards had a negative impact on our top and bottom line.

We used our Mobility Marketplace to ensure adequate staffing on projects. Strong banking relationships enabled us to maintain our competitive stance and retain capabilities that resonate with clients. Other enhancements to our operating model during the downturn allowed us to chart a course toward positive results.

COVID-19 created an unprecedented change in how we operate, but, with a comprehensive business continuity plan in place, our staff have been teleworking since March 2020 with no disruption to client service. We accomplished this near-seamless transition due to last year’s Workplace of the Future project, which provided us with state-of-the-art work environments and significantly expanded our ability to collaborate remotely through technology solutions. In the midst of this pandemic, the health and safety of our staff, including their financial health, is top of mind. In addition to teleworking, staff have access to supportive programming on issues ranging from stress management to financial planning during COVID-19.