UNITED STATES 

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION 

Washington, D.C. 20549 

__________________

Form 10-K

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         Franklin Covey Co.          

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter) 

2200 West Parkway Boulevard

Salt Lake City, Utah 84119-2331  

(Address of principal executive offices, including zip code) 

Registrant's telephone number, including area code: (801) 817-1776  

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

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

None

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 for the past 90 days. Yes  No 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) 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 whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company,” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act: 

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has filed a report on and attestation to its management’s assessment of the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (15 U.S.C. 7262(b)) by the registered public accounting firm that prepared or issued its audit report. 

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 February 26, 2021, the aggregate market value of the Registrant's Common Stock held by non-affiliates of the Registrant was approximately $317.3 million, which was based upon the closing price of $25.71 per share as reported by the New York Stock Exchange.

As of October 31, 2021, the Registrant had 14,288,484 shares of Common Stock outstanding.

DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

Parts of the Registrant's Definitive Proxy Statement for the Annual Meeting of Shareholders, which is scheduled to be held on January 14, 2022, are incorporated by reference in Part III of this Form 10-K.
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Franklin Covey Co.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

PART I

Disclosure Regarding 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 (the Securities Act), and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the Exchange Act), and such forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties. Statements about future sales, costs, margins, cost savings, foreign currency exchange rates, earnings, earnings per share, cash flows, plans, objectives, expectations, growth, profitability, or recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic are forward-looking statements based on management’s estimates, assumptions, and projections. Words such as “could,” “may,” “will,” “should,” “likely,” “anticipates,” “expects,” “intends,” “plans,” “projects,” “believes,” “estimates,” and variations on such words, including similar expressions, are used to identify these forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are only predictions, subject to risks and uncertainties, and actual results could differ materially from those discussed in this, and other reports, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and elsewhere. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks, uncertainties, and assumptions that are difficult to predict. Risks, uncertainties, and other factors that might cause such differences, some of which could be material, include, but are not limited to, the factors discussed under the section of this report entitled “Risk Factors.”

Forward-looking statements in this report are based on management’s current views and assumptions regarding future events and speak only as of the date when made. Franklin Covey Co. undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise, except as required by federal securities laws.

In this Annual Report on Form 10-K, unless the context requires otherwise, the terms “the Company,” “Franklin Covey,” “us,” “we,” and “our” refer to Franklin Covey Co. and its subsidiaries.

ITEM 1.    BUSINESS

General Information

Franklin Covey is a global company focused on organizational performance improvement. Our mission is to “enable greatness in people and organizations everywhere,” and our global structure is designed to help individuals and organizations achieve sustained superior performance through changes in human behavior. From the foundational work of Dr. Stephen R. Covey in leadership and personal effectiveness, and Hyrum W. Smith in productivity and time management, we have developed deep expertise that extends to helping organizations and individuals achieve desired results through lasting behavioral change. We believe that our clients are able to utilize our content and offerings to create cultures which include high-performing, collaborative individuals, led by effective, trust building leaders who execute with excellence and deliver measurably improved results for all of their key stakeholders.

The Company was incorporated in 1983 under the laws of the state of Utah, and we merged with the Covey Leadership Center in 1997 to form Franklin Covey Co. Our consolidated net sales for the fiscal year ended August 31, 2021 totaled $224.2 million and our shares of common stock are traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) under the ticker symbol “FC.”

Our fiscal year ends on August 31 of each year. Unless otherwise noted, references to fiscal years apply to the 12 months ended August 31 of the specified year.

The Company’s principal executive offices are located at 2200 West Parkway Boulevard, Salt Lake City, Utah 84119-2331, and our telephone number is (801) 817-1776. Our website is www.franklincovey.com.

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Franklin Covey Services and Offerings

We operate globally with one common brand and a business model designed to enable us to provide clients around the world with the same high level of service. To achieve this high level of service we have sales and support associates in various locations around the United States and Canada, and operate wholly owned subsidiaries in Australia, China, Japan, the United Kingdom, Germany, Switzerland, and Austria. In foreign locations where we do not have a directly owned office, we may contract with independent licensee partners who deliver our content and provide services in 150 other countries and territories around the world.

Our mission is to enable greatness in people and organizations everywhere, and we believe that we are experts at solving certain pervasive, intractable problems, each of which requires a change in human behavior. We seek to consistently deliver world-class content with the broadest and deepest distribution capabilities through the most flexible content delivery modalities. We believe these characteristics distinguish us from our competitors as follows:

1.World Class Content – Our content is based on timeless principles of human effectiveness and is designed to help people change both their mindset and behavior. When our content is applied consistently in an organization, we believe the culture of that organization will change to enable the organization to get results and achieve its own great purposes.

2.Breadth and Scalability of Delivery Options – We have a wide range of content delivery options, from digital to live, including: The All Access Pass and Leader in Me membership, other intellectual property licensing arrangements, live on-line presentations, on-site training, training led through certified facilitators, blended learning, and organization-wide transformational processes, including consulting and coaching services.

3.Global Capability – We not only operate domestically with sales personnel in the United States and Canada, but we also deliver content through our directly owned international offices and independently owned international licensees who deliver our content in countries not covered by a directly owned office. This capability allows us to deliver content to a wide range of customers, from large multinational corporations to smaller local entities.

Our content and offerings are designed to transform organizations by building leaders, teams, and cultures that get results. We believe our content changes behavior, both individually and collectively, in ways that have a dramatic impact on an organization to help solve its most pressing problems and achieve breakthrough results. Further information about our content and services can be found on our website at www.franklincovey.com. However, the information contained in, or that can be accessed through, our website does not constitute any part of this Annual Report.

Business Development

Our business is currently structured around two divisions, the Enterprise Division and the Education Division. The Enterprise Division consists of our Direct Office and International Licensee segments and is focused on selling our offerings to corporations, governments, not-for-profits, and other related organizations. Franklin Covey offerings delivered through the Enterprise Division are designed to help organizations and individuals achieve their own great purposes. Our Education Division is centered around the principles found in the Leader in Me and is dedicated to helping educational institutions build cultures that will produce great results, including increased student performance, improved school culture, and increased parental and teacher involvement.

During 2016, we introduced the All Access Pass (the All Access Pass or AAP), which we believe is a ground-breaking subscription service that allows our clients unlimited access to our content through a digital portal. We believe the AAP is a revolutionary and innovative way to deliver our content to clients of various sizes, including large, multinational organizations, in a flexible and cost-effective manner. Clients may utilize complete offerings such as The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People and The 5 Choices to Extraordinary Productivity, or use individual concepts from any of our well-known offerings to create a custom solution to fit their organizational or individual training needs. Since the introduction of the All Access Pass, we have invested in additional implementation specialists to provide our clients with the direction necessary to

create meaningful impact journeys using our tools and content. An impact journey is a customized plan to utilize the content and offerings on the AAP to achieve a client’s specific goals and to provide them with the keys to obtain maximum value from the pass. We have also translated All Access Pass materials into numerous additional languages, which allows the AAP to be used effectively by multinational entities and provides for greater international sales opportunities. The AAP is primarily sold through our Enterprise Division.

In our Education Division, we have launched the Leader in Me membership, which provides access to the Leader in Me online service, and authorizes use of Franklin Covey’s proprietary intellectual property. The Leader in Me online service provides access to digital versions of student leadership guides, leadership lessons, illustrated leadership stories, and a variety of other resources to enable an educational institution to effectively implement and utilize the Leader in Me program. We believe that the tools and resources available through the Leader in Me membership will provide measurable results that are designed to develop student leadership, improve school culture, and increase academic proficiency.

We believe that continued investments in personnel, content, and technological innovation are key to subscription service renewals and the future growth of our offerings.

In addition to the internal development of our offerings, we have sought to grow our sales through acquisitions of businesses and content licenses, and opening new international offices. Over previous years, these activities have included the following:

Acquisition of Strive Talent, Inc. – In April 2021 we purchased Strive Talent, Inc. (Strive), a San Francisco-based technology company which has developed and markets an innovative learning deployment platform. The Strive platform is expected to enable the seamless integration and deployment of our content, services, technology, and metrics to deliver behavioral impact at scale, primarily through the Company’s All Access Pass subscription. We are excited to roll out the new capabilities of the Strive platform in fiscal 2022 and believe the platform will provide significant additional value to our clients and appeal to potential new clients.

License of “Multipliers” Leadership Content – During late fiscal 2019, we obtained a license to develop and sell leadership offerings based on the bestselling book Multipliers by Liz Wiseman. We launched the new programs based on Multipliers content in August 2020. The initial term of this license will expire on August 31, 2029.

Our Associates

We have approximately 1,000 associates worldwide, who are mostly full-time employees. We also utilize independent contractors and temporary personnel to supplement our workforce. None of our associates are represented by a union or collective bargaining agreement, and we have never experienced a material labor interruption due to labor disagreements. For more information regarding our associates refer to the Human Capital Resources disclosures found later in this section.

Our Industry and Clients

According to the Training magazine 2021 Training Industry Survey, the total size of the U.S. training industry is expected to increase 12 percent over 2020 and is estimated to be $92.3 billion. The training industry is highly fragmented and includes a wide variety of training and service providers of varying sizes. We believe our competitive advantages in this industry stem from our fully integrated principle-centered training offerings, our wide variety of delivery options, and various implementation tools to help organizations and individuals measurably improve their effectiveness.

We operate in a highly competitive and rapidly changing global marketplace and compete with a variety of organizations of assorted sizes that offer services comparable with ours. Based upon our annual sales, we believe that we are a significant competitor in the performance skills and education market. Other significant comparative companies that compete with our Enterprise Division include: LinkedIn Learning, Development Dimension International, GP Strategies Corp., SkillSoft, Coursera, Udemy Business, Harvard Business Publishing, Cornerstone, Workboard, and Korn Ferry,

among others. Our Education Division competes with entities such as: Character Counts, Responsive Classroom, 7 Mindsets, Second Step, and K12.

We believe that the principal competitive factors in the industry in which we compete include the following:

Quality of offerings, services, and solutions

Skills and capabilities of people

Innovative training and consulting services combined with effective products

Ability to add value to client operations

Reputation and client references

Pricing

Global reach and scale

Branding and name recognition in our marketplace

Given the relative ease of entry into the training market, the number of our competitors could increase, many of whom may imitate existing methods of distribution, or could offer similar content and programs at lower prices. However, we believe that we have several areas of competitive differentiation in our industry. We believe that our competitive advantages include: (1) the quality of our content; (2) the breadth of our delivery options, including the AAP and Leader in Me membership; (3) our global reach, which allows truly multinational clients to scale our content uniformly across the globe; and (4) the significant impact which our offerings can have on our clients’ organization and results.

We have a relatively broad base of clients, which includes thousands of organizational, governmental, educational, and individual clients in both the United States and in other countries that are served through our directly owned operations. We have thousands of additional organizational clients throughout the world which are served through our global licensee partner network, and we believe that our content, in all its forms, delivers results that encourage strong client loyalty. Our clients are in a broad array of industries and we are not dependent on a single client or industry group. During the periods presented in this report, none of our clients were responsible for more than ten percent of our consolidated revenues.

Our Intellectual Property

Our success has resulted in part from our proprietary content, methodologies, and other intellectual property rights. We seek to protect our intellectual property through a combination of trademarks, copyrights, and confidentiality agreements. We claim rights for over 650 trademarks in the United States and foreign countries, and we have obtained registration in the United States and numerous foreign countries for many of our trademarks including FranklinCovey, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, The 4 Disciplines of Execution, and The 7 Habits. We consider our trademarks and other proprietary rights to be important and material to our business.

We claim nearly 230 registered copyrights, and own sole or joint copyrights on our books, manuals, text and other printed information provided in our training programs, and other electronic media products, including audio and video media. We may license, rather than sell, facilitator workbooks and other seminar and training materials in order to protect our intellectual property rights therein. We place trademark and copyright notices on our instructional, marketing, and advertising materials. In order to maintain the proprietary nature of our product information, we enter into written confidentiality agreements with certain executives, product developers, sales professionals, training consultants, other employees, and licensees.

Our Products and Sustainability

We offer training materials and related accessories in either digital or paper formats. Our printed training materials are primarily comprised of paper, which we believe is a renewable and sustainable resource. We purchase our training materials and related products from various vendors and suppliers located both domestically and internationally, and we are not dependent upon any one vendor for the production of our training and related materials as the raw materials for

these products are readily available. Our training materials are primarily warehoused and distributed from an independent warehouse facility located in Des Moines, Iowa.

Seasonality

Our fourth quarter of each fiscal year typically has higher sales and operating income than other fiscal quarters primarily due to increased revenues in our Education Division (when school administrators and faculty have professional development days) and to increased sales that typically occur during that quarter from year-end incentive programs. Overall, training sales are moderately seasonal because of the timing of corporate training, which is not typically scheduled as heavily during holiday and certain vacation periods.

Human Capital Resources

Culture and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) at Franklin Covey

Our mission is to enable greatness in people and organizations everywhere. To fulfill that mission and successfully implement our strategy, we must attract, develop, and retain highly qualified associates for each role in the organization. We currently have approximately 1,000 associates around the world, who are dedicated to providing the best service possible for our clients. Our goal is to have every associate feel they are a valued member of a winning team doing meaningful work in an environment of trust. To accomplish this goal, we are focused on attracting, developing, and retaining talent while looking through the lens of diversity, equity, and inclusion in each area.

In January 2021, we established the new position of Director of Learning, Development, and Inclusion. This position is responsible for the internal learning and development our associates in ways that align with our strategic plans for growth. In addition, we established the Franklin Covey Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Council, which is comprised of approximately 35 associates from across our organization who are tasked with monitoring and implementing diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives at all levels within the Company. Franklin Covey also sponsors an increasing number of Employee Resource Groups (ERGs), which are groups of employees who come together based on a shared interest in a specific dimension of diversity. Our global ERG network spans varying dimensions of diversity and is open to all associates. These ERGs are a cornerstone of our diversity, equity and inclusion efforts. We believe our ERGs represent and support our diverse workforce, facilitate networking and connections with peers, and create a culture of inclusion and engagement within the organization.

We believe the diverse and global makeup of our workforce allows us to successfully serve a variety of clients with different needs on a worldwide basis.

Attracting Talent

We have historically attracted “mission driven” people who care deeply about making a difference in the world. Our recruiting and hiring efforts cast a wide net when looking for candidates by partnering with many groups and agencies, including alumni organizations, multiple diversity job boards, diversity career fairs, the Utah Governor’s Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities and Business Relations, and ElevatHER – an organization designed to promote women in leadership. We established a new Manager of Diversity Partnerships position during fiscal 2021 to better evaluate our relationships with organizations that supply and impact our talent pool and to engage in targeted outreach to further diversify our recruiting network. Furthermore, our job descriptions contain clearly outlined skills and experience necessary for success in each role. We believe these descriptions are essential to effectively interview candidates for identifiable skillsets and not just “personality fits.” Through these efforts, from June 1, 2020 through May 31, 2021, 67 percent of our new hires were women. Currently, over 66 percent of our employee population are women.

We also remain steadfast in our commitment to recruiting and developing Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) associates. From June 1, 2020 through May 31, 2021, 37 percent of our new hires were BIPOC associates. In an effort to increase the population of BIPOC associates, we have expanded our recruitment efforts. We hope to increase

the number of BIPOC applicants to ensure we are hiring the most qualified people while increasing our diversity. We are also actively engaged in ensuring that our associate promotions are fair and equitable.

Developing Talent

We believe that creating an environment which encourages life-long learning and development is essential for us to maintain a high level of service and to achieve our goal to have every associate feel they are a valued member of a winning team doing meaningful work in an environment of trust. Franklin Covey is one of the premier training and consulting organizations in the world, and we develop and deliver various offerings, including leadership and individual effectiveness, to clients around the globe. We provide these same offerings to our associates. Our associates have unlimited access to our content and training through the All Access Pass, where they are able to experience the same high-quality solutions available to our clients. During associates’ first year, we encourage them to participate in our foundational offering, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, which is the cultural operating system for our organization. During fiscal 2021, we delivered our new Unconscious Bias training to our associates. This program is designed to strengthen organizations by promoting the inclusion of various viewpoints from the natural talents and abilities of its people regardless of race, sexual orientation, gender, religion, or other differences.

In the event an associate is struggling with reaching their goals or producing the results required of the role, a thoughtful and thorough performance plan is created and implemented by the associate’s manager and our Chief People Officer. The intent of the performance plan is to help the associate recalibrate and bring performance up to expectations. Through this transparent coaching process, struggling associates are able to learn how to improve their performance and become engaged, successful contributors in their role. We believe this process strengthens our associate base while reducing the cost of finding and training new associates.

Through our ongoing associate development efforts, from June 1, 2020 to May 31, 2021, over 79 percent of our promotions awarded were to women and more than 11 percent of promotions were awarded to BIPOC associates. As of June 1, 2021, 47 percent of all Vice Presidents within Franklin Covey are women.

Retaining Talent

The war for talent is real, and talented people are always in high demand. During the period of June 1, 2020 through May 31, 2021, our associate turnover rate in the United States and Canada was 12 percent, which we believe is reasonable for our industry and the make-up of our workforce.

To retain our associates, we believe it is critical to continually focus on making sure our associates are highly engaged and feel valued. We address these retention efforts in a number of ways, including training our leaders in our solution entitled, The 6 Critical Practices for Leading a Team. Our employee retention practices include holding consistent, effective one-on-one interviews, where leaders regularly take time to connect with their associates, and to understand what is working well for them and what is not. Based on these interviews, leaders are encouraged to “clear the path” of those things which may be holding the associate back. We are also focused on creating a culture of feedback, where feedback for both leaders and associates is a normal and helpful part of how work gets done. We believe that open dialogue and feedback is so important that in 2021 we established Contribution Conversations, a formal program consisting of one-on-one conversations where associates are provided the opportunity to express how their talents and interests can best serve themselves and the organization. Contribution Conversations align to our core value to focus on the whole person and allow our associates to find their voice. We believe these efforts are key to creating an atmosphere of continuous improvement.

Our compensation plans are audited periodically to confirm ongoing pay equity. We provide a generous personal time off benefit as well as a flexible and inclusive holiday schedule, reflecting the diversity of our workforce and the celebration of various cultural and religious affiliations. We also offer 100 percent salary continuance for up to 12 weeks in a rolling 12-month period, for qualifying medical leaves, and provide many other employee minded benefits.

Our focus on human capital has been a hallmark of Franklin Covey for decades, understanding that people truly are a company’s most valuable asset, and that culture is an organization’s ultimate competitive advantage. In 2017, our Organization and Compensation Committee determined to make Talent Stewardship a standing agenda item at committee meetings, and we recently included diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts as an additional standing agenda item. The Organization and Compensation Committee is actively involved in helping to determine best practices and implement new and innovative ways to help us continually improve in attracting, developing, and retaining top talent for Franklin Covey.

Our Response to COVID-19

Franklin Covey cares about the health and safety of its associates. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we quickly and effectively transitioned more than 90 percent of our associates to remote work and worked diligently to adhere to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and local health professional guidance to ensure that we implemented best practices to protect the safety of colleagues while continuing to serve clients, partners, and other stakeholders. We believe these actions have been effective during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Information About Our Executive Officers

On September 1, 2021, Paul S. Walker was appointed President and Chief Executive Officer of Franklin Covey Co. and Robert A. Whitman transitioned from his role as Chief Executive Officer to Executive Chairman and Chairman of the Board of Directors. On November 1, 2020, Scott J. Miller transitioned from his role as Executive Vice-President of Thought Leadership to that of an independent contractor and senior advisor to the Company’s thought leadership and marketing operations. Unless noted in the biographical information, the remaining executives served in their described roles throughout the fiscal year ended August 31, 2021.

M. Sean Covey, 57, currently serves as President of the Franklin Covey Education Division, and has led the growth of this Division from its infancy to its status today. The Education Division works with thousands of education entities throughout the world in Higher Education and the K-12 market. Mr. Covey previously ran the Franklin Covey international licensee network and has been an executive officer since September 2008. Sean also served as the Executive Vice President of Innovations from 2003 to 2018, where he led the development of many of the Company’s offerings, including the The 4 Disciplines of Execution and The Leader in Me. Prior to 2006, Sean ran the Franklin Covey retail chain of stores. Previous to Franklin Covey, Sean worked for the Walt Disney Company, Trammel Crow Ventures, and Deloitte & Touche Consulting. Mr. Covey is also a New York Times best-selling author and has authored or coauthored several books, including The 4 Disciplines of Execution and the international bestseller The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens. Sean graduated from Brigham Young University with a Bachelor’s degree in English and earned an MBA from Harvard Business School.

Jennifer C. Colosimo, 52, has served as the President of the Enterprise Division since September 2020 and was appointed an executive officer in January 2021. Ms. Colosimo began her career with Andersen Consulting (now Accenture) in 1991 and joined Franklin Covey in 1996 and served in various roles including Client Partner, Delivery Consultant, Chief Operations Officer, and head of the Leadership Practice until 2011. During this time, Jennifer coauthored the book, Great Work, Great Career with Dr. Stephen R. Covey. From May 2011 through April 2016, Ms. Colosimo led teams responsible for culture, learning, and corporate social responsibility with DaVita and several private equity-backed organizations. Ms. Colosimo returned to Franklin Covey in April 2016 as the Senior Vice President of Sales and Operations in the United States and Canada. Jennifer sits on the Audit and Finance Committee of the Women’s Foundation of Colorado and was a board member of the Girl Scouts of Colorado for 10 years. Ms. Colosimo completed her Bachelor of Science at the University of Utah and received a Master of Science from Purdue University. Jennifer has also completed post-graduate work on Authentic Leadership and Executive Coaching through the Harvard Business School and Columbia University, respectively.

Colleen Dom, 59, was appointed the Executive Vice-President of Operations in September 2013. Ms. Dom began her career with the Company in 1985 and served as the first Client Service Coordinator, providing service and seminar support for some of the Company’s very first clients. Prior to her appointment as an Executive Vice President, Ms. Dom served as Vice President of Domestic Operations since 1997 where she had responsibility for the Company’s North

American operations, including client support, supply chain, and feedback operations. During her time at Franklin Covey Co., Colleen has been instrumental in creating and implementing systems and processes that have supported the Company’s strategic objectives and has more than 35 years of experience in client services, sales support, operations, management, and supply chain. Due to her valuable understanding of the Company’s global operations, Ms. Dom has been responsible for numerous key assignments that have enhanced client support, optimized operations, and built capabilities for future growth. Prior to joining the Company, Colleen worked in retail management and in the financial investment industry.

C. Todd Davis, 64, is an Executive Vice President and Chief People Officer, and has been an executive officer since September 2008. Todd has over 35 years of experience in training, training development, sales and marketing, human resources, coaching, and executive recruiting. Mr. Davis has been with Franklin Covey for the past 25 years. Previously, Mr. Davis was a Director of our Innovations Group where he led the development of core offerings including The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People – Signature Program. Todd also worked for several years as our Director of Recruitment and was responsible for attracting, hiring, and retaining top talent for the organization. Prior to joining Franklin Covey, Mr. Davis worked in the medical industry for nine years where he recruited physicians and medical executives along with marketing physician services to hospitals and clinics throughout the country. Todd is the author of The Wall Street Journal’s best-selling book, Get Better: 15 Proven Practices to Build Effective Relationships at Work and a co-author of the books Talent Unleashed and Everyone Deserves A Great Manager – The 6 Critical Practices for Leading A Team.

Paul S. Walker, 46, is currently serving as the Company’s President and Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Walker began his career with the Company in 2000 in the role of business developer, and quickly moved to become a Client Partner and then an Area Director. In 2007, Mr. Walker became General Manager of the North America Central Region. In 2014, Paul assumed responsibility for the Company’s United Kingdom operations in addition to his role as General Manager of the Central Region. In 2016, Mr. Walker relocated to the Company’s Salt Lake City, Utah headquarters where he served as Executive Vice President of Global Sales and Delivery and as President of the Company’s Enterprise Division until November 2019 when Paul was appointed President and Chief Operating Officer. During his time at Franklin Covey, Paul has led many digital transformation projects, including the transition to the All Access Pass. Mr. Walker graduated from Brigham Young University with a Bachelor of Arts in Communications.

Robert A. Whitman, 68, has served as Chairman of the Board of Directors since June 1999 and served as Chief Executive Officer of the Company from January 2000 through August 2021. Mr. Whitman currently serves as Executive Chairman and Chairman of the Board of Directors as described above. Bob previously served as a director of the Covey Leadership Center from 1994 to 1997. Prior to joining Franklin Covey, Mr. Whitman served as President and Co-Chief Executive Officer of The Hampstead Group from 1992 to 2000 and is a founding partner at Whitman Peterson. Mr. Whitman received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Finance from the University of Utah and his MBA from the Harvard Business School.

Stephen D. Young, 68, joined Franklin Covey as Executive Vice President of Finance, was appointed Chief Accounting Officer and Controller in January 2001, Chief Financial Officer in November 2002, and Corporate Secretary in March 2005. Prior to joining us, he served as Senior Vice-President of Finance, Chief Financial Officer, and director of international operations for Weider Nutrition for seven years; as Vice-President of Finance at First Health for ten years; and as an auditor at Fox and Company, a public accounting firm, for four years. Mr. Young has more than 40 years of accounting and management experience and is a Certified Public Accountant. Mr. Young was awarded a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from Brigham Young University.

Available Information

We regularly file reports with the SEC. These reports include, but are not limited to, Annual Reports on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K, and security transaction reports on Forms 3, 4, or 5. The SEC also maintains electronic versions of the Company’s reports, proxy and information statements, and other information that the Company files with the SEC on its website at www.sec.gov.

The Company makes our Annual Report on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K, and other reports filed or furnished with the SEC available to the public, free of charge, through our website at www.franklincovey.com. These reports are provided through our website as soon as is reasonably practicable after we file or furnish these reports with the SEC.

ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS

Our business environment, current domestic and international economic conditions, impacts from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, geopolitical circumstances, changing social standards, and other specific risks may affect our future business decisions and financial performance. The matters discussed below may cause our future results to differ from past results or those described in forward-looking statements and could have a material effect on our business, financial condition, liquidity, results of operations, and stock price, and should be considered in evaluating our Company.

The risks included here are not exhaustive. Other sections of this report may include additional risk factors which could adversely affect our business and financial performance. Moreover, we operate in a very competitive and rapidly changing global environment. New risk factors emerge from time to time and it is not possible for management to predict all such risk factors, nor can we assess the impact of all such risk factors on our business or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statements. Given these risks and uncertainties, investors should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements as a prediction of actual results. Further, the disclosure of risks identified below does not imply that the risk has already materialized.

COVID-19 Pandemic Risks

Our results of operations have been adversely affected and could be materially impacted in the future by the ongoing coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

The global spread of COVID-19 and its variants has created significant volatility, uncertainty, and economic disruption during late fiscal 2020 and throughout fiscal 2021. These conditions have adversely affected our consolidated sales during fiscal 2021 as some workplaces and schools remained closed in response to the pandemic. The recovery from COVID-19 has thus far been uneven as case numbers have fluctuated and increased in certain areas of the world, which has caused continued business, educational, and social disruptions. The extent to which the COVID-19 pandemic will continue to impact our business, operations, and financial results will depend on numerous evolving factors that we may not be able to accurately predict, including: the duration, scope, and severity of the pandemic; governmental, business, and individuals’ actions that have been taken, and continue to be taken, in response to the pandemic; the impact of the pandemic on worldwide economic activity, including ensuing supply chain issues, and actions taken in response; the effect on our clients, including educational and governmental institutions, and client demand for our services; our ability to sell and provide our services and solutions, including the impact of travel restrictions, people working from remote locations, and limitations on in-person interactions and events; the ability of our clients to pay for our services on a timely basis or at all; the ability to maintain sufficient liquidity; and any closure of our offices. Any of these events, or related conditions, could cause or contribute to the risks and uncertainties described throughout this section of our Annual Report and could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations, cash flows, and stock price.

Training Industry and Related Risks

We operate in an intensely competitive industry and our competitors may develop programs, services, or courses that adversely affect our ability to sell our offerings.

The training and consulting services industry is intensely competitive with relatively easy entry. Competitors continually introduce new programs, services, and delivery methods that may compete directly with our offerings, or that may make our offerings uncompetitive or obsolete. Larger competitors may have superior abilities to compete for clients and skilled professionals, reducing our ability to deliver quality work to our clients. Some of our competitors may have greater financial and other resources than we do. In addition, one or more of our competitors may develop and implement

training courses or methodologies that may adversely affect our ability to sell our offerings and products to new clients. Any one of these circumstances could have an adverse effect on our ability to obtain new business and successfully deliver our services.

Our results of operations could be adversely affected by economic and political conditions and the effects of these conditions on our clients’ businesses and their levels of business activity.

Global economic and political conditions affect our clients’ businesses and the markets in which they operate. Instability in the global credit markets; the impact of uncertainty regarding global central bank monetary policy; the instability in the geopolitical environment in many parts of the world, including the United Kingdom “Brexit” withdrawal from the European Union; the current economic challenges in China, including the global economic ramifications of Chinese economic difficulties; and other disruptions may continue to put pressure on global economic conditions. If global economic, political, and market conditions, or conditions in key markets, remain uncertain or deteriorate further, we may experience material adverse impacts on our business, operating results, and financial condition.

Our financial results are somewhat dependent on the amount that current and prospective clients budget for training. A serious and/or prolonged economic downturn combined with a negative or uncertain political climate could adversely affect our clients’ financial condition and the amount budgeted for training by our clients. These conditions may reduce the demand for our services or depress the pricing of those services and have an adverse impact on our results of operations. Changes in global economic conditions may also shift demand to services for which we do not have competitive advantages, and this could negatively affect the amount of business that we are able to obtain. Such economic, political, and client spending conditions are influenced by a wide range of factors that are beyond our control and that we have no comparative advantage in forecasting. If we are unable to successfully anticipate these changing conditions, we may be unable to effectively plan for and respond to those changes, and our business could be adversely affected.

Our business success also depends in part upon continued growth in the use of training and consulting services and the renewal of existing contracts by our clients. In challenging economic environments, our clients may reduce or defer their spending on new services and consulting solutions in order to focus on other priorities. At the same time, many companies have already invested substantial resources in their current means of conducting their business and they may be reluctant or slow to adopt new approaches that could disrupt existing personnel and/or processes. If growth in the general use of training and consulting services in business or our clients’ spending on these items declines, or if we cannot convince our clients or potential clients to embrace new services and solutions, our results of operations could be adversely affected.

In addition, our business tends to lag behind economic cycles and, consequently, the benefits of an economic recovery following a period of economic downturn may take longer for us to realize than other segments of the economy.

Failure to maintain our reputation, brand image, and culture could negatively impact our business.

Our success depends on our ability to maintain and enhance our brand image and reputation. Maintaining, promoting, and growing our brands will depend on our design and marketing efforts, including advertising and consumer campaigns, content and platform innovation and quality, and our efforts in these respects may not have the desired impact on our brand image and reputation. In addition, our success in maintaining, extending, and expanding our brand image depends on our ability to adapt to a rapidly changing media environment, including our increasing reliance on social media and digital dissemination of advertising campaigns on our digital platforms and through our digital experiences. We could be adversely impacted if we fail to achieve any of these objectives.

Our brand value also depends on our ability to maintain a positive consumer perception of our corporate integrity, purpose, and brand culture. Negative claims or publicity involving us, our culture and values, our products, services and experiences, consumer data, or any of our affiliates could seriously damage our reputation and brand image, regardless of whether such claims are accurate. Further, our reputation and brand image could be damaged as a result of our support of, association with or lack of support or disapproval of certain social causes, as well as any decisions we make to continue to

conduct, or change, certain of our activities in response to such considerations. Social media, which accelerates and potentially amplifies the scope of negative publicity, can increase the challenges of responding to negative claims. Adverse publicity about regulatory or legal action against us, or by us, could also damage our reputation and brand image, undermine consumer confidence in us and reduce long-term demand for our products, even if the regulatory or legal action is unfounded or not material to our operations. If the reputation, culture or image of any of our brands is tarnished or if we receive negative publicity, then our financial condition and results of operations could be materially and adversely affected.

Some terminology, language, or content in our offerings may be deemed offensive by certain individuals due to rapidly changing societal norms, which may cause damage to our brand or reputation.

Our mission is to enable greatness in individuals and organizations regardless of race, religion, gender, or other individual characteristics. We write and design our content and materials to accomplish this mission and believe that the principles we teach improve lives. Through our directly owned offices and international licensees, our content is delivered in numerous countries around the world in different languages and in different cultures. The language, graphics, and examples used in our content and materials may be understood and interpreted differently by individuals based on culture, experience, societal norms, and other factors. As a result, some individuals may find some of the content in our materials offensive. While we have developed an ongoing review process to remove potentially offensive terms or images from our materials, a rapidly changing cultural and social environment may create unfavorable interpretations of language or images faster than we can identify and remediate them. Although our intent is to educate and improve individual lives and organizational cultures without offense, an unfavorable interpretation by an individual or organization of the language, concepts, or images used in our content or materials may harm our reputation and brand, cause us to lose business, and adversely affect our business and results of operations.

We have only a limited ability to protect our intellectual property rights, which are important to our success.

Our financial success is partially dependent on our ability to protect our proprietary offerings and other intellectual property. The existing laws of some countries in which we provide services might offer only limited protection of our intellectual property rights. To protect our intellectual property, we rely upon a combination of confidentiality policies, nondisclosure and other contractual arrangements, as well as copyright and trademark laws. The steps we take in this regard may not be adequate to prevent or deter infringement or other misappropriation of our intellectual property, and we might not be able to detect unauthorized use of, or take appropriate and timely steps to enforce, our intellectual property rights, especially in foreign jurisdictions.

The loss of proprietary content or the unauthorized use of our intellectual property may create greater competition, loss of revenue, adverse publicity, and may limit our ability to reuse that intellectual property with other clients. Any limitation on our ability to provide a service or solution could cause us to lose revenue-generating opportunities and require us to incur additional expenses to develop new or modified solutions for future engagements.

We depend on key personnel, the loss of whom could harm our business.

Our future success will depend, in part, on the continued service of key executive officers and personnel. The loss of the services of any key individuals could harm our business. Our future success also depends on our ability to identify, attract, and retain additional qualified senior personnel. Competition for such individuals in the current labor market and in our industry is intense, and we may not be successful in attracting and retaining such personnel.

If we are unable to attract, retain, and motivate high-quality employees, including sales personnel and training consultants, we may not be able to grow our business as projected or may not be able to compete effectively.

Our success and ability to grow are partially dependent on our ability to hire, retain, and motivate sufficient numbers of talented people with the increasingly diverse skills needed to serve our clients and grow our business. Competition for skilled personnel is intense at all levels of experience and seniority. There is a risk that we will find it difficult to hire and retain a sufficient number of employees with the skills or backgrounds we require, or that it will prove difficult to retain

them in a competitive labor market. If we are unable to hire and retain talented sales and delivery employees with the skills, and in the locations, we require, we might not be able to grow our business at projected levels or may not be able to effectively deliver our content and services. If we need to hire additional personnel to maintain a specified number of sales personnel or are required to re-assign personnel from other geographic areas, it could increase our costs and adversely affect our profit margins. In addition, the inability of newly hired sales personnel to achieve increased sales metrics as they progress may inhibit our ability to attain anticipated sales growth.

Our work with governmental clients exposes us to additional risks that are inherent in the government contracting process.

Our clients include national, state, provincial, and local governmental entities, and our work with these governmental entities has various risks inherent in the governmental contracting process. These risks include, but are not limited to, the following:

Governmental entities typically fund projects through appropriated monies. While these projects are often planned and executed as multi-year projects, the governmental entities usually reserve the right to change the scope of, or terminate, these projects for lack of approved funding, budgetary changes, and other discretionary reasons. Changes in governmental priorities or other political developments, including disruptions in governmental operations, could result in changes in the scope of, or in termination of, our existing contracts.

Governmental entities often reserve the right to audit our contract costs, including allocated indirect costs, and conduct inquiries and investigations of our business practices with respect to our government contracts. Findings from an audit may result in our being required to prospectively adjust previously agreed upon rates for our work, which may affect our future margins.

If a governmental client discovers improper activities in the course of audits or investigations, we may become subject to various civil and criminal penalties and administrative sanctions, which may include termination of contracts, forfeiture of profits, suspension of payments, fines and suspensions, or debarment from doing business with other agencies of that government.

Political and economic factors such as pending elections, the outcome of elections, revisions to governmental tax policies, sequestration, debt ceiling negotiations, and reduced tax revenues can affect the number and terms of new governmental contracts signed.

The occurrences or conditions described above could affect not only our business with the particular governmental agency involved, but also our business with other agencies of the same or other governmental entities. Additionally, because of their visibility and political nature, governmental contracts may present a heightened risk to our reputation. Any of these factors could have an adverse effect on our business or our results of operations.

Cybersecurity and Information Technology Risks

The All Access Pass and Leader in Me subscription services are internet-based platforms, and as such we are subject to increased risks of cyber-attacks and other security breaches that could have a material adverse effect on our business.

As part of selling subscription-based services, we collect, process, and retain a limited amount of sensitive and confidential information regarding our customers. Because our subscription services are internet-based platforms, our facilities and systems may be vulnerable to external or internal security breaches, acts of vandalism, computer viruses, misplaced or lost data, stolen intellectual property, programming or human errors, or other similar events.

The access by unauthorized persons to, or the improper disclosure by us of, confidential information regarding our customers or our own proprietary information, software, methodologies, and business secrets could result in significant legal and financial exposure, damage to our reputation, or a loss of confidence in the security of our systems, products, and services, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, or results of operations. To the extent we are involved in any future cyber-attacks or other breaches, our brand and reputation could be affected, and these conditions could also have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, or results of operations.

We could incur additional liabilities or our reputation could be damaged if we do not protect client data or if our information systems are breached.

We are dependent on information technology networks and systems to process, transmit, and store electronic information and to communicate between our locations around the world and with our clients. Security breaches of this infrastructure could lead to shutdowns or disruptions of our systems and potential unauthorized disclosure of confidential information. We are also required at times to manage, utilize, and store sensitive or confidential client or employee data. As a result, we are subject to numerous U.S. and foreign jurisdiction laws and regulations designed to protect this information, such as the various U.S. federal and state laws governing the protection of personal data. If we, our associates, business partners, or our service providers negligently disregard or intentionally breach our established controls with respect to such data or otherwise mismanages or misappropriates that data, we could be subject to monetary damages, fines, and/or criminal prosecution. Unauthorized disclosure of sensitive or confidential client or employee data, whether through systems failure, employee negligence, fraud, or misappropriation could damage our reputation and cause us to lose clients.

Legal requirements relating to the collection, storage, handling, and transfer of personal data continue to evolve. For example, the European Union (EU) and the U.S. formally entered into a new framework in July 2016 that provided a mechanism for companies to transfer data from EU member states to the U.S. On July 16, 2020, the Court of Justice of the European Union invalidated the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield Framework on the grounds that the Privacy Shield failed to offer adequate protections to EU personal data transferred to the United States. The same decision also raised questions about whether one of the primary alternatives to the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield, namely, the European Commission’s Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs), can lawfully be used for personal information transfers from Europe to the United States or most other countries. Similarly, on September 8, 2020, the Swiss Federal Data Protection and Information Commissioner announced that the Swiss-U.S. Privacy Shield Framework is inadequate for personal information transfers from Switzerland to the United States, and also raised questions about the viability of the SCCs, in particular in relation to transfers of data to the United States. On June 4, 2021, the European Commission adopted new SCCs, which impose on companies additional obligations relating to data transfers, including the obligation to conduct a transfer impact assessment and, depending on a party’s role in the transfer and the laws and practices of the destination country, to implement additional security measures, and to update internal privacy practices. Regulatory guidance suggests that certain transfers of personal data to the United States could be compliant only if the recipient is able to implement specific technical and procedural security controls to protect that personal data, and such controls may not be practical for certain service delivery models, in particular cloud services. If we elect to rely on the new SCCs for data transfers, we may be required to incur significant time and resources to update our contractual arrangements, implement the supplementary security measures, and to comply with new obligations. The new SCCs may increase the legal risks and liabilities under EU laws associated with cross-border data transfers, and result in material increased compliance and operational costs. Compliance may require changes in services, business practices, or internal systems that may result in increased costs, lower revenue, reduced efficiency, or greater difficulty in competing with foreign-based firms. Failure to comply with existing or new rules may result in significant penalties or orders to stop the alleged noncompliant activity. The inability to import personal information from Europe to the United States or other countries may decrease demand for our products and services as our customers that are subject to such laws may seek alternatives that do not involve personal information transfers out of Europe. Our inability to import personal information to the United States and other countries may decrease the functionality or effectiveness of our products and services and adversely impact our marketing efforts, plans and activities.

In addition, during May 2018 the new General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) became effective in the European Union. The GDPR imposes strict requirements on the collection, use, security, and transfer of personal information in and from EU member states. The GDPR is designed to unify data protection within the EU under a single law, which may result in significantly greater compliance burdens and costs related to our EU operations and customers. Under GDPR, fines of up to 20 million Euros or up to four percent of the annual global revenues of the infringer, whichever is greater, could be imposed. Although GDPR applies across the European Union, local data protection authorities still have the ability to interpret GDPR, which may create inconsistencies in application on a country-by-country basis. Furthermore, as the United Kingdom transitions out of the EU, we may encounter additional complexity with respect to data privacy and data transfers to and from the United Kingdom. We have implemented new controls and procedures, including a team

dedicated to data protection, to comply with the requirements of GDPR as well as the UK GDPR. However, these new procedures and controls may not be completely effective in preventing unauthorized breaches of personal data.

Further, on August 20, 2021, China adopted the PRC Personal Information Protection Law, or PIPL. The PIPL took effect on November 1, 2021. The PIPL establishes comprehensive requirements relating to the collection, use, transfer, security, and other processing of personal information in or from China. The PIPL incorporates many requirements common to international privacy laws, such as GDPR, and adds unique regulatory requirements relating to data localization, international data transfers, consumer consent, the processing of “sensitive personal information,” and the operations of certain “internet platform services.” Several key provisions of the PIPL remain undefined, including important thresholds, definitions, and requirements concerning the scope and limitations on international data transfers, data localization, and internet platform services. Fines and penalties under the PIPL range from fines up to RMB 50,000,000 or five percent of global annual turnover, to the cancellation of business authorizations, personal liability or professional restrictions for responsible company officers, as well as criminal and civil liability. As regulatory agencies in China did not make public certain rules as of PIPL’s effective date, a full assessment of the risks and impact of the law and relevant compliance requirements has not been possible and we may have a limited period to become compliant. In the event the law requires us to store data in China, or limits our ability to transfer data across borders, we may experience increased costs, business inefficiencies, lost sales, decreased demand, and decreased competitiveness, as we may be unable to provide our services or certain features, or provide them in an efficient or centralized manner. Additionally, local companies may be favored by customers who will not consent to or accept transfer of their data out of China. Fines, corrective actions, or other penalties asserted due to alleged noncompliance may impose additional financial or operational costs, limit our ability to attract and retain local talent, or limit our ability to do business in China. These risks may be magnified due to regulatory uncertainty and short periods to achieve compliance. Additionally, under the PIPL, we may be subject to additional liabilities, claims, penalties, or causes of action in the event of a breach of customer personal information.

Other governmental authorities throughout the U.S. and around the world are considering or have adopted similar types of legislative and regulatory proposals concerning data protection. For example, in June 2018, the State of California enacted the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018 (the CCPA), which was effective on January 1, 2020. The CCPA requires companies that process information on California residents to make new disclosures to consumers about their data collection, use and sharing practices, and allows consumers to opt out of data sales, as well as certain data sharing with third parties and provides a new private cause of action for data breaches. Additionally, a new privacy law, the California Privacy Rights Act (the CPRA) was approved by California voters in the November 2020 election. The CPRA will create additional obligations relating to consumer data beginning on January 1, 2022, with implementing regulations expected on or before July 1, 2022, and enforcement beginning on July 1, 2023. The Federal Trade Commission and many state attorneys general are interpreting federal and state consumer protection laws to impose standards for the online collection, use, dissemination, and security of data. These privacy, security, and data protection laws and regulations continue to evolve and could impose significant limitations, require changes to our business, or restrict our use or storage of personal information, which may increase our compliance risk and expenses and make our business more costly or less efficient to conduct.

We employ global best practices in securing and monitoring code, applications, systems, processes, and data, and our security practices are regularly reviewed and validated by an external auditing firm. However, these efforts may be insufficient to protect sensitive information against illegal activities and we may be exposed to additional liabilities from the various data protection laws enacted within the jurisdictions where we operate.

Our business is becoming increasingly dependent on information technology and will require additional cash investments in order to grow and meet the demands of our clients.

Since the introduction of our online subscription services, our dependence on the use of sophisticated technologies and information systems has increased. Moreover, our technology platforms will require continuing cash investments (including business acquisitions such as the acquisition of Strive in fiscal 2021) by us to expand existing offerings, improve the client experience, and develop complementary offerings. Our future success depends in part on our ability to adapt our services and infrastructure while continuing to improve the performance, features, and reliability of our services

in response to the evolving demands of the marketplace. Failure to adapt and improve these areas could have an adverse effect on our business, including our results of operations, financial position, and cash flows.

Liquidity and Capital Resource Risks

We may not be able to generate sufficient cash to service our indebtedness, and we may be forced to take other actions to satisfy our payment obligations under our indebtedness, which may not be successful.

Our ability to make scheduled payments on or to refinance our indebtedness depends on our future performance, including the performance of our subsidiaries, which will be affected by financial, business and economic conditions, competition, and other factors. We are unable to control many of these factors, such as the general economy, economic conditions in the industries in which we operate, and competitive pressures. Our cash flows may be insufficient to allow us to pay principal and interest on our indebtedness and to meet our other obligations. If our cash flows and capital resources are insufficient to fund our debt service obligations, we may be forced to reduce or delay investments and capital expenditures or to sell assets, seek additional capital, or restructure or refinance our indebtedness. These alternative measures may be unsuccessful and we may not meet our scheduled debt service obligations. In addition, the terms of existing or future debt agreements, including our 2019 Credit Agreement (as defined below) and subsequent modifications, may restrict us from pursuing any of these alternatives.

In the event that we need to refinance all or a portion of our outstanding indebtedness before maturity or as it matures, we may not be able to obtain terms as favorable as the terms of our existing indebtedness or refinance our existing indebtedness at all. If interest rates or other factors existing at the time of refinancing result in higher interest rates upon refinancing, we will incur higher interest expense. Furthermore, if any rating agency changes our credit rating or outlook, our debt and equity securities could be negatively affected, which could adversely affect our financial condition and financial results.

Failure to comply with the terms and conditions of our credit facility may have an adverse effect upon our business and operations.

Our secured credit agreement and subsequent modifications require us to be in compliance with customary non-financial terms and conditions as well as specified financial ratios. Failure to comply with these terms and conditions or maintain adequate financial performance to comply with specific financial ratios entitles the lender to certain remedies, including the right to immediately call due any amounts owed on the credit agreement. Such events would have an adverse effect upon our business and operations as there can be no assurance that we may be able to obtain other forms of financing or raise additional capital on terms that would be acceptable to us.

We may need additional capital in the future, and this capital may not be available to us on favorable terms or at all.

We may need to raise additional funds through public or private debt offerings or equity financings in order to:

Develop new services, programs, or offerings

Take advantage of opportunities, including business acquisitions

Respond to competitive pressures

Going forward, we will continue to incur costs necessary for the day-to-day operation and potential growth of the business and may use our available revolving line of credit facility and other financing alternatives, if necessary, for these expenditures. We obtained a new credit agreement in August 2019 with our existing lender that expires in August 2024. We expect to regularly renew or amend our lending agreement in the future to maintain the availability of this credit facility. Additional potential sources of liquidity available to us include factoring receivables, issuance of additional equity, or issuance of debt from public or private sources. If necessary, we will evaluate all of these options and select one or more of them depending on overall capital needs and the associated cost of capital.

Any additional capital raised through the sale of equity could dilute current shareholders’ ownership percentage in us. Furthermore, we may be unable to obtain the necessary capital on terms or conditions that are favorable to us, or at all.

Public Company Risks

We may fail to meet analyst expectations, which could cause the price of our stock to decline.

Our common stock is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), and at any given time various securities analysts follow our financial results and issue reports on us. These periodic reports include information about our historical financial results as well as the analysts’ estimates of our future performance. The analysts’ estimates are based on their own opinions and are often different from our estimates or expectations. The price of our common stock could, however, decline if an analyst downgrades our common stock or if those analysts issue other unfavorable commentary or cease publishing reports about us or our business. If analysts do not continue to follow us or if our operating results are below the estimates or expectations of public market analysts and investors, our stock price could decline. If our stock price is volatile, we may become involved in securities litigation following a decline in price. Any litigation could result in substantial costs and a diversion of management’s attention and resources that are needed to successfully run our business.

Our business performance may not be sufficient for us to meet the financial guidance that we provide publicly.

We may provide financial guidance to the public based upon expectations regarding our financial performance. While we believe that our annual financial guidance provides investors and analysts with insight into our view of the Company’s future performance, such financial guidance is based on assumptions that may not always prove to be accurate and may vary from actual results. If we fail to meet the financial guidance that we provide, or if we find it necessary to revise such guidance during the year, the market value of our common stock could be adversely affected.

Our future quarterly operating results are subject to factors that can cause fluctuations in our stock price.

Historically, our stock price has experienced significant volatility. We expect that our stock price may continue to experience volatility in the future due to a variety of potential factors that may include the following:

Fluctuations in our quarterly results of operations and cash flows

Increased overall market volatility

Variations between our actual financial results and market expectations

Changes in our key balances, such as cash and cash equivalents

Currency exchange rate fluctuations

Unexpected asset impairment charges

These factors, among others, may have an adverse effect upon our stock price in the future.

General Business Risks

Our global operations pose complex management, foreign currency, legal, tax, and economic risks, which we may not adequately address.

We have sales offices in Australia, China, Japan, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, and the United Kingdom. We also have licensed operations in numerous other foreign countries. As a result of these foreign operations and their impact upon our financial statements, we are subject to a number of risks, including:

Restrictions on the movement of cash

Burdens of complying with a wide variety of national and local laws, including tax laws

The absence in some jurisdictions of effective laws to protect our intellectual property rights

Political instability

Currency exchange rate fluctuations

Longer payment cycles

Price controls or restrictions on exchange of foreign currencies

This includes, for example, the effect of the United Kingdom’s exit from the European Union, commonly referred to as Brexit, including implementation of the legal and regulatory framework that applies to the United Kingdom and its relationship with the European Union and other countries, as well as new and proposed changes affecting tax laws and trade policy in the United States and elsewhere. The consequences of Brexit, together with the continuing uncertainty regarding the terms on which the U.K. will interact with the EU, could introduce significant volatility into global financial markets and adversely impact the markets in which we and our customers operate. Brexit could also create uncertainty with respect to the legal and regulatory requirements to which we and our customers in the U.K. are subject and lead to divergent national laws and regulations as the U.K. determines which EU laws to replace or replicate, including U.K. competition law. Following the trade deal reached between the U.K. and the end of the transition period, we have experienced or expect to experience impacts on our operations from the following:

More stringent rules of origin on goods traded between the U.K. and the EU;

additional procedures related to goods traded between the EU and non-EU countries;

limited transportation availability for a period, as a result of delays at borders between the U.K. and EU; and

new product registration requirements applicable including to avoid any new tariffs or quotas, or as a result of REACH and the new U.K. REACH regime.

While we believe that some of these adverse impacts will be resolved in the coming months as the U.K. becomes accustomed to operating independent of the EU, we may in the future experience further adverse consequences such as increased costs of conducting business in the U.K., deterioration in economic conditions in the U.K., volatility in currency exchange rates or adverse changes in regulation, any of which could have a negative impact on our future operations, operating results, and financial condition.

Our global operations expose us to numerous and sometimes conflicting legal and regulatory requirements, and violation of these regulations could harm our business.

Because we provide services to clients in many countries, we are subject to numerous, and sometimes conflicting, regulations on matters as diverse as import/export controls, content requirements, trade restrictions, tariffs, taxation, sanctions, government affairs, internal and disclosure control obligations, data privacy, and labor relations. Violations of these regulations in the conduct of our business could result in fines, criminal sanctions against us or our officers, prohibitions on doing business, and damage to our reputation. Violations of these regulations in connection with the performance of our obligations to our clients also could result in liability for monetary damages, fines, unfavorable publicity, and allegations by our clients that we have not performed our contractual obligations. Due to the varying degrees of development of the legal systems of the countries in which we operate, local laws may be insufficient to protect our rights.

In many parts of the world, including countries in which we operate, practices in the local business community might not conform to international business standards and could violate anticorruption regulations, including the United States Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, which prohibits giving anything of value intended to influence the awarding of government contracts. Although we have policies and procedures to ensure legal and regulatory compliance, our employees, licensee operators, and agents could take actions that violate these requirements. Violations of these regulations could subject us to criminal or civil enforcement actions, including fines and suspension or disqualification from United States federal procurement contracting, any of which could have an adverse effect on our business.

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We have significant intangible assets, goodwill, and long-term asset balances that may be impaired if cash flows from related activities decline.

Due to the nature of our business, we have significant amounts of intangible assets, including goodwill, resulting from events such as the acquisition of businesses and the licensing of content. Our intangible assets are evaluated for impairment based on qualitative factors or upon cash flows and estimated royalties from revenue streams (indefinite-lived intangible assets) if necessary. Our goodwill is evaluated through qualitative factors and by comparing the fair value of the reporting units to the carrying value of our net assets if necessary. Although our current sales, cash flows, and market capitalization are sufficient to support the carrying basis of these long-lived assets, if our sales, cash flows, or common stock price decline, we may be faced with significant asset impairment charges that would have an adverse impact upon our results of operations.

The Company’s use of accounting estimates involves judgment and could impact our financial results.

Our most critical accounting estimates are described in Management’s Discussion and Analysis found in Item 7 of this report under the section entitled “Use of Estimates and Critical Accounting Policies.” In addition, as discussed in various footnotes to our financial statements as found in Item 8, we make certain estimates for loss contingencies, including decisions related to legal proceedings and reserves. Because, by definition, these estimates and assumptions involve the use of judgment, our actual financial results may differ from these estimates. If our estimates or assumptions underlying such contingencies and reserves prove incorrect, we may be required to record additional adjustments or losses relating to such matters, which would negatively affect our financial results.

Ineffective internal controls could impact our business and operating results.

Our internal control over financial reporting may not prevent or detect misstatements because of its inherent limitations, including the possibility of human error, the circumvention or overriding of controls, or fraud. Even effective internal controls can provide only reasonable assurance with respect to the preparation and fair presentation of financial statements. If we fail to maintain the adequacy of our internal controls, including any failure to implement required new or improved controls, or if we experience difficulties in their implementation, our business and operating results may be harmed and we could fail to meet our financial reporting obligations.

Extreme weather conditions and natural disasters could negatively impact our operating results and financial condition.

Extreme weather conditions in the areas in which our suppliers, customers, distribution facilities, offices, and headquarters are located could adversely affect our operating results and financial condition. Moreover, natural disasters such as earthquakes, hurricanes, wildfires, and tsunamis, whether occurring in the United States or abroad, and their related consequences and effects, including energy shortages and public health issues, have in the past temporarily disrupted, and could in the future disrupt, our operations, the operations of our customers, vendors and suppliers or have in the past resulted in, and in the future could result in, economic instability that may negatively impact our operating results and financial condition. In particular, if a natural disaster or severe weather event were to occur in an area in which we or our suppliers, customers, distribution facilities and vendors are located, our continued success would depend, in part, on the safety and availability of the relevant personnel and facilities and proper functioning of our or third parties’ computer, network, telecommunication and other systems and operations. Further, climate change may increase both the frequency and severity of extreme weather conditions and natural disasters, which may affect our business operations, either in a particular region or globally, as well as the activities of our vendors, suppliers, and customers. In addition, the physical changes prompted by climate change could result in changes in regulations or consumer preferences, which could in turn affect our business, operating results and financial condition. If we were to experience a local or regional disaster or other business continuity event or concurrent events, we could experience operational challenges, in particular depending upon how a local or regional event may affect our human capital across our operations or with regard to particular aspects of our operations, such as key executive officers or personnel. Further, if we are unable to find alternative suppliers, replace capacity at key distribution locations or quickly repair damage to our information technology systems, our ability to serve our customers could be adversely affected. These events could result in reputational damage, lost sales, cancellation

charges or markdowns, all of which could have an adverse effect on our business, results of operations, and financial condition.

Environmental Issues

Sustainability and protecting our natural environment are significant priorities at Franklin Covey and we strive to implement practices and policies that support this concern. Our current evaluation is that the near term effects of climate change and climate change regulation on our business are not material, but we cannot predict the long-term impacts on us from climate change or its regulation. We will continue to monitor the impacts of such issues on our business and consider responsive action as needed.

ITEM 1B.  UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS

None.

ITEM 2. PROPERTIES

As of August 31, 2021, our principal executive offices in Salt Lake City, Utah occupy approximately 84,000 square feet of leased office space that is accounted for as a financing arrangement, which expires in 2025. This facility accommodates our executive team and corporate administration, as well as other professionals. The master lease agreement on our principal executive offices contains six five-year renewal options that may be exercised at our discretion. Additionally, we occupy leased sales and administrative offices both in the United States and various countries around the world as shown below. These leased facilities are accounted for as operating leases.

We consider our existing facilities to be in good condition and suitable for our current and expected level of operations in the upcoming fiscal year and in future periods.

International Sales Offices

Banbury, England

Tokyo, Japan

China: Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen

ITEM 3. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS

From time to time, we are the subject of certain legal actions, which we consider routine to our business activities. At August 31, 2021, we were not party to any litigation or legal proceeding that, in the current opinion of management, could have a material adverse effect on our financial position, liquidity, or results of operations. However, due to the risks and uncertainties inherent in legal proceedings, actual results could differ from current expectations.

ITEM 4. MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURES

Not applicable.

PART II

ITEM 5. MARKET FOR REGISTRANT’S COMMON EQUITY, RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS AND ISSUER PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES

Our common stock is listed and traded on the NYSE under the symbol “FC.”

We did not pay or declare dividends on our common stock during the fiscal years ended August 31, 2021 or 2020. Any determination to pay cash dividends will be at the discretion of our board of directors and will be dependent upon our

results of operations, financial condition, terms of our financing arrangements, and such other factors as the board deems relevant. We currently anticipate that we will retain all available funds to repay our liabilities, finance future growth and business opportunities, and to repurchase outstanding shares of our common stock.

As of October 31, 2021, we had 14,288,484 shares of common stock outstanding, which were held by 508 shareholders of record. A number of our shareholders hold their shares in street name; therefore, we believe that there are substantially more beneficial owners of our common stock.

Purchases of Common Stock by the Issuer

We did not have any purchases of our common stock during the fourth quarter of fiscal 2021.

On November 15, 2019, our Board of Directors approved a new plan to repurchase up to $40.0 million of our outstanding common stock. The previously existing common stock repurchase plan was canceled and the new common share repurchase plan does not have an expiration date. Through August 31, 2021, we have purchased 5,000 shares of our common stock for $0.2 million under the terms of this Board-approved plan.

The actual timing, number, and value of common shares repurchased under this plan will be determined at our discretion and will depend on a number of factors, including, among others, general market and business conditions, the trading price of common shares, and applicable legal requirements. We have no obligation to repurchase any common shares under the authorization, and the repurchase plan may be suspended, discontinued, or modified at any time for any reason.

Performance Graph

The following graph demonstrates a five-year comparison of cumulative total returns for Franklin Covey Co. common stock, the S&P SmallCap 600 Index, and the S&P 600 Commercial & Professional Services Index. The graph assumes an investment of $100 on August 31, 2016 in each of our common stock, the stocks comprising the S&P SmallCap 600 Index, and the stocks comprising the S&P 600 Commercial & Professional Services Index. Each of the indices assumes that all dividends were reinvested.

The stock performance shown on the performance graph above is not necessarily indicative of future performance. The Company will not make or endorse any predictions as to our future stock performance.

The performance graph above is being furnished solely to accompany this Annual Report on Form 10-K pursuant to Item 201(e) of Regulation S-K, and is not being filed for purposes of Section 18 of the Exchange Act, as amended, and is not to be incorporated by reference into any filing of the Company, whether made before or after the date hereof, regardless of any general incorporation language in such filing.

ITEM 6.

Reserved.

ITEM 7. MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

The following management’s discussion and analysis is intended to provide a summary of the principal factors affecting the results of operations, liquidity and capital resources, and the critical accounting policies of Franklin Covey Co. (also referred to as we, us, our, the Company, and Franklin Covey) and subsidiaries. This discussion and analysis should be read together with the accompanying consolidated financial statements and related notes contained in Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K (Form 10-K) and the Risk Factors discussed in Item 1A of this Form 10-K. Forward-looking statements in this discussion are qualified by the cautionary statement under the heading “Safe Harbor Statement Under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act Of 1995” contained later in Item 7 of this Form 10-K.

Non-GAAP Measures

This management’s discussion and analysis includes the concept of adjusted earnings before interest, income taxes, depreciation, and amortization (Adjusted EBITDA) which is a non-GAAP measure. We define Adjusted EBITDA as net income or loss excluding the impact of interest expense, income taxes, intangible asset amortization, depreciation, stock-based compensation expense, and certain other items such as adjustments to the fair value of expected contingent consideration liabilities arising from business acquisitions.

We reference this non-GAAP financial measure in our decision making because it provides supplemental information that facilitates consistent internal comparisons to the historical operating performance of prior periods and we believe it provides investors with greater transparency to evaluate operational activities and financial results. For a reconciliation of our segment Adjusted EBITDA to net income or loss, a related GAAP measure, please refer to Note 16 Segment Information to our consolidated financial statements as presented in Item 8 of this Form 10-K.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

General Overview

Franklin Covey Co. is a global company focused on individual and organizational performance improvement. Our mission is to “enable greatness in people and organizations everywhere,” and our worldwide resources are organized to help individuals and organizations achieve sustained superior performance through changes in human behavior. We believe that our content and services create the connection between capabilities and results. We believe that our clients are able to utilize our content to create cultures with high-performing, collaborative individuals, led by effective, trust-building leaders who execute with excellence and deliver measurably improved results for all of their key stakeholders.

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In the training and consulting marketplace, we believe there are three important characteristics that distinguish us from our competitors.

1.World Class Content – Our content is based on timeless principles of human effectiveness and is designed to help people change both their mindset and behavior. When our content is applied consistently in an organization, we believe the culture of that organization will change to enable the organization to get desired results and achieve its own great purposes.

2.Breadth and Scalability of Delivery Options – We have a wide range of content delivery options, including: the All Access Pass, the Leader in Me membership, and other intellectual property licenses, digital online learning, on-site training, training led through certified facilitators, blended learning, and organization-wide transformational processes, including consulting and coaching. We believe our investments in digital delivery modalities over the past few years have enabled us to deliver our content to clients in a high-quality learning environment whether those clients are working remotely or in a centralized location.

3.Global Capability – We have sales professionals in the United States and Canada who serve clients in the private sector, in government, and in educational institutions; wholly owned subsidiaries in Australia, China, Japan, the United Kingdom, Germany, Switzerland, and Austria; and we contract with independent licensee partners who deliver our content and provide services in 150 countries and territories around the world.

We have some of the best-known offerings in the training industry, including a suite of individual-effectiveness and leadership-development training content based on the best-selling books, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, The Speed of Trust, Multipliers, and The 4 Disciplines of Execution, and proprietary content in the areas of Execution, Sales Performance, Productivity, Customer Loyalty, Leadership, and Education. We believe that our offerings help individuals, teams, and entire organizations transform their results through achieving systematic, sustainable, and measurable changes in human behavior. Our offerings are described in further detail at www.franklincovey.com. The information contained in, or that can be accessed through, our website does not constitute a part of this Annual Report on Form 10-K, and the descriptions found therein should not be viewed as a warranty or guarantee of results.

Our fiscal year ends on August 31, and unless otherwise indicated, fiscal 2021, fiscal 2020, and fiscal 2019 refer to the twelve-month periods ended August 31, 2021, 2020, 2019, and so forth.

Fiscal 2021 Financial Overview

We were pleased with our fiscal 2021 financial results, which featured increased sales, improved gross margin, increased income from operations, and improved liquidity compared with fiscal 2020, despite the continuing challenges from the COVID-19 pandemic. Our growth during fiscal 2021 compared with fiscal 2020 was substantially driven by increased subscription and subscription services sales. Total subscription revenue in fiscal 2021 increased 15 percent over fiscal 2020, and subscription and subscription service sales increased 21 percent compared with fiscal 2020. Including the impact of subscription and subscription service sales, our financial performance during fiscal 2021 reflects four key trends that have been evident throughout the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. These trends include:

First, the strong growth of All Access Pass subscription sales. All Access Pass subscription sales increased 18 percent during fiscal 2021 and 27 percent in the fourth quarter when compared with the prior year.

Second, the growth of All Access Pass subscription services, which increased 38 percent over fiscal 2020, and grew 76 percent in the fourth quarter when compared with the same quarter of fiscal 2020. Sales of AAP subscription services strengthened in fiscal 2021, reflecting the strong bookings of subscription services, and the Company’s capabilities to deliver subscription services live-online and through other digital modalities.

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Third, sales in our international direct offices and through many of our international licensee partners strengthened during fiscal 2021. In the fourth quarter of fiscal 2021, all of our international direct office sales increased compared with the fourth quarter of fiscal 2020, and for the full fiscal year our international direct office sales increased 13 percent compared with fiscal 2020. In fiscal 2021, our international licensee revenues grew seven percent compared with the prior year.

Fourth, booking and delivery trends in the Education Division strengthened in the fourth quarter, as Education Division subscription revenue grew 52 percent in the fourth quarter and increased seven percent for the full fiscal year. During fiscal 2021, the Education Division added 574 new Leader in Me schools, a 79% increase over fiscal 2020, and retained over 92% of its existing Leader in Me schools.

We believe the momentum from strong financial results in the fourth quarter and in fiscal 2021 will carry over into fiscal 2022 and generate additional growth. As the global economy continues to recover, we believe the strength of our subscription-based offerings and services will provide a solid foundation for earnings and cash flow growth in fiscal 2022 and in subsequent years.

Our consolidated revenue for fiscal 2021 year grew 13 percent, or $25.7 million, and totaled $224.2 million compared with $198.5 million in fiscal 2020. Our fiscal 2021 sales increased primarily due to strong sales of subscription and subscription services. Despite the challenging economic and operating environment in fiscal 2021, our All Access Pass and Education Division subscription revenues increased compared with the prior year. Our revenue growth in fiscal 2021 was primarily driven by contract renewals and new customers, as price increases did not have a material impact on our sales growth over the prior year. Enterprise Division sales for the year increased 14 percent, or $20.4 million, to $168.6 million compared with $148.2 million in the prior year, and were driven primarily by increased AAP revenues and recovering international direct office and licensee sales. All Access Pass subscription revenues grew 18 percent compared with the prior year and subscription and subscription services revenues increased 24 percent over fiscal 2020. Education Division revenues increased 13 percent, or $5.5 million, to $48.9 million compared with $43.4 million in fiscal 2020. Ongoing disruptions to school operating environments reduced the delivery of coaching, consulting, and training days to educational institutions in early fiscal 2021 as educators dealt with changing and uncertain schedules. However, a significant number of the coaching, consulting, and training days not able to be delivered during early fiscal 2021 were contractual, and were able to be delivered and recognized in the third and fourth quarters. Education Division subscription revenue, which primarily consists of the Leader in Me online service and consulting days invoiced with the Leader in Me online service, increased seven percent compared with fiscal 2020, and material sales and consulting days not included in subscription revenue also increased compared with fiscal 2020.

At August 31, 2021, we had $88.6 million of deferred revenue compared with $68.9 million at August 31, 2020. Our deferred revenue noted above at August 31, 2021 and August 31, 2020 includes $2.7 million and $2.2 million, respectively, of deferred revenue that was classified as long-term based on expected recognition. Deferred subscription revenue increased 27 percent, or $16.5 million, to $77.0 million at August 31, 2021. Our unbilled deferred revenue at August 31, 2021 grew 27 percent to $50.4 million compared with $39.6 million at the end of fiscal 2020. At August 31, 2021, the sum of our deferred subscription revenue plus unbilled deferred subscription revenue grew 27 percent, or $27.2 million, to $127.4 million compared with $100.2 million at August 31, 2020. Unbilled deferred revenue represents business that is contracted, but unbilled and therefore excluded from our balance sheet.

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The following table sets forth our consolidated net sales by division and by reportable segment for the fiscal years indicated (in thousands):

Gross profit consists of net sales less the cost of services provided or the cost of goods sold. Our cost of sales includes the direct costs of delivering content onsite at client locations, including presenter costs; amortization of previously capitalized curriculum development costs; content royalties; materials used in the production of training products and related assessments; manufacturing labor costs; and freight. Gross profit may be affected by, among other things, the mix of services sold to clients, prices of materials, travel, labor rates, changes in product discount levels, and freight costs. Consolidated cost of sales in fiscal 2021 totaled $51.3 million compared with $53.1 million in fiscal 2020. Our gross profit for the fiscal year ended August 31, 2021 was $172.9 million, compared with $145.4 million in fiscal 2020 and increased primarily due to increased sales as described above. Our gross margin in fiscal 2021 improved 388 basis points to 77.1 percent of sales compared with 73.3 percent in the prior year, reflecting an increase in subscription revenues in the mix of overall sales and the impact of increased sales on fixed cost of sale elements such as salaried Education Division coaches and capitalized curriculum amortization expense.

Our operating expenses in fiscal 2021 increased $22.5 million compared with fiscal 2020 primarily due to a $15.0 million increase in selling, general, and administrative (SG&A) expenses and a $9.2 million increase in stock-based compensation expense. Increased SG&A expense was primarily due to increased variable compensation, including commissions, bonuses, and incentives resulting from increased sales and improved operating results during fiscal 2021; increased associate costs from additional sales and sales support employees; and increased content and product development expense. We reevaluate our stock-based compensation instruments at each reporting date. Due to the adverse impact of COVID-19 and uncertainties related to the expected recovery, we determined that certain tranches of previously granted performance awards would not vest prior to their expiration. Based on our analyses, we reversed previously recognized stock-based compensation expense for these tranches during fiscal 2020, which resulted in a $(0.6) million net credit to stock-based compensation in fiscal 2020. These stock-based compensation awards were modified in the first quarter of fiscal 2021 and we recognized the corresponding compensation expense on these awards following the modification date.

Our fiscal 2021 income from operations improved 165 percent, or $5.0 million, to $8.1 million compared with $3.1 million in fiscal 2020. Fiscal 2021 pre-tax income was $6.1 million compared with $0.8 million in fiscal 2020, reflecting the items noted above.

Our effective income tax benefit rate for fiscal 2021 was approximately 124 percent compared with an effective tax rate of approximately 1,284 percent in fiscal 2020. Our income tax expense in fiscal 2020 was primarily the result of increasing our valuation allowance against deferred income tax assets due to three-year cumulative pre-tax losses combined with expected disruptions and negative impacts to our business resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, and uncertainties related to the recovery from the pandemic. However, during fiscal 2021 the Company’s performance exceeded expectations, which returned us to three-year cumulative pre-tax income, and we expect continued strong performance in future periods. After consideration of these circumstances and the relevant accounting literature, we reduced the valuation allowance against our deferred tax assets, which primarily accounts for the income tax benefit we recorded for the fiscal year ended August 31, 2021.

Net income for the year ended August 31, 2021 was $13.6 million, or $0.96 per diluted share, compared with a net loss of $(9.4) million, or $(.68) per share, in fiscal 2020. Our Adjusted EBITDA in fiscal 2021 increased 96 percent, or $13.7 million, to $28.0 million compared with $14.3 million in fiscal 2020, reflecting the above-noted factors.

Further details regarding these items can be found in the comparative analysis of fiscal 2021 with fiscal 2020 as discussed within this management’s discussion and analysis.

Our liquidity, financial position, and capital resources remained strong during fiscal 2021. At August 31, 2021, we had $47.4 million of cash, with no borrowings on our $15.0 million revolving credit facility, compared with $27.1 million of cash, and no borrowings on our revolving credit facility, at August 31, 2020. Cash flows from operating activities remained strong and increased 68 percent to $46.2 million for fiscal 2021 compared with $27.6 million in the prior year. For further information regarding our liquidity and cash flows, refer to the Liquidity and Capital Resources discussion found in this management’s discussion and analysis.

For a discussion of the results of operations and changes in financial condition for fiscal 2020 compared with fiscal 2019, refer to Part II, Item 7 Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations in our fiscal 2020 Form 10-K, which was filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission on November 16, 2020.

Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Fiscal 2021

COVID-19 was first identified in China during December 2019, and subsequently declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization. Since its discovery, COVID-19 and its variants have surfaced in nearly all regions around the world and have resulted in government-imposed travel restrictions and business slowdowns or shutdowns in affected areas. As a result, COVID-19 has impacted our business globally, including our licensees, through office, government, and school closures. These closures had a significant adverse impact on our business beginning in the third quarter of fiscal 2020 and the effects of the ongoing pandemic were felt by us throughout fiscal 2021.

During fiscal 2021, we were pleased with the continued strength of our subscription business and the quick pivot to delivering content live-online and through our other digital modalities. Our subscription service clients are able to access content and programs from remote locations, which allows continued engagement of personnel and students during long periods of displacement from normal working or classroom conditions. According to the Training magazine 2021 Training Industry Report, most companies were able to transition the reception of their training to blended online and virtual classroom environments. We expect that most companies will retain aspects of remote learning after the COVID-19 pandemic is over. We also believe our ability to deliver content and offerings over a broad array of online and other digital modalities to suit a client’s needs will prove to be a valuable strategic advantage, and we believe these capabilities will accelerate our recovery from the effects of the pandemic.

The COVID-19 pandemic presented especially difficult conditions for our international direct offices and licensee partners during fiscal 2021 as countries enacted a variety of measures to contain the spread of the virus. These measures included the closure of offices, schools, and other meeting spaces. While our content is able to be presented digitally and is translated into numerous languages, the technology base differs significantly among countries, which may impede the smooth delivery of content to remote work locations. We remain optimistic about the future as we saw signs of economic recovery in the United States and many of the other countries in which we operate as companies, schools, and individuals are adapting, and the positive effect of vaccinations and therapeutics are enabling certain economies to open and recover. However, certain countries where we do business have enacted strict lockdown measures during fiscal 2021 and parts of fiscal 2020, and may continue to implement additional lockdowns in future periods. We will continue to monitor developments related to the COVID-19 pandemic, including supply chain issues, and their actual and potential impacts on our financial position, results of operations, and liquidity.

On March 27, 2020, in response to COVID-19, the United States government enacted the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (the CARES Act). The CARES Act is a relief package consisting of various stimulus measures, such as tax payment deferrals, various business incentives, and makes certain technical corrections to the U.S. Tax Cuts

and Jobs Act of 2017. While beneficial to the economy and business overall, the enactment of the CARES Act and similar legislation in other countries throughout the world did not have a material impact on our fiscal 2021 or fiscal 2020 consolidated financial statements.

Key Growth Objectives

As economies and businesses reopen and recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, we are optimistic that opportunities for growth and expansion will return both domestically and internationally. In addition to recovery from the pandemic, we believe the following key factors will drive our growth in fiscal 2022 and beyond:

Best in Class Content and Solutions – We believe that our offerings are based on best-in-class content driven by best-selling books and world-class thought leadership. Our content is focused on performance improvement through behavior-changing outcome oriented training. These offerings are designed to build great and enduring organizations, build winning cultures, promote execution on major strategic initiatives, build leaders at all levels of an organization, and increase the individual and interpersonal effectiveness of people. Our vision is to profoundly impact the way billions of people throughout the world live, work, and achieve their own great purposes. We believe ongoing investment in our existing and new content will allow us to achieve this vision.

New Subscription Service Sales and the Renewal of Existing Client Contracts – Even prior to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, we invested heavily in the digital delivery of our content through our All Access Pass and Leader in Me subscription services. These digital delivery platforms allow our content and offerings to be accessible at scale in a wide variety of organizations and schools, and provide compelling value propositions to our clients. We believe our ongoing investment in digital delivery enables us to deliver content to clients in a high-quality learning environment whether those clients are working remotely or in a centralized location. As organizations implement and utilize the content on the AAP and schools realize the benefits of the Leader in Me program, we believe that we create durable strategic relationships with our clients that encourage the renewal of subscription contracts. We are focused on building strategic relationships with both new and existing clients to provide new subscription sales opportunities and renewal or expansion of existing subscription services with current clients.

Expand our Global Reach and Distribution – We are focused on consistently increasing the number of new client partners, consultants, coaches, and implementation specialists to increase our global reach and sales opportunities. We believe adding client partners is a key driver of future growth as our model is designed to have new client partners at or near breakeven during their first year, and then make significant contributions to sales growth thereafter. At August 31, 2021, we had 273 client partners compared with 254 at the end of fiscal 2020.

Most Impactful Thought Leadership – We believe that our offerings address some of the most significant challenges that organizations and individuals face. However, we are not comfortable resting on past successes and we seek to engage individuals who can provide timely and impactful thought leadership on a variety of topics. Over the past couple of years we have released six new bestselling books, including Get Better, Everyone Deserves a Great Manager, and Leading Loyalty. During fiscal 2020 we developed and released new offerings based on the bestselling book Multipliers, by Liz Wiseman. To increase the visibility of our thought leadership, we seek to publish new books each year and we have significantly expanded our presence in podcasts, relevant white papers, and digital media. We believe our ongoing efforts to strengthen our thought leadership will provide added opportunities in the training marketplace.

Other key factors that influence our operating results include: the number of organizations that are active customers; the number of people trained within those organizations; the continuation or renewal of existing services contracts, especially subscription renewals; the availability of budgeted training spending at our clients and prospective clients, which, in certain content categories, can be significantly influenced by general economic conditions; client satisfaction with our offerings and services; the number and productivity of our international licensee operations; and our ability to manage operating costs necessary to develop and provide meaningful offerings and related products to our clients.

Results of Operations

The following table sets forth, for the fiscal years indicated, the percentage of total sales represented by the line items through income or loss before income taxes in our consolidated statements of operations. This table should be read in conjunction with the accompanying discussion and analysis, the consolidated financial statements, and the related notes to the consolidated financial statements (amounts in percentages).

FISCAL 2021 COMPARED WITH FISCAL 2020 RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

Enterprise Division

Direct Offices Segment

The Direct Office segment includes our sales personnel that serve clients in the United States and Canada; our directly owned international offices in Japan, China, the United Kingdom, Australia, and our offices in Germany, Switzerland, and Austria; and other groups such as our government services office and books and audio sales. The following comparative information is for our Direct Offices segment for the periods indicated (in thousands):

Sales at our direct offices in the U.S. and Canada, including government sales, increased 16 percent, or $16.3 million during fiscal 2021, which was primarily driven by increased AAP subscription revenues. During fiscal 2021 our All Access Pass subscription revenues remained strong and increased 18 percent over the prior year, while annual AAP revenue retention remained above 90 percent for the year. Our AAP subscription and subscription services revenue increased 24 percent compared with fiscal 2020. We believe the continued increase in invoiced AAP sales, which are initially recognized on the balance sheet, provide a solid base for continued revenue growth in fiscal 2022 and in future periods. In addition to the increase in invoiced AAP sales, the number of multi-year contracts is increasing as well. As of August 31, 2021, more than 40 percent of all AAP contracts are now multi-year contracts. We continue to be encouraged by the durability of AAP sales as clients have transitioned to and effectively utilized the digital delivery options available through the All Access Pass. As a result of this successful transition, our invoiced subscription services are recovering and were strong during fiscal 2021. We believe the strength and durability of our All Access Pass platform, and ongoing improvements to the platform such as those that will be enabled by fiscal 2021 acquisition of Strive Talent, Inc. will lead to continued success in our U.S. and Canada direct office operations in fiscal 2022 and in the future.

Our foreign direct offices continued to be impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic as governmental mandates limited gatherings, business activity, and training opportunities during fiscal 2021. However, these operations have been steadily improving since the third quarter of fiscal 2020. After a slow start to fiscal 2021, international direct office sales increased $3.5 million or 13 percent, compared with fiscal 2020. We remain confident that our international direct offices will continue to recover during fiscal 2021 and will strengthen in future periods. Foreign exchange rates had a $1.9 million favorable impact on our Direct Office sales and a $0.3 million favorable impact on operating income during fiscal 2021. As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, we expect that our foreign Direct Offices will accelerate their transition to the All Access Pass in future periods. While we are optimistic about the future of our direct office channel and AAP revenues, our future Direct Office financial performance is highly dependent upon economic recovery from the pandemic, including the opening of national and regional economies and other factors which may not be within in our control.

Gross Profit. Gross profit increased primarily due to increased sales and recognition of previously deferred subscription services revenues in the mix of overall sales, which also increased Direct Office gross margin percentage when compared with the prior year.

SG&A Expense. Increased Direct Office SG&A expense was primarily due to variable associate costs, including increased commissions, bonuses, and incentives resulting from increased sales and improved operating results, and increased headcount from new sales and sales support personnel. These increases were partially offset by reduced travel and entertainment expense and cost savings from initiatives which were implemented as a result of the pandemic.

International Licensees Segment

In foreign locations where we do not have a directly owned office, our training and consulting services are delivered through independent licensees. The following comparative information is for our international licensee operations for the periods indicated (in thousands):

Sales. International licensee revenues are primarily comprised of royalty revenues. Our licensee revenues increased compared with the prior year primarily due to increased licensee sales as the economies in many of the countries where our licensees operate continue to recover. During fiscal 2021, our royalty revenues increased 13 percent compared to the prior year and licensee sales of AAP contracts continues to strengthen. We receive additional revenue from the international licensees for AAP sales to cover a portion of the costs of operating the AAP portal. Partially offsetting these increases were decreased product sales to the licensees. Despite the ongoing difficulties associated with the pandemic and the varying impacts on each country’s business environment, we continue to be encouraged by the recovery of our licensee operations as they are adapting to conditions, improving digital delivery capabilities, and increasing sales of the All Access Pass subscription. The continued recovery of our licensee segment is highly dependent upon the re-opening of foreign economies, the ability or willingness of people to travel and meet together in groups, and increasing AAP sales to clients. We have translated AAP content into multiple languages and we believe the electronic availability of our offerings through this platform may accelerate the recovery of licensee operations if they can effectively market, adapt, and sell this online technology to their clients. However, if pandemic conditions continue to linger, our recovery to pre-pandemic sales levels may take longer than previously anticipated. Foreign exchange rates had a $0.1 million favorable impact on international licensee sales and operating results during fiscal 2021.

Gross Profit. Gross profit increased due to increased sales as previously described. Gross margin improved primarily due to the mix of revenue recognized during fiscal 2021, which included more royalty revenues and less product sales than in fiscal 2020.

SG&A Expense. International licensee SG&A expenses decreased primarily due to cost savings initiatives implemented during late fiscal 2020 and in fiscal 2021. These improvements were partially offset by increased variable associate costs, such as bonuses and incentives, resulting from increased revenue and improved profitability.

Education Division

Our Education Division is comprised of our domestic and international Education practice operations, which are focused on sales to educational institutions, and includes our widely acclaimed Leader in Me program designed for students primarily in K-6 elementary schools. The following comparative information is for our Education Division in the periods indicated (in thousands):