such fluctuations are due to a variety of factors , including , among others : ( i ) the level of staff utilization created by our ability to effectively manage our workforce , ( ii ) adjustments to the timing of work on specific customer contracts , ( iii ) the experience mix of personnel assigned to projects , and ( iv ) the service mix and pricing of our contracts . in addition , as global projects wind down or as delays and cancellations occur , staffing levels in certain countries or functional areas can become misaligned with the current business volume . new business awards and backlog we add new business awards to backlog when we enter into a contract or when we receive a written commitment from the customer selecting us as its service provider , provided that ( i ) the customer has received appropriate internal funding approval , ( ii ) the project or projects are not contingent upon completion of another trial or event , ( iii ) the project or projects are expected to commence within the next 12 months and ( iv ) the customer has entered or intends to enter into a comprehensive contract as soon as practicable . contracts generally have terms ranging from several months to several years . we recognize revenue on these awards as services are performed , provided we have entered into a contractual commitment with the customer . our new business awards , net of cancellations of prior awards , for the years ended december 31 , 2016 , 2015 and 2014 were $ 1.22 billion , $ 1.18 billion and $ 0.95 billion , respectively , representing a 4.0 % increase from 2015 to 2016 and a 23.9 % increase from 2014 to 2015. net new business awards were higher for the year ended december 31 , 2016 , due to a lower cancellation rate across our therapeutic service offerings . the growth in net awards was principally in our cns therapeutic area . new business awards have varied and will continue to vary significantly from quarter to quarter . the dollar amount of our backlog consists of anticipated future net service revenue from business awards that either ( 1 ) have not started but are anticipated to begin in the future , or ( 2 ) are in process and have not been completed . our backlog also reflects any cancellation or adjustment activity related to these contracts . the average duration of our contracts will fluctuate from period to period in the future based on the contracts comprising our backlog at any given time . the majority of our contracts can be terminated by our customers with 30 days ' notice . the dollar amount of our backlog is adjusted each quarter for foreign currency fluctuations . during the year ended december 31 , 2016 , fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates resulted in an unfavorable impact on our december 31 , 2016 backlog in the amount of approximately $ 19.2 million , primarily due to the weakening of the euro and british pound against the u.s. dollar . our backlog as of december 31 , 2016 , 2015 and 2014 was $ 1.99 billion , $ 1.81 billion and $ 1.59 billion , respectively , representing a 9.6 % increase from 2015 to 2016 and a 14.1 % increase from 2014 to 2015 . included within backlog at december 31 , 2016 is approximately $ 0.87 billion that we expect to translate into revenue in 2017 , with the remainder expected to generate revenue beyond 2017 . we believe that backlog and net new business awards might not be consistent indicators of future revenue because they have been , and likely will be , affected by a number of factors , including the variable size and duration of projects , many of which are performed over several years , and cancellations and changes to the scope of work during the course of projects . additionally , projects may be canceled or delayed by the customer or delayed by regulatory authorities . projects that have been delayed for less than 12 months remain in backlog , but the anticipated timing of the recognition of revenue is uncertain . we generally do not have a contractual right to the full amount of the revenue reflected in our backlog . if a customer cancels an award , we might be reimbursed for the costs we have incurred . fluctuations in our reported backlog and net new business award levels also result from the fact that we may receive a small number of relatively large orders in any given reporting period . because of these large orders , our backlog and net new business awards in that reporting period might reach levels that are not sustained in subsequent reporting periods . as we increasingly compete for and enter into large contracts that are more global in nature , we expect the rate at which our backlog and net new business awards convert into revenue to decrease , or lengthen . see part i , item 1a `` risk factors—risks related to our business—our backlog 51 might not be indicative of our future revenues , and we might not realize all of the anticipated future revenue reflected in our backlog `` for more information . results of operations year ended december 31 , 2016 compared to the years ended december 31 , 2015 and 2014 the following table sets forth amounts from our consolidated financial statements along with the percentage change for years ended december 31 , 2016 , 2015 and 2014 ( dollars in thousands ) : replace_table_token_6_th 52 net service revenue and reimbursable out-of-pocket expenses for the years ended december 31 , 2016 , 2015 and 2014 , total revenue was comprised of the following ( dollars in thousands ) : replace_table_token_7_th net service revenue increased $ 115.6 million , or 12.6 % , story_separator_special_tag during the year ended december 31 , 2015 , we incurred transaction expenses of $ 1.6 million , primarily consisting of third-party fees associated with our stock repurchases in may and december of 2015 and our secondary common stock offerings in may , august and december of 2015. transaction expenses were $ 7.9 million for the year ended december 31 , 2014 and primarily consisted of ( i ) $ 4.2 million of debt issuance costs and third-party fees associated with the debt refinancing transactions in february and november 2014 , ( ii ) a $ 3.4 million payment to avista to terminate our consulting services agreement , and ( iii ) $ 0.3 million of legal fees associated with our march 2014 acquisition of mek consulting , a full service cro with operations in the middle east . goodwill and intangible asset impairment charges we evaluate goodwill for impairment annually , or more frequently if events or changes in circumstances indicate that goodwill might be impaired . we perform our annual impairment test by estimating the fair value of each reporting unit using a combination of the income and market approaches for purposes of estimating our total fair value of the reporting unit . during the second quarter of 2014 , we determined that the global consulting ( a component of the clinical development segment ) and phase i services reporting units were not performing according to management 's expectations , requiring an evaluation to determine if the associated goodwill and intangible assets were 57 impaired . as a result of this evaluation , we recorded a $ 9.2 million impairment of goodwill and an $ 8.0 million impairment of intangible assets for the year ended december 31 , 2014. during the first quarter of 2015 , we continued to observe deteriorating performance within our phase i services reporting unit due to reduced revenue resulting from cancellations and lower than expected new business awards . this resulted in a triggering event , requiring an evaluation of both long-lived assets and goodwill for potential impairment . as a result of this evaluation , we recorded a total asset impairment charge of $ 3.9 million , comprised of a long-lived assets impairment charge of $ 1.0 million and a goodwill impairment charge of $ 2.9 million , which was the total remaining goodwill balance of our phase i services reporting unit as of the evaluation date . there were no asset impairment charges during 2016. depreciation and amortization expense total depreciation and amortization expense increased to $ 59.2 million for the year ended december 31 , 2016 from $ 56.0 million for the year ended december 31 , 2015 . this increase was a result of an increase in depreciation expense of $ 3.2 million for the year ended december 31 , 2016 as compared to the year ended december 31 , 2015 , principally due to higher capital expenditures in 2016. total depreciation and amortization expense increased to $ 56.0 million for the year ended december 31 , 2015 from $ 54.5 million for the year ended december 31 , 2014. amortization expense increased by $ 5.0 million for the year ended december 31 , 2015 as compared to the year ended december 31 , 2014 , primarily due to the reduction in estimated useful lives of certain intangible assets during the second quarter of 2014. these increases were partially offset by a $ 3.5 million decrease in depreciation expense for the year ended december 31 , 2015 as compared to the year ended december 31 , 2014 , principally due to ( i ) lower capital expenditures in 2015 and ( ii ) the write-off of long-lived assets in the phase i services reporting unit during the first quarter of 2015. other ( expense ) income , net for the years ended december 31 , 2016 , 2015 and 2014 , the components of total other ( expenses ) income , net were as follows ( dollars in thousands ) : replace_table_token_12_th interest expense decreased by $ 3.6 million for the year ended december 31 , 2016 compared to the year ended december 31 , 2015 and by $ 37.4 million for the year ended december 31 , 2015 compared to the year ended december 31 , 2014 . the decreases in interest expense during the last two years are primarily due to the decreased interest rates as a result of our debt repayment and refinancing activities during the fourth quarter of 2014 , second quarter of 2015 and third quarter of 2016. the loss on extinguishment of debt was $ 0.4 million , $ 9.8 million and $ 46.8 million for the years ended december 31 , 2016 , 2015 and 2014 , respectively , as a result of the august 2016 , may 2015 and november 2014 debt refinancing transactions . other ( expense ) income , net , decreased by $ 12.9 million for the year ended december 31 , 2016 compared to the year ended december 31 , 2015 and by $ 3.8 million for the year ended december 31 , 2015 compared to the year ended december 31 , 2014 . other ( expense ) income , net is primarily comprised of foreign currency gains and losses and the changes are principally driven by fluctuations in foreign exchange rates . in particular , the june 2016 referendum by british voters to exit the european union impacted global markets , including currencies , and resulted in a sharp decline in the value of the british pound as compared to the u.s. 58 dollar and other currencies . in addition , the u.s. presidential election results and resulting foreign policy activities have caused foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations . volatility in exchange rates is expected to continue in the short term as a result of the uncertainties surrounding these activities , which could continue to drive significant fluctuations in foreign currency gains or losses in future

liquidity and capital resources key measures of our liquidity are as follows ( in thousands ) : december 31 , 2016 december 31 , 2015 balance sheet statistics : cash and cash equivalents ( 1 ) $ 102,471 $ 85,011 working capital ( excluding restricted cash ) 55,295 ( 52,998 ) ( 1 ) as of december 31 , 2016 , the amount of cash and cash equivalents held outside the united states by our foreign subsidiaries was $ 86.4 million . cash and cash equivalent balances outside the united states may be subject to foreign withholding and united states taxation , if repatriated . we intend to reinvest cash outside the u.s. except in instances where repatriating such earnings would result in no additional income tax . we fund our operations and growth , including acquisitions , primarily with our working capital , cash flow from operations as well as funds available for borrowing under our $ 200.0 million revolving credit facility . our principal liquidity requirements are to fund our debt service obligations , capital expenditures , expansion of services , possible acquisitions , integration and restructuring costs , geographic expansion , working capital and other general corporate purposes . based on past performance and current expectations , we believe our cash and cash equivalents , cash generated from operations and funds available under our revolving credit facility will be sufficient to meet our working capital needs , capital expenditures , scheduled debt and interest payments , income tax obligations and other currently anticipated liquidity requirements for at least the next 12 months . in august 2016 , we entered into the first amendment to credit agreement and increase revolving joinder ( the “ first amendment ” ) , which amended the credit agreement dated as of may 14 , 2015 ( as amended , the `` credit agreement '' ) .


 Write a concise suspicious activity report of the following text delimited by triple backquotes. Return your response as a formal report which covers the key points highlighting the location,dates,entity names and account holder information in chronological order of the text.
     ```liquidity and capital resources key measures of our liquidity are as follows ( in thousands ) : december 31 , 2016 december 31 , 2015 balance sheet statistics : cash and cash equivalents ( 1 ) $ 102,471 $ 85,011 working capital ( excluding restricted cash ) 55,295 ( 52,998 ) ( 1 ) as of december 31 , 2016 , the amount of cash and cash equivalents held outside the united states by our foreign subsidiaries was $ 86.4 million . cash and cash equivalent balances outside the united states may be subject to foreign withholding and united states taxation , if repatriated . we intend to reinvest cash outside the u.s. except in instances where repatriating such earnings would result in no additional income tax . we fund our operations and growth , including acquisitions , primarily with our working capital , cash flow from operations as well as funds available for borrowing under our $ 200.0 million revolving credit facility . our principal liquidity requirements are to fund our debt service obligations , capital expenditures , expansion of services , possible acquisitions , integration and restructuring costs , geographic expansion , working capital and other general corporate purposes . based on past performance and current expectations , we believe our cash and cash equivalents , cash generated from operations and funds available under our revolving credit facility will be sufficient to meet our working capital needs , capital expenditures , scheduled debt and interest payments , income tax obligations and other currently anticipated liquidity requirements for at least the next 12 months . in august 2016 , we entered into the first amendment to credit agreement and increase revolving joinder ( the “ first amendment ” ) , which amended the credit agreement dated as of may 14 , 2015 ( as amended , the `` credit agreement '' ) .
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 Suspicious Activity Report : such fluctuations are due to a variety of factors , including , among others : ( i ) the level of staff utilization created by our ability to effectively manage our workforce , ( ii ) adjustments to the timing of work on specific customer contracts , ( iii ) the experience mix of personnel assigned to projects , and ( iv ) the service mix and pricing of our contracts . in addition , as global projects wind down or as delays and cancellations occur , staffing levels in certain countries or functional areas can become misaligned with the current business volume . new business awards and backlog we add new business awards to backlog when we enter into a contract or when we receive a written commitment from the customer selecting us as its service provider , provided that ( i ) the customer has received appropriate internal funding approval , ( ii ) the project or projects are not contingent upon completion of another trial or event , ( iii ) the project or projects are expected to commence within the next 12 months and ( iv ) the customer has entered or intends to enter into a comprehensive contract as soon as practicable . contracts generally have terms ranging from several months to several years . we recognize revenue on these awards as services are performed , provided we have entered into a contractual commitment with the customer . our new business awards , net of cancellations of prior awards , for the years ended december 31 , 2016 , 2015 and 2014 were $ 1.22 billion , $ 1.18 billion and $ 0.95 billion , respectively , representing a 4.0 % increase from 2015 to 2016 and a 23.9 % increase from 2014 to 2015. net new business awards were higher for the year ended december 31 , 2016 , due to a lower cancellation rate across our therapeutic service offerings . the growth in net awards was principally in our cns therapeutic area . new business awards have varied and will continue to vary significantly from quarter to quarter . the dollar amount of our backlog consists of anticipated future net service revenue from business awards that either ( 1 ) have not started but are anticipated to begin in the future , or ( 2 ) are in process and have not been completed . our backlog also reflects any cancellation or adjustment activity related to these contracts . the average duration of our contracts will fluctuate from period to period in the future based on the contracts comprising our backlog at any given time . the majority of our contracts can be terminated by our customers with 30 days ' notice . the dollar amount of our backlog is adjusted each quarter for foreign currency fluctuations . during the year ended december 31 , 2016 , fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates resulted in an unfavorable impact on our december 31 , 2016 backlog in the amount of approximately $ 19.2 million , primarily due to the weakening of the euro and british pound against the u.s. dollar . our backlog as of december 31 , 2016 , 2015 and 2014 was $ 1.99 billion , $ 1.81 billion and $ 1.59 billion , respectively , representing a 9.6 % increase from 2015 to 2016 and a 14.1 % increase from 2014 to 2015 . included within backlog at december 31 , 2016 is approximately $ 0.87 billion that we expect to translate into revenue in 2017 , with the remainder expected to generate revenue beyond 2017 . we believe that backlog and net new business awards might not be consistent indicators of future revenue because they have been , and likely will be , affected by a number of factors , including the variable size and duration of projects , many of which are performed over several years , and cancellations and changes to the scope of work during the course of projects . additionally , projects may be canceled or delayed by the customer or delayed by regulatory authorities . projects that have been delayed for less than 12 months remain in backlog , but the anticipated timing of the recognition of revenue is uncertain . we generally do not have a contractual right to the full amount of the revenue reflected in our backlog . if a customer cancels an award , we might be reimbursed for the costs we have incurred . fluctuations in our reported backlog and net new business award levels also result from the fact that we may receive a small number of relatively large orders in any given reporting period . because of these large orders , our backlog and net new business awards in that reporting period might reach levels that are not sustained in subsequent reporting periods . as we increasingly compete for and enter into large contracts that are more global in nature , we expect the rate at which our backlog and net new business awards convert into revenue to decrease , or lengthen . see part i , item 1a `` risk factors—risks related to our business—our backlog 51 might not be indicative of our future revenues , and we might not realize all of the anticipated future revenue reflected in our backlog `` for more information . results of operations year ended december 31 , 2016 compared to the years ended december 31 , 2015 and 2014 the following table sets forth amounts from our consolidated financial statements along with the percentage change for years ended december 31 , 2016 , 2015 and 2014 ( dollars in thousands ) : replace_table_token_6_th 52 net service revenue and reimbursable out-of-pocket expenses for the years ended december 31 , 2016 , 2015 and 2014 , total revenue was comprised of the following ( dollars in thousands ) : replace_table_token_7_th net service revenue increased $ 115.6 million , or 12.6 % , story_separator_special_tag during the year ended december 31 , 2015 , we incurred transaction expenses of $ 1.6 million , primarily consisting of third-party fees associated with our stock repurchases in may and december of 2015 and our secondary common stock offerings in may , august and december of 2015. transaction expenses were $ 7.9 million for the year ended december 31 , 2014 and primarily consisted of ( i ) $ 4.2 million of debt issuance costs and third-party fees associated with the debt refinancing transactions in february and november 2014 , ( ii ) a $ 3.4 million payment to avista to terminate our consulting services agreement , and ( iii ) $ 0.3 million of legal fees associated with our march 2014 acquisition of mek consulting , a full service cro with operations in the middle east . goodwill and intangible asset impairment charges we evaluate goodwill for impairment annually , or more frequently if events or changes in circumstances indicate that goodwill might be impaired . we perform our annual impairment test by estimating the fair value of each reporting unit using a combination of the income and market approaches for purposes of estimating our total fair value of the reporting unit . during the second quarter of 2014 , we determined that the global consulting ( a component of the clinical development segment ) and phase i services reporting units were not performing according to management 's expectations , requiring an evaluation to determine if the associated goodwill and intangible assets were 57 impaired . as a result of this evaluation , we recorded a $ 9.2 million impairment of goodwill and an $ 8.0 million impairment of intangible assets for the year ended december 31 , 2014. during the first quarter of 2015 , we continued to observe deteriorating performance within our phase i services reporting unit due to reduced revenue resulting from cancellations and lower than expected new business awards . this resulted in a triggering event , requiring an evaluation of both long-lived assets and goodwill for potential impairment . as a result of this evaluation , we recorded a total asset impairment charge of $ 3.9 million , comprised of a long-lived assets impairment charge of $ 1.0 million and a goodwill impairment charge of $ 2.9 million , which was the total remaining goodwill balance of our phase i services reporting unit as of the evaluation date . there were no asset impairment charges during 2016. depreciation and amortization expense total depreciation and amortization expense increased to $ 59.2 million for the year ended december 31 , 2016 from $ 56.0 million for the year ended december 31 , 2015 . this increase was a result of an increase in depreciation expense of $ 3.2 million for the year ended december 31 , 2016 as compared to the year ended december 31 , 2015 , principally due to higher capital expenditures in 2016. total depreciation and amortization expense increased to $ 56.0 million for the year ended december 31 , 2015 from $ 54.5 million for the year ended december 31 , 2014. amortization expense increased by $ 5.0 million for the year ended december 31 , 2015 as compared to the year ended december 31 , 2014 , primarily due to the reduction in estimated useful lives of certain intangible assets during the second quarter of 2014. these increases were partially offset by a $ 3.5 million decrease in depreciation expense for the year ended december 31 , 2015 as compared to the year ended december 31 , 2014 , principally due to ( i ) lower capital expenditures in 2015 and ( ii ) the write-off of long-lived assets in the phase i services reporting unit during the first quarter of 2015. other ( expense ) income , net for the years ended december 31 , 2016 , 2015 and 2014 , the components of total other ( expenses ) income , net were as follows ( dollars in thousands ) : replace_table_token_12_th interest expense decreased by $ 3.6 million for the year ended december 31 , 2016 compared to the year ended december 31 , 2015 and by $ 37.4 million for the year ended december 31 , 2015 compared to the year ended december 31 , 2014 . the decreases in interest expense during the last two years are primarily due to the decreased interest rates as a result of our debt repayment and refinancing activities during the fourth quarter of 2014 , second quarter of 2015 and third quarter of 2016. the loss on extinguishment of debt was $ 0.4 million , $ 9.8 million and $ 46.8 million for the years ended december 31 , 2016 , 2015 and 2014 , respectively , as a result of the august 2016 , may 2015 and november 2014 debt refinancing transactions . other ( expense ) income , net , decreased by $ 12.9 million for the year ended december 31 , 2016 compared to the year ended december 31 , 2015 and by $ 3.8 million for the year ended december 31 , 2015 compared to the year ended december 31 , 2014 . other ( expense ) income , net is primarily comprised of foreign currency gains and losses and the changes are principally driven by fluctuations in foreign exchange rates . in particular , the june 2016 referendum by british voters to exit the european union impacted global markets , including currencies , and resulted in a sharp decline in the value of the british pound as compared to the u.s. 58 dollar and other currencies . in addition , the u.s. presidential election results and resulting foreign policy activities have caused foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations . volatility in exchange rates is expected to continue in the short term as a result of the uncertainties surrounding these activities , which could continue to drive significant fluctuations in foreign currency gains or losses in future

