the revenues associated with the recovery of a portion of these loans may be recognized in subsequent accounting periods , which assists management in estimating future revenues and in allocating resources necessary to address current placement volumes . replace_table_token_5_th 27 there are five potential outcomes to the student loan recovery process from which we generate revenues . these outcomes include : full repayment , recurring payments , rehabilitation , loan restructuring and wage garnishment . of these five potential outcomes , our ability to rehabilitate defaulted student loans is the most significant component of our revenues in this market . generally , a loan is considered successfully rehabilitated after the student loan borrower has made nine consecutive qualifying monthly payments and our client has notified us that it is recalling the loan . once we have structured and implemented a repayment program for a defaulted borrower , we ( i ) earn a percentage of each periodic payment collected up to and including the final periodic payment prior to the loan being considered “ rehabilitated ” by our clients , and ( ii ) if the loan is “ rehabilitated , ” then we are paid a one-time percentage of the total amount of the remaining unpaid balance or in the case of our work for the department of education , a fixed fee of $ 1,710 for each rehabilitated loan . the fees we are paid vary by recovery outcome as well as by contract . for non-government-supported student loans we are generally only paid contingency fees on two outcomes : full repayment or recurring repayments . the table below describes our typical fee structure for each of these five outcomes . student loan recovery outcomes full repayment recurring payments rehabilitation loan restructuring wage garnishment repayment in full of the loan regular structured payments , typically according to a renegotiated payment plan after a defaulted borrower has made nine consecutive recurring payments , the loan is eligible for rehabilitation restructure and consolidate a number of outstanding loans into a single loan , typically with one monthly payment and an extended maturity if we are unable to obtain voluntary repayment , payments may be obtained through wage garnishment after certain administrative requirements are met we are paid a percentage of the full payment that is made we are paid a percentage of each payment we are paid based on a percentage of the overall value of the rehabilitated loan or for the department of education , a fixed fee we are paid based on a percentage of overall value of the restructured loan we are paid a percentage of each payment in october 2014 , the department of education announced a change in the structure for the payment of fees to recovery contractors upon rehabilitation of student loans under the existing recovery contract . the new fee structure provides for a fixed fee of $ 1,710 for each loan that is rehabilitated . previously , the fee had been based on a percentage of the principal amount of the rehabilitated loan . the change to the fee structure became effective for student loans that were rehabilitated on or following july 1 , 2015. further , the bipartisan budget act of 2013 , which was signed into law by president obama on december 26 , 2013 , reduced the compensation paid to gas for the rehabilitation of student loans , effective july 1 , 2014. this “ revenue enhancement ” measure reduced the amount that gas can charge borrowers when a rehabilitated loan is sold by the ga from 18.5 % to 16.0 % of the outstanding loan balance , and eliminated entirely the gas retention of 18.5 % of the outstanding loan balance as a fee for rehabilitation services . the reduction in compensation the gas receive resulted in a decrease in the contingency fee percentage that we receive from the gas for assisting in the rehabilitation of defaulted student loans . as a result of the fee reductions from the department of education and the gas discussed above , our revenues from student lending in 2015 were approximately 14 % lower than in 2014. our revenues from student lending were approximately 8 % lower in 2016 compared to 2015 as a result of the expiration of our contract with the department of education in april 2015 and because the revenues associated with placements received prior to such contract expiration have been trailing off as we have worked through this inventory . revenues from the department of education fell by approximately 78 % and 42 % in 2017 and 2016 compared to the prior year , respectively , although this decrease was partially offset by an approximately 2 % and 7 % increase in revenues from gas and other student lending clients in the same respective periods . healthcare we derive revenues from both commercial and government clients in the healthcare market . revenues earned under these contracts are driven by auditing , identifying , and sometimes recovering improperly paid claims through both automated and manual review of such claims . we are paid contingency fees by our clients based on a percentage of the dollar amount of 28 claims recovered by cms as a result of our efforts . the revenues we recognize are net of our estimate of claims that will be overturned by appeal following payment by the provider . on october 5 , 2017 , we announced that we were awarded the medicare secondary payer crc contract by cms . under this agreement , we are responsible for identifying and recovering payments in situations where medicare should not be the primary payer of healthcare claims because a beneficiary has other forms of insurance coverage , such as through an employer group health plan or certain other payers . story_separator_special_tag the core principle of the guidance is that an entity should recognize revenue to depict the transfer of promised goods or services to customers in an amount that reflects the consideration to which the entity expects to be entitled in exchange for those goods or services . to achieve that core principle , an entity should apply a five step model for recognizing and measuring revenue from contracts with customers . in addition , an entity should disclose sufficient qualitative and quantitative information to enable users of financial statements to understand the nature , amount , timing and uncertainty of revenue and cash flows arising from contracts with customers . the new revenue recognition guidance , including subsequent amendments , is effective for annual reporting periods beginning after december 15 , 2017 , including interim periods within that reporting period . as of the date of this filing , we have completed our contract review and policy drafting . based on our review , we believe the timing of revenue recognition will not materially change from current practice and the impact of adopting the new guidance is not material to our results of operations . we do not anticipate that our internal control framework will materially change as a result of the new guidance , but rather that existing internal controls will be modified and augmented as necessary . we will adopt topic 606 as of january 1 , 2018 using the full retrospective method . we will provide additional information about the impact of this new guidance , including enhanced disclosure requirements , in future filings . results of operations year ended december 31 , 2017 compared to the year ended december 31 , 2016 the following table represents our historical operating results for the periods presented : replace_table_token_6_th revenues total revenues were $ 132.0 million for the year ended december 31 , 2017 , a decrease of $ 9.3 million or 7 % , compared to total revenues of $ 141.4 million for the year ended december 31 , 2016 . the decrease is due to a decline in revenues in both our student lending and healthcare markets . 32 student lending revenues were $ 94.3 million for the year ended december 31 , 2017 , representing a decrease of $ 15.3 million , or 14 % , compared to the year ended december 31 , 2016 . this decrease was primarily a result of the expiration of the department of education contract in april 2015 and subsequent wind down , partially offset by an increase in revenue as a result of an increase in the number of borrowers that are participating in the rehabilitation programs with our guaranty agency clients . healthcare revenues were $ 10.0 million for the year ended december 31 , 2017 , representing a decrease of $ 1.4 million , or 12 % , compared to the year ended december 31 , 2016 . this decrease was due primarily to the wind down of our first rac contract during 2017 , offset by an approximately $ 2.9 million increase in revenues from commercial healthcare customers . salaries and benefits salaries and benefits expense was $ 82.2 million for the year ended december 31 , 2017 , an increase of $ 3.3 million , or 4 % , compared to salaries and benefits expense of $ 78.9 million for the year ended december 31 , 2016 . the increase in salaries and benefits expense was primarily due to increased headcount during 2017 in anticipation of ramp up of activity related to new clients and contracts . other operating expense other operating expense was $ 55.9 million for the year ended december 31 , 2017 , an increase of $ 0.9 million , or 2 % , compared to other operating expense of $ 55.0 million for the year ended december 31 , 2016 . the increase in other operating expenses was primarily due to higher third party collection fees . impairment of goodwill and intangible assets impairment of goodwill and intangible assets was $ 1.1 million for the year ended december 31 , 2017 , a decrease of $ 14.4 million , compared to impairment of goodwill and intangible assets of $ 15.4 million for the year ended december 31 , 2016 . the impairment of goodwill and intangible assets of $ 1.1 million that was recognized in 2017 relates to the write-off of goodwill and intangible assets in one of our subsidiaries , performant europe ltd. , due to the company 's decision to wind down activity in this business in 2017. in 2016 , we wrote off of $ 15.4 million related to the department of education customer relationship intangible after the department of education announced in december 2016 that we would not be a recipient of the new contract awards . loss from operations as a result of the factors described above , loss from operations was $ 7.1 million for the year ended december 31 , 2017 , compared to loss from operations of $ 7.9 million for the year ended december 31 , 2016 , representing a decrease of $ 0.8 million , or 11 % . interest expense interest expense was $ 7.0 million for the year ended december 31 , 2017 compared to $ 7.9 million for the year ended december 31 , 2016 , representing a decrease of 12 % . interest expense decreased due to repayments of principal under our prior credit agreement resulting in a lower outstanding balance in 2017. income taxes the income tax benefit was $ 1.3 million for the year ended december 31 , 2017 compared to an income tax benefit of $ 4.4 million for the year ended december 31 , 2016 . our effective income tax rate decreased to 9 % for the year ended december 31 , 2017 from 28 % for the year ended december 31 , 2016 . the decrease in the effective tax rate is

liquidity and capital resources our principal sources of liquidity are cash on hand and cash flows from operations . cash and cash equivalents , which excludes restricted cash , totaled $ 21.7 million as of december 31 , 2017 . due to our operating cash flows and our existing cash and cash equivalents and our ability to restructure both our variable and fixed expenses , we believe that we have the ability to meet our working capital and capital expenditure needs for the foreseeable future . the $ 11.3 million decrease in the balance of our cash and cash equivalents at december 31 , 2017 compared with december 31 , 2016 was primarily due to the principal repayments of $ 11.2 million on our long-term debt in 2017. the following table presents information regarding our cash flows for the years ended december 31 , 2017 , 2016 and 2015 : replace_table_token_8_th cash flows from operating activities operating activities provided $ 3.0 million of cash during the year ended december 31 , 2017 , representing a decrease of $ 14.8 million , compared to cash provided by operating activities of $ 17.8 million for the year ended december 31 , 2016 . the decrease included a net loss of $ 12.7 million in 2017 and was partially offset by various working capital fluctuations such as an increase in our income tax receivable of $ 4.8 million , an increase in trade receivables of $ 1.0 million and a decrease in other current liabilities of $ 1.1 million .


 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 our principal sources of liquidity are cash on hand and cash flows from operations . cash and cash equivalents , which excludes restricted cash , totaled $ 21.7 million as of december 31 , 2017 . due to our operating cash flows and our existing cash and cash equivalents and our ability to restructure both our variable and fixed expenses , we believe that we have the ability to meet our working capital and capital expenditure needs for the foreseeable future . the $ 11.3 million decrease in the balance of our cash and cash equivalents at december 31 , 2017 compared with december 31 , 2016 was primarily due to the principal repayments of $ 11.2 million on our long-term debt in 2017. the following table presents information regarding our cash flows for the years ended december 31 , 2017 , 2016 and 2015 : replace_table_token_8_th cash flows from operating activities operating activities provided $ 3.0 million of cash during the year ended december 31 , 2017 , representing a decrease of $ 14.8 million , compared to cash provided by operating activities of $ 17.8 million for the year ended december 31 , 2016 . the decrease included a net loss of $ 12.7 million in 2017 and was partially offset by various working capital fluctuations such as an increase in our income tax receivable of $ 4.8 million , an increase in trade receivables of $ 1.0 million and a decrease in other current liabilities of $ 1.1 million .
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 Suspicious Activity Report : the revenues associated with the recovery of a portion of these loans may be recognized in subsequent accounting periods , which assists management in estimating future revenues and in allocating resources necessary to address current placement volumes . replace_table_token_5_th 27 there are five potential outcomes to the student loan recovery process from which we generate revenues . these outcomes include : full repayment , recurring payments , rehabilitation , loan restructuring and wage garnishment . of these five potential outcomes , our ability to rehabilitate defaulted student loans is the most significant component of our revenues in this market . generally , a loan is considered successfully rehabilitated after the student loan borrower has made nine consecutive qualifying monthly payments and our client has notified us that it is recalling the loan . once we have structured and implemented a repayment program for a defaulted borrower , we ( i ) earn a percentage of each periodic payment collected up to and including the final periodic payment prior to the loan being considered “ rehabilitated ” by our clients , and ( ii ) if the loan is “ rehabilitated , ” then we are paid a one-time percentage of the total amount of the remaining unpaid balance or in the case of our work for the department of education , a fixed fee of $ 1,710 for each rehabilitated loan . the fees we are paid vary by recovery outcome as well as by contract . for non-government-supported student loans we are generally only paid contingency fees on two outcomes : full repayment or recurring repayments . the table below describes our typical fee structure for each of these five outcomes . student loan recovery outcomes full repayment recurring payments rehabilitation loan restructuring wage garnishment repayment in full of the loan regular structured payments , typically according to a renegotiated payment plan after a defaulted borrower has made nine consecutive recurring payments , the loan is eligible for rehabilitation restructure and consolidate a number of outstanding loans into a single loan , typically with one monthly payment and an extended maturity if we are unable to obtain voluntary repayment , payments may be obtained through wage garnishment after certain administrative requirements are met we are paid a percentage of the full payment that is made we are paid a percentage of each payment we are paid based on a percentage of the overall value of the rehabilitated loan or for the department of education , a fixed fee we are paid based on a percentage of overall value of the restructured loan we are paid a percentage of each payment in october 2014 , the department of education announced a change in the structure for the payment of fees to recovery contractors upon rehabilitation of student loans under the existing recovery contract . the new fee structure provides for a fixed fee of $ 1,710 for each loan that is rehabilitated . previously , the fee had been based on a percentage of the principal amount of the rehabilitated loan . the change to the fee structure became effective for student loans that were rehabilitated on or following july 1 , 2015. further , the bipartisan budget act of 2013 , which was signed into law by president obama on december 26 , 2013 , reduced the compensation paid to gas for the rehabilitation of student loans , effective july 1 , 2014. this “ revenue enhancement ” measure reduced the amount that gas can charge borrowers when a rehabilitated loan is sold by the ga from 18.5 % to 16.0 % of the outstanding loan balance , and eliminated entirely the gas retention of 18.5 % of the outstanding loan balance as a fee for rehabilitation services . the reduction in compensation the gas receive resulted in a decrease in the contingency fee percentage that we receive from the gas for assisting in the rehabilitation of defaulted student loans . as a result of the fee reductions from the department of education and the gas discussed above , our revenues from student lending in 2015 were approximately 14 % lower than in 2014. our revenues from student lending were approximately 8 % lower in 2016 compared to 2015 as a result of the expiration of our contract with the department of education in april 2015 and because the revenues associated with placements received prior to such contract expiration have been trailing off as we have worked through this inventory . revenues from the department of education fell by approximately 78 % and 42 % in 2017 and 2016 compared to the prior year , respectively , although this decrease was partially offset by an approximately 2 % and 7 % increase in revenues from gas and other student lending clients in the same respective periods . healthcare we derive revenues from both commercial and government clients in the healthcare market . revenues earned under these contracts are driven by auditing , identifying , and sometimes recovering improperly paid claims through both automated and manual review of such claims . we are paid contingency fees by our clients based on a percentage of the dollar amount of 28 claims recovered by cms as a result of our efforts . the revenues we recognize are net of our estimate of claims that will be overturned by appeal following payment by the provider . on october 5 , 2017 , we announced that we were awarded the medicare secondary payer crc contract by cms . under this agreement , we are responsible for identifying and recovering payments in situations where medicare should not be the primary payer of healthcare claims because a beneficiary has other forms of insurance coverage , such as through an employer group health plan or certain other payers . story_separator_special_tag the core principle of the guidance is that an entity should recognize revenue to depict the transfer of promised goods or services to customers in an amount that reflects the consideration to which the entity expects to be entitled in exchange for those goods or services . to achieve that core principle , an entity should apply a five step model for recognizing and measuring revenue from contracts with customers . in addition , an entity should disclose sufficient qualitative and quantitative information to enable users of financial statements to understand the nature , amount , timing and uncertainty of revenue and cash flows arising from contracts with customers . the new revenue recognition guidance , including subsequent amendments , is effective for annual reporting periods beginning after december 15 , 2017 , including interim periods within that reporting period . as of the date of this filing , we have completed our contract review and policy drafting . based on our review , we believe the timing of revenue recognition will not materially change from current practice and the impact of adopting the new guidance is not material to our results of operations . we do not anticipate that our internal control framework will materially change as a result of the new guidance , but rather that existing internal controls will be modified and augmented as necessary . we will adopt topic 606 as of january 1 , 2018 using the full retrospective method . we will provide additional information about the impact of this new guidance , including enhanced disclosure requirements , in future filings . results of operations year ended december 31 , 2017 compared to the year ended december 31 , 2016 the following table represents our historical operating results for the periods presented : replace_table_token_6_th revenues total revenues were $ 132.0 million for the year ended december 31 , 2017 , a decrease of $ 9.3 million or 7 % , compared to total revenues of $ 141.4 million for the year ended december 31 , 2016 . the decrease is due to a decline in revenues in both our student lending and healthcare markets . 32 student lending revenues were $ 94.3 million for the year ended december 31 , 2017 , representing a decrease of $ 15.3 million , or 14 % , compared to the year ended december 31 , 2016 . this decrease was primarily a result of the expiration of the department of education contract in april 2015 and subsequent wind down , partially offset by an increase in revenue as a result of an increase in the number of borrowers that are participating in the rehabilitation programs with our guaranty agency clients . healthcare revenues were $ 10.0 million for the year ended december 31 , 2017 , representing a decrease of $ 1.4 million , or 12 % , compared to the year ended december 31 , 2016 . this decrease was due primarily to the wind down of our first rac contract during 2017 , offset by an approximately $ 2.9 million increase in revenues from commercial healthcare customers . salaries and benefits salaries and benefits expense was $ 82.2 million for the year ended december 31 , 2017 , an increase of $ 3.3 million , or 4 % , compared to salaries and benefits expense of $ 78.9 million for the year ended december 31 , 2016 . the increase in salaries and benefits expense was primarily due to increased headcount during 2017 in anticipation of ramp up of activity related to new clients and contracts . other operating expense other operating expense was $ 55.9 million for the year ended december 31 , 2017 , an increase of $ 0.9 million , or 2 % , compared to other operating expense of $ 55.0 million for the year ended december 31 , 2016 . the increase in other operating expenses was primarily due to higher third party collection fees . impairment of goodwill and intangible assets impairment of goodwill and intangible assets was $ 1.1 million for the year ended december 31 , 2017 , a decrease of $ 14.4 million , compared to impairment of goodwill and intangible assets of $ 15.4 million for the year ended december 31 , 2016 . the impairment of goodwill and intangible assets of $ 1.1 million that was recognized in 2017 relates to the write-off of goodwill and intangible assets in one of our subsidiaries , performant europe ltd. , due to the company 's decision to wind down activity in this business in 2017. in 2016 , we wrote off of $ 15.4 million related to the department of education customer relationship intangible after the department of education announced in december 2016 that we would not be a recipient of the new contract awards . loss from operations as a result of the factors described above , loss from operations was $ 7.1 million for the year ended december 31 , 2017 , compared to loss from operations of $ 7.9 million for the year ended december 31 , 2016 , representing a decrease of $ 0.8 million , or 11 % . interest expense interest expense was $ 7.0 million for the year ended december 31 , 2017 compared to $ 7.9 million for the year ended december 31 , 2016 , representing a decrease of 12 % . interest expense decreased due to repayments of principal under our prior credit agreement resulting in a lower outstanding balance in 2017. income taxes the income tax benefit was $ 1.3 million for the year ended december 31 , 2017 compared to an income tax benefit of $ 4.4 million for the year ended december 31 , 2016 . our effective income tax rate decreased to 9 % for the year ended december 31 , 2017 from 28 % for the year ended december 31 , 2016 . the decrease in the effective tax rate is

