I think ultimately it depends on your point of view. It means...

I think ultimately it depends on your point of view. It means prior to the revenue fiasco the SP has been overvalued as the revenue figures were not accurate. Hence the QE class action. It also means that the company's ability to remain within its banking covenants are lessened, as debt is tied to the value of WIP. However in terms of the actual business- you're correct in saying its unaffected. Any write downs represent an on paper correction to prior on paper profits. Cashflow & potential for growth is ultimately the only thing we all need to consider when figuring out the profitability of the business.

In a declining sector larger firms tend to perform better & aquire/take over business from smaller ones and SHJ is a larger one along with SGH and MB. SGH's position is uncertain as they still have some serious debt problems and a recap plan yet to be cleared by shareholders. While they sort out their company problems they're losing clients. Other firms doing well seem to be NewLaw and those who do quite a lot of work outside of PI. I'm glad SHJ are expanding in these areas and the growth results in the business there speak for themselves.

Still doesn't change the fact that the company is largely PI but after a lot of the reforms that have been going through the industry over the last couple of years are bedded down the company will be in a good position to tell a much more positive -overall- story rather than a mixed one from there, probably processing a larger number of claims as part of a larger market share.