Item 3. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk
Item 3. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk
 
Interest Rate Risk
 
Our exposure to market rate risk for changes in interest rates relates primarily to our investment portfolio and variable rate debt. We do not use derivative financial instruments to manage our interest rate risk. We are averse to principal loss and ensure the safety and preservation of invested funds by limiting default, market risk and reinvestment risk. Our investment portfolio is generally comprised of investments that meet high credit quality standards and have active secondary and resale markets. Since these securities are subject to interest rate risk, they could decline in value if interest rates fluctuate or if the liquidity of the investment portfolio were to change. Due to the short duration and conservative nature of our investment portfolio, we do not anticipate any material loss with respect to our investment portfolio. A 10% move in interest rates as of the end of the first quarter of 2020 would have had an immaterial effect on our financial position, results of operations and cash flows.
 
Foreign Currency Exchange Rate Risk
 
All of our sales and costs of manufacturing are transacted in U.S. dollars. We conduct a portion of our research and development activities in India and have sales and marketing offices in several locations outside of the United States. We use the U.S. dollar as our functional currency. Most of the costs incurred at these international locations are in local currency. If these local currencies strengthen against the U.S. dollar, our payroll and other local expenses will be higher than we currently anticipate. Since our sales are transacted in U.S. dollars, this negative impact on expenses would not be offset by any positive effect on revenue. Operating expenses denominated in foreign currencies were approximately 18% and 19% of total operating expenses for the nine months of 2020 and 2019, respectively. A currency exchange rate fluctuation of 10% would have caused our operating expenses to change by approximately $203,000 in the nine months of 2020.
 
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