Accrued Expenses And Other Current Liabilities

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2022

Accrued Expenses and Other Current Liabilities

ACCRUED EXPENSES AND OTHER CURRENT LIABILITIES

Accrued expenses and other current liabilities consisted of the following at December 31:



(In thousands)	2022		2021
Employee compensation and benefits	$	77,804	$	85,760
Deferred acquisition payments and contingent consideration*	34,013		39,307
Current portion of accrued warranty	35,148		33,874

Other	72,273		84,497
Accrued expenses and other current liabilities	$	219,238	$	243,438

* Includes current portion of contingent consideration (Note 12) and deferred consideration and holdback payments related to acquisitions (Note 4).

Estimated costs related to product warranties are accrued at the time products are sold. In estimating its future warranty obligations, the Company considers various factors, including the Company's historical warranty costs, warranty claim lag, and sales. The following table provides a reconciliation of the activity related to the Company's accrued warranty, including both the current and long-term portions, for the years ended December 31:


(In thousands)	2022		2021		2020
Balance at beginning of period	$	52,114	$	47,091	$	47,167
Provision for warranty expense	46,363		28,223		19,037
Warranty liability from acquired businesses	—		7,890		2,915
Warranty costs paid	(43,949)		(31,090)		(22,028)
Balance at end of period	54,528		52,114		47,091
Less long-term portion	(19,380)		(18,240)		(14,640)
Current portion of accrued warranty at end of period	$	35,148	$	33,874	$	32,451

Warranty costs paid for the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021 included $0.3 million and $3.5 million, respectively, of payments related to a specific warranty issue known at the time of acquisition of CURT in December 2019. These payments will be reimbursed to the Company by the sellers of CURT under the terms of the stock purchase agreement.