Accrued Expenses

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2015

Accrued expenses consist of (table in millions):



	March 31, 2015		December 31, 2014
Salaries and benefits	$	942	$	1,251
Product warranties	191		210
Dividends payable (see Note 11)	234		237
Partner rebates	179		235
Restructuring, current (See Note 12)	188		123
Derivatives	91		75
Other	992		1,010
	$	2,817	$	3,141

Product Warranties

Systems sales include a standard product warranty. At the time of the sale, we accrue for systems’ warranty costs. The initial systems’ warranty accrual is based upon our historical experience, expected future costs and specific identification of systems’ requirements. Upon sale or expiration of the initial warranty, we may sell additional maintenance contracts to our customers. Revenue from these additional maintenance contracts is included in deferred revenue and recognized ratably over the service period. The following represents the activity in our warranty accrual for the three months ended March 31, 2015 and 2014 (table in millions):



	March 31, 2015			March 31, 2014
Balance, beginning of the period	$	210		$	289
Provision	33			42
Amounts charged to the accrual	(52		)	(57		)
Balance, end of the period	$	191		$	274

The provision includes amounts accrued for systems at the time of shipment, adjustments for changes in estimated costs for warranties on systems shipped in the period and changes in estimated costs for warranties on systems shipped in prior periods. It is not practicable to determine the amounts applicable to each of the components.