Basis of Presentation (Policies)

9 Months Ended

Sep. 29, 2017

Basis of Presentation

Exponent, Inc. (referred to as the “Company” or “Exponent”) is an engineering and scientific consulting firm that provides solutions to complex problems. The Company operates on a 52-53 week fiscal year ending on the Friday closest to the last day of December.

The accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements are prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America for interim financial information, the instructions to Form 10-Q and Article 10 of Regulation S-X promulgated by the Securities and Exchange Commission. Accordingly, they do not contain all the information and notes required by accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America for complete financial statements. In the opinion of management, all adjustments which are necessary for the fair presentation of the condensed consolidated financial statements have been included and all such adjustments are of a normal and recurring nature. The operating results for the three and nine months ended September 29, 2017 are not necessarily representative of the results of future quarterly or annual periods. The following information should be read in conjunction with the audited consolidated financial statements and accompanying notes thereto included in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 30, 2016, which was filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on February 24, 2017.

The unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements include the accounts of Exponent, Inc. and its subsidiaries, which are all wholly owned. All intercompany accounts and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation.

Use of Estimates

Use of Estimates. The preparation of financial statements in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the period. Significant items subject to such estimates and assumptions include accounting for revenue recognition and estimating the allowance for contract losses and doubtful accounts. Actual results could differ from those estimates.

Recent Accounting Pronouncements Not Yet Effective

Recent Accounting Pronouncements Not Yet Effective. On May 28, 2014, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued Accounting Standard Update (“ASU”) No. 2014-09, Revenue from Contracts with Customers, which requires an entity to recognize the amount of revenue to which it expects to be entitled for the transfer of promised goods or services to customers. The ASU will replace most existing revenue recognition guidance in U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”) when it becomes effective. The new standard is effective for the Company on the first day of fiscal 2018 (December 30, 2017). The two permitted transition methods under the new standard are the full retrospective method, in which case the standard would be applied to each prior reporting period presented, or the modified retrospective method, in which case the cumulative effect of applying the standard would be recognized at the date of initial application.

The impact of adopting the new standard is not expected to be material because the analysis of the Company’s contracts under the new revenue recognition standard supports the recognition of revenue over time, which is consistent with the Company’s current revenue recognition model.

Substantially all of the Company’s engagements are performed under time and material or fixed-price arrangements. For time and materials contracts the Company anticipates utilizing the practical expedient under the ASU which states, if an entity has a right to consideration from a customer in an amount that corresponds directly with the value of the entity’s performance completed to date (for example, a service contract in which an entity bills a fixed amount for each hour or service provided), the entity may recognize revenue in the amount to which the entity has a right to invoice. Application of the practical expedient to time and material contracts is consistent with the Company’s current revenue recognition policy.

For fixed price contracts the Company will recognize revenue over time under the ASU because of the continuous transfer of control to the customer. The customer typically controls the work in process as evidenced either by contractual termination clauses or by the Company’s rights to payment for work performed to date to deliver services that do not have an alternative use to the Company. Input methods are an acceptable method of measuring progress towards completing under the ASU. This is consistent with the Company’s current policy of measuring progress towards completion based on the relationship of incurred labor hours at standard rates to its estimate of the total labor hours at standard rates it expects to incur over the term of the contract. The Company believes this methodology achieves a reliable measure of the revenue from the consulting services it provides to its customers under fixed price contracts.

The Company anticipates adopting the standard using the modified retrospective method. The Company is currently evaluating the required disclosures under the new standard and developing appropriate changes to its process, systems and controls.

On February 25, 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-02, Leases, which requires lessees to recognize most leases on their balance sheet. The new standard will be effective for the Company on the first day of fiscal 2019 (December 29, 2018). Early adoption is permitted. The standard requires use of the modified retrospective transition method, with elective relief, which requires application of the guidance for all periods presented. The Company is evaluating the effect that ASU No. 2016-02 will have on its consolidated financial statements and related disclosures. The Company has not yet selected a transition method nor has it determined the effect of the standard on its ongoing financial reporting. The standard will require the Company to record a right of use asset and a lease liability that will materially gross up its balance sheet.