Basis of Presentation (Policies)	6 Months Ended
Jul. 03, 2020
Accounting Policies [Abstract]
Basis of Presentation	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 U.S. 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 six months ended July 3, 2020 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 January 3, 2020, which was filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on February 28, 2020. 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. 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. The Company’s estimate of its allowance for contract losses and doubtful accounts takes into consideration the macroeconomic effect of global events such as the COVID-19 pandemic which may impact the ability of its customers to pay.
Recently Adopted Accounting Pronouncements	Recently Adopted Accounting Pronouncements. In June 2016, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) established Topic 326, Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments, by issuing Accounting Standard Update (“ASU”) No. 2016-13, Financial Instruments – Credit Losses, which replaces the incurred loss methodology with an expected loss methodology that is referred to as the current expected credit loss (“CECL”) methodology. The measurement of the expected credit losses under the CECL methodology is applicable to financial assets measured at amortized cost where there is a contractual right to received cash, including, accounts receivables, loan receivables and held-to-maturity debt securities. The Company adopted ASU No. 2016-13 in the first quarter of 2020 and the impact of the adoption was not material the Company’s condensed consolidated financial statements.

Basis of Presentation (Policies)

6 Months Ended

Jul. 03, 2020

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 U.S. 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 six months ended July 3, 2020 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 January 3, 2020, which was filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on February 28, 2020.

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. 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. The Company’s estimate of its allowance for contract losses and doubtful accounts takes into consideration the macroeconomic effect of global events such as the COVID-19 pandemic which may impact the ability of its customers to pay.

Recently Adopted Accounting Pronouncements

Recently Adopted Accounting Pronouncements. In June 2016, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) established Topic 326, Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments, by issuing Accounting Standard Update (“ASU”) No. 2016-13, Financial Instruments – Credit Losses, which replaces the incurred loss methodology with an expected loss methodology that is referred to as the current expected credit loss (“CECL”) methodology. The measurement of the expected credit losses under the CECL methodology is applicable to financial assets measured at amortized cost where there is a contractual right to received cash, including, accounts receivables, loan receivables and held-to-maturity debt securities. The Company adopted ASU No. 2016-13 in the first quarter of 2020 and the impact of the adoption was not material the Company’s condensed consolidated financial statements.