Basis of Presentation	9 Months Ended
Sep. 27, 2019
Organization Consolidation And Presentation Of Financial Statements [Abstract]
Basis of Presentation	Note 1: 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 nine months ended September 27, 2019 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 28, 2018, which was filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on February 22, 2019. 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. Stock Split. On May 31, 2018, the Company’s stockholders approved an amendment to the Company’s certificate of incorporation to (i) increase the number of authorized shares of common stock to 120,000,000 and (ii) effect a two-for-one stock split. As a result of the stock split, each shareholder of record at the close of business on May 31, 2018, received one additional share of common stock for each share of common stock owned by such shareholder. Restricted stock unit awards and stock option awards have also been adjusted to reflect the two-for-one stock split. For periods prior to the stock split, all share and per share data in the Company’s condensed consolidated financial statements and related notes have been retroactively adjusted to reflect the stock split. 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. Recently Adopted Accounting Pronouncements. In February 2016, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) established Topic 842, Leases, by issuing Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) No. 2016-02, which requires lessees to recognize leases on-balance sheet and disclose key information about leasing arrangements. Topic 842 was subsequently amended by ASU No. 2018-01, Land Easement Practical Expedient for Transition to Topic 842; ASU No. 2018-10, Codification Improvements to Topic 842, Leases; and ASU No. 2018-11, Targeted Improvements. The new standard establishes a right-of-use model (“ROU”) that requires a lessee to recognize a ROU asset and lease liability on the balance sheet for all leases with a term longer than 12 months. Leases will be classified as finance or operating, with classification affecting the pattern and classification of expense recognition in the income statement. Under the standard, disclosures are required to meet the objective of enabling users of financial statements to assess the amount, timing, and uncertainty of cash flows arising from leases. The Company adopted the ASU as of the beginning of its first quarter of fiscal 2019. A modified retrospective transition approach is required, requiring the application of the new standard to all leases existing at the date of initial application. An entity may choose to use either (1) its effective date or (2) the beginning of the earliest comparative period presented in the financial statements as its date of initial application. The Company adopted the new standard on December 29, 2018, using the effective date as the date of initial application. Consequently, financial information was not updated and the disclosures required under the new standard were not provided for dates and periods before December 29, 2018. The new standard provides a number of optional practical expedients in transition. The Company elected the ‘package of practical expedients’, which permits it not to reassess under the new standard prior conclusions about lease identification, lease classification and initial direct costs. The Company elected the practical expedient to include both lease and non-lease components as a single component and account for it as a lease for all asset classes. The Company also elected to apply the short-term lease exception for all leases. Under the short-term lease exception, the Company will not recognize ROU assets or lease liabilities for leases that, at the acquisition date, have a remaining lease term of 12 months or less. The ASU had a material impact to the Company’s condensed consolidated balance sheet, but did not have an impact on its condensed consolidated statement of income. The most significant impact was the recognition of ROU assets and lease liabilities for its operating leases.

Basis of Presentation

9 Months Ended

Sep. 27, 2019

Organization Consolidation And Presentation Of Financial Statements [Abstract]

Note 1: 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 nine months ended September 27, 2019 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 28, 2018, which was filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on February 22, 2019.

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.

Stock Split. On May 31, 2018, the Company’s stockholders approved an amendment to the Company’s certificate of incorporation to (i) increase the number of authorized shares of common stock to 120,000,000 and (ii) effect a two-for-one stock split. As a result of the stock split, each shareholder of record at the close of business on May 31, 2018, received one additional share of common stock for each share of common stock owned by such shareholder. Restricted stock unit awards and stock option awards have also been adjusted to reflect the two-for-one stock split. For periods prior to the stock split, all share and per share data in the Company’s condensed consolidated financial statements and related notes have been retroactively adjusted to reflect the stock split.

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.

Recently Adopted Accounting Pronouncements. In February 2016, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) established Topic 842, Leases, by issuing Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) No. 2016-02, which requires lessees to recognize leases on-balance sheet and disclose key information about leasing arrangements. Topic 842 was subsequently amended by ASU No. 2018-01, Land Easement Practical Expedient for Transition to Topic 842; ASU No. 2018-10, Codification Improvements to Topic 842, Leases; and ASU No. 2018-11, Targeted Improvements. The new standard establishes a right-of-use model (“ROU”) that requires a lessee to recognize a ROU asset and lease liability on the balance sheet for all leases with a term longer than 12 months. Leases will be classified as finance or operating, with classification affecting the pattern and classification of expense recognition in the income statement. Under the standard, disclosures are required to meet the objective of enabling users of financial statements to assess the amount, timing, and uncertainty of cash flows arising from leases.

The Company adopted the ASU as of the beginning of its first quarter of fiscal 2019. A modified retrospective transition approach is required, requiring the application of the new standard to all leases existing at the date of initial application. An entity may choose to use either (1) its effective date or (2) the beginning of the earliest comparative period presented in the financial statements as its date of initial application. The Company adopted the new standard on December 29, 2018, using the effective date as the date of initial application. Consequently, financial information was not updated and the disclosures required under the new standard were not provided for dates and periods before December 29, 2018.

The new standard provides a number of optional practical expedients in transition. The Company elected the ‘package of practical expedients’, which permits it not to reassess under the new standard prior conclusions about lease identification, lease classification and initial direct costs. The Company elected the practical expedient to include both lease and non-lease components as a single component and account for it as a lease for all asset classes. The Company also elected to apply the short-term lease exception for all leases. Under the short-term lease exception, the Company will not recognize ROU assets or lease liabilities for leases that, at the acquisition date, have a remaining lease term of 12 months or less.

The ASU had a material impact to the Company’s condensed consolidated balance sheet, but did not have an impact on its condensed consolidated statement of income. The most significant impact was the recognition of ROU assets and lease liabilities for its operating leases.