Critical Accounting Policies and Disclosures
Our Consolidated Financial Statements have been prepared using accounting principles generally
accepted in the United States and necessarily include certain estimates and judgments made by management.
The following is a list of accounting policies that we believe are the most critical in understanding our
company's Ñnancial position, results of operations and cash Öows, and may require management to make
subjective or complex judgments about matters that are inherently uncertain.
Subjective or Disclosure
Policy Description Complex Judgments Reference
LandÑll Accounting:
Life Cycle Accounting We use life cycle Cost and airspace Management's
accounting and the estimates are developed Discussion and Analysis
units-of-consumption annually by engineers. of Financial Condition
method to recognize Changes in these and Results of
certain landÑll costs over estimates could Operations Ì LandÑll
the life of the site. In signiÑcantly aÅect our and Environmental
life cycle accounting, all amortization, depletion, Matters.
costs to acquire and and accretion expense.Note 3, Accruedconstruct a site are LandÑll andcapitalized, and charged Environmental Costs into expense based upon the Consolidatedthe consumption of Financial Statements.cubic yards of available
airspace. Obligations
associated with Ñnal
capping, closure and
post-closure are
capitalized, and
amortized on a units-of-
consumption basis as
airspace is consumed.
Probable Expansion We include in our We have developed six Management's
Airspace calculation of total criteria that must be met Discussion and Analysis
available airspace before an expansion area of Financial Condition
expansion areas that we is designated as probable and Results of
believe have a probable expansion airspace. We Operations Ì LandÑll
likelihood that the believe that satisfying and Environmental
expansion area will each of these criteria Matters.
ultimately be permitted. demonstrates a highNote 3, Accruedlikelihood that expansion LandÑll andairspace that is Environmental Costs inincorporated in our the ConsolidatedlandÑll costing will be Financial Statements.permitted. However,
because some of these
criteria are judgmental,
they may exclude
expansion airspace that
will eventually be
permitted or include
expansion airspace that
will not be permitted. In
either of these scenarios,
our amortization,
depletion, and accretion
expense could change
signiÑcantly.
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