ITEM 9. CHANGES IN AND DISAGREEMENTS WITH ACCOUNTANTS ON ACCOUNTING
AND FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE
None.
ITEM 9A. CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES
Disclosure Controls and Procedures
We carried out an evaluation, under the supervision and with the participation of our management,
including our Chief Executive OÇcer and Chief Financial OÇcer, of the eÅectiveness of our disclosure
controls and procedures as of the end of the period covered by this Annual Report. Based upon that evaluation,
our Chief Executive OÇcer and Chief Financial OÇcer concluded that our disclosure controls and procedures
were eÅective as of the end of the period covered by this Annual Report in accumulating and communicating
to our management, including our Chief Executive OÇcer and Chief Financial OÇcer, material information
required to be included in the reports we Ñle or submit under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 as
appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure.
Report of Management on Republic Services, Inc.'s Internal Control Over Financial Reporting
We, as members of management of Republic Services, Inc. are responsible for establishing and
maintaining adequate internal control over Ñnancial reporting, as such term is deÑned in Exchange Act
Rules 13a-15(f). Internal control over Ñnancial reporting is a process designed to provide reasonable assurance
regarding the reliability of Ñnancial reporting and the preparation of Ñnancial statements for external purposes
in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. Internal control over Ñnancial reporting includes
those policies and procedures that (1) pertain to the maintenance of records that, in reasonable detail,
accurately and fairly reÖect the transactions and dispositions of our assets; (2) provide reasonable assurance
that transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of Ñnancial statements in accordance with
generally accepted accounting principles, and that our receipts and expenditures are being made only in
accordance with authorizations of our management and directors; and (3) provide reasonable assurance
regarding prevention or timely detection of unauthorized acquisition, use, or disposition of our assets that
could have a material eÅect on the Ñnancial statements.
Because of its inherent limitations, our internal control systems and procedures may not prevent or detect
misstatements. An internal control system, no matter how well conceived and operated, can provide only
reasonable, not absolute, assurance that the objectives of the control system are met. Because of the inherent
limitations in all control systems, no evaluation of controls can provide absolute assurance that all control
issues and instances of fraud, if any, have been detected. Also, projections of any evaluation of eÅectiveness to
future periods are subject to the risks that controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions,
or that the degree of compliance with the policies and procedures may deteriorate.
We, under the supervision of and with the participation of our management, including the Chief
Executive OÇcer, Chief Financial OÇcer and Chief Accounting OÇcer, assessed the eÅectiveness of the
Company's internal control over Ñnancial reporting as of December 31, 2004, based on criteria for eÅective
internal control over Ñnancial reporting described in ""Internal Control Ì Integrated Framework'' issued by
the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission. Based on this assessment, we
concluded that we maintained eÅective internal control over Ñnancial reporting as of December 31, 2004,
based on the speciÑed criteria.
Management's assessment of the eÅectiveness of our internal control over Ñnancial reporting has been
audited by Ernst & Young LLP, an independent registered public accounting Ñrm, as stated in their report
which is included herein.
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