Case 4.4 Waste Management

“A long-lived asset (asset group) shall be tested for recoverability whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that its carrying amount may not be recoverable.”

Dean Buntrock established Waste Management, Inc. in 1968. Its main purpose is to pick recycling and garbage up from residential housing and businesses. WM also disposes of the garbage in landfills. It has grown to be the largest garbage disposal company in the U.S. today. This company has managed to survive “one of the most egregious accounting frauds we have seen” said Thomas C. Newkirk of the SEC.

Before the collection process, the items must be marked, photographed and documented. There are many different types of techniques used

of the asset (asset group) at the date it is tested for recoverability, whether in use (see paragraph 360-

Assets are to be recorded and valued based of the type of asset there are.

◦ If the asset group is tested for recoverability while it is classified as held

Exceptions can be approved by the Board and are made in cases where the revenue paid for such services contributes less than 5% of revenues paid to the auditing firm. Also, a public accounting firm may provide these non-audit services along with audit services if it is pre-approved by the audit committee of the public company. The audit committee will disclose to investors in periodic reports its decision to approve the performance of non-audit services and audit services by the same accounting firm. This requirement to disclose to investors is likely to inhibit auditing committees from approving the performance of auditing and non-auditing services by the same accounting firm. Other sections outline audit partner rotations, accounting firm reporting procedures, and executive officer independence. Specifically, subsection 206 states that the CEO, Controller, CFO, Chief Accounting Officer or similarly positioned employees cannot have been employed by the company's audit firm for one year prior to the audit.

The four different types of assets are Current Assets, Long-Term Assets, PPE (Property, Plant & Equipment), and Intangible Assets. Team B’s task was to define current assets. A current asset is an asset which can either be converted to cash or used to pay current liabilities within one year. Typical current assets include

Section 201 prohibits any registered public accounting firm from providing the following non-audit services to audit clients: “bookkeeping or other services related to the accounting records, financial info systems design or implementation, appraisal or valuation services, fairness opinions, actuarial services, internal audit outsourcing services, management functions or human resources, broker or dealer investment advisor or investment banking services, legal services and expert services unrelated to the audit, any other service the board determines impermissible” (Sarbanes-Oxley Act, 2002). Section 202 requires the issuer’s audit committee to preapprove all auditing and non-auditing services that will be provided to the issuer (Philipp, CPA, & CGMA, 2014). Section 203 establishes mandatory and substantive rotation of audit partner and partner responsible for review of the audit every 5 years (Philipp, CPA, & CGMA, 2014). Section 204 needs the public accounting firm to report to the audit committee such as “critical accounting policies and practices, alternative accounting treatments within GAAP discussed with management and material written communications between auditor’s firm and management of the issuer” (Philipp, CPA, & CGMA, 2014). Section 206 prohibits the public accounting firm from providing audit services for the issuer if the CEO, CFO, CAO or any person serving in the equivalent capacity of

Andersen’s reputation was so tarnished from the revelations of the conspiracy that no public company would have Arthur Andersen as an auditor. Andersen's practice was disbanded and has now become defunct with only a handful of employees still working for the firm as they continue to wind down the business. In July of 2002, not long after the exposure of the Enron accounting fraud and bankruptcy, WorldCom Inc. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. WorldCom Inc. admitted that the company had fraudulently misclassified over $3.8 billion in payments for line costs as capital expenditures rather than current expenses (Beresford). The company’s executives perpetrated this fraud, grossly overstating revenues by improperly transferring billions of dollars in line cost expenses to asset accounts over a number of years. These transfers reduced WorldCom’s reported line costs and increased pre-tax income by $7 billion overall (Beresford).

Some industry-specific factors, such as having valuable near-cash assets, can increase the organization's vulnerability. Also they will need to rationalize the actions as justifiable. The individuals committing the fraud must first convince themselves that their behavior is acceptable or will be temporary. For example, Barry Minkow’s believed that the lies and deceit are for the betterment of his company and that with time everything will eventually return to normal.

Waste Management Inc., hereafter referred to as WMI, was established in 1968by Wayne Huizenga, Dean Buntrock, and Larry Beck. The company provided environmental and waste services in Canada and the United States. By 1990, due to strong growth via operations and acquisitions, WMI grew to become the major waste management company in the region. Unfortunately, actual growth was supported by aggressive accounting policies. However, with the fall of real; growth and profitability, Buntrock and his team started to manipulate financial reports of the company in order to keep its successful appearance (Brook and Dunn, 677).

Assigned auditors were more than aware of the accounting misrepresentation of financial statements, overstating net income. Still instead of walking away from the client and resign, Andersen in pursuing short-term goals stayed with the company and moreover played by the Giant’s rules. More and more accounting firms at that time started to provide consulting services along with auditing to the same companies which always indicates a conflict of interests. Auditors are the guardians and rules players where consultants are giving advices and showing how to avoid some accounting oversights. Andersen also in order to make good profits stepped on the side of combining two contradicting to each other services. Waste Management had lots of former Arthur Andersen employees which also led to close ties between two companies. That situation undoubtedly led to inability to turn down fraudulent accounting practices Waste Management was exercising at that time for a long period of time.

At the time the fraud existed, internal controls were almost non-existent. The management team employed a number of improper accounting practices that did not comply with GAAP. As stated earlier, CEO Dean Buntrock not only allowed internal controls to be bypassed, he encouraged them to be ignored and shaped accounting policy with the sole purpose of making the targeted earnings numbers every year. The auditing firm, Arthur Andersen, LLP, was also shown to have complicity. The partners at Andersen knew that the company’s policies were not compliant so they provided Waste Management with proposed adjusting entries to their books. Waste Management refused to make the adjustments so Andersen had Waste Management sign off on a list of 32 steps the company must do to change its practices. The document legally constituted an agreement among the two parties and clearly shows that Andersen was aware of fraud that Waste Management had covered up in the past. Furthermore, Andersen did not stand up to the company and continued to

One of these is with regards to goodwill and intangible assets with identifiable useful lives.