External resource

SEC complaint concerning Waste Management accounting

The SEC complaint alleging systematic earnings manipulation through depreciation assumptions, unsupported asset values, and other adjustments.

Authority and currency

About this authority

Publisher: U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
Standing: Primary authority
Version: Civil complaint
Relevant parts: Summary; depreciation, salvage value, useful life, and netting allegations
Currency: current · checked Aug 7, 2026

Open the primary source

Waste Management makes estimate governance concrete. Useful lives and salvage values require judgment; that does not make them discretionary plugs. The teaching problem separates a supportable prospective estimate revision from an alleged pattern designed to avoid recording expense.