SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES USE OF ESTIMATES. The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States and necessarily include amounts based on estimates and assumptions made by management. Actual results could differ from these amounts. Significant items subject to such estimates and assumptions include the depletion and amortization of landfill development costs, accruals for closure and post-closure costs, valuation allowances for accounts receivable, liabilities for potential litigation, claims and assessments, and liabilities for environmental remediation, deferred taxes and self-insurance. PREPAID EXPENSES AND OTHER CURRENT ASSETS A summary of prepaid expenses and other current assets is as follows: DECEMBER 31, ------------- 2001 ----- 2000 ----- Inventory................................................. $19.2 $30.6 Prepaid expenses.......................................... 16.5 21.0 Other non-trade receivables............................... 28.5 21.4 Other assets.............................................. 5.0 ----- $69.2 ===== 5.2 ----- $78.2 ===== Inventories consist primarily of compost, mulch, and soil materials, equipment parts, and supplies that are valued under a method that approximates the lower of cost (first-in, first-out) or market. PROPERTY AND EQUIPMENT Property and equipment are recorded at cost. All expenditures for maintenance and repairs are charged to expense as incurred. Expenditures for major additions and improvements to facilities are capitalized. 56 REPUBLIC SERVICES, INC. NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS -- (CONTINUED) Expenditures for rebuilding certain heavy equipment are capitalized if the annual adjusted depreciation expense after the rebuild is not in excess of annual depreciation expense on a new piece of similar equipment and certain other criteria are met. Rebuilds for heavy equipment not meeting this criteria and rebuilds on the Company's vehicles are charged to expense as incurred. When property is retired or otherwise disposed of, the related cost and accumulated depreciation are removed from the accounts and any resulting gain or loss is reflected in the Consolidated Statements of Operations. The Company revises the estimated useful lives of property and equipment acquired through business acquisitions to conform with its policies regarding property and equipment. Depreciation is provided over the estimated useful lives of the assets involved using the straight-line method. The ...
SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES USE OF ESTIMATES. The preparation of financial statements in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles 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 reporting period. Actual results could differ from those estimates. PRINCIPLES OF CONSOLIDATION The consolidated financial statements include the accounts of the Company and its majority-owned subsidiaries. All significant intercompany balances and transactions have been eliminated. CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS The Company considers all liquid investment instruments with an original maturity of three months or less to be the equivalent of cash for purposes of balance sheet presentation. RESTRICTED CASH AND INVESTMENTS--CURRENT Restricted cash and investments--current at September 30, 1997 and 1996 includes $11,020 and $11,713, respectively, of cash held under the terms of certain customer contracts that require a claims fund to be established and segregated for the purpose of paying customer behavioral healthcare claims. Under these arrangements, a reconciliation process is typically conducted annually between the customer and the Company to determine the amount of unexpended funds, if any, accruing to the Company. This cash is unavailable to the Company for purposes other than the payment of customer claims MERIT BEHAVIORAL CARE CORPORATION NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED)
SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES USE OF ESTIMATES. The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles and necessarily include amounts based on estimates and assumptions made by management. Actual results could differ from these amounts. Significant items subject to such estimates and assumptions include the depletion and amortization of landfill development costs, accruals for closure and post-closure costs, valuation allowances for accounts receivable, liabilities for potential litigation, claims and assessments, and liabilities for environmental remediation, deferred taxes and self-insurance. RESTRICTED CASH Restricted cash consists of amounts held in trust as a financial guaranty of the Company's performance as well as funds restricted for capital expenditures under certain debt facilities.
SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES USE OF ESTIMATES. The preparation of the consolidated financial statements in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States requires management to make estimates and assumptions that CROSS COUNTRY, INC. NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED) DECEMBER 31, 2001
