GASB Statement No. 18 Revisited: The Relationship between Landfill Disclosure and Municipal Bond Costs

• In Event: Current Issues in Governmental Accounting, Environmental Disclosures and Sustainability

Abstract

The Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) establishes standards that apply to measurement and disclosures issues for state and local government financial statements. In this paper, we examine measurement and disclosure issues for municipal county governments with respect to financial obligations deriving from landfill closure and postclosure costs for the period 2005 to 2007. We examine these entities at the county level because in the U. S. more often than not it is the county, rather than the state or a city that bears responsibility for municipal solid waste management. Financial statement recognition and disclosure for landfill closure and postclosure costs are governed by GASB Statement No. 18, Accounting for Municipal Solid Waste Landfill Closure and Post-closure Care Costs (Issued 8/93).

Authors

• Kathryn J Jervis, University of Rhode Island

• Allan Graham, Zayed University