Basis of Presentation (Policies)

6 Months Ended

Jun. 30, 2016

Accounting Policies [Abstract]

Management's Estimates and Assumptions

Management’s Estimates and Assumptions

In preparing our financial statements, we make numerous estimates and assumptions that affect the amounts reported in these financial statements and accompanying notes. We must make these estimates and assumptions because certain information we use is dependent on future events, cannot be calculated with a high degree of precision from data available or simply cannot be readily calculated based on generally accepted methodologies. In preparing our financial statements, the more critical and subjective areas that deal with the greatest amount of uncertainty relate to our accounting for our long-lived assets, including recoverability, landfill development costs, and final capping, closure and post-closure costs; our valuation allowances for accounts receivable and deferred tax assets; our liabilities for potential litigation, claims and assessments; our liabilities for environmental remediation, multiemployer pension plans, employee benefit plans, deferred taxes, uncertain tax positions, and insurance reserves; and our estimates of the fair values of assets acquired and liabilities assumed in any acquisition. Each of these items is discussed in more detail in our description of our significant accounting policies in Note 2, Summary of Significant Accounting Policies, of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2015 and Form 8-K filed on June 3, 2016. Our actual results may differ significantly from our estimates.

New Accounting Pronouncements

New Accounting Pronouncements

In May 2014, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) amended the Accounting Standards Codification and created Topic 606, Revenue from Contracts with Customers, to clarify the principles for recognizing revenue. In July 2015, the FASB voted to amend the guidance by approving a one-year deferral of the effective date and providing the option to early adopt the standard on the original effective date of 2017. Republic will adopt the standard beginning January 1, 2018. The new standard must be adopted using either a full retrospective approach for all periods presented in the period of adoption or a modified retrospective approach. We are currently assessing the method of adoption and the potential impact this guidance may have on our consolidated financial statements.

In April 2015, the FASB issued Accounting Standards Update 2015-03, Interest - Imputation of Interest (Subtopic 835-30) - Simplifying the Presentation of Debt Issuance Costs, which simplifies the presentation of debt issuance costs. This guidance requires that debt issuance costs related to a recognized debt liability be presented in the balance sheet as a direct deduction from the carrying amount of that debt liability, consistent with the presentation of debt discounts. The standard is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2015 and interim periods within those fiscal years. We adopted this standard on a retrospective basis in the first quarter of 2016, which resulted in a reduction of our debt liability and other assets in our consolidated balance sheets of $38.9 million and $41.3 million as of June 30, 2016 and December 31, 2015, respectively.

In February 2016, the FASB issued Accounting Standards Update 2016-02, Leases (Topic 842), which increases transparency and comparability among organizations by recognizing lease assets and lease liabilities on the balance sheet and disclosing key information about leasing arrangements. This guidance requires lessees to recognize lease assets and liabilities for those leases classified as operating leases under previous U.S. GAAP. The standard is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2018, including interim periods within those fiscal years. Early adoption is permitted for financial statements that have not been previously issued. We are currently evaluating the timing of the adoption and the potential impact this guidance may have on our consolidated financial statements.

In March 2016, the FASB issued Accounting Standards Update 2016-09, Compensation - Stock Compensation (Topic 718), which simplifies the accounting for employee share-based payment transactions, including the accounting for income taxes, forfeitures, and statutory tax withholding requirements, as well as classification in the statement of cash flows. The standard is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2016, including interim periods within those fiscal years. Early adoption is permitted.