The following post is provided by our guest author, Graham
Crockford from TRC Environmental Corporation. Graham can be reached
at
[email protected].
Our firm is often retained to assist companies evaluate
environmental risk/liabilities during acquisitions and
divestitures. Whether a company is preparing to divest non-core
assets, or preparing for a stock sale, contingent environmental
liabilities are an element of prospective purchaser due diligence
that will be scrutinized. Many corporate entities report these
contingent liabilities as loss reserves on the balance sheet, and
do so based upon a wide range of accounting methodologies and
guidance. The reported reserves often meet the needs of
stakeholders and auditors from a routine financial reporting
perspective, but often provide limited comfort as they are shared
with and evaluated by a prospective purchaser looking at
contingencies from a buyer's perspective. As published
accounting standards and
