Waste Management 2007 Annual Report Download - page 87

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REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM
The Board of Directors and Stockholders of Waste Management, Inc.
We have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheets of Waste Management, Inc. (the “Company”)
as of December 31, 2007 and 2006, and the related consolidated statements of operations, stockholders’ equity, and
cash flows for each of the three years in the period ended December 31, 2007. These financial statements are the
responsibility of the Company’s management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on these financial
statements based on our audits.
We conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board
(United States). Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about
whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement. An audit includes examining, on a test basis,
evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. An audit also includes assessing the
accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall
financial statement presentation. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.
In our opinion, the financial statements referred to above present fairly, in all material respects, the
consolidated financial position of Waste Management, Inc. at December 31, 2007 and 2006, and the consolidated
results of its operations and its cash flows for each of the three years in the period ended December 31, 2007, in
conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles.
As discussed in Note 2 to the consolidated financial statements, effective January 1, 2007, the Company
adopted Financial Accounting Standard Board (FASB) Interpretation No. 48 “Accounting for Uncertainty in
Income Taxes (an interpretation of FASB Statement No. 109)” and FASB Staff Position No. FIN 48-1 “Definition of
Settlement in FASB Interpretation No. 48.” Additionally, effective January 1, 2006, the Company adopted
Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No. 123 (revised 2004), “Share-Based Payment.”
We also have audited, in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board
(United States), Waste Management, Inc.’s internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2007, based
on criteria established in Internal Control-Integrated Framework issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Orga-
nizations of the Treadway Commission and our report dated February 18, 2008 expressed an unqualified opinion
thereon.
ERNST & YOUNG LLP
Houston, Texas
February 18, 2008
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