Walmart for my post (mostly because I was just there and it's fresh on
my mind lol!). The biggest contingency liability they face is the
lawsuits they face as well as warranties on products. Those qualify as
contingency liabilities as a contingency liability is a liability that occurs
(or may occur) in the future.
It's hard to plan for a contingency liability such as a lawsuit as it's a
waiting for the other shoe to drop kind of situation, so accruals and
plans can be made, but nothing can truly be enacted until they know
what to expect for the actual liability. For warranty contingency
liabilities, it's a little easier to plan as accruals can be made ahead of
time for warranty replacement charges the company plans to have to
be responsible for - the only variability with that is how many the
company will be responsible for.
The best way to find this contingency is to do the following:
• evaluate current or past costs of legal proceedings
• review and analyze memos or meeting minutes from
management detailing any lawsuits or litigation pending or
completed against Walmart as a company
• review and analyze legal notifications or documents of lawsuits
that are pending or completed
Reference:
EDGAR: Walmart, Inc. (WMT). EDGAR. (2022, March 18). Retrieved
October 16, 2022, from
https://www.sec.gov/ix?doc=%2FArchives%2Fedgar%2Fdata%2F10
4169%2F000010416922000012%2Fwmt-20220131.htm
