IFRS 10 — Consolidated Financial Statements

Raj MauryaMarch 5, 2022

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Overview

IFRS 10 Consolidated Financial Statements outlines the requirements for preparing and presenting consolidated financial statements, requiring entities to consolidate entities it control.

Control is defined as the power to govern the financial and operating policies of an entity so as to obtain benefits from its activities.

The objective of IFRS 10 is to ensure that consolidated financial statements provide useful information to users about the financial position, financial performance, and cash flows of a group of companies. IFRS 10 also aims to promote transparency and comparability of financial information among entities that apply IFRSs.

IFRS 10 was issued in May 2011 and applied to annual periods beginning on or after 1 January 2013.

Objectives

IFRS 10 establishes principles for presenting and preparing consolidated financial statements when an entity controls one or more other entities. IFRS 10:

requires an entity (the parent) that controls one or more other entities (subsidiaries) to present consolidated financial statements;
defines the principle of control, and establishes control as the basis for consolidation;
sets out how to apply the principle of control to identify whether an investor controls an investee and therefore must consolidate the investee;
sets out the accounting requirements for the preparation of consolidated financial statements; and
defines an investment entity and sets out an exception to consolidating particular subsidiaries of an investment entity.

Consolidated financial statements are financial statements that present the assets, liabilities, equity, income, expenses, and cash flows of a parent and its subsidiaries as those of a single economic entity.

IFRS 10 - Consolidated Financial Statements

Accounting requirements

Preparation of consolidated financial statements

A parent prepares consolidated financial statements using uniform accounting policies for like transactions and other events in similar circumstances. [IFRS 10:19]

However, a parent need not present consolidated financial statements if it meet all of the following conditions: [IFRS 10:4(a)]

it is a wholly-owned subsidiary or is a partially-owned subsidiary of another entity and its other owners, including those not otherwise entitled to vote, have been informed about, and do not object to, the parent not presenting consolidated financial statements
its debt or equity instruments are not traded in a public market (a domestic or foreign stock exchange or an over-the-counter market, including local and regional markets)
it did not file, nor is it in the process of filing, its financial statements with a securities commission or other regulatory organisation for the purpose of issuing any class of instruments in a public market, and
its ultimate or any intermediate parent of the parent produces financial statements available for public use that comply with IFRSs, in which subsidiaries are consolidated or are measured at fair value through profit or loss in accordance with IFRS 10.

Consolidation procedures

Consolidated financial statements:

combine items of assets, liabilities, equity, income, expenses and cash flows of the parent with those of its subsidiaries
offset (eliminate) the carrying amount of the parent’s investment in each subsidiary and the parent’s portion of equity of each subsidiary
eliminate in full intragroup assets and liabilities, equity, income, expenses and cash flows relating to transactions between entities of the group (profits or losses resulting from intragroup transactions that are recognised in assets, such as inventory and fixed assets, are eliminated in full).

A reporting entity includes the income and expenses of a subsidiary in the consolidated financial statements from the date it gains control until the reporting entity ceases to control the subsidiary. The subsidiary’s income and expenses are based on the amounts of the assets and liabilities recognised in the consolidated financial statements at the acquisition date. [IFRS 10:B88]

Unless it is impossible, the parent and subsidiaries must use the same reporting dates or consolidate depending on extra financial data generated by a subsidiary. When possible, the most current subsidiary financial statements are utilised, and modified to account for any noteworthy events or transactions that occurred between the subsidiary’s reporting dates and the consolidated financial statements. There cannot be a discrepancy of more than three months between the date of the consolidated financial statements and the subsidiary’s financial statements.

Non-controlling interests (NCIs)

A parent presents non-controlling interests in its consolidated statement of financial position within equity, separately from the equity of the owners of the parent.

A reporting entity attributes the profit or loss and each component of other comprehensive income to the owners of the parent and the non-controlling interests. The proportion allocated to the parent and non-controlling interests is determined on the basis of present ownership interests. [IFRS 10:B94, IFRS 10:B89]

The reporting entity also attributes total comprehensive income to the owners of the parent and to the non-controlling interests, even if this results in the non-controlling interests having a deficit balance. [IFRS 10:B94]

Changes in ownership interests

Changes in a parent’s ownership interest in a subsidiary that do not result in the parent losing control are equity transactions (i.e. transactions with owners in their capacity as owners). When the proportion of the equity held by non-controlling interests changes, the carrying amounts of the controlling and non-controlling interests are adjusted to reflect the changes in their relative interests in the subsidiary. Any difference between the amount by which the non-controlling interests are adjusted, and the fair value of the consideration paid or received is recognised directly in equity and attributed to the owners of the parent.[IFRS 10:23, IFRS 10:B96]

If a parent loses control of a subsidiary, the parent [IFRS 10:25]:

derecognises the assets and liabilities of the former subsidiary from the consolidated statement of financial position
recognises any investment retained in the former subsidiary when control is lost and subsequently accounts for it and for any amounts owed by or to the former subsidiary in accordance with relevant IFRSs. That retained interest is remeasured and the remeasured value is regarded as the fair value on initial recognition of a financial asset in accordance with IFRS 9 Financial Instruments or, when appropriate, the cost on initial recognition of an investment in an associate or joint venture
recognises the gain or loss associated with the loss of control attributable to the former controlling interest.

If a parent loses control of a subsidiary that does not contain a business in a transaction with an associate or a joint venture, gains or losses resulting from those transactions are recognised in the parent’s profit or loss only to the extent of the unrelated investors’ interests in that associate or joint venture.*

* Added by Sale or Contribution of Assets between an Investor and its Associate or Joint Venture amendments, effective 1 January 2016; however, the effective date of the amendment was later deferred indefinitely.

Investment entities consolidation exemption

[Note: The investment entity consolidation exemption was introduced by Investment Entities, issued on 31 October 2012 and effective for annual periods beginning on or after 1 January 2014.]

IFRS 10 contains special accounting requirements for investment entities. Where an entity meets the definition of an ‘investment entity, it does not consolidate its subsidiaries, or apply IFRS 3 Business Combinations when it obtains control of another entity. [IFRS 10:31]

An entity must consider all facts and circumstances when assessing whether it is an investment entity, including its purpose and design. IFRS 10 provides that an investment entity should have the following typical characteristics [IFRS 10:28]:

it has more than one investment
it has more than one investor
it has investors that are not related parties of the entity
it has ownership interests in the form of equity or similar interests.

The absence of any of these typical characteristics does not necessarily disqualify an entity from being classified as an investment entity.

An investment entity is required to measure an investment in a subsidiary at fair value through profit or loss in accordance with IFRS 9 Financial Instruments or IAS 39 Financial Instruments: Recognition and Measurement. [IFRS 10:31]

However, an investment entity is still required to consolidate a subsidiary where that subsidiary provides services that relate to the investment entity’s investment activities. [IFRS 10:32]*

* Investment Entities: Applying the Consolidation Exception (Amendments to IFRS 10, IFRS 12 and IAS 28) clarifies, effective 1 January 2016, that this relates to a subsidiary that is not itself an investment entity and whose main purpose and activities are providing services that relate to the investment entity’s investment activities.

Because an investment entity is not required to consolidate its subsidiaries, intragroup related party transactions and outstanding balances are not eliminated [IAS 24.4, IAS 39.80].

Special requirements apply where an entity becomes, or ceases to be, an investment entity. [IFRS 10:B100-B101]

The exemption from consolidation only applies to the investment entity itself. Accordingly, a parent of an investment entity is required to consolidate all entities that it controls, including those controlled through an investment entity subsidiary, unless the parent itself is an investment entity. [IFRS 10:33]