Consolidated Statements
Consolidated financial statements are required when there are two or more affiliated companies. When a parent company either directly or indirectly controls a majority interest of a subsidiary, consolidated financial statements must be presented. Consolidated financial statements present the results of operations, statement of cash flows, and financial position of the combined entity. Separate accounting records are kept for each separate company, but not for the consolidated entity. To determine the consolidated amounts, the amounts for the individual affiliated companies are added together. Elimination entries are made to remove the effects of inter-company transactions.
When one company acquires another company, a consolidated balance sheet needs to be prepared. The first step is to eliminate the effects of any inter-company transactions. There are three basic types of inter-company eliminations. The first type is the elimination of inter-company stock ownership. This entry eliminates both the asset and the stockholders’ equity accounts for the parent company’s ownership of the subsidiary.
The second type of inter-company elimination is the elimination of inter-company debt. When the parent company makes a loan to a subsidiary, the parent company would have a note receivable and the subsidiary a note payable. When the two companies are consolidated, or combined, the loan is just a transfer of cash, so both the note receivable and note payable are eliminated.
The third type of inter-company elimination is the elimination of inter-company revenue and expenses. These inter-company revenues and expenses are eiminated since they are really just transfers of assets from one affiliated company to another and have no effect on consolidated net assets. Some examples of inter-company revenues and expenses are sales to affiliated companies, cost of goods sold as a result of sales to affiliated companies, interest expense or revenue on loans to or from affiliated companies, and rent or other revenue received or paid for services either rendered to or received from affiliated companies.
An important item to understand in regard to consolidated financial statements is the concept of minority interest. A minority interest exists when a parent company owns a majority interest in a subsidiary, but not 100% of the outstanding shares. In this case, the minority interest would be shown on the balance sheet as a type of ownership equity. The minority interest is the ownership interest in the subsidiary that is held by stockholders other than the parent company. Since there are minority stockholders, just the amount of the stockholders’ equity that is owned by the parent company is eliminated.
One of the GAAP guidelines related to consolidated financial statements states that the retained earnings of a subsidiary company that were created before the date of its acquisition can’t be included in the consolidated retained earnings of the parent company and its subsidiaries. In addition, any dividends declared from those retained earnings can’t be included in the parent company’s net income. GAAP also states that comparative financial statements are preferred for annual reports.
Eliminating Entries
The purpose of eliminating entries is to reflect the amounts that would appear if all the legally separate companies were actually a single company. Elimination entries appear only in the consolidating workpapers and do not affect the books of the separate companies.
For the most part, companies that are to be consolidated record their transactions during the period without regard to the consolidated entity. Transactions with related parties tend to be recorded in the same manner as those with unrelated parties. Elimination entries are used to increase or decrease (in the workpaper) the combined totals for individual accounts so that only transactions with external parties are reflected in the consolidated amounts. Some eliminating entries are required at the end of one period but not at the end of subsequent periods.For example, a loan from a parent to a subsidiary in December 20x1, repaid in February 20x2, requires an entry to eliminate the intercompany receivable and payable on December 31, 20x1, but not at the end of 20x2. Some other elimination entries need to be placed in the consolidated workpapers each time consolidated statements are prepared for a period of years.
For example, if a parent company sells land to a subsidiary for $5,000 above the cost to the parent, a workpaper entry is needed to reduce the land amount by $5,000 each time a consolidated balance sheet is prepared, for as long as the land is held by an affiliate. It is important to remember that elimination entries, because they are not made on the books of any company, do not carry over from period to period.
Consolidated financial statements are required when there are two or more affiliated companies. When a parent company either directly or indirectly controls a majority interest of a subsidiary, consolidated financial statements must be presented. Consolidated financial statements present the results of operations, statement of cash flows, and financial position of the combined entity. Separate accounting records are kept for each separate company, but not for the consolidated entity. To determine the consolidated amounts, the amounts for the individual affiliated companies are added together. Elimination entries are made to remove the effects of inter-company transactions.
When one company acquires another company, a consolidated balance sheet needs to be prepared. The first step is to eliminate the effects of any inter-company transactions. There are three basic types of inter-company eliminations. The first type is the elimination of inter-company stock ownership. This entry eliminates both the asset and the stockholders’ equity accounts for the parent company’s ownership of the subsidiary.
The second type of inter-company elimination is the elimination of inter-company debt. When the parent company makes a loan to a subsidiary, the parent company would have a note receivable and the subsidiary a note payable. When the two companies are consolidated, or combined, the loan is just a transfer of cash, so both the note receivable and note payable are eliminated.
The third type of inter-company elimination is the elimination of inter-company revenue and expenses. These inter-company revenues and expenses are eiminated since they are really just transfers of assets from one affiliated company to another and have no effect on consolidated net assets. Some examples of inter-company revenues and expenses are sales to affiliated companies, cost of goods sold as a result of sales to affiliated companies, interest expense or revenue on loans to or from affiliated companies, and rent or other revenue received or paid for services either rendered to or received from affiliated companies.
An important item to understand in regard to consolidated financial statements is the concept of minority interest. A minority interest exists when a parent company owns a majority interest in a subsidiary, but not 100% of the outstanding shares. In this case, the minority interest would be shown on the balance sheet as a type of ownership equity. The minority interest is the ownership interest in the subsidiary that is held by stockholders other than the parent company. Since there are minority stockholders, just the amount of the stockholders’ equity that is owned by the parent company is eliminated.
One of the GAAP guidelines related to consolidated financial statements states that the retained earnings of a subsidiary company that were created before the date of its acquisition can’t be included in the consolidated retained earnings of the parent company and its subsidiaries. In addition, any dividends declared from those retained earnings can’t be included in the parent company’s net income. GAAP also states that comparative financial statements are preferred for annual reports.
Eliminating Entries
The purpose of eliminating entries is to reflect the amounts that would appear if all the legally separate companies were actually a single company. Elimination entries appear only in the consolidating workpapers and do not affect the books of the separate companies.
For the most part, companies that are to be consolidated record their transactions during the period without regard to the consolidated entity. Transactions with related parties tend to be recorded in the same manner as those with unrelated parties. Elimination entries are used to increase or decrease (in the workpaper) the combined totals for individual accounts so that only transactions with external parties are reflected in the consolidated amounts. Some eliminating entries are required at the end of one period but not at the end of subsequent periods.For example, a loan from a parent to a subsidiary in December 20x1, repaid in February 20x2, requires an entry to eliminate the intercompany receivable and payable on December 31, 20x1, but not at the end of 20x2. Some other elimination entries need to be placed in the consolidated workpapers each time consolidated statements are prepared for a period of years.
For example, if a parent company sells land to a subsidiary for $5,000 above the cost to the parent, a workpaper entry is needed to reduce the land amount by $5,000 each time a consolidated balance sheet is prepared, for as long as the land is held by an affiliate. It is important to remember that elimination entries, because they are not made on the books of any company, do not carry over from period to period.
THURSDAY, 22 MARCH 2012 12:48
Posted by Feroz Mohammed
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