CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND INTERNATIONAL ACCOUNTING STANDARDS
- Overview
- Assessment methods
- Learning objectives
- Contents
- Full programme
- Teaching methods
- Contacts/Info
The course requires sufficient knowledge of financial statements. No prerequisites are required to take the exam of Consolidated financial statements and international accounting standards.
Exam methods and exam program are the same for attending and non-attending students.
Written examination (1 hour and 30 minutes)
Form A: 1 open-ended question (5 points) and a practical exercise on the consolidation of financial statements (15 points)
Form B: 1 open-ended question (5 points) and a practical exercise on the application of valuation criteria for the main balance sheet items in accordance with IAS/IFRS (6 points).
In assessing the answers to theoretical questions, the lecturer evaluates completeness, accuracy, critical reasoning skills and the appropriate use of technical terminology. In assessing numerical exercises, the lecturer evaluates the correctness of both the procedure and the final result.
The final grade is expressed on a scale of 30 points. The exam is passed with a minimum grade of 18/30. The highest possible grade is 31/30, which corresponds to cum laude.
The course is structured in two forms. "Form A" deals with the logics and techniques for the preparation of consolidated financial statements; the topics in Form A are treated in a comparative way, with reference to the Italian accounting regulation (Legislative Decree 127/1991, articles from 25 to 43, and Accounting Standard n. 17, Consolidated Financial Statement, issued by the Organismo Italiano di Contabilità – OIC) and to the IAS/IFRS (in particular, IFRS 3 and IFRS 10).
“Form B” deals with the preparation and the presentation of financial statements in accordance with International Accounting Standards (IAS) and International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) issued by the "International Accounting Standards Board” (IASB). The main aim of Form B is to help students in understanding and applying the International Financial Reporting Standards on the preparation of separate and consolidated accounts, with particular reference to the composition, structure and content of financial statement formats, as well as to the valuation criteria specific to this set of accounting standards.
At the end of the course, students will be able to:
• understand the rationale underlying the preparation of consolidated financial statements and the consolidation techniques derived from national accounting standards (OIC) and international financial reporting standards (IAS/IFRS);
• apply this knowledge to the consolidation of the financial statements of multiple entities;
• understand the general principles, as well as the valuation and classification criteria for the main financial statement items established by international financial reporting standards (IAS/IFRS);
• apply this knowledge to the preparation of financial statements in accordance with IAS/IFRS
The course contents are the following:
Form A (20 hours):
- Introductory notions on corporate groups
- Consolidated financial statements prepared in accordance with Italian Generally Accepted Accounting Principles
- Consolidated financial statements prepared in accordance with IAS/IFRS
Form B (20 hours):
- IAS/IFRS: Conceptual Framework for Financial Reporting; Presentation of general-purpose financial statements; asset recognition and measurement criteria; liability recognition and measurement criteria
FORM A - CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (20 hours)
A1) Groups and Consolidated Financial Statements (3 hours): definitions of group; classification of groups; the scope of consolidated financial statements; the representation of the group’s activity in the consolidated financial statements. A2) The concept of Control and the area of consolidation (3 hours): companies required to present consolidated financial statements; companies that are permitted not to present consolidated financial statements; subsidiaries that can be excluded from the area of consolidation. A3) The pre-consolidation procedures (4 hours): reporting date; uniformity of accounting policies; the translation of foreign currency financial statements (in brief). A4) The consolidation procedures (6 hours): offset of the carrying amount of the parent’s investment in each subsidiary and the parent’s portion of equity of each subsidiary; measurement and presentation of “non-controlling interests”. A5) Intercompany transactions (4 hours): elimination (or reinterpretation) of intragroup assets, liabilities, equity, income, expenses and cash flows relating to transactions among companies of the group; elimination (deferral) of intragroup profit or losses resulting from intragroup transactions.
FORM B – INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL REPORTING STANDARDS (20 hours) B1) The accounting harmonization within EU: the legal framework (1 hour). B2) Scope of Financial Statements and basic assumptions (3 hours): the scope of the IASB Conceptual Framework; the purpose of financial statements; underlying assumption (going concern); qualitative characteristics of financial information; the elements of financial statements (assets, liabilities, equity, income and expenses). B3) Fair value and amortized cost (3 hours). B4) A complete set of financial statements (4 hours): structure, content, criteria for classifying assets and liabilities in the Statement of Financial Position; structure, content, criteria for classifying the items of income and expenses in the Statement of Profit or Loss and Other Comprehensive Income; the Statement of Changes in Equity; the Statement of cash flows (notion of cash and cash equivalents; cash flows from operating activity, investment activity and financing activity). B5) Analysis of specific Ias/Ifrs relevant for manufacturing, commercial and services companies (9 hours)
The course includes 40 hours of lectures (20 hours Form A, 20 hours Form B). Part of the lectures will be delivered exclusively in person, while the remaining part will be delivered in a blended format, combining in-person teaching and synchronous online delivery (at the beginning of the course, a detailed schedule will be provided indicating which lectures will be held exclusively in person and which will be delivered in blended mode). During the lectures, each topic will be dealt with through theoretical framing sessions and numerical exemplifications. The lectures allow a direct interaction with the students, who, following the teacher's explanation, can ask questions and in turn be solicited on specific cases and issues. The numerical exemplifications allow students to immediately put into practice the knowledge of the principles and criteria treated at the theoretical level. The teacher uses the e-learning platform for publishing the course slides and numerical exemplifications.
Office hours and any variations are published on “HOME PAGE DOCENTE”, in the section "Didattica"
Teacher's Address: giovanna.gavana@uninsubria.it
Student tutor contact information:
https://www.uninsubria.it/servizi/tutti-i-servizi/tutorato-dieco