Consolidation. Preparing and Understanding Consolidated Financial Statements under IFRS

In the contemporary globalized and complex economic environment, Consolidated Financial Statements have assumed a primary role for investors, lenders and other creditors to assess the underlying economic and financial situation of any business concern. Trying to capture and represent the increasing complexity of the contemporary business models, the preparation of Consolidated Financial Statements started to grow in complexity as well, to the point that in certain instances its abuse led to some of the most severe corporate scandals of the history of financial reporting, calling for further research in this area. This book aims at providing a guide through the complex mechanisms of consolidation by showing how to understand and prepare Consolidated Financial Statements under International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), the most widespread set of accounting principles nowadays. On a step by step approach, the book introduces students and professionals to the meaning of consolidated accounts and it guides them into the consolidation process after a brief overview of IFRS, their environment and relevance. The book has been written based on many years of teaching and research in the area coupled with professional experience and it has been updated according to the new requirements and relevant changes introduced by IFRS 10 and 11. Students and professionals are guided through the topic of consolidation with an easy and direct style which aims to explain them both the economic significance of consolidated accounts and their accounting representation. Written and designed to make consolidation more approachable and accurate yet rigorous at the same time, it also contains many illustrative examples well integrated into the text and several exercises, with solutions, for self-study practice