Assets and liabilities of subsidiaries, Assets and liabilities of subsidiaries, associates and joint ventures

Assets and liabilities of subsidiaries, associates and joint ventures

D16 If a subsidiary becomes a first-time adopter later than its parent, the subsidiary shall, in its financial statements, measure its assets and liabilities at either:

(a) the carrying amounts that would be included in the parent’s consolidated financial statements, based on the parent’s date of transition to Australian Accounting Standards, if no adjustments were made for consolidation procedures and for the effects of the business combination in which the parent acquired the subsidiary (this election is not available to a subsidiary of an investment entity, as defined in AASB 10, that is required to be measured at fair value through profit or loss); or

(b) the carrying amounts required by the rest of this Standard, based on the subsidiary’s date of transition to Australian Accounting Standards. These carrying amounts could differ from those described in (a):

(i) when the exemptions in this Standard result in measurements that depend on the date of transition to Australian Accounting Standards.

(ii) when the accounting policies used in the subsidiary’s financial statements differ from those in the consolidated financial statements. For example, the subsidiary may use as its accounting policy the cost model in AASB 116 Property, Plant and Equipment, whereas the group may use the revaluation model.

A similar election is available to an associate or joint venture that becomes a first-time adopter later than an entity that has significant influence or joint control over it.

D17 However, if an entity becomes a first-time adopter later than its subsidiary (or associate or joint venture) the entity shall, in its consolidated financial statements, measure the assets and liabilities of the subsidiary (or associate or joint venture) at the same carrying amounts as in the financial statements of the subsidiary (or associate or joint venture), after adjusting for consolidation and equity accounting adjustments and for the effects of the business combination in which the entity acquired the subsidiary. Notwithstanding this requirement, a non-investment entity parent shall not apply the exception to consolidation that is used by any investment entity subsidiaries. Similarly, if a parent becomes a first-time adopter for its separate financial statements earlier or later than for its consolidated financial statements, it shall measure its assets and liabilities at the same amounts in both financial statements, except for consolidation adjustments.