Consolidated Accounts

Description
In general, the consolidation of financial statements requires a company to integrate and combine all of its financial accounting functions together in order to create consolidated financial statements that show results in standard balance sheets, income statements, and cash flow statement reporting. The decision to file consolidated financial statements with subsidiaries is usually made on a year-to-year basis and is often chosen because of tax or other advantages that arise. The criteria for filing a consolidated financial statement with subsidiaries is primarily based on the amount of ownership the parent company has in the subsidiary. Generally, 50% or more ownership in another company usually defines it as a subsidiary and gives the parent company the opportunity to include the subsidiary in a consolidated financial statement. In some cases, less than 50% ownership may be allowed if the parent company shows that the subsidiary’s management is heavily aligned with the decision-making processes of the parent company.
If a company has ownership in subsidiaries but does not choose to include a subsidiary in complex consolidated financial statement reporting then it will usually account for the subsidiary ownership using the cost method or the equity method.
Private companies will usually make the decision to create consolidated financial statements including subsidiaries on an annual basis. This annual decision is usually influenced by the tax advantages a company may obtain from filing a consolidated versus unconsolidated income statement for a tax year. Public companies usually choose to create consolidated or unconsolidated financial statements for a longer period of time. If a public company wants to change from consolidated to unconsolidated it may need to file a change request. Changing from consolidated to unconsolidated may also raise concerns with investors or complications with auditors so filing consolidated subsidiary financial statements is usually a long-term financial accounting decision. There are however some situations where a corporate structure change may call for a changing of consolidated financials such as a spinoff or acquisition.