PD:Consolidació d'Estats Comptables

Teaching plan for the course unit

(Short version)

Català

English

General information

Course unit name: Consolidation of Financial Statements

Course unit code: 363701

Academic year: 2025-2026

Coordinator: Antonio David Somoza Lopez

Department: Department of Business

Credits: 6

Single program: S

Estimated learning time

Total number of hours 150

Face-to-face and/or online activities

	- Lecture with practical component	Face-to-face		15
	- Problem-solving class	Face-to-face		45

Supervised project

Independent learning

Learning objectives

Referring to knowledge

A defining feature of today’s business environment is the increasing concentration of corporate activity through mergers, acquisitions, and share capital investments. These processes often lead to the formation of business groups: collections of companies which, while maintaining separate legal personalities, are managed as a single economic entity.

In such cases, the individual financial statements of the group’s constituent companies are insufficient for a number of reasons; including, the fact that, their individual financial results may be affected by internal decisions that must be eliminated to avoid distortions in financial reporting.

The course on Consolidation of Financial Statements examines the regulatory framework and accounting standards that enable the preparation of consolidated financial information for business groups regarded as a single economic unit.

Here, students study national and international consolidation standards by carrying out the following tasks:

The analysis of the fundamental concepts of consolidation.
The study of the different methods and stages of the consolidation process.
The analysis of consolidated annual accounts.

Teaching blocks

Block 1. Fundamental concepts of consolidation

1. Introduction to consolidation

— Role of consolidation in accounting
— Business concentration
— Types of business concentration
— Different domains
— Concept of consolidation

2. Fundamental concepts of consolidation

— Percentage ownership and control
— Group of companies. Parent and subsidiary entities
— Multigroup companies
— Associates
— Subgroups
— Legal obligation to consolidate and exemptions
— The consolidatable group and scope of consolidation

3. Regulatory framework for consolidation

— International standards (IFRS)
— Spanish commercial and accounting regulations

4. Standardization and aggregation of figures

— Concept and characteristics of homogenization
— Temporal homogenization of reporting dates
— Valuation homogenization
— Homogenization of internal operations

5. Eliminations (I): asset eliminations

— Concept and classes of elimination
— Direct intergroup shareholdings: first consolidation
— Subsequent consolidations

6. Eliminations (II): financial eliminations

— Concept and general treatment
— Application to specific intragroup transactions: loans, borrowings, bills of exchange and others

7. Eliminations (III): economic eliminations

— Definition
— Internal current asset transactions
— Fixed asset and other internal transactions

Block 2. Methods of consolidation and analysis of consolidated annual accounts

8. Consolidation methods

8.1. Definition and scope
8.2. Technical standards

9. The proportional integration method

9.1. Definition and scope
9.2. Technical standards
— Homogenization of information
— Aggregation of information
— Eliminations

10. Equity method

10.1. Meaning and scope
10.2. Technical standards
— Homogenization of information
— Aggregation of information
— Eliminations

11. Direct and indirect domains

11.1. Upstream and downstream consolidation
11.2. Technical standards
11.3. Reciprocal shareholdings

12. Consolidated financial statements

12.1. Consolidated balance sheet
12.2. Profit and loss account
12.3. Statement of changes in equity
12.4. Cash flow statement
12.5. Notes to the consolidated financial statements

Official assessment of learning outcomes

Students are evaluated using a continuous mode of assessment. This comprises two compulsory written tests. Question formats may include multiple-choice, numerical problems or open-ended questions. In the case of the multiple-choice questions, each test comprises between 20-30 questions with only one correct answer. Correct answers are worth 1 point; incorrect answers result in a 0.25 deduction. The compulsory written tests are taken on campus.

The final test grade is the average of the two tests. To calculate this average, students must score at least 3 out of 10 on each test; otherwise, the average is not calculated and the student automatically fails the continuous mode of assessment.

A range of complementary activities is included, specifically those derived from the use of problem-based learning methodology, along with any additional assessments that may be introduced by the lecturer. These activities contribute to the final grade, with their weighting adjusted according to the number and nature of activities in each academic year.

Students may withdraw from continuous assessment up to the time of the final scheduled test. Participation in that final test will be considered confirmation of their commitment to this mode of assessment.

Repeat assessment

The test for repeat assessment has the same format as that of single assessment.

Both the single assessment and the repeat assessment tests are taken on-campus.

Examination-based assessment

Single assessment comprises a single written examination. Question formats may include multiple-choice, numerical problems or open-ended questions. In the case of the multiple-choice questions, the test comprises between 40-60 questions with only one correct answer. Incorrect answers result in a 0.25 deduction.

Repeat assessment

The test for repeat assessment has the same format as that of single assessment.

Both the single assessment and the repeat assessment tests are taken on-campus.

Reading and study resources

Check availability in Cercabib

Book

ÁLVAREZ MELCÓN, Salvador.; CORONA ROMERO, Enrique. Cuentas anuales consolidadas. 2ª ed. Madrid: Piràmide, 2016

Catàleg UB

GONZÁLEZ SAINZA, Javier. Normas de consolidación : comentarios y casos prácticos. Madrid : Centro de Estudios Financieros, 2011

Catàleg UB

SERRA SALVADOR, Vicente M.; LABATUT SERVER, G. Consolidación contable de grupos empresariales: adaptado al Real Decreto 602/2016. 2ª ed. Madrid: Pirámide, 2017

Catàleg UB

SOMOZA LÓPEZ, Antonio. Análisis de estados financieros consolidados. Madrid: Pirámide, 2017

Catàleg UB

Web page

International Accounting Standars Board (IASB) [en línia]. [Consulta: 16 de juny de 2017]. Disponible a: http://www.iasb.org