Ireland · The accounting Schedules
Schedule 4: consolidation, exclusions, acquisition and merger accounting and the group notes
the Companies Act 2014 · Schedule 4
Subsidiaries with different year ends must be consolidated at a single date under Schedule 4
Non-coterminous year ends are a consolidation problem before they are a disclosure problem. Where the financial year of a subsidiary undertaking dealt with in the group financial statements differs from that of the holding company, Schedule 4 paragraph 3(2) governs what must be done. Consolidating a subsidiary's own statements for a different period without meeting the paragraph produces group statements that do not comply.
The group statements must present the position at a single date. Group financial statements must show the assets, liabilities and financial position as at the end of the financial year in the manner Schedule 4 paragraph 10(1) requires. The identifiable assets and liabilities of an undertaking acquired must be included in the consolidated balance sheet as Schedule 4 paragraph 14(2) requires.
Schedule 4 sets consolidation, acquisition accounting, goodwill, the merger method and the group notes
Schedule 4 sets the rules for consolidating the group financial statements and the exclusions from consolidation. It sets acquisition accounting and the treatment of goodwill, and the merger method and proportional consolidation where those are used. Where an acquisition has taken place in the financial year and the merger method has been adopted, the notes must give what Schedule 4 paragraph 17 requires.
The Schedule also sets the treatment of associated undertakings and the notes to the group financial statements, including the further notes on acquisitions and disposals. In respect of the aggregate of the amounts shown in the group balance sheet under creditors, the information Schedule 4 paragraph 26 requires must be stated.
The system generates your ComplianceSME company passport and then walks you through the working files
Working files 205, 206, 207, 208 and 209 of the IE-COMPANY agent toolkit cover this situation. Working file 205 works through consolidation and the exclusions from it. Working file 206 works through acquisition accounting and goodwill. Working file 207 works through merger accounting and proportional consolidation. Working file 208 works through associated undertakings and the group notes, and Working file 209 works through the further notes on acquisitions and disposals.
- Working file 205 · Schedule 4: consolidation of the group financial statements and the exclusions
- Working file 206 · Schedule 4: acquisition accounting and the treatment of goodwill
- Working file 207 · Schedule 4: merger accounting and proportional consolidation
- Working file 208 · Schedule 4: associated undertakings and notes to the group financial statements
- Working file 209 · Schedule 4: further notes to the group financial statements on acquisitions and disposals
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The working files above open from your ComplianceSME account at no charge, and so does the rest of the Companies Act 2014 toolkit: 215 working files across the 75 situations a company registered in Ireland can be in. Working file 1 runs first and builds the company passport; after that you open each working file as its situation arises.
A working file runs in Claude. You ask the ComplianceSME connector for it in a dedicated premium seat on the Claude Team plan. It asks one question at a time, then returns the document the Companies Act 2014 names, citing the Act's section at every step. Nothing is downloaded and nothing is installed.
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