CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS: EVOLUTION OF THE CONCEPT OF CONTROL AND PROBLEMS ON THE CONSOLIDATION OF SPECIAL PURPOSE ENTITIES

Recent financial scandals have highlighted the dangers of incorrect accounting practices with regard to consolidation. One of the recurring themes is that of Special Purpose Entities. The importance of delimiting the scope of consolidation is particularly evident if the SPEs are part of the group. Recent regulatory developments have taken account of the often incorrect use of these instruments. This volume deals with regulatory developments and then analyses IFRS 10 issued by the IASB in 2011. The volume shows that the attempt to provide a more accurate definition of the scope of consolidation linked to the new concept of control is not in itself sufficient to ensure greater effectiveness of the new standard. The information improvement produced by IFRS 10 is analysed by means of an empirical analysis, which investigates the impact produced on the consolidated financial statements of groups of companies listed on the Italian Stock Exchange operating in the financial, banking and insurance sectors. The main results highlight some critical points such as the lack of effectiveness of IFRS 10.