235
Annual Report -
2013
-
Vivendi
4
Financial Report | Statutory Auditors’ Report on the Consolidated Financial Statements |
Consolidated
Financial Statements
| Statutory Auditors’ Report on the Financial Statements | Statutory Financial Statements
Note 1. Accounting policies and valuation methods
1.4.
Related parties
Group-related parties are those companies over which the group
exercises exclusive control, joint control or significant influence,
shareholders exercising joint control over group joint ventures, non-
controlling interests exercising significant influence over group
subsidiaries, Corporate Officers, group management and Directors and
companies over which the latter exercise exclusive control, joint control,
or significant influence.
The transactions realized with subsidiaries over which the group
exercises a control are eliminated in the intersegment operations (a
list of the principal consolidated subsidiaries is presented in Note 29).
Moreover, commercial relationships among subsidiaries of the group,
aggregated in operating segments, are conducted on an arm’s length
basis under terms and conditions similar to those which would be
offered by third parties. The operating costs of Vivendi SA’s headquarters
in Paris and of its New York City office, after the allocation of a portion
of these costs to each of the group’s businesses, are included in the
Holding and Corporate operating segment. (Please refer to Note 3 for
a detailed description of the transactions between the parent company
and the subsidiaries of the group, aggregated by operating segments).
1.5.
Contractual obligations and contingent assets and liabilities
Once a year, Vivendi and its subsidiaries prepare detailed reports
on all material contractual obligations, commercial and financial
commitments and contingent obligations, for which they are jointly
and severally liable. These detailed reports are updated by the relevant
departments and reviewed by senior management on a regular basis. To
ensure completeness, accuracy and consistency of these reports, some
dedicated internal control procedures are performed, including (but not
limited to) the review of:
minutes of meetings of the shareholders, Management Board,
Supervisory Board and Committees of the Supervisory Board in
respect of matters such as contracts, litigation, and authorization of
asset acquisitions or divestitures;
pledges and guarantees with banks and financial institutions;
pending litigation, claims (in dispute) and environmental matters
as well as related assessments for unrecorded contingencies with
internal and/or external legal counsels;
tax examiner’s reports and, if applicable, notices of reassessments
and tax expense analyses for prior years;
insurance coverage for unrecorded contingencies with the Risk
Management department and insurance agents and brokers with
whom the group contracted;
related-party transactions for guarantees and other given or
received commitments; and more generally
major contracts and agreements.
1.6.
New IFRS standards and IFRIC interpretations that have been published but are not yet effective
The IFRS standards that have been published by the IASB, which are not
yet effective but which have been applied in anticipation are detailed
in Note 1.1.
Among other IFRS accounting standards and IFRIC interpretations
issued by the IASB/IFRIC at the date of approval of these Consolidated
Financial Statements, but which are not yet effective, and for which
Vivendi has not elected for an earlier application and which may have an
impact on Vivendi include mainly IFRIC 21 interpretation
Levies
, issued
by IFRIC on May 20, 2013, which applies mandatorily from January 1,
2014. IFRIC 21 addresses the accounting for a liability to pay a levy that
is imposed by governments on entities in accordance with legislation
(i.e., laws and/or regulations), except for income tax and value-added
taxes. Applying this interpretation would lead to modifying, where
necessary, the determination of the obligating event that triggers the
recognition of the liability.
Vivendi is currently assessing the potential impact on the Statement
of Comprehensive Income, the Statement of Financial Position,
the Statement of Cash Flows, and the content of the Notes to the
Consolidated Financial Statements in applying this interpretation.
