sain t-gobain annu al report 2008 annual report

Summary of new standards, interpretations
and amendments to published standards
Standards, interpretations and amendments to published
standards applicable in 2008
IFRIC 11 Group and Treasury Share Transactions
IFRIC 12* Service Concession Arrangements
IFRIC 14** The Limit on a Defined Benefit Asset, Minimum
Funding Requirements and their Interaction
Standards, interpretations and amendments to published
standards with early 2008 possible adoption
IAS 1R Presentation of Financial Statements
IAS 27R* Consolidated and Separate Financial Statements
IFRS 3R* Business Combinations (Phase 2)
IFRS 8 Operating Segments
Amendments to IAS 23 Borrowing Costs
Amendments to IFRS 1 Determining the Cost of Investments
and IAS 27
in Subsidiaries, Jointly Controlled Entities
and Associates in the Separate Financial
Statements
Amendments to IAS 32 Puttable Instruments and Instruments
with Obligations Arising on Liquidation
Amendments to IAS 39* Financial Instruments: Recognition and
Measurement – Eligible Hedged Items
Amendments to IFRS 2 Vesting Conditions and Cancellations
IFRIC 13 Customer Loyalty Programmes
IFRIC 15* Agreements for the Construction of Real Estate
IFRIC 16* Hedges of a Net Investment in a Foreign Operation
IFRIC 17* Distributions of Non-Cash Assets to Owners
* Not yet adopted by the European Union.
** Adopted by the International Accounting Standards Board for application
from January 1, 2008; adopted for use in the European Union no later than
January 1, 2009.
Standards adopted by the European Union may be consulted
on the European Commission website, at
http://ec.europa.eu/internal_market/accounting/ias_en.htm#
adopted-commission
Consolidation
Scope of consolidation
The Group’s consolidated financial statements include the
accounts of Compagnie de Saint-Gobain and of all companies
controlled by the Group, as well as those of jointly controlled
companies and companies over which the Group exercises
significant influence.
Significant changes in the Group’s scope of consolidation
during 2008 are presented in Note 2 and a list of the principal
consolidated companies at December 31, 2008 is provided in
Note 33.
Consolidation methods
Companies over which the Group exercises exclusive control,
either directly or indirectly, are fully consolidated.
Interests in jointly controlled entities are proportionately
consolidated. The Group has elected not to apply the alternative
treatment permitted by IAS 31, under which jointly
controlled companies may be accounted for by the equity
method.
Companies over which the Group directly or indirectly exercises
significant influence are accounted for by the equity
method.
Business combinations
The accounting policies applied in respect of business
combinations comply with IFRS 3 and are described in
the sections dealing with potential voting rights, share
purchase commitments and goodwill.
Potential voting rights and share purchase
commitments
Potential voting rights conferred by call options on minority
interests are taken into account in determining whether the
Group exclusively controls an entity only when the options are
currently exercisable.
When calculating its percentage interest in controlled companies,
the Group considers the impact of cross put and call
options on minority interests in the companies concerned.
This approach gives rise to the recognition in the financial
statements of an investment-related liability (included within
“Other liabilities”) corresponding to the present value of the
estimated exercise price of the put option, with a corresponding
reduction in minority interests and increase in goodwill.
Any subsequent changes in the fair value of the liability are
recognized by adjusting goodwill.
Non-current assets and liabilities held
for sale - Discontinued operations
Assets that are immediately available for sale and for which a
sale is highly probable, are classified as non-current assets
held for sale. Related liabilities are classified as liabilities
directly associated with non-current assets held for sale.
When several assets are held for sale in a single transaction,
they are accounted for as a disposal group, which also includes
any liabilities directly associated with those assets.
The assets, or disposal groups held for sale, are measured at
the lower of carrying amount and fair value less costs to sell.
Depreciation ceases when non-current assets or disposal
groups are classified as held for sale. When the assets held for
sale are consolidated companies, deferred tax is recognized on
the difference between the consolidated carrying amount of
the shares and their tax basis, in accordance with IAS 12.
135 NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
Saint-Gobain – Financial Report 2008