talanx group annual report 2011 en

142
Financial statements Notes
General information
Talanx Group. Annual Report 2011
Accounting principles
and policies
Segment reporting Consolidation,
business combinations
Non-current assets held for
sale and disposal groups
Assets
Intangible assets
Intangible assets – with the exception of goodwill and insurance-related intangible assets – are
recognised at amortised acquisition/production cost less scheduled straight-line depreciation and,
as appropriate, impairment losses. The other intangible assets also consist of acquired and selfdeveloped
software as well as insurance-related intangible assets.
Goodwill is the positive difference between the cost of acquiring a company and the fair value of
the Group’s shares in that company’s net assets. In accordance with IFRS 3 “Business Combinations,”
negative differences from initial consolidation are to be recognised immediately in income after renewed
testing. Goodwill is tested for impairment at least once a year and recognised in the balance
sheet at its initial acquisition cost less cumulative impairments. Neither scheduled amortisation
nor reversals are permitted.
For the purposes of the impairment test in accordance with IAS 36.80 et seq. “Impairment of Assets,”
the goodwill must be allocated to the cash-generating units (CGUs) (cf. item 1 of the Notes “Goodwill,”
pages 209 et seq.). The goodwill is allocated to the CGU that is expected to derive benefit from
the acquisition that gave rise to the goodwill. A CGU cannot be larger than a business segment. In
order to determine a possible impairment, the recoverable amount – defined as the higher of the
value in use or the fair value less costs to sell – of a CGU is established and compared with the carrying
amounts of this CGU in the Group including goodwill. If the carrying amounts exceed the recoverable
amount, a goodwill impairment is recognised in the statement of income (item: “ Goodwill
impairments”).
Insurance-related intangible assets: The present value of future profits (PVFP) on acquired insurance
portfolios refers to the present value of the expected future net cash flows from life insurance
contracts existing at the time of acquisition. It consists of a shareholders’ and tax portion, for which
deferred taxes are established, and a policyholders’ portion. The insurance portfolios are amortised
in line with the realisation of the surpluses on which the calculation is based. Item 2 of the Notes
“Other intangible assets,” page 213 et seq., shows a breakdown by insurance term of the underlying
insurance contracts acquired. Impairment and the measurement parameters used are tested at
least once a year; where necessary, the amortisation patterns are adjusted or an impairment loss is
recognised. Only the amortisation of the shareholders’ portion results in a charge to future earnings.
The PVFP in favour of policyholders is recognised by life insurance companies that are obliged
to enable their policyholders to participate in all results through the establishment of a provision
for deferred premium refunds.