consolidated accounts
the aggregate accounts of a group of companies. A consolidated BALANCE SHEET is compiled by adding the assets and LIABILITIES of all companies in the group, after making allowance for any amounts that companiesin the group owe to one another. A consolidated PROFIT-AND-LOSS ACCOUNT is prepared by adding the SALES REVENUES and COSTS of all companies in the group, after deducting the effects of any sales between companies within the group. The claims of any MINORITY INTERESTS in group assets and profits must also be allowed for. Preparation of consolidated accounts for a MULTINATIONAL ENTERPRISE with subsidiary companies in several countries is complicated by the need to translate the accounts of these subsidiaries, expressed in terms of their local currencies, into the domestic currency of the parent company (see FOREIGN CURRENCY TRANSLATION, EXCHANGE RATE EXPOSURE). See HOLDING COMPANY.
Collins Dictionary of Business, 3rd ed. © 2002, 2005 C Pass, B Lowes, A Pendleton, L Chadwick, D O’Reilly and M Afferson