Ubisoft 2004 Annual Report Download - page 132

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130
UBISOFT > 2005 FINANCIAL REPORT
The Consolidation department has implemented procedures
to help the subsidiaries gain a better understanding of the
available tools and use them more effectively:
lestablishment of a group-wide chart of accounts;
limplementation of automatic mapping between the
individual and consolidated financial statements;
lcreation of a user manual for the consolidation reporting
package;
ldevelopment of a consolidation manual.
Amanual covering the group's accounting principles (IAS,
IFRS) is currently being developed. The aim of this manual
is to advise the subsidiaries' accountants of the accounting
principles used by the group so that they can distinguish
between the local principles and the group's principles in
terms of accounting treatment and inform the
Consolidation department of restatements needed in
order to standardize the consolidated financial statements.
The group is continuing to expand its accounting ERP system
at the foreign subsidiaries. The long-term objective is to
integrate all significant subsidiaries under People
Soft/Oracle.
This software is being implemented in an effort to establish
aformal, uniform accounting system, a move which is in
keeping with the company's commitment to enhancing the
effectiveness and reliability of strategic information
processing at all levels.
This system addresses the local needs of the subsidiaries as
well as the group's standards. This ensures access to
information at all levels and facilitates the comparison of
information.
All of the computing procedures implemented are designed
to promote greater data integration.
New accounting standards
Application of the IFRS standards becomes mandatory for
year-end financial statements published as of January 1,
2005 for listed companies belonging to the EEC. For Ubisoft,
presentation of the consolidatedfinancial statements in
accordance with the IAS/IFRS standards applies to the fiscal
year ended March 31, 2006 and includes a comparison with
the fiscal year endedMarch 31, 2005.
Aworking group has been formed to monitor the transition
to these new IFRS standards (creation of a timetable and
action plan). This group is made up of managers of the
teams from the various departments affected by the change
in accounting standards, namely Consolidation, Financial
Controlling, Finance, and IT.
This project methodology consisted of:
lanalyzing the financial information and the differences
with the current French standards;
lthe functional implementation and adaptation of procedures
and the information system (Peoplesoft, HFM);
limplementing the process of consolidating and
restructuring the financial statements and annual report
in accordance with IAS/IFRS standards.
Anumber of measures will be taken internally to prepare
the group's accountants for the impact of this transition to
the IFRS standards. A User guide has been developed for the
subsidiaries in question.
The accounting software has been modified to adhere to the
new standards.
The main effects of these standards on the financial
statements for the year ended March 31, 2005 are discussed
in a specific section of the Reference document, along with
numerical data.
Strict authorization rules
The group has established strict rules at both its French
and foreign subsidiaries concerning the authority of each
manager with regard to customer receipts and supplier
payments (a double signature procedure and secure tools,
for example).
Consequently, each subsidiary has local internal audit
procedures (delegation of signing authority for banking
transactions, audit of current operations, separation of
tasks between the signatory and the preparer of the
payment and so on).
Other procedures
Anumber of procedures exist in the following areas:
lPurchasing: Purchasing management and accounting
operations, Purchasing and monitoring of the computer
population, Ordering of purchases, Fixed assets;
lInvoicing: Invoicing of subsidiaries (studios, distribution)
and customers outside France;
lCorporate: Payroll preparation and processing of
post-payroll procedures.
The aim of all theseprocedures is to define the principles of
authorization and approval, and to highlight the principles of
separation of tasks and, therefore, control in all areas.
Outlook
The group plans to continue to map out risks, introduce
any new action plans that may be needed and identify and
document control procedures.
6.2.6