DHL 2008 Annual Report Download - page 141

Deutsche Post World Net Annual Report 2008
Consolidated Financial Statements
Notes
method.  e requirement to recognise distributions of pro ts aris-
ing before the date of acquisition of the subsidiary as a reduction of
the cost of the investment therefore no longer applies. In addition,
when a new parent company is formed as a result of a reorganisation,
the cost of its investment in the previous parent company is meas-
ured at the carrying amount of its share of the equity items shown
in the separate  nancial statements of the previous parent company
at the date of the reorganisation.  e amendments must be applied
prospectively for  nancial years beginning on or a er  January
.  e amendments will not a ect the consolidated  nancial
statements since the Group is not applying the requirements of 
for the  rst time.
In May , the  issued Improvements to International
Financial Reporting Standards , the  rst standard resulting
from its annual improvement process which is intended to deal with
minor amendments to existing .  e Standard is divided into
two parts containing amendments to   and mainly comprises
clari cations of existing provisions. Part  contains amendments that
may result in changes for presentation, recognition, or measurement
purposes. Part  contains amendments representing terminology or
editorial changes. Unless provided otherwise in the individual case,
the amendments are e ective for  nancial years beginning on or
a er  January . A signi cant e ect on the consolidated  nan-
cial statements is not expected as a result of the above.
New accounting requirements not yet adopted
by the European Union (endorsement procedure)
 e  and the  have issued further Standards and
Interpretations whose application is not yet mandatory for  nancial
year .  e application of these  is dependent on their adop-
tion by the European Union.
 e revised versions of   (Business Combinations) and
  (Consolidated and Separate Financial Statements) contain the
following amendments: For the purpose of accounting for acquisi-
tions of less than   of the shares of an entity, an option is intro-
duced which allows the entire amount of goodwill arising on the
acquisition to be recognised, i. e. including the portion attributable to
minorities (the “full goodwill method”). In addition, acquisitions and
partial disposals of shares where control is retained are accounted
for as equity transactions with owners, and gains or losses are not
recognised.  e full amount of the transaction costs associated with
the acquisition is recorded as an expense. Application of the revised
Standards is mandatory for business combinations in  nancial years
beginning on or a er  July .  e e ects on the consolidated
 nancial statements are currently being assessed.
In July , amendments to   (Financial Instruments:
Recognition and Measurement) were published relating to eligible
hedged items in the context of hedge accounting.  e purpose of the
amendments was to provide guidance for use in designating hedg-
ing instruments, since inconsistencies occur in practice in particu-
lar with respect to accounting for a one-sided risk and for in ation
as a component of a hedged item. Retrospective application of the
amendments is mandatory for  nancial years beginning on or a er
 July .  e e ects on the consolidated  nancial statements are
currently being assessed.
In November , a clari cation was issued with respect
to the e ective date of the amendments published in October relat-
ing to the rules for reclassi cations of  nancial assets. According to
the clari cation, reclassi cations made on or a er  November 
are e ective from that date and may not be applied retrospectively.
Reclassi cations made before  November  may be applied
retro spectively to  July  or a later date.  e rule permitting
reclassi cations may not be applied at a date before  July .  e
clari cation applies only to the Deutsche Postbank Group, which has
made use of the reclassi cation option (see Note 38).
  (Service Concession Arrangements) sets out the
accounting treatment for arrangements whereby public-sector bod-
ies grant contracts for the supply of public services to private opera-
tors. In order to supply these services, the private operator makes
use of infrastructure that remains within the control of the public-
sector grantor.  e private operator is responsible for the construc-
tion, operation and maintenance of the infrastructure. Application
of the Interpretation is mandatory for  nancial years beginning on
or a er  January .  e Interpretation has not yet been adopted
by the European Union and was therefore not applied by the Group
in  nancial year .  e  rst-time application of   is not
expected to have any signi cant e ect on the consolidated  nancial
statements of Deutsche Post .
  (Agreements for the Construction of Real Estate),
published in July , addresses the issue of whether real estate
developers should apply   (Construction Contracts) or  
(Revenue). It also clari es the date at which revenue from real estate
construction should be recognised. Retrospective application of
  is mandatory for  nancial years beginning on or a er  Jan-
uary .  e Interpretation will not apply to the consolidated
 nancial statements.
  (Hedges of a Net Investment in a Foreign Opera-
tion) clari es that the foreign currency risk arising between the
functional currency of the foreign operation and the functional
currency of a parent entity may be designated as a hedged risk.  e
hedging instruments may be held by any entity within the Group.
Foreign currency di erences arising from the measurement of the
hedging instrument are recognised directly in equity in accordance
with  .  e date at which gains and losses are reclassi ed from
equity to pro t or loss is governed by  .  e Interpretation is
e ective for  nancial years beginning on or a er  October .
 e Interpretation must be applied prospectively.   will have
no e ect on the consolidated  nancial statements since hedges of a
net investment in a foreign operation already comply with the pro-
visions of the Interpretation.
  (Distributions of Non-cash Assets to Owners) was
issued on  November .  e Interpretation provides that a lia-
bility to distribute a non-cash dividend must be recognised at the
date at which the distribution is no longer at the discretion of the
entity (this may be when the dividend is authorised or when it is
announced, depending on the statutory provisions in the particular
country). Application of the Interpretation is mandatory for annual
periods beginning on or a er  July .  is Interpretation will not
apply to the consolidated  nancial statements of Deutsche Post .
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