Experian 2011 Annual Report Download - page 99

Financial statements 97
Notes to the Group nancial statements
for the year ended 31 March 2011
1. Corporate information
Experian plc (the ‘Company’), which is the ultimate parent company of the Experian group of companies (‘Experian’ or the ‘Group’), is
incorporated and registered in Jersey under Jersey company law as a public company limited by shares and is resident in Ireland. The address of
its registered ofce is 22 Grenville Street, St Helier, Jersey JE4 8PX. The Company’s ordinary shares are traded on the London Stock Exchange’s
Regulated Market (Premium Listing). Experian is a global information services group.
2. Basis of preparation
These nancial statements are prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards (‘IFRS’ or ‘IFRSs’) as adopted for
use in the European Union (the ‘EU’) and International Financial Reporting Interpretations Committee (‘IFRIC’) interpretations. Although the
Company is incorporated and registered in Jersey, these nancial statements are designed to include disclosures sufcient to comply with
those parts of the UK Companies Act 2006 applicable to companies reporting under IFRS.
These nancial statements are presented in US dollars, the most representative currency of the Group’s operations, and rounded to the nearest
million. They are prepared under the historical cost convention, as modied for the revaluation of available for sale nancial assets and certain
other nancial assets and nancial liabilities including derivatives. The principal exchange rates used in preparing these nancial statements
are set out in note 10.
In compliance with the requirements for companies whose shares are traded on the London Stock Exchange’s Regulated Market, the nancial
statements of the Company are included within the Group annual report and are set out on pages 150 to 158. Those nancial statements are
prepared under UK accounting standards.
3. Comparative information
As reported in the Group’s nancial statements for the year ended 31 March 2010, Experian received notice from The First American Corporation
(‘FAC’) in respect of the exercise by FAC of its buy-out option over Experian’s 20% interest in First American Real Estate Solutions LLC
(‘FARES’) on 22 April 2010. The disposal of FARES was completed in the year and, in accordance with the requirements of IFRS 5 ‘Non-current
assets held for sale and discontinued operations’, the results and cash ows of FARES for the year ended 31 March 2010 have been reclassied
as discontinued. The results of the North America operating segment (shown within note 9(b)) and the Credit Services business segment
(shown within note 9(c)) have been re-presented accordingly.
As reported in the annual report for the year ended 31 March 2010, a new format has been adopted in the Group income statement to report costs
by nature rather than by function. This more appropriately reects the nature of the Group’s cost base and developments in its cost management
globally and comparative gures have been re-presented accordingly.
The classication of net nance costs between income and expense items has also been amended to more appropriately reect the nature of
the Group’s nancing and related hedging arrangements and comparative gures have been re-presented accordingly in the Group income
statement. The reporting of interest paid and interest received in the Group cash ow statement has been similarly amended and comparative
gures have been re-presented accordingly.
The Group has early adopted the provisions of an amendment to IAS 1 ‘Presentation of nancial statements – structure and content’ and
accordingly no longer discloses each element of other comprehensive income within the Group statement of changes in total equity.
Comparative gures have been re-presented accordingly.
Except as indicated above, the Group nancial statements have been prepared on a basis consistent with that reported for the year ended 31
March 2010.
4. Recent accounting developments
The following accounting standards, amendments and interpretations issued by the International Accounting Standards Board and the
International Financial Reporting Interpretations Committee are effective for the Group’s accounting periods beginning on or after 1 April 2010:
•Amendment to IFRS 2 ‘Share based payments – group cash-settled share-based payment transactions’
•IFRS 3 (revised) ‘Business combinations’
•IAS 27 (revised) ‘Consolidated and separate nancial statements’
•Improvements to IFRSs (April 2009)
•Amendment to IAS 32 ‘Financial instruments: presentation on classication of rights issues’
•Amendment to IAS 39 ‘Financial instruments: recognition and measurement’ on eligible hedged items
•IFRIC 17 ‘Distributions of non-cash assets to owners’
•IFRIC 18 ‘Transfers of assets from customers’
IFRS 3 now requires that acquisition expenses are charged to the Group income statement (note 13(b)) and that adjustments to contingent
consideration are recognised in the Group income statement. IAS 27 now requires that transactions with non-controlling interests are
recognised in equity. With those exceptions, these accounting standards, amendments and interpretations have had no material effect on the
results or nancial position of the Group disclosed within these nancial statements.