CHAPTER 6

CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND REPORTS

Scope of the consolidated financial statements and reports
Article 21
For the purposes of this Chapter, a parent undertaking and all of its subsidiary undertakings shall be undertakings to be consolidated where the parent undertaking is an undertaking to which the coordination measures prescribed by this Directive apply by virtue of Article 1(1).

The requirement to prepare consolidated financial statements
Article 22
1
A Member State shall require any undertaking governed by its national law to draw up consolidated financial statements and a consolidated management report if that undertaking (a parent undertaking):
a
has a majority of the shareholders' or members' voting rights in another undertaking (a subsidiary undertaking);
b
has the right to appoint or remove a majority of the members of the administrative, management or supervisory body of another undertaking (a subsidiary undertaking) and is at the same time a shareholder in or member of that undertaking;
c
has the right to exercise a dominant influence over an undertaking (a subsidiary undertaking) of which it is a shareholder or member, pursuant to a contract entered into with that undertaking or to a provision in its memorandum or articles of association, where the law governing that subsidiary undertaking permits its being subject to such contracts or provisions.
A Member State need not prescribe that a parent undertaking must be a shareholder in or member of its subsidiary undertaking. Those Member States the laws of which do not provide for such contracts or clauses shall not be required to apply this provision; or
d
is a shareholder in or member of an undertaking, and:
1. a majority of the members of the administrative, management or supervisory bodies of that undertaking (a subsidiary undertaking) who have held office during the financial year, during the preceding financial year and up to the time when the consolidated financial statements are drawn up, have been appointed solely as a result of the exercise of its voting rights; or
2. controls alone, pursuant to an agreement with other shareholders in or members of that undertaking (a subsidiary undertaking), a majority of shareholders' or members' voting rights in that undertaking. The Member States may introduce more detailed provisions concerning the form and contents of such agreements.
Member States shall prescribe at least the arrangements referred to in point (ii). They may subject the application of point (i) to the requirement that the voting rights represent at least 20 % of the total.
However, point (i) shall not apply where a third party has the rights referred to in points (a), (b) or (c) with regard to that undertaking.
2
In addition to the cases mentioned in paragraph 1, Member States may require any undertaking governed by their national law to draw up consolidated financial statements and a consolidated management report if:
a
that undertaking (a parent undertaking) has the power to exercise, or actually exercises, dominant influence or control over another undertaking (the subsidiary undertaking); or
b
that undertaking (a parent undertaking) and another undertaking (the subsidiary undertaking) are managed on a unified basis by the parent undertaking.
3
For the purposes of points (a), (b) and (d) of paragraph 1, the voting rights and the rights of appointment and removal of any other subsidiary undertaking as well as those of any person acting in his own name but on behalf of the parent undertaking or of another subsidiary undertaking shall be added to those of the parent undertaking.
4
For the purposes of points (a), (b) and (d) of paragraph 1, the rights mentioned in paragraph 3 shall be reduced by the rights:
a
attaching to shares held on behalf of a person who is neither the parent undertaking nor a subsidiary of that parent undertaking; or
b
attaching to shares:
1. held by way of security, provided that the rights in question are exercised in accordance with the instructions received, or
2. held in connection with the granting of loans as part of normal business activities, provided that the voting rights are exercised in the interests of the person providing the security.
5
For the purposes of points (a) and (d) of paragraph 1, the total of the shareholders' or members' voting rights in the subsidiary undertaking shall be reduced by the voting rights attaching to the shares held by that undertaking itself, by a subsidiary undertaking of that undertaking or by a person acting in his own name but on behalf of those undertakings.
6
Without prejudice to Article 23(9), a parent undertaking and all of its subsidiary undertakings shall be undertakings to be consolidated regardless of where the registered offices of such subsidiary undertakings are situated.
7
Without prejudice to this Article and Articles 21 and 23, a Member State may require any undertaking governed by its national law to draw up consolidated financial statements and a consolidated management report if:
a
that undertaking and one or more other undertakings to which it is not related as described in paragraphs 1 or 2, are managed on a unified basis in accordance with:
1. a contract concluded with that undertaking, or
2. the memorandum or articles of association of those other undertakings; or
b
the administrative, management or supervisory bodies of that undertaking and of one or more other undertakings to which it is not related, as described in paragraphs 1 or 2, consist in the majority of the same persons in office during the financial year and until the consolidated financial statements are drawn up.
8
Where the Member State option referred to in paragraph 7 is exercised, the undertakings described in that paragraph and all of their subsidiary undertakings shall be consolidated, where one or more of those undertakings is established as one of the types of undertaking listed in Annex I or Annex II.
9
Paragraph 6 of this Article, Article 23(1), (2), (9) and (10) and Articles 24 to 29 shall apply to the consolidated financial statements and the consolidated management report referred to in paragraph 7 of this Article, subject to the following modifications:
a
references to parent undertakings shall be understood to refer to all of the undertakings specified in paragraph 7 of this Article; and
b
without prejudice to Article 24(3), the items ‘capital’, ‘share premium account’, ‘revaluation reserve’, ‘reserves’, ‘profit or loss brought forward’, and ‘profit or loss for the financial year’ to be included in the consolidated financial statements shall be the aggregate amounts attributable to each of the undertakings specified in paragraph 7 of this Article.

Exemptions from consolidation
Article 23
1
Small groups shall be exempted from the obligation to draw up consolidated financial statements and a consolidated management report, except where any affiliated undertaking is a public-interest entity.
2
Member States may exempt medium-sized groups from the obligation to draw up consolidated financial statements and a consolidated management report, except where any affiliated undertaking is a public-interest entity.
3
Notwithstanding paragraphs 1 and 2 of this Article, a Member State shall, in the following cases, exempt from the obligation to draw up consolidated financial statements and a consolidated management report any parent undertaking (the exempted undertaking) governed by its national law which is also a subsidiary undertaking, including a public-interest entity unless that public-interest entity falls under point (1)(a) of Article 2, the own parent undertaking of which is governed by the law of a Member State and:
a
the parent undertaking of the exempted undertaking holds all of the shares in the exempted undertaking. The shares in the exempted undertaking held by members of its administrative, management or supervisory bodies pursuant to a legal obligation or an obligation in its memorandum or articles of association shall be ignored for this purpose; or
b
the parent undertaking of the exempted undertaking holds 90 % or more of the shares in the exempted undertaking and the remaining shareholders in or members of the exempted undertaking have approved the exemption.
4
The exemptions referred to in paragraph 3 shall fulfil all of the following conditions:
a
the exempted undertaking and, without prejudice to paragraph 9, all of its subsidiary undertakings are consolidated in the financial statements of a larger body of undertakings, the parent undertaking of which is governed by the law of a Member State;
b
the consolidated financial statements referred to in point (a) and the consolidated management report of the larger body of undertakings are drawn up by the parent undertaking of that body, in accordance with the law of the Member State by which that parent undertaking is governed, in accordance with this Directive or international accounting standards adopted in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 1606/2002;
c
in relation to the exempted undertaking the following documents are published in the manner prescribed by the law of the Member State by which that exempted undertaking is governed, in accordance with Article 30:
1. the consolidated financial statements referred to in point (a) and the consolidated management report referred to in point (b),
2. the audit report, and
3. where appropriate, the appendix referred to in paragraph 6.
That Member State may require that the documents referred to in points (i), (ii) and (iii) be published in its official language and that the translation be certified;
d
the notes to the annual financial statements of the exempted undertaking disclose the following:
1. the name and registered office of the parent undertaking that draws up the consolidated financial statements referred to in point (a), and
2. the exemption from the obligation to draw up consolidated financial statements and a consolidated management report.
5
In cases not covered by paragraph 3, a Member State may, without prejudice to paragraphs 1, 2 and 3 of this Article, exempt from the obligation to draw up consolidated financial statements and a consolidated management report any parent undertaking (the exempted undertaking) governed by its national law which is also a subsidiary undertaking, including a public-interest entity unless that public-interest entity falls under point (1)(a) of Article 2, the parent undertaking of which is governed by the law of a Member State, provided that all the conditions set out in paragraph 4 are fulfilled and provided further:
a
that the shareholders in or members of the exempted undertaking who own a minimum proportion of the subscribed capital of that undertaking have not requested the preparation of consolidated financial statements at least six months before the end of the financial year;
b
that the minimum proportion referred to in point (a) does not exceed the following limits:
1. 10 % of the subscribed capital in the case of public limited liability companies and limited partnerships with share capital; and
2. 20 % of the subscribed capital in the case of undertakings of other types;
c
that the Member State does not make the exemption subject to:
1. the condition that the parent undertaking, which prepared the consolidated financial statements referred to in point (a) of paragraph 4, is governed by the national law of the Member State granting the exemption, or
2. conditions relating to the preparation and auditing of those financial statements.
6
A Member State may make the exemptions provided for in paragraphs 3 and 5 subject to the disclosure of additional information, in accordance with this Directive, in the consolidated financial statements referred to in point (a) of paragraph 4, or in an appendix thereto, if that information is required of undertakings governed by the national law of that Member State which are obliged to prepare consolidated financial statements and are in the same circumstances.
7
Paragraphs 3 to 6 shall apply without prejudice to Member State legislation on the drawing-up of consolidated financial statements or consolidated management reports in so far as those documents are required:
a
for the information of employees or their representatives; or
b
by an administrative or judicial authority for its own purposes.
8
Without prejudice to paragraphs 1, 2, 3 and 5 of this Article, a Member State which provides for exemptions under paragraphs 3 and 5 of this Article may also exempt from the obligation to draw up consolidated financial statements and a consolidated management report any parent undertaking (the exempted undertaking) governed by its national law which is also a subsidiary undertaking, including a public-interest entity unless that public-interest entity falls under point (1)(a) of Article 2, the parent undertaking of which is not governed by the law of a Member State, if all of the following conditions are fulfilled:
a
the exempted undertaking and, without prejudice to paragraph 9, all of its subsidiary undertakings are consolidated in the financial statements of a larger body of undertakings;
b
the consolidated financial statements referred to in point (a) and, where appropriate, the consolidated management report are drawn up:
1. in accordance with this Directive,
2. in accordance with international accounting standards adopted pursuant to Regulation (EC) No 1606/2002,
3. in a manner equivalent to consolidated financial statements and consolidated management reports drawn up in accordance with this Directive, or
4. in a manner equivalent to international accounting standards as determined in accordance with Commission Regulation (EC) No 1569/2007 of 21 December 2007 establishing a mechanism for the determination of equivalence of accounting standards applied by third country issuers of securities pursuant to Directives 2003/71/EC and 2004/109/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council ;
c
the consolidated financial statements referred to in point (a) have been audited by one or more statutory auditor(s) or audit firm(s) authorised to audit financial statements under the national law governing the undertaking which drew up those statements.
Points (c) and (d) of paragraph 4 and paragraphs 5, 6 and 7 shall apply.
9
An undertaking, including a public-interest entity, need not be included in consolidated financial statements where at least one of the following conditions is fulfilled:
a
in extremely rare cases where the information necessary for the preparation of consolidated financial statements in accordance with this Directive cannot be obtained without disproportionate expense or undue delay;
b
the shares of that undertaking are held exclusively with a view to their subsequent resale; or
c
severe long-term restrictions substantially hinder:
1. the parent undertaking in the exercise of its rights over the assets or management of that undertaking; or
2. the exercise of unified management of that undertaking where it is in one of the relationships defined in Article 22(7).
10
Without prejudice to point (b) of Article 6(1), Article 21 and paragraphs 1 and 2 of this Article, any parent undertaking, including a public-interest entity, shall be exempted from the obligation imposed in Article 22 if:
a
it only has subsidiary undertakings which are immaterial, both individually and collectively; or
b
all its subsidiary undertakings can be excluded from consolidation by virtue of paragraph 9 of this Article.

The preparation of consolidated financial statements
Article 24
1
Chapters 2 and 3 shall apply in respect of consolidated financial statements, taking into account the essential adjustments resulting from the particular characteristics of consolidated financial statements as compared to annual financial statements.
2
The assets and liabilities of undertakings included in a consolidation shall be incorporated in full in the consolidated balance sheet.
3
The book values of shares in the capital of undertakings included in a consolidation shall be set off against the proportion which they represent of the capital and reserves of those undertakings in accordance with the following:
a
except in the case of shares in the capital of the parent undertaking held either by that undertaking itself or by another undertaking included in the consolidation, which shall be treated as own shares in accordance with Chapter 3, that set-off shall be effected on the basis of book values as they stand on the date on which those undertakings are included in a consolidation for the first time. Differences arising from that set-off shall, as far as possible, be entered directly against those items in the consolidated balance sheet which have values above or below their book values;
b
a Member State may permit or require set-offs on the basis of the values of identifiable assets and liabilities as at the date of acquisition of the shares or, in the event of acquisition in two or more stages, as at the date on which the undertaking became a subsidiary;
c
any difference remaining after the application of point (a) or resulting from the application of point (b) shall be shown as goodwill in the consolidated balance sheet;
d
the methods used to calculate the value of goodwill and any significant changes in value in relation to the preceding financial year shall be explained in the notes to the financial statements;
e
where the offsetting of positive and negative goodwill is authorised by a Member State, the notes to the financial statements shall include an analysis of the goodwill;
f
negative goodwill may be transferred to the consolidated profit and loss account where such a treatment is in accordance with the principles set out in Chapter 2.
4
Where shares in subsidiary undertakings included in the consolidation are held by persons other than those undertakings, the amount attributable to those shares shall be shown separately in the consolidated balance sheet as non-controlling interests.
5
The income and expenditure of undertakings included in a consolidation shall be incorporated in full in the consolidated profit and loss account.
6
The amount of any profit or loss attributable to the shares referred to in paragraph 4 shall be shown separately in the consolidated profit and loss account as the profit or loss attributable to non-controlling interests.
7
Consolidated financial statements shall show the assets, liabilities, financial positions, profits or losses of the undertakings included in a consolidation as if they were a single undertaking. In particular, the following shall be eliminated from the consolidated financial statements:
a
debts and claims between the undertakings;
b
income and expenditure relating to transactions between the undertakings; and
c
profits and losses resulting from transactions between the undertakings, where they are included in the book values of assets.
8
Consolidated financial statements shall be drawn up as at the same date as the annual financial statements of the parent undertaking.
A Member State may, however, permit or require consolidated financial statements to be drawn up as at another date in order to take account of the balance sheet dates of the largest number or the most important of the undertakings included in the consolidation, provided that:
a
that fact shall be disclosed in the notes to the consolidated financial statements and reasons given;
b
account shall be taken, or disclosure made, of important events concerning the assets and liabilities, the financial position and the profit or loss of an undertaking included in a consolidation which have occurred between that undertaking's balance sheet date and the consolidated balance sheet date; and
c
where an undertaking's balance sheet date precedes or follows the consolidated balance sheet date by more than three months, that undertaking shall be consolidated on the basis of interim financial statements drawn up as at the consolidated balance sheet date.
9
If the composition of the undertakings included in a consolidation has changed significantly in the course of a financial year, the consolidated financial statements shall include information which makes the comparison of successive sets of consolidated financial statements meaningful. This obligation may be fulfilled by the preparation of an adjusted comparative balance sheet and an adjusted comparative profit and loss account.
10
Assets and liabilities included in consolidated financial statements shall be measured on a uniform basis and in accordance with Chapter 2.
11
An undertaking which draws up consolidated financial statements shall apply the same measurement bases as are applied in its annual financial statements. However, Member States may permit or require that other measurement bases in accordance with Chapter 2 be used in consolidated financial statements. Where use is made of this derogation, that fact shall be disclosed in the notes to the consolidated financial statements and reasons given.
12
Where assets and liabilities included in consolidated financial statements have been measured by undertakings included in the consolidation using bases differing from those used for the purposes of the consolidation, those assets and liabilities shall be re-measured in accordance with the bases used for the consolidation. Departures from this requirement shall be permitted in exceptional cases. Any such departures shall be disclosed in the notes to the consolidated financial statements and reasons given.
13
Deferred tax balances shall be recognised on consolidation provided that it is probable that a charge to tax will arise within the foreseeable future for one of the undertakings included in the consolidation.
14
Where assets included in consolidated financial statements have been the subject of value adjustments solely for tax purposes, they shall be incorporated in the consolidated financial statements only after those adjustments have been eliminated.

Business combinations within a group
Article 25
1
A Member State may permit or require the book values of shares held in the capital of an undertaking included in the consolidation to be set off against the corresponding percentage of capital only, provided that the undertakings in the business combination are ultimately controlled by the same party both before and after the business combination, and that control is not transitory.
2
Any difference arising under paragraph 1 shall be added to or deducted from consolidated reserves, as appropriate.
3
The application of the method described in paragraph 1, the resulting movement in reserves and the names and registered offices of the undertakings concerned shall be disclosed in the notes to the consolidated financial statements.

Proportional consolidation
Article 26
1
Where an undertaking included in a consolidation manages another undertaking jointly with one or more undertakings not included in that consolidation, Member States may permit or require the inclusion of that other undertaking in the consolidated financial statements in proportion to the rights in its capital held by the undertaking included in the consolidation.
2
Article 23(9) and (10) and Article 24 shall apply mutatis mutandis to the proportional consolidation referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article.

Equity accounting of associated undertakings
Article 27
1
Where an undertaking included in a consolidation has an associated undertaking, that associated undertaking shall be shown in the consolidated balance sheet as a separate item with an appropriate heading.
2
When this Article is applied for the first time to an associated undertaking, that associated undertaking shall be shown in the consolidated balance sheet either:
a
at its book value calculated in accordance with the measurement rules laid down in Chapters 2 and 3. The difference between that value and the amount corresponding to the proportion of capital and reserves represented by the participating interest in that associated undertaking shall be disclosed separately in the consolidated balance sheet or in the notes to the consolidated financial statements. That difference shall be calculated as at the date on which that method is used for the first time; or
b
at an amount corresponding to the proportion of the associated undertaking's capital and reserves represented by the participating interest in that associated undertaking. The difference between that amount and the book value calculated in accordance with the measurement rules laid down in Chapters 2 and 3 shall be disclosed separately in the consolidated balance sheet or in the notes to the consolidated financial statements. That difference shall be calculated as at the date on which that method is used for the first time.
A Member State may prescribe the application of one or other of the options provided for in points (a) and (b). In such cases, the consolidated balance sheet or the notes to the consolidated financial statements shall indicate which of those options has been used.
In addition, for the purposes of points (a) and (b), a Member State may permit or require the calculation of the difference as at the date of acquisition of the shares or, where they were acquired in two or more stages, as at the date on which the undertaking became an associated undertaking.
3
Where an associated undertaking's assets or liabilities have been valued by methods other than those used for consolidation in accordance with Article 24(11), they may, for the purpose of calculating the difference referred to in points (a) and (b) of paragraph 2, be revalued by the methods used for consolidation. Where such revaluation has not been carried out, that fact shall be disclosed in the notes to the consolidated financial statements. A Member State may require such revaluation.
4
The book value referred to in point (a) of paragraph 2, or the amount corresponding to the proportion of the associated undertaking's capital and reserves referred to in point (b) of paragraph 2, shall be increased or reduced by the amount of any variation which has taken place during the financial year in the proportion of the associated undertaking's capital and reserves represented by that participating interest; it shall be reduced by the amount of the dividends relating to that participating interest.
5
In so far as the positive difference referred to in points (a) and (b) of paragraph 2 cannot be related to any category of assets or liabilities, it shall be treated in accordance with the rules applicable to the item ‘goodwill’ as set out in point (d) of Article 12(6), the first subparagraph of Article 12(11), point (c) of Article 24(3), and Annex III and Annex IV.
6
The proportion of the profit or loss of the associated undertakings attributable to the participating interests in such associated undertakings shall be shown in the consolidated profit and loss account as a separate item under an appropriate heading.
7
The eliminations referred to in Article 24(7) shall be effected in so far as the facts are known or can be ascertained.
8
Where an associated undertaking draws up consolidated financial statements, paragraphs 1 to 7 shall apply to the capital and reserves shown in such consolidated financial statements.
9
This Article need not be applied where the participating interest in the capital of the associated undertaking is not material.

The notes to the consolidated financial statements
Article 28
1
The notes to the consolidated financial statements shall set out the information required by Articles 16, 17 and 18, in addition to any other information required under other provisions of this Directive, in a way which facilitates the assessment of the financial position of the undertakings included in the consolidation taken as a whole, taking account of the essential adjustments resulting from the particular characteristics of consolidated financial statements as compared to annual financial statements, including the following:
a
in disclosing transactions between related parties, transactions between related parties included in a consolidation that are eliminated on consolidation shall not be included;
b
in disclosing the average number of employees employed during the financial year, there shall be separate disclosure of the average number of employees employed by undertakings that are proportionately consolidated; and
c
in disclosing the amounts of emoluments and advances and credits granted to members of the administrative, managerial and supervisory bodies, only amounts granted by the parent undertaking and its subsidiary undertakings to members of the administrative, managerial and supervisory bodies of the parent undertaking shall be disclosed.
2
The notes to the consolidated financial statements shall, in addition to the information required under paragraph 1, set out the following information:
a
in relation to undertakings included in the consolidation:
1. the names and registered offices of those undertakings,
2. the proportion of the capital held in those undertakings, other than the parent undertaking, by the undertakings included in the consolidation or by persons acting in their own names but on behalf of those undertakings, and
3. information as to which of the conditions referred to in Article 22(1), (2) and (7) following the application of Article 22(3), (4) and (5) has formed the basis on which the consolidation has been carried out. That disclosure may, however, be omitted where consolidation has been carried out on the basis of point (a) of Article 22(1) and where the proportion of the capital and the proportion of the voting rights held are the same.
The same information shall be given in respect of undertakings excluded from a consolidation on the grounds of immateriality pursuant to point (j) of Article 6(1) and Article 23(10), and an explanation shall be given for the exclusion of the undertakings referred to in Article 23(9);
b
the names and registered offices of associated undertakings included in the consolidation as described in Article 27(1) and the proportion of their capital held by undertakings included in the consolidation or by persons acting in their own names but on behalf of those undertakings;
c
the names and registered offices of undertakings proportionally consolidated under Article 26, the factors on which joint management of those undertakings is based, and the proportion of their capital held by the undertakings included in the consolidation or by persons acting in their own names but on behalf of those undertakings; and
d
in relation to each of the undertakings, other than those referred to in points (a), (b) and (c), in which undertakings included in the consolidation, either themselves or through persons acting in their own names but on behalf of those undertakings, hold a participating interest:
1. the name and registered office of those undertakings,
2. the proportion of the capital held,
3. the amount of the capital and reserves, and the profit or loss for the latest financial year of the undertaking concerned for which financial statements have been adopted.
The information concerning capital and reserves and the profit or loss may also be omitted where the undertaking concerned does not publish its balance sheet.
3
Member States may allow the information required by points (a) to (d) of paragraph 2 to take the form of a statement filed in accordance with Article 3(3) of Directive 2009/101/EC. The filing of such a statement shall be disclosed in the notes to the consolidated financial statements. Member States may also allow that information to be omitted when its nature is such that its disclosure would be seriously prejudicial to any of the undertakings to which it relates. Member States may make such omissions subject to prior administrative or judicial authorisation. Any such omission shall be disclosed in the notes to the consolidated financial statements.

The consolidated management report
Article 29
1
The consolidated management report shall, as a minimum, in addition to any other information required under other provisions of this Directive, set out the information required by Articles 19 and 20, taking account of the essential adjustments resulting from the particular characteristics of a consolidated management report as compared to a management report in a way which facilitates the assessment of the position of the undertakings included in the consolidation taken as a whole.
2
The following adjustments to the information required by Articles 19 and 20 shall apply:
a
in reporting details of own shares acquired, the consolidated management report shall indicate the number and nominal value or, in the absence of a nominal value, the accounting par value of all of the parent undertaking's shares held by that parent undertaking, by subsidiary undertakings of that parent undertaking or by a person acting in his own name but on behalf of any of those undertakings. A Member State may permit or require the disclosure of those particulars in the notes to the consolidated financial statements;
b
in reporting on internal control and risk management systems, the corporate governance statement shall refer to the main features of the internal controls and risk management systems for the undertakings included in the consolidation, taken as a whole.
3
Where a consolidated management report is required in addition to the management report, the two reports may be presented as a single report.

Consolidated non-financial statement
Article 29a
1
Public-interest entities which are parent undertakings of a large group exceeding on its balance sheet dates, on a consolidated basis, the criterion of the average number of 500 employees during the financial year shall include in the consolidated management report a consolidated non-financial statement containing information to the extent necessary for an understanding of the group's development, performance, position and impact of its activity, relating to, as a minimum, environmental, social and employee matters, respect for human rights, anti-corruption and bribery matters, including:
a
a brief description of the group's business model;
b
a description of the policies pursued by the group in relation to those matters, including due diligence processes implemented;
c
the outcome of those policies;
d
the principal risks related to those matters linked to the group's operations including, where relevant and proportionate, its business relationships, products or services which are likely to cause adverse impacts in those areas, and how the group manages those risks;
e
non-financial key performance indicators relevant to the particular business.
Where the group does not pursue policies in relation to one or more of those matters, the consolidated non-financial statement shall provide a clear and reasoned explanation for not doing so.
The consolidated non-financial statement referred to in the first subparagraph shall also, where appropriate, include references to, and additional explanations of, amounts reported in the consolidated financial statements.
Member States may allow information relating to impending developments or matters in the course of negotiation to be omitted in exceptional cases where, in the duly justified opinion of the members of the administrative, management and supervisory bodies, acting within the competences assigned to them by national law and having collective responsibility for that opinion, the disclosure of such information would be seriously prejudicial to the commercial position of the group, provided that such omission does not prevent a fair and balanced understanding of the group's development, performance, position and impact of its activity.
In requiring the disclosure of the information referred to in the first subparagraph, Member States shall provide that the parent undertaking may rely on national, Union-based or international frameworks, and if it does so, the parent undertaking shall specify which frameworks it has relied upon.
2
A parent undertaking fulfilling the obligation set out in paragraph 1 shall be deemed to have fulfilled the obligation relating to the analysis of non-financial information set out in the third subparagraph of Article 19(1) and in Article 29.
3
A parent undertaking which is also a subsidiary undertaking shall be exempted from the obligation set out in paragraph 1 if that exempted parent undertaking and its subsidiaries are included in the consolidated management report or the separate report of another undertaking, drawn up in accordance with Article 29 and this Article.
4
Where a parent undertaking prepares a separate report corresponding to the same financial year, referring to the whole group, whether or not relying on national, Union-based or international frameworks and covering the information required for the consolidated non-financial statement as provided for in paragraph 1, Member States may exempt that parent undertaking from the obligation to prepare the consolidated non-financial statement laid down in paragraph 1, provided that such separate report:
a
is published together with the consolidated management report in accordance with Article 30; or
b
is made publicly available within a reasonable period of time, not exceeding six months after the balance sheet date, on the parent undertaking's website, and is referred to in the consolidated management report.
Paragraph 2 shall apply
mutatis mutandis
to parent undertakings preparing a separate report as referred to in the first subparagraph of this paragraph.
5
Member States shall ensure that the statutory auditor or audit firm checks whether the consolidated non-financial statement referred to in paragraph 1 or the separate report referred to in paragraph 4 has been provided.
6
Member States may require that the information in the consolidated non-financial statement referred to in paragraph 1 or in the separate report referred to in paragraph 4 be verified by an independent assurance services provider.
OJ L 340, 22.12.2007, p. 66.
Inserted by Directive 2014/95/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 October 2014 amending Directive 2013/34/EU as regards disclosure of non-financial and diversity information by certain large undertakings and groups (Text with EEA relevance).