Mergers and acquisitions among brokers and agencies are heating up as time runs out to take advantage of the soon-to-expire accounting method of
pooling of interest, some industry analysts say.
If it had fallen short, DaimlerChrysler would not have been eligible to use "
pooling of interest" accounting and could have faced as much as pounds 12.6billion in extra costs.
In some cases this distinction was too difficult to identify so the accountants coined the term "
pooling of interest" to describe them.
Not the case says EMC, which bought DG under a
pooling of interest agreement meaning it can't sell it off for at least a couple of years.
Using if/then rules based on the criteria contained in APBO 16, PURPOOL can assist the accountant in determining whether a business combination should be accounted for as a purchase or as a
pooling of interest. (A prototype version of PURPOOL can be obtained from Dr.
"However, contemplated actions by the Financial Accounting Standards Board to eliminate
pooling of interest accounting could have a chilling effect on the high-tech community."
Acquisition fever may abate somewhat this year, thanks to the elimination of
pooling of interest accounting.
The much heralded M&A meltdown, which is predicted to occur when
pooling of interest transactions are outlawed sometime next year, will not be the show stopping event envisioned by many analysts, according to accounting, tax and consulting giant, KPMG.
The transactions will be accounted for as a
pooling of interest. The number of shares to be issued in the transactions will be determined by a formula involving the average share price of eBay common stock during a period prior to closing.
The financial statements for 2011 and 2012 have been restated to give effect to the consolidation of the new subsidiaries into LT Group using the
pooling of interest method for business combinations.
The
pooling of interest method is allowed in most countries under restricted circumstances, but not allowed in Austria, the Czech Republic and Hungary Of the 96 business combinations examined, a large majority (75) was accounted for using the purchase method, while a "surprisingly large" number (21) opted for the
pooling of interest method.
Business combinations were accounted for using one of two methods, the
pooling of interest method or the purchase method.