what are the circumstances in which a/c's of a subsidiary company need not be consolidated into group a/c's

Answer 1

IAS 27 says:
A parent is required to present consolidated financial statements in which it consolidates its investments in subsidiaries [IAS 27.9] – except in one circumstance: A parent is not required to (but may) present consolidated financial statements if and only if all of the following four conditions are met: [IAS 27.10]

1. the parent is itself a wholly-owned subsidiary, or is a partially-owned subsidiary of another entity and its other owners, including those not otherwise entitled to vote, have been informed about, and do not object to, the parent not presenting consolidated financial statements;
2. the parent's debt or equity instruments are not traded in a public market;
3. the parent did not file, nor is it in the process of filing, its financial statements with a securities commission or other regulatory organisation for the purpose of issuing any class of instruments in a public market; and
4. the ultimate or any intermediate parent of the parent produces consolidated financial statements available for public use that comply with International Financial Reporting Standards.

Please note [IAS 27.12] :
1. There is no exemption for a subsidiary whose business is of a different nature from the parent's.
2. There is no exemption for a subsidiary that operates under severe long-term restrictions impairing the subsidiary's ability to transfer funds to the parent. Such an exemption was included in earlier versions of IAS 27, but in revising IAS 27 in December 2003 the IASB concluded that these restrictions, in themselves, do not preclude control.
3. There is no exemption for a subsidiary that had previously been consolidated and that is now being held for sale. The parent must continue to consolidate such a subsidiary until it is actually disposed of. However, as a result of an amendment of IAS 27 by IFRS 5 in March 2004, there is an exemption for a subsidiary for which control is intended to be temporary because the subsidiary was acquired and is held exclusively with a view to its subsequent disposal in the near future. For such a subsidiary, if it is highly probable that the sale will be completed within 12 months then the parent should account for its investment in the subsidiary under IFRS 5 as an asset held for sale, rather than consolidate it under IAS 27.

Answer 2

the Insolvency Act 1984 states that companies in a group are jointly and severally liable. So you will always have to have both susidiary a/cs and grouped a/cs to show a true and fair view of each company within the group.

Answer 3

If they need to be standalone accounts and be responsible for their own fees, the accounts should not be grouped.