Business combinations in cooperatives. A critical view of accounting standards

Abstract

[EN] Cooperatives have a different ownership structure compared with investor owned firms, which causes frictions in the development of accounting standards. This paper critically reviews the history of cooperatives in the accounting standards for business combinations and identifies and studies five problematic aspects of the application of the acquisition method. A guidance to identifying Business Combinations Under Common Control between cooperatives is proposed. Incompatibilities between the cooperative law and accounting standards are identified, a modified cost of business combination is proposed, inequalities between members arising in the application of the acquisition method are indicated and above all it is shown that the IASB's decision to allow only one method has proven ineffective in avoiding accounting arbitrage