The formulation of accounting standards is based on the premise that financial information should be available to users of these statements to enable them to make decisions about the allocation of scarce resources and in the evaluation of such decisions.

The ASC is the sole administering body of the Corporations Law, and it is directly accountable to the Commonwealth Attorney-General and the Commonwealth Parliament. Prior to the changes of the Corporations Law in 1991, compliance with applicable Accounting Standards as not necessary, provided that the financial statements gave a true and fair view. Yet

After AASB 1024 became effective, referencing was no longer made to parent and subsidiary companies, but rather to controlling entities. By this change in definition, resulting from the consolidation of an investment was taken as evidence that introduction of AASB 1024 has 'influenced management's choice of accounting policy. Consolidated accounts now give an accurate picture as to the profit and loss and provide more meaningful information for users of the accounts, however it would appear that there is substantial compliance with the consolidated accounts standard, yet little influence on the financial statements.

Prior to the changes, where the operations of a subsidiary were totally different from those of its parent company it was argued that it would be misleading to consolidate the accounts of the companies. One immediate way of establishing the impact of AASB 1024 on companies reporting practices would be, if investments, which formerly were not reported as subsidiaries, were reported as such after December 31, 1991. If compliance with AASB 1024 has had any impact on company reporting practices it could be expected that former associates as well as former subsidiaries for which separate sets of accounts were prepared, would now be included in the consolidated accounts.

The functions of consolidation or group accounting is not universally accepted. AASB 1024 and the relevant sections of the Corporations Law presume that the functions is to depict the affairs of an economic entity or group of companies. One would expect consolidated accounts to contain the data in separate accounts, but not including data which are not sourced nor excluding data which are. There is concern as to the utility of the consolidated financial statements. One such event, the $2.2 billion bail out of the State Bank of South Australia, confirmed the presence of doubt regarding the accounting data about groups.

The second standard to be examined is AASB 1013 'Accounting for Goodwill'. Goodwill probably is the most "intangible of intangibles because it is difficult to determine just exactly what it is" . In practice it has evolved to include everything contributing to an existing business's advantages over a new one or anything that enhances a co

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