Notes to the consolidated financial
statements
7 Consolidation principles
2 Accounting policies
Contents Management report Corporate governance Consolidated financial statements Financial statements Pillar 3
Up until 31 December 2015, Rabobank Group consisted of
the local Rabobanks (Members), the central cooperative
(Coöperatieve Centrale Raiffeisen-Boerenleenbank B.A.) and
a number of specialised subsidiaries.
On 1 January 2016, the local Rabobanks and Coöperatieve
Centrale Raiffeisen-Boerenleenbank B.A. entered into
a legal merger. Furthermore, on 1 January 2016, the name
of Coöperatieve Centrale Raiffeisen-Boerenleenbank B.A.
was changed into Coöperatieve Rabobank U.A. (Rabobank).
More information on this merger is included in the Section
'Events after the reporting period'. The consolidated financial
statements of Rabobank Group include the financial
information of Rabobank and that of the Members and other
group companies.
The main accounting policies used in preparing these
consolidated financial statements are explained below.
2.1 General
The consolidated financial statements of Rabobank have
been prepared in accordance with International Financial
Reporting Standards (IFRS) as adopted by the European Union.
The consolidated financial statements have been prepared
on the basis of the accounting policies mentioned hereafter.
The remaining assets and liabilities are accounted for on
a historical cost basis, unless otherwise stated. Unless otherwise
stated, all amounts in these financial statements are in millions
of euros.
New and amended standards issued by the IASB and
endorsed by the European Union, applicable to the
financial year under review
Improvements to International Financial Reporting
Standards cycle 2011-2013
The objective of the improvements is to address non-urgent,
but necessary issues discussed by the IASB during the project
cycle that began in 2011 on areas of inconsistencies in IFRS
or ambiguous wording. The amendments to IFRS 3 and 13
represent clarifications of, or adjustments to, the respective
standards. The amendments to IAS 40 concern changes to
the existing requirements or additional guidelines for the
application of these requirements. These improvements have
no impact on profit or equity and took effect on 1 January 2015.
New and amended standards issued by the
International Accounting Standards Board (IASB)
and endorsed by the European Union which do
not yet apply in the current financial year
Improvements to International Financial Reporting
Standards cycle 2010-2012
The objective of the improvements is to address non
urgent, but necessary issues discussed by the IASB during
the project cycles that began in 2010 and 2011 on areas of
inconsistencies in IFRS or where clarification of wording was
required.The amendments to IFRS 8 and IAS 16, 24 and 38
represent clarifications of, or adjustments to, the respective
standards. The amendments to IFRS 2 and 3 concern changes
to the existing requirements or additional guidelines for the
application ofthese requirements.These improvements have
no impact on profit or equity and took effect on 1 January 2016.
Amendments to IAS 19 Defined benefit plans:
Employee Contributions
The objective of this amendment is to simplify and clarify
the administrative processing of employee contributions or
contributions from third parties in relation to defined benefit
pension plans. This amendment has no impact on profit or
equity and took effect on 1 January 2016.
Amendments to IAS I: Disclosure initiative
The purpose of the amendments was to achieve a more
efficient provision of information and to encourage companies
to seek professional advice for determining which information
needs to be provided in the annual financial statements when
they apply IAS 1 .This amendment has no impact on profit or
equity and took effect on 1 January 2016.
Amendments to IAS 16 and IAS 38: Clarification of
Acceptable Methods of Depreciation and Amortisation
On 12 May 2014, the International Accounting Standards
Board (IASB) published amendments to IAS 16Tangible fixed
assets and to IAS 38 Intangible assets.These amendments
were introduced under the title Clarification of acceptable
178 Rabobank Annual Report 2015
