Annual Report 2001 - Flughafen Wien

Major differences between IAS and Austrian accounting principles
Basic conceptual differences
___Austrian accounting principles, which are codified in the Commercial Code, place the principle
of creditor protection in the foreground and correspondingly assign great importance to
the principle of conservatism. The determinant position of commercial law financial statements
for tax assessment also has a major influence on financial statements prepared in
keeping with Austrian accounting principles.
___The primary goal of accounting under IAS is to provide appropriate decision-making information
for shareholders and investors. IAS therefore place higher value than Austrian
accounting principles on the comparability of financial statements, both over time and
between companies.
___Following is a presentation of specific differences that are of special importance for these
financial statements:
Fixed assets
___The Austrian Commercial Code prescribes conservative values for depreciation and the
useful lives of assets in keeping with the fundamental principles of accounting. Under IAS,
depreciation periods must be regularly compared with the actual useful lives of assets and
adjusted where necessary. This procedure led to longer useful lives for certain assets owned
by Flughafen Wien AG, in particular runways, aprons and taxiways.
___Under Austrian accounting principles, financial assets must be recorded at the lower of
purchase price or market value. IAS required the use of market value. In the consolidated
financial statements, non-current securities held by Flughafen Wien AG are treated the same
as current securities.
Current securities
___The Austrian Commercial Code requires current securities to be recorded at the lower of
acquisition cost or market value. In accordance with IAS 39, these securities are shown at
market value in the consolidated financial statements. Write-ups are mandatory. Changes in
market value over the prior year are recorded in the consolidated financial statements of
Flughafen Wien AG under equity (revaluation reserve) with no effect on the income statement.
Treasury stock
___In accordance with the Austrian Commercial Code, treasury stock must be recorded under
non-current or current assets and a separate reserve must be created for this item under equity
and liabilities.
___According to IAS, changes in shares outstanding must be recorded under equity.
Deferred taxes
___Austrian accounting principles are based on the “timing concept“. The creation of
deferred tax provisions is therefore only required for differences between financial statements
prepared according to commercial law and taxable results if these differences are
expected to be offset in the future. The creation of deferred tax assets in individual company
financial statements is optional; provisions for deferred taxes are mandatory. Deferred tax
assets on loss carry-forwards may not be capitalized.
___IAS focus on the “temporary concept“ in conjunction with the “balance sheet - liability
method“. Deferred taxes must therefore be created for all differences arising between financial
statements prepared for tax purposes and IAS financial statements; in such cases, deferred
taxes should be calculated based on the tax rate expected in the year of use. No discounts are
permitted. Deferred tax assets on tax loss carry-forwards must generally be capitalized and
should be analysed in the same manner as other assets to estimate the realisable amount.
96 Notes
Annual Report 2001