Standalone
AccountingAccounts covering the parent legal entity only.
In plain terms
Subsidiary profit appears only as dividends and subsidiary debt not at all. Rarely the right set.
1492 terms
Glossary
Every term is defined twice: once the way a filing would put it, and once the way somebody would explain it to you across a table. The second one is usually the one that sticks.
Showing 3 terms
Read the full lesson →
Consolidated accounts
AccountingFinancial statements combining the parent company and all its subsidiaries.
In plain terms
Always use these. Standalone accounts hide the debt and losses sitting in subsidiaries.
Subsidiary opacity
Fundamental analysisLosses, debt or transactions parked in subsidiaries — often overseas ones — where they are harder to examine.
In plain terms
It shows as a large and growing gap between standalone and consolidated profit. A parent that looks healthy alone and weak consolidated is telling you where to look.