[7] Accounting policies

The accounting policies applied in these consolidated financial statements are fundamentally the same as those used for the year ended 31 December 2012. These consolidated financial statements are based on the financial statements of the parent company and its consolidated subsidiaries prepared in accordance with the standard accounting policies applicable throughout the KION Group.

Changes to accounting policies

The amendments in IAS 19R ‘Employee Benefits’ are required to be applied on a retrospective basis to financial statements for financial years commencing on or after 1 January 2013. In the KION Group, actuarial gains and losses, including deferred taxes, were already recognised in other comprehensive income (loss). It is not permitted to reclassify remeasurements recognised in other comprehensive income (loss) to profit or loss in future periods. Past service cost resulting from a retrospective plan amendment is recognised immediately in full. There are also additional disclosures required in the notes to the consolidated financial statements.

First-time adoption of the revised IAS 19 in the KION Group for the 2013 financial year has led to an overall decrease in retained earnings/net income of €3.3 million with effect from 1 January 2012. Firstly, this is the result of the revised definition of termination benefits, according to which partial-retirement bonus payments must be accumulated as other long-term benefits for employees on a pro-rata basis over the vesting period. This has led to an increase in retained earnings/net income of €1.8 million with effect from 1 January 2012. Secondly, because the amendment to IAS 19R requires the past service cost to be recognised immediately, retained earnings/net income declined by €0.8 million. Furthermore, alignment of the expected return on plan assets with the discount rate caused retained earnings/net income to fall by €4.3 million with effect from 1 January 2012, while there was an equivalent rise in gains/losses on employee benefits recognised in other comprehensive income (loss).

According to IAS 19R, the return on plan assets is assumed to equal the discount rate underlying the measurement of the defined benefit obligation. Net income for the 2012 financial year has also increased by €1.0 million, while other comprehensive income (after deferred taxes) has gone down by €1.0 million owing to the alignment of the expected return on plan assets with the discount rate. The change in the accounting treatment of provisions for partial retirement obligations has resulted in a decrease in net income (after income taxes) of €0.8 million for the 2012 financial year. The consequences of the above effects for the 2013 financial year were a rise of around €0.4 million in net income (after income taxes) and a decline of €1.4 million in other comprehensive income (loss).

Immediate recognition of past service cost from previous years led to an increase in the retirement benefit obligation of €1.1 million as at 31 December 2012 and of €1.0 million as at 31 December 2013.

Revenue recognition

Cost of sales

Government grants

Financial income and expenses

Goodwill

Other intangible assets

Leases/short-term rentals

Leased assets

Rental assets

Other property, plant and equipment

Equity-accounted investments

Income taxes

Inventories

Trade receivables

Cash and cash equivalents

Other financial assets

Derivative financial instruments

Retirement benefit obligation

Other provisions

Share-based payments

Financial liabilities, other financial liabilities, trade payables

Assumptions and estimates