Siemens 2007 Annual Report Download - page 210

210 Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements
(in millions of €, except where otherwise stated and per share amounts)
1 Basis of presentation
The accompanying Consolidated Financial Statements present the operations of
Siemens AG and its subsidiaries (the Company or Siemens) and have been pre-
pared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) and
its interpretations issued by the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB),
as adopted by the European Union (EU), as well as with the additional require-
ments as set forth in §315a(1) of the German Commercial Code (HGB). In addition
to its primary fi nancial reporting for fi scal 2006 under United States Generally
Accepted Accounting Principles (U.S. GAAP), in December 2006 the Company also
published its fi rst IFRS Consolidated Financial Statements (IFRS Consolidated
Financial Statements as of September 30, 2006). The IFRS Consolidated Financial
Statements as of September 30, 2006 were presented as supplemental information
and serve as a basis for Siemens’ primary IFRS reporting beginning with the fi rst
quarter of fi scal 2007.
The Consolidated Financial Statements and Management’s Discussion and
Analysis as of September 30, 2007, prepared in accordance with §315a(1) of the
HGB are being fi led with and published in the German Electronic Federal Gazette
(elektronischer Bundesanzeiger).
Siemens has prepared and reported its Consolidated Financial Statements in
euros (€). Siemens is a German based multinational corporation with a balanced
business portfolio of activities predominantly in the fi eld of electronics and elec-
trical engineering (for further information see Note 36).
Siemens applied all standards and interpretations issued by the IASB that were
effective as of September 30, 2007. In addition, the Company early adopted certain
other standards, amendments to standards and interpretations, including the fol-
lowing standards which had a signifi cant impact:
¢ IFRS 7, Financial Instruments: Disclosures. This standard requires extensive dis-
closures about the signifi cance of fi nancial instruments for an entity’s fi nancial
position and results of operations, and qualitative and quantitative disclosures
on the nature and extent of risks arising from fi nancial instruments. It com-
bines disclosure requirements from IAS 32, Financial Instruments: Presentation,
and IAS 30, Disclosures in the Financial Statements of Banks and Similar Financial
Institutions, and adds new disclosure requirements. The stand ard is effective for
fi scal periods beginning on or after January 1, 2007. Siemens decided to early
adopt IFRS 7 in its 2006 fi nancial statements. IFRS 7 was also considered in
determining the presentation of items on the face of the Consolidated Balance
Sheets and the Consolidated Statements of Income.
¢ IFRS 8, Operating Segments. IFRS 8 replaces IAS 14, Segment Reporting, and
aligns segment reporting with the requirements of Statement of Financial
Accounting Standards (SFAS) 131, Disclosures about Segments of an Enterprise
and Related Information, except for some minor differences. IFRS 8 requires an
entity to report fi nancial and descriptive information about its reportable seg-
ments. Reportable segments are operating segments or aggregations of operat-
ing segments that meet specifi ed criteria. Operating segments are components
Notes