La consolidación contable en el ámbito cooperativo

Cooperativist integration, an example of the sixth cooperative principle of inter-cooperation, means the concentration of cooperative enterprises. Of the different means of organization that are covered by the legislation on cooperatives, cooperative groups appear to be a similar concept to that of groups of corporations. However, there are actually significant differences between the two concepts due to the very nature of cooperative groups in the light of the cooperative formula as an independent entity. This paper analyses, on the one hand, to what degree it would be possible to transfer the principles that govern groups of corporations to the concept of cooperative groups and, on other hand, in what conditions and under what assumptions a cooperative enterprise could be a member of a mixed group consisting of cooperatives and other types of corporation. Our second objective will then be to determine, in this case, the requirements in terms of preparing consolidated annual accounts, if cooperative enterprises could be brought within the scope of consolidation, especially as a result of the new concept of “horizontal groups”, which has arisen as a consequence of the modification of company legislation in Spain prior to its adaptation to international accounting legislation.