Consolidated financial statements present the financial position and performance of a group of companies as if they were a single economic entity, eliminating intragroup transactions and reflecting minority interests separately. Prepared under IFRS or national standards, they are the primary financial reference for group-level due diligence and valuation. Their analysis reveals intercompany flows, goodwill allocations, minority contributions and intragroup financing arrangements that are invisible in standalone entity accounts. In Switzerland, the obligation to prepare consolidated accounts depends on size thresholds defined by the CO.

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Example: due diligence on a Franco-Swiss industrial group reveals that consolidated accounts include a loss-making German subsidiary contributing -CHF 800,000 of EBITDA. This contribution, invisible in the holding company's standalone accounts, materially impacts the group valuation and leads the buyer to negotiate a clause requiring the disposal of the German entity as a condition of the acquisition.

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Hectelion analyses consolidated financial statements and their perimeter to identify each entity's contribution to overall group value.