1. Basis of presentation
The consolidated financial statements are prepared in accordance with the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) issued by the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) and adopted by the European Commission pursuant to the procedure under Article 6 of Regulation (EC) No. 1606/2002 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 July 2002 and to Article 9 of Legislative Decree 38/2005. The IFRS also include the International Accounting Standards (IAS) as well as the interpretative documents still in force issued by the IFRS Interpretation Committee (IFRS IC), including those previously issued by the IFRS Interpretation Committee (IFRIC), and by the Standing Interpretations Committee (SIC) before that. For simplicity, all of the aforementioned standards and interpretations will hereafter be referred to as “IFRS” or “International Accounting Standards”.
The consolidated financial statements are prepared in consideration of future continuing business using the historical cost method, taking into account value adjustments where appropriate, with the exception of the items which, according to IFRS, must be measured at fair value, as described in the measurement criteria.
The consolidated financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2015, approved by the Board of Directors of Snam S.p.A. at its meeting of 16 March 2016, were audited by Reconta Ernst & Young S.p.A. As the main auditor, Reconta Ernst & Young S.p.A. is fully responsible for auditing the consolidated financial statements of the Snam Group; in the limited cases in which other auditors also take part, it assumes responsibility for the work performed by the latter.
The consolidated financial statements are presented in euro. Given their size, amounts in the financial statements and respective notes are expressed in millions of euros, unless otherwise specified.
Accounting standards and interpretations applied as of the current year
In the financial year ended 31 December 2015, the Company applied accounting standards in line with those of the previous year, with the exception of the accounting standards and interpretations which came into force on 1 January 2015, which are described below.
Regulation 1361/2014 issued by the European Commission on 18 December 2014 approved the provisions in the document “Annual Improvements to International Financial Reporting Standards 2011-2013 Cycle”. The provisions contained in the document chiefly made amendments to: (i) IFRS 3, by clarifying that IFRS 3 does not apply to the recognition of the formation of a joint venture or joint operation (as defined by IFRS 11) in the financial statements of the joint arrangement; (ii) IFRS 13, by clarifying that the provision in IFRS 13 based on which the fair-value measurement of a group of financial assets and liabilities can be measured on a net basis applies to all contracts within the scope of IAS 39 or IFRS 9, even though they do not meet the definition of financial assets and liabilities; and (iii) IAS 40, by clarifying that reference should be made to IFRS 3 to determine whether or not the acquisition of investment property constitutes a business combination.
The above amendments relate to events that currently do not apply to the Snam Group; consequently, they have had no effect on the Group’s situation with regard to its balance sheet, income statement and financial position.