Difficult without the original German text.

Now, this might be complete rubbish. I am not a financial specialist. There is a small chance that it might help.

It is a GUESS

http://www.bham.ac.uk/EAA/eaa95/abstracts/400.htm

ABSTRACT
Financial reporting in Germany refers to an entity concept that differs from that used in the US. Accounting measures are primarily focused on a legal entity rather than the economic entity. Companies have to use their legal entity financial statements for decisions about the distribution of earnings. Additionally - if the legal entity differs from the economic entity - they have to disclose a set of financial statements for the group of companies that comprise the economic entity.

Whenever the legal entity differs from the economic entity, investors can choose to evaluate the unconsolidated or consolidated statements of a company. While large companies do not hesitate to strengthen the importance of the group reports for investors, the Commercial Code relies on the relevance of an unconsolidated statement of a company for its regulations. The question is which financial statements are value-relevant for investors the unconsolidated or on the consolidated statements, or both of them.

It is often presumed that the consolidated measures are appropriate, provided that the consolidation procedures applied are appropriate for their purpose. But past evidence in Japan has shown the potential relevance of unconsolidated data. So it might be that many investors follow the ideas of the German Code system and use the

unconsolidated statement for decisions - be it that they trust the Code, be it that they mistrust the consolidation procedures applicable in Germany.

The research presented here compares the power of unconsolidated and consolidated accounting measures for explaining stock returns and stock prices from 1981 on. Because of a change in the Commercial Code in 1985 that affected financial reporting from 1986 on, one can expect different results under the two Codes. As the new Code tries to improve the regulations as to consolidated statements it's relevance should be higher than the relevance for the old Code, on a consolidated basis higher than on an unconsolidated basis.

Evidence can be provided that German earnings figures can - to a large degree - explain changes in the market value of firms as well as in investor positions. There is, however, only a small superiority in the explanatory power of consolidated earnings over unconsolidated earnings, under the old as well as under the new Code. Evidence can also be provided that the book value of equity explains it's market value to some extent, under the old Code as well as under the new Code, on a consolidated basis only slightly lower than on an unconsolidated basis.

Given the somewhat surprising results additional analysis is required to try and explain the results.

400


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Note added at 2002-05-03 18:24:09 (GMT)
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http://faculty.washington.edu/shevlin/dica/pownall2.pdf

Comparative Value Relevance among German, US and Internat. Acct. Standards


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Note added at 2002-05-03 20:10:02 (GMT) Post-grading
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http://faculty.washington.edu/shevlin/dica/pownall2.pdf

Comparative Value Relevance among German, US and Internat. Acct. Standards

= the transactions designed to arrange a company's affairs so that the accounts give a misleading or an unrepresentative impression of the financial position. A very handy solution represent the post balance sheet events (like selling an asset by year-end and buying back early next year).

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Note added at 2002-05-03 21:52:19 (GMT) Post-grading
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To prevent the above from happening, accounting standards usually apply several restrictions (such as adding explanatory notes to the accounts). Such additional notes / explanations are usually called Post-Balance Sheet Developments / Items in the annual report.

or: supplementary balance sheet information.

Hi Ralf and other Proz,

I realize that this is over two years after you asked the question, but just in the interest of keeping such questions up-to-date and accurate, I am including this.

I am in the middle of a month-long project translating the transition requirements of a German company switching from US GAAP to IFRS, and I needed the English this precise concept. Sharon is very close in her answer, but here is IAS 10.3:

3. The following terms are used in this Standard with the meanings specified:
Events after the balance sheet date are those events, favourable and unfavourable, that occur between the balance sheet date and the date when the financial statements are authorised for issue. Two types of events can be identified:
(a) those that provide evidence of conditions that existed at the balance sheet date (adjusting events after the balance sheet date); and
(b) those that are indicative of conditions that arose after the balance sheet date(non-adjusting events after the balance sheet date).


The German term I am translating is "wertaufhellende Ereignisse" (indeed, from HGB, as Ralf indicates). Your context, Ralf, is for events AFTER the balance sheet date, which are clearly (b) above: non-adjusting events.

I'm sure you came up with it when you saw the relevant IAS, but this is just for any other translators who come along later (like me) and want some more information.