Haufe Annual Conference: Accounting and annual financial statements

A. Overview of Current Legal Developments 26/27 and Their Implications for Accounting Policy

• Economic policy and corporate law framework conditions.
• Laws and proposed legislation that affect financial reporting.
• Professional Accounting Standards.
• The Latest in Financial Statement Tax Law.
• Recent changes to the law.
• Summary of the accounting implications for the annual financial statements.

B. Reporting Requirements in Connection with the Annual Financial Statements

• Development and implementation of sustainability reporting (CSRD and ESRS) starting in 2026.
• Latest Updates on Cash Flow Analysis and the Statement of Cash Flows in Accordance with DRS 21.
• Reporting checklists, practical examples, and guidance on wording.

C. Current Focus Areas in Accounting

• Practical Discussion: “Disclosure of Errors in Financial Statements.”
• Case Study: “Closing Under Pressure” – Potential Hazards and Liability Risks (Going Concern, Limits on the Exercise of Discretion and Valuation Judgment, “Failed” Restructuring Measures).
• AI Applications in Accounting: Productivity Booster or Liability Risk? An Assessment from the Perspectives of Financial Statement Preparers and Auditors.
• Special Considerations for Preparing Financial Statements and Reporting During the Crisis—Legal Foundations, Practical Implementation, and Discussions with Auditors and Supervisory Bodies.

D. Key Topics in Year-End Financial Statements Under Commercial and Tax Law: An Overview of the Most Important Current Accounting and Valuation Issues—Your Reference Guide

Presentation and explanation of the key balance sheet items, taking into account the (current—delete as appropriate) legal changes in national commercial and tax law over the past few years:

• ​Fixed Assets 

including, among other things, intangible assets (accounting for software), property, plant, and equipment (accounting for buildings, useful lives), and financial assets (impairment testing), as well as scheduled and unscheduled depreciation and amortization. 

• ​Current Assets 

including, among other things, issues of uncertainty in the valuation of receivables, the formation of valuation units, general principles for the recognition and valuation of inventory (range analysis and obsolescence allowances), simplified valuation methods, revenue and profit recognition, foreign currency receivables, and special considerations regarding accruals. 

• ​Equity 

including, among other things, changes in capital, accounting for profit distributions, general principles for the creation of reserves, and restructuring/reorganization measures such as debt-equity swaps. 

• ​Provisions: 

including, among other things, recognition and measurement rules, current case law under commercial and tax law,  issues of uncertainty regarding provisions for contingent losses, and special considerations regarding pension obligations (e.g., changes to the retirement age, discounting under tax law). 

• Liabilities:including, among other things, recognition and measurement, discounting of liabilities, and foreign currency liabilities. 

E. Selected changes in the 2026 consolidated financial statements prepared in accordance with the German Commercial Code (HGB), includingchanges to the DRS.