Consolidation process overview

The consolidation process in Lineos follows a structured three-phase lifecycle. All regulatory frameworks use the same lifecycle — compliance requirements influence how components are configured, not how the lifecycle works.

Phase	Objective	Who does it
Phase 1 — Entity data collection	Collect, validate, and approve financial data from all reporting entities	Entity finance teams, local controllers
Phase 2 — Consolidation setup	Prepare the consolidation environment — ownership, rates, opening balances, mapping	Group consolidation team, system administrator
Phase 3 — Group consolidation	Execute consolidation calculations and generate consolidated results	Group consolidation team, finance controller

Note: Phases 1 and 2 run simultaneously. Phase 3 executes only after both are complete and all entity submissions are approved.

Phase 1 — Entity data collection

In Phase 1, each reporting entity submits its financial data for the consolidation period. You monitor submissions, review validation results, and approve complete submissions before Phase 3 can run.

Input templates

Template	What it captures	When required
Input trial balance	All general ledger accounts in local currency with opening and closing balances	Every period — mandatory
Intercompany details input	Intercompany account balances by trading partner and transaction type. Must reconcile to the total IC balance in the trial balance.	Every period — mandatory
Input balance sheet flow	Opening balance, additions, disposals, transfers, and closing balance for each balance sheet account.	Every period — mandatory
Notes to accounts input	Supporting detail for balance sheet items — intangibles, tangibles, financial investments, equity movements, contingencies	Every period — mandatory
Cash flow input	Cash flows from operating, investing, and financing activities	Every period — mandatory
Input historical balance sheet	Opening balances for the first consolidation year. Carry forward populates these automatically in subsequent years.	Year 1 only
Calculate currency conversion	Manual trigger to pre-convert local currency data to group currency.	Optional

Validation reports

Report category	What it covers
Financial statements	Year-over-year comparison of P&L and balance sheet; 12-month trend reports.
Intercompany matching	Summary and detail views of IC balances by entity pair, showing matched and unmatched amounts.
Notes to accounts	Supporting schedules for balance sheet positions.
Proofing reports	Carry forward verification, net variation, and currency conversion validation.

Automated control checks

Lineos runs control checks automatically when entity users attempt to complete tasks. You configure whether each control is blocking (prevents completion) or a warning (alerts but allows completion).

Control (example name)	What it validates	Action if failed
Balance sheet check	Assets = Equity + Liabilities	Review the trial balance. Identify and correct unbalanced accounts before resubmitting.
P&L check	Income − Expenses = Net profit	Review P&L accounts. Verify all income and expense accounts are complete and correctly signed.
Trend report check	12-month trend of key accounts for unusual movements	Investigate unusual spikes or drops. Document the reason or correct the data before approval.

Note: The control names shown above are examples. Your workspace administrator configures the actual control names and thresholds.

Phase 1 completion checklist

Checklist item	Responsible
All entities have submitted: trial balance, IC details, balance sheet flow, NTA, and cash flow	Group consolidation team
Balance sheet control check passes for all entities	Group consolidation team
P&L control check passes for all entities	Group consolidation team
Intercompany matching reviewed — all unmatched items investigated and documented	Group consolidation team
Entity user has formally approved their submission in the workflow	Entity controller

Phase 2 — Consolidation setup

Phase 2 prepares the consolidation environment. Run these tasks in parallel with entity data collection in Phase 1.

Carry forward — execute to populate opening balances for the current period from prior-period closing balances.
Exchange rate maintenance — enter opening, average, and closing rates for all foreign currency entities.
Ownership structure — confirm entity relationships, ownership percentages, and consolidation methods. Update for any mid-year changes.
Account mapping validation — confirm all entity accounts are mapped to the group reporting structure.

Phase 2 completion checklist

Checklist item	Responsible
Carry forward executed and report reviewed — no unexpected differences	Group consolidation team
Exchange rates entered for all required currencies and rate types (AVG, END, HISTAVG, CTR)	Group consolidation team
Ownership structure confirmed — mid-year changes captured	Group consolidation team
Account mapping verified — no unmapped accounts	Group consolidation team
All Phase 1 entity submissions approved	Group consolidation team

Phase 3 — Group consolidation

Phase 3 executes the consolidation calculations in a fixed system-enforced sequence. Trigger Phase 3 from the BPF board or the Activities task pane once Phases 1 and 2 are both complete.

1Currency conversion — converts all entity data to the group reporting currency. Must run first.
Intercompany elimination — removes internal group transactions and balances.
Investment consolidation — eliminates investment accounts; calculates goodwill, PPA, and deferred tax.
Non-controlling interest — calculates and posts NCI share of equity and profit.
Currency translation reserve — calculates and posts translation differences for foreign entities.
Group consolidation — rolls up entity data to group level using the ownership structure.

Phase 3 completion checklist

Checklist item	Responsible
Phases 1 and 2 are complete and all entity submissions are approved	Group consolidation team
Consolidation executes without errors in the Event Log	Group consolidation team
Consolidated balance sheet passes control check (Assets = Equity + Liabilities)	Group consolidation team
Consolidated P&L passes control check (Income − Expenses = Net profit)	Group consolidation team
Exception reports reviewed and anomalies documented	Group consolidation manager
Finance controller or CFO has formally approved the consolidated statements	Finance controller / CFO