Accounting Standards Codification (ASC) 810, which incorporates Statement of
Financial Accounting Standards (SFAS) 160, Noncontrolling interests in consolidated financial
statements, requires changes in the ownership interests, when the parent retains control, be
treated as equity transactions from the group perspective. Thus if a parent company sells twenty
percent of its investment in a wholly owned subsidiary thereby reducing its ownership stake to
eighty percent, then no gain or loss can be recognized from a group standpoint.
This paper addresses the procedures necessary to account for equity transaction sales
from the perspective of the parent and the group. The literature review is followed by a critique
of the current practice and an illustration of the methodology before offering a conclusion.