On April 14, 2003, The National Regulatory Authority for Communications (ANRC) launched for public consultation the Draft Decision on the Approval of the Regulation on the Separate Accounting within the Internal Administrative Accounting of “RomTelecom” – S.A. The Project sets up the methodology for separate accounting by RomTelecom for the activities related to interconnection and access to the networks or to their associated facilities. The transport network, access network and retail sale are the most important business units for which the company should keep separate accounting.
The purpose of separate accounting is to ensure the observance by RomTelecom of the non-discrimination obligation, according to which the company must offer to third parties services under the same conditions -including price – it offers for its internal operations. These separate accountings shall offer a clear and transparent image of the wholesale prices and the internal prices for the transfer between the Romtelecom operations, as if these operations were realized as distinct entities. This shall additionally ensure the prevention of unjustified cross-subsidies.
According to the Draft Regulations, RomTelecom will be bound to prepare, on an annual basis, Separate Financial Statements which will be published within 60 days at most from the date when the annual financial statements regulated by the financial-accounting legislation were published. The deadline for the financial exercises cannot exceed the 6 month-deadline from the closing of the financial exercise for which these are prepared.
The separate financial statements shall be prepared both based on the historical costs and on the current costs, settlements also being presented.
The separate financial statements include the profit and loss account, the status of the mean capital employed and the status of the return of the mean capital employed, for each business unit and subunit, as well as explanatory notes and the used accounting policies.
When preparing the separate financial statements shall be observed the causality principle, according to which the incomes and costs shall be distributed depending on the activities it generates, the objectivity principle, according to which the costs allocation on operations units shall be objective and shall not intend to gain benefits for the operator for a product or service, for a networks element, for business unit or subunit, consistency principle, according to which the separate financial exercises shall mention any changes of the regulated accounting principles, of the costs methodology for the allocation of costs and accounting policies with significant effect on the content and transparency principle, according to which the principles, accounting policies and the costs allocation methodology has to be transparent.
The observations and comments from all the persons interested are expected at the fax no.: (+40 21) 307 54 02 or at the e-mail addresses: anrc@anrc.ro or consultare@anrc.ro.
The draft will be made available to the public, for consultation, until May 16, 2003, on ANRC Internet page.