Koncernbolag

Koncernbolag is a term used to describe a company that is part of a corporate group, or koncern. The existence of a koncern arises when a parent company directly or indirectly holds a controlling stake in other companies, enabling it to influence or determine the financial and operating policies of those companies.

In Swedish corporate practice, the parent company is often referred to as moderbolag, while the subsidiaries within the same group are called dotterbolag. The term koncernbolag can refer to any member of the koncern, but is commonly used to describe entities that operate under the group’s control, including the subsidiaries. The arrangement allows the group to coordinate strategy and governance across several legal entities.

Control is typically established by owning more than 50 percent of voting rights, but can also arise through contracts or arrangements that grant de facto control without majority ownership. Concrete governance may include centralized management, common boards, or shared policies, even though each koncernbolag remains a separate legal entity with its own management and liabilities.

Accounting for a koncern generally requires consolidated financial statements that present the koncern as a single economic entity. Intercompany transactions and balances are eliminated in consolidation. The standards used for consolidation may be IFRS or national accounting rules, depending on the jurisdiction, with tax and regulatory reporting aligned to the koncern structure.

Koncernbolag arrangements enable economies of scale, centralized financing, and risk diversification, but they also introduce complexities such as transfer pricing, cross-border regulatory compliance, and potential liability considerations that depend on corporate law and the specific legal structure of the group.