(1) Unless provided for otherwise by law, annual financial statements are to set out the entirety of all assets, debt obligations, accrued and deferred items, as well as the expenditures and earnings. Assets are to be reported on the balance sheet of the owner; where an asset is not to be allocated in economic terms to the owner, but to a different party instead, that party is to show the asset on its balance sheet. Debt obligations are to be reported on the balance sheet of the debtor. The amount by which the consideration for the acquisition of an enterprise exceeds the value of the individual assets of the enterprise, minus its debt obligations at the time of the acquisition (goodwill acquired for valuable consideration), is deemed an asset having a limited useful life.
(2) Items posted as an asset may not be set off against items posted as a liability; expenditures may not be set off against earnings; property rights may not be set off against encumbrances on property. Assets that are protected against access by all remaining creditors and that exclusively serve the fulfilment of obligations under old-age pension scheme obligations or comparable obligations falling due in the long term are to be set off against these debt obligations; a corresponding procedure is to be applied where the appurtenant expenditures and earnings from discounting as well as the appurtenant expenditures and earnings from the assets to be set off are concerned. Where the fair value of the assets exceeds the amount of the debt obligations, the remainder is to be posted as an asset in a separate item.
(3) The recognition methods applied in drawing up the preceding annual financial statements are to be upheld. Section 252 (2) is to be applied accordingly.