Joint control: the contractually agreed sharing of control over an economic activity. Joint control exists only when the strategic financial and operating decisions relating to the activity require the unanimous consent of the venturers.
Jointly controlled operations
Jointly controlled operations involve the use of assets and other resources of the venturers rather than the establishment of a separate entity. Each venturer uses its own assets, incurs its own expenses and liabilities, and raises its own finance. [IAS 31.13]
IAS 31 requires that the venturer should recognise in its financial statements the assets that it controls, the liabilities that it incurs, the expenses that it incurs, and its share of the income from the sale of goods or services by the joint venture. [IAS 31.15]
Jointly controlled assets
Jointly controlled assets involve the joint control, and often the joint ownership, of assets dedicated to the joint venture. Each venturer may take a share of the output from the assets and each bears a share of the expenses incurred. [IAS 31.18]
IAS 31 requires that the venturer should recognise in its financial statements its share of the joint assets, any liabilities that it has incurred directly and its share of any liabilities incurred jointly with the other venturers, income from the sale or use of its share of the output of the joint venture, its share of expenses incurred by the joint venture and expenses incurred directly in respect of its interest in the joint venture. [IAS 31.21]
Jointly controlled entities
A jointly controlled entity is a corporation, partnership, or other entity in which two or more venturers have an interest, under a contractual arrangement that establishes joint control over the entity. [IAS 31.24]
Each venturer usually contributes cash or other resources to the jointly controlled entity. Those contributions are included in the accounting records of the venturer and recognised in the venturer's financial statements as an investment in the jointly controlled entity. [IAS 31.29]
IAS 31 allows two treatments of accounting for an investment in jointly controlled entities – except as noted below:
proportionate consolidation [IAS 31.30] equity method of accounting [IAS 31.38]