The Volkswagen Group, a German auto manufacturer, and Carrefour, a French retailer, both publish financial statements under IFRS, denominated in euros. Sony, the Japanese electronics giant, publishes financial statements under U.S GAAP, denominated in yen. Excerpts taken directly from their 2008 income statements are provided below. Note that the items are in the order in which they appeared on the income statement.

Volkswagen (million euros):

Operating profits ..................... 6,333

Share of profits and losses form equity-accounted investments ... 910

Finance cost ..................... (1,815)

Carrefour (million euros):

Finance costs ...................... (562)

Net income from operations ................ 1,471

Net income from equity method companies ........... 52

Sony (billion yen):

Equity in net income of affiliates .............. 101

Operating income ..................... 475

Interest expense ...................... 25

Required

(a) Identify differences in the definitions of operations used by the three companies.

(b) Comment on possible reasons for these differences.

(c) How might an analyst handle these differences?