• Consolidated Financial Statements 
  • Auditor`s Report 
  • Consolidated statement of income 
  • Consolidated balance sheet 
  • Consolidated cash flow statement 
  • Consolidated Statement of Shareholders´ Equity 
  • Segment Reporting 
  • Notes 
    • General Notes 
    • Notes on the consolidated statement of income 
    • Notes on the consolidated balance sheet 
      • 13. Cash and cash equivalents 
      • 14. Trade accounts receivable 
      • 15. Inventories 
      • 16. Prepaid expenses and other current and non-current asset 
      • 17. Property, plant and equipment 
      • 18. Goodwill and other intangible assets 
      • 19. Other accrued expenses 
      • 20. Other liabilities 
      • 21. Debt and liabilities from capital lease obligations 
      • 22. Senior Notes 
      • 23. Mandatory Exchangeable Bonds 
      • 24. Pensions and similar obligations 
      • 25. Trust preferred securities 
      • 26. Minority interest 
      • 27. Shareholders’ equity 
      • 28. Other comprehensive income (loss) 
    • Other notes 
    • Notes in accordance with the german commercial code (HGB) 

Home Consolidated Financial Statements Notes Notes on the consolidated balance sheet 14. Trade accounts receivable

14. TRADE ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE

As of December 31, trade accounts receivable were as follows:

in million €	2008	2007
Trade accounts receivable	2,734	2,382
less allowance for doubtful accounts	257	223
Trade accounts receivable, net	2,477	2,159

All trade accounts receivable are due within one year.

The following table shows the development of the allowance for doubtful accounts during the fiscal year:

in million €	2008	2007
Allowance for doubtful accounts at the beginning of the year	223	218
Change in valuation allowances as recorded in the consolidated statement of income	159	152
Write-offs and recoveries of amounts previously written-off	-129	-132
Foreign currency translation	4	-15
Allowance for doubtful accounts at the end of the year	257	223

The following table shows the ageing analysis of trade accounts receivable and their allowance for doubtful accounts:

in million €	not overdue	up to 3 months overdue	3 to 6 months overdue	6 to 12 months overdue	more than 12 months overdue	Total
Trade accounts receivable	1,566	459	233	188	288	2,734
less allowance for doubtful accounts	8	28	31	42	148	257
Trade accounts receivable, net	1,558	431	202	146	140	2,477