The first big test for Australian companies in 2015 is on with the corporate confession season revealing a glimpse of the impact to earnings of the energy price shock and lower Australian dollar.

With oil trading at more than five-year lows and the Australian dollar hovering at around US82¢, external forces have set up one of the more volatile reporting periods in years when formal results come through in February. In the meantime, companies which ruled off their accounts on December 31 and find numbers significantly short of market forecasts are already coming clean to investors.