Accounting policy of the PBU: application and general provision

Most large commercial organizations maintain accounting policies. This may be due to both the requirements of the law and the objective needs of firms, due to the specifics of doing business, its scale, and the specifics of economic operations. The norms regulating the keeping of accounting policy by enterprises can be fixed both at the level of the legislation of the Russian Federation and in the local normative acts of the organization. What are the main sources of law governing this line of business of Russian firms? What are their main points?

What is the accounting policy?

Accounting policy is understood as the organization's activity, which is related to the compilation of various documents reflecting significant events in the economic life of the firm. In Russia it is represented by 2 main types of accounting: accounting and tax. As a rule, the first type of reporting is more difficult, therefore, in order to regulate it, special regulatory acts are issued by the state. The accounting policy of the firm, which mainly relates to its financial statements, must be stable, legal, up-to-date. It is formed on the basis of the priorities of a particular organization, but it must comply with the established norms of law. Consider the sources in which they can be fixed.

Accounting policy of accounting: basic rules of law

The accounting policy of the PBU in the Russian Federation is regulated by the provisions of normative acts at the federal level. The main NPA of the corresponding type is the order of the Ministry of Finance of Russia No. 106n, adopted on 6.10.2008. Through this source approved the provision "Accounting policy of the organization PBU 1/2008", as well as PBU 21/2008, which complements the first document. Previously, the normative source of PBU 1/98 operated in the Russian Federation.

It can be noted that along with the main regulatory documentary accounting - PBU 1/2008, sources have been adopted, according to which accounting should be kept for individual business transactions, payments to the budget of the Russian Federation. For example, if a company pays a profit tax, then the main NRA, in accordance with which its accounting policy should be built is 18 PBU.

There are separate sources of norms that regulate accounting for various assets, loans, investments with which the firm is dealing. But, one way or another, the main source of standards for accounting - PBU 1/2008. It contains common for all firms regulations governing accounting policies - regardless of the organization's taxation system, the specifics of its business operations.

Let's consider the main provisions, which contains the PBU 1/2008 ("Accounting policy of the organization"). 2015 and 2016 were not characterized by significant legislative adjustments to the respective NAP. But they were. Thus, the current version of the "Accounting Policy" was adopted on 6.04.2015. So, we will study the main provisions of this AB.

PBU 1/2008: general provisions

The considered source of law forms the rules for drawing up the accounting policy of firms in the status of legal entities. Jurisdiction of this NAP does not apply to banking organizations, state and municipal structures. If a business in the Russian Federation is the representative office of a foreign firm, it can adhere to the relevant norms or those rules that are established in their state provided that they do not conflict with the provisions of Russian legislation governing accounting.

PBU "Accounting policy of the organization" regulates the activities of enterprises, which are related to the accounting, monitoring, measurement, grouping and subsequent generalization of the results of economic activities in the firm. Accounting in accordance with the norms of the source under consideration, can be conducted by means of different methods. For example:

- grouping, as well as assessing the facts of activity;

- compensation of assets;

- maintenance of document circulation;

- implementation of inventory;

- use of accounting records;

- maintenance of specialized registers;

- processing of various types of information.

Standards PBU "Accounting Policy" apply to all Russian firms. But with regard to the actual disclosure of procedures within the accounting policy - to those organizations that publish their reports in accordance with the laws of the Russian Federation, statutory documents or by their own initiative.

How is the accounting policy formed?

Let's consider how the accounting policy of the PBU is formed in accordance with the considered NAP. This line of business is carried out under the guidance of the chief accountant of the organization or other responsible employee of the organization.

Within the framework of accounting should be approved:

- work plan used by the company accounts;

- forms of documents used in accounting, as well as registers;

- forms of sources used in the internal reporting;

- Inventory rules;

- methods for assessing the company's assets, as well as its obligations;

- methods of document circulation and information analysis;

- rules for exercising control over various business transactions.

Employees of the firm responsible for the accounting policy may make other decisions within the framework of the company's activity.

Accounting policy PBU also assumes that:

- the firm's resources and liabilities are considered separately from the assets and debts of the owners of the relevant organization and other companies;

- the firm conducts sustainable business, and its managers do not intend to liquidate business or reduce economic activities, as a result of which the company's debts will be paid according to established schemes;

- adopted in the firm accounting policy is characterized by stability, consistency and is carried out on the same principles in different years;

- the facts of economic activities of the organization are correlated with specific reporting periods.

The legislator orders the firms implementing the accounting policy to ensure:

- correctness of fixing in the account of those or other facts of economic activities;

- the relevance of reflecting information on the company's activities in the reporting;

- preferential readiness for consideration of expenses and debts, than proceeds and assets without formation of the latent resources;

- reflection of the facts in the accounting, first of all, proceeding from their real economic content, and not the legal form;

- Equity of accounting indicators in the aspect of turnover and balances on synthetic accounts within the reporting periods;

- the priority of rational methods of accounting, used in view of the conditions of the company's economic activities, as well as the scale of the organization.

The legislation of the Russian Federation allows small enterprises to form a policy of accounting in a simplified form.

Accounting policy PBU assumes that the firm, not having found out in the provisions of normative acts of the Russian Federation the necessary guidelines, should use its own rules, as well as IFRS - international rules for the preparation of financial statements.

The company, having adopted the accounting policy, should formalize it through separate administrative documents approved by the management of the organization. Accounting methods defined by the organization should be applied from the beginning of the year, which follows the one in which the relevant methods were approved. If the company was established recently, the accounting policy in it should be adopted within 90 days from the date of registration of the company.

Adjusting the accounting policy

PBU 1/2008 ("Accounting policy of the organization") regulates how the firm should adjust the accounting standards adopted. So, corresponding changes can be carried out, if in the legislation of the Russian Federation the regulatory provisions have changed. Adjustment of the accounting policy can be carried out if the company has changed certain conditions of economic activity - for example, due to reorganization or due to changes in certain types of commercial activities. If the firm has made a decision to change the accounting policy, this rule prescribes the action to be carried out proceeding from the principle of validity.

In general, adjustments to the accounting policies come into effect from the beginning of the reporting year. Other terms may be due to the factors that caused the corresponding changes. Accounting policy (PBU 1/2008) requires firms to consider the consequences of adjusting the rules governing the line of business in question. So, if the relevant changes affect the financial stability of the firm, the results of its activities or the movement of capital - they are estimated in monetary terms on the basis of reliable data.

If the adjustment of accounting policy is due to changes in the norms of regulatory NAP, they are reflected in accounting in the manner prescribed by law. Companies that have the right to use simplified accounting methods can record accounting adjustments in accounting policies that may affect financial results potentially, unless otherwise prescribed by Russian law.

If the changes in question are capable of having a significant impact on the dynamics of capital turnover in the organization, then they should be separately disclosed in the statements. Let us consider this aspect in more detail.

Disclosure of the adopted accounting policy

In accordance with the accounting policy of PBU 1-2008, firms are required to disclose their accounting policies through established methods. First of all, in this aspect, how the methods of accounting, which determine in a decisive way the process of evaluation and practical application of decisions by users of reporting.

The key in this case should be those methods that allow the most reliable familiarization of stakeholders with the financial results of the organization. The way in which accounting reports should be disclosed is determined in the legislation of the Russian Federation. If the company's accounting policy is created taking into account possible assumptions, which are provided by the rules of law, the disclosure of such approaches may not be carried out in the accounts. But if the assumptions adopted by the company are not provided for by law, then they, in turn, must be disclosed.

PBU Accounting Policy provides an option in which in the process of preparation of the reporting a certain uncertainty is formed in the aspect of considering events and factors capable of questioning the continuity of economic activity, the firm should reflect in the accounting documents the circumstances relevant to such a problem. If the accounting policy of the company is changed, then it must disclose information reflecting:

- reasons for adjusting the accounting policy, as well as the essence of changes in it;

- the procedure in accordance with which the consequences of innovations in accounting policy are reflected in the accounts;

- financial indicators of adjustments reflecting the changes in question are relative to each article of reporting.

If disclosure of data for some reason or another is impossible, then this fact should be taken into account in accounting documents provided that the period within which the company starts using the new accounting policy is specified.

PBU "Accounting policy of the organization" contains the rules on which firms are obliged to disclose information on the non-use of NAPs that have been adopted but which do not exist until a certain date, as well as a prospective evaluation of the consequences of the application of this act in the period when it becomes legal. The way in which the company conducts accounting, as well as information on adjusting its accounting policies, should be disclosed in a special explanatory note, which is attached to the accounting documents.

Along with the PBU for accounting policy, Order of the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation No. 106n, another normative source was introduced - PBU 21/2008. Let's consider its features in more detail.

PBU 21/2008: basic norms

The document in question contains provisions that govern the procedure for recognition, as well as disclosure in accounting information relating to the adjustment of estimates for certain elements of accounting. Under such document, PBU 21/2008 prescribes to understand changes in the price of an asset or a firm's debt or a value that reflects compensation for the value of an asset due to the appearance of updated significant information. In this case, the adjustment of the method of estimating the resources and liabilities of the company is not classified as a change in the estimated value. But if any innovation in accounting can not be considered within a separate category that characterizes changes in the accounting policy, then for accounting purposes it is recognized as a change in the estimated value. We will study how it is recognized in practice.

Recognition of the valuation adjustment

The NAP, which supplements the PBU-2008 ("Accounting Policy of the Organization"), contains the rules according to which changes in the estimated value should be recognized in accounting by including in the revenue or costs of the firm:

- within the period in which this or that change is fixed, if it directly affects the accounting data;

- within the period in which the change was recorded, as well as future periods, if the adjustment affected the reporting for both intervals.

If the change affects the size of the firm's capital, it must be recognized by adjusting the share of equity in the statements for the period in which the relevant innovation was recorded.

IFRS accounting standards

Along with PBU-1 ("Accounting policy of the organization"), a Russian source of law, accounting can be regulated by international norms. Let's study their specifics in more detail.

One of the main international documents that establish the IFRS - IFRS 8. In accordance with its provisions, accounting policies should be understood principles, foundations, contracts, rules, as well as practical actions that are carried out by the company for financial reporting purposes. The main principle of international accounting regulation is the priority of reliability over formalities.

Another noteworthy nuance that characterizes IFRS is that in the original texts of the relevant sources of rights the phrase "accounting policy" most often sounds in the plural. Experts explain this by the fact that abroad, this line of activities of firms involves a set of different actions. In turn, in Russia, even the latest version of the PBU ("Accounting Policies of the Organization"), 2015, involves the use of this term in the singular.

Another noteworthy nuance of IFRS - international norms allows companies to independently determine how information related to accounting should be disclosed. Thus, it can be disclosed as notes or as a separate reporting component.

An extremely important characteristic of IFRS - the relevant rules of law do not require firms to use unified charts of accounts in the process of accounting. It is in principle unnecessary - although in practice it is rather difficult to do without it, since there is usually a need to conduct double entry of transactions in firms. In turn, in Russia a single chart of accounts is and should be applied in accordance with the norms established in the legislation.

Quite superficially, the rules of IFRS regulate the preparation of annexes to the accounting policy. Firms, in accordance with international rules, do not need to compose them - but, again, in practice, they usually have to develop such documents.

Summary

The main source of law, according to which Russian firms should take various business transactions to account - "Accounting policy of the organization" PBU 1/2008. It can be supplemented with other NAPs that regulate certain aspects of accounting. Russian laws governing financial reporting can be applied along with international norms. There are a number of fundamental differences between them. The rules of IFRS can be applied in the Russian Federation, if they do not contradict the norms of Russian regulatory bodies that regulate accounting.

Sources of law, according to which accounting should be conducted in the Russian Federation, are mandatory, but they contain rather general requirements for companies to carry out the activity under consideration. Much of the work on creating a local accounting system should be carried out directly by the company - its chief accountant and other responsible employees. The accounting rules adopted by the organization are approved by its management and binding on all financial departments of the firm.