The legal act on accounting (402-) establishes uniform requirements for reporting. They are mandatory for all entities engaged in entrepreneurial activity, if specified in the provisions. Consider some articles of the act ( briefly).
Review 402-FZ "On accounting"
The purpose of the document is the creation of a legal mechanism governing reporting activities. The legal act on accounting (402-) applies to the following economic entities :
- Non-profit and commercial associations.
- Government agencies, local government structures, governing bodies of extrabudgetary state and territorial funds.
- Central Bank
- Individual entrepreneurs, private notaries, lawyers and other similar entities.
- Representative offices / branches and other structural subdivisions of enterprises established according to the legislative norms of foreign states located in the territory of the Russian Federation, as well as international organizations and their branches operating within Russia, unless otherwise established by agreements of the Russian Federation with foreign countries.
Accounting Regulation
402- is used in the management of budgetary assets and liabilities of the Russian Federation, regions and municipalities, and in operations that modify them. Its provisions also apply to the preparation of reports on expenditure items. Articles of the act are used in carrying out activities on the formation of documentation by trustees for material assets transferred to him, as well as in maintaining, by one of the participants in a simple partnership, reporting on material assets and related objects. The requirements of the law are applied in accounting during the execution of an agreement on the division of manufactured products, unless otherwise provided in Federal Law No. 225.
Exceptions
The legal act on accounting (402-) is not applied when summarizing the information required for reporting for:
- Internal use in the enterprise.
- Providing a credit institution, according to its requirements.
- Other purposes, if its application is not provided for by separate legal documents.
The objects
402- "On Accounting" (latest edition) establishes a list of categories for which primary documentation is compiled. These objects include:
- Facts of economic activity of the enterprise.
- Liabilities.
- Assets.
- Sources of financing of the enterprise.
- Costs.
- Revenues.
- Other facilities, if established by standards.
The obligation to generate documentation
402- "On Accounting" (latest edition) contains a number of requirements for economic entities. In particular, the obligation to keep records is established, unless otherwise provided by other legal acts. The following may be exempted from the need for bookkeeping:
- Individual entrepreneurs, private practitioners. They may not generate documentation if, according to the Tax Code, they take into account expenses and income, or only receipts, as well as other objects of taxation in the manner provided for in it.
- Representative offices / branches of organizations created in the manner established by legal acts of a foreign state located in the territory of the Russian Federation. These entities may not generate documentation if, in accordance with the Tax Code, they take into account expenses and income, as well as other objects of taxation according to the rules established in the Code.
Nuances
The legal act on accounting (402-) prescribes the continuous compilation of information in primary documentation from the date of state registration of an enterprise until the moment of completion of its activities in connection with liquidation / reorganization. Organizations that have become participants in programs to develop, research, and commercialize results can use simplified reporting methods for small businesses. The specified provision is valid in case of obtaining the corresponding status, in accordance with Federal Law No. 244.
Organizational moments
Law 402-FZ "On Accounting" provides for a number of rights and obligations for company managers and individual entrepreneurs. In particular, reporting and storage of documentation is organized by the director of the organization. If an individual entrepreneur or an individual practicing private practice keeps records in accordance with the provisions of the Federal Law No. 402, they bear obligations similar to those established for enterprise managers. The director of the organization, with the exception of credit, assigns the corresponding duties to a specialist on staff. He may also enter into an agreement with a third-party accounting company. The head of the credit organization is required to assign the relevant duties only to a specialist who is on staff. An individual entrepreneur has the right to independently keep records.
Requirements for Specialists
Law 402-FZ prescribes that in OJSC, except for credit organizations, insurance companies, private pension funds, investment joint-stock funds, as well as at other enterprises whose securities were admitted to circulation on stock exchanges, in governing bodies of extra-budgetary territorial and state funds, ch. an accountant or a specialist performing his functions should have:
- Higher vocational education.
- Work experience in the specialty. It should be related to accounting, reporting or auditing. Experience should be at least three of the last five years, and if there is no higher professional education, at least 5 of the last 7 years (calendar).
The specialist should not have an outstanding criminal record for economic crimes. Additional requirements for an official acting as an accountant may be provided for in other laws. If the company enters into a contract with a third-party specialist, it must comply with the above requirements. If another legal entity is involved for accounting, the staff should have at least one employee who meets the characteristics set above. The chief accountant in a financial and credit organization must comply with the requirements determined by the Central Bank.
Disagreement
In some cases, contentious issues may arise. In particular, there may be disagreement regarding reporting between the director of the enterprise and the accounting official. In such situations, the data present in the original document is not accepted / accepted by the specialist for registration and accumulation in the relevant registers by written order of the head. The head is solely responsible for the information created as a result of these actions. In a similar way, the question is solved regarding the reflection of the accounting object. In this case, the manager’s order is also issued, according to which the specialist shows / does not show the disputed asset. The responsibility for the reliability of the financial result and the movement of financial resources lies with the director.