Organization of accounting: basic principles, features and requirements

Control is almost always the key to good luck. And if we talk about accounting for the activities of the organization, then there is no way to do without it. How to implement it? What are the nuances of the organization of accounting and reporting in practice? What to focus on so as not to make a mistake and not be guilty before the state?

general information

In the Russian Federation, there is a state program for transition to international practice. It provides for the translation of the accounting system and statistics under the requirements of the international market economy. For this, the Ministry of Finance has developed a number of regulatory documents. They are aimed at the regulation of accounting for enterprises that operate on the territory of the Russian Federation. Conventionally, four groups of documents can be distinguished:

1. Law No. 129-FZ of November 21, 1996 “On Accounting,” as well as other legal acts that regulate reporting and accounting issues. These are basic documents.
2. The accounting position of the organization, which discloses the principles that must be followed during work. Explanatory work is also carried out regarding the interaction of legislative documents.
3. Methodical instructions (recommendations, instructions). They help to carry out accounting of different types of property, liabilities and cash.
4. Working documents of the organization. They define internal accounting rules for expenses, liabilities and property. But they must be based on previous documents.

The legislation established that all accounting in the Russian Federation should be carried out in rubles. You should also distinguish between the property of the company and other legal entities that are owned. Organization of accounting should be carried out from the moment of registration of the organization. It is necessary to immediately adjust the working moments: separate display of capital investments and production, timely registration of business transactions, absence of exemptions or omissions.

About Accounting Management

All responsibility for its organization lies with the senior manager (director). It also has the responsibility to create the necessary conditions. She is led by accounting, which is a structural unit. And then it depends on the scale. If you have your own service, then it is headed by the chief accountant. If not, and everything is done by one specialist, then he is considered responsible for all the data. There are also options when accounting is transferred to a specialized organization or to one specialist on a contractual basis. What if there is a service? In such cases, the chief accountant is appointed and dismissed by the head of the enterprise. He submits to him. What is his responsibility? A short list is as follows:

1. Be guided by applicable law, be responsible for compliance with all existing requirements, as well as the rules of work.
2. Provide control over the reflection of business transactions, prepare reports, provide operational information, conduct an economic analysis of activities in order to identify and mobilize reserves.
3. Sign, together with the head of the organization, the documents that are used to issue and receive money, inventory items. The same applies to settlement, credit and monetary obligations. If they are not signed by the accountant, then the documents are considered invalid and will not be accepted for execution.
4. The right to sign may be granted by a written order of the manager. But at the same time, it is forbidden to draw up and accept documents for operations that contradict the current legislation, as well as violate financial and contractual discipline.

The fact that the accounting of expenses of an organization begins with the definition of a responsible specialist is certainly true. But that is far from all.

Structure building

It is advisable to coordinate with the chief accountant the dismissal, appointment, as well as the movement of materially responsible persons like cashiers, warehouse managers and others. At the same time, it is necessary to worry that the transfer of powers proceeds without critical problems. For example, if the chief accountant is relieved of his duties, then before the selection of a new specialist, his duties are performed by the deputy. In addition, the organization of accounting in the modern world is almost unthinkable without the use of automation, because it can significantly simplify the conduct of business. It is believed that their presence allows one specialist to replace 5-6 colleagues working exclusively with papers. This is possible due to its wide capabilities, setting up documentation transfer processes, displaying the internal structure, quickly searching for the required document and other, albeit small, but very pleasant functions. Therefore, you need to think about how to increase the efficiency of accountants. Indeed, otherwise it will negatively affect the level of competitiveness. And the classic financial accounting of the organization also works quite slowly, which reduces the reaction rate of the enterprise to problems and critical situations, which in turn can lead to disastrous financial results. Therefore, the term “structure” must be understood not only as a hierarchy of employees, but also all sorts of additions that will increase the speed of work, efficiency and other important points.

About the principles

This is a very important point. Do not underestimate the basic principles of accounting organization , otherwise this can lead to a number of problems. In accordance with the adopted provision, it is necessary to focus on:

1. The principle of double entry. According to him, each business transaction leads to a change in at least two objects: the credit and debit account. That is, in two accounts. For this, simple wiring is used. But what if there are more accounts? Then you need to use complex wiring.
2. The principle of objectivity of the unit of account. It provides that everything should have a quantitative and value expression. After all, this is the only way to determine how much certain economic benefits and resources have been received or lost.
3. The principle of periodicity. It states that in order to determine the results of operations and formulate data on financial condition, it is necessary to allocate reporting and accounting periods. What is their difference? Reporting periods are a quarter, half a year, 9 and 12 months. Whereas the accounting period is used to calculate the cost of created products, work performed and services rendered. For these purposes, a month is used. Although in some cases they may coincide in duration.
4. The principle of monetary value. What is its essence? This principle states that the common measure for all objects of accounting is the monetary unit. It is also used to analyze and evaluate the financial and property status of the company. If we talk about the Russian Federation, then in this case, the valuation of property should take place in national currency. If the entries relate to foreign currency accounts, as well as to operations in the monetary units of other countries, then they must be converted into rubles. And for this, the Central Bank rate is taken, which was at the date of receipt of foreign funds.

There are a lot of principles

If you want to study and establish business at the highest level, then for this you should familiarize yourself with IFRS, but there are quite a lot of them. Therefore, attention will be paid only to the most important. The organization of accounting can be well implemented with the following components:

1. Accrual principle. Also known as matching concept. The bottom line is to put forward the assumption that the facts of economic activity were committed in the reporting period. Therefore, in accounting they are in their place, regardless of the tactical time of payment or receipt of funds.
2. The principle of rationality. What is its essence? He assumes that economical and rational accounting will be carried out, which will reflect all the necessary information about economic activity and the size of the enterprise. In this case, there will only be data that will allow users to make decisions aimed at ensuring the work of the company. In addition, the benefits and costs of obtaining this information are taken into account.
3. The principle of consistent accounting policies. It is based on the fact that various changes in the calculation and compilation of data will not occur. This is necessary in order to be able to compare data on the financial position of the organization in different reporting periods. For this, it is necessary to honestly and truthfully display all the information and conduct an audit of the activity.

These are the main points of the main organization of accounting. But everything is not limited to them. It is imperative to study the accounting regulations of the organization, and it is recommended that you familiarize yourself with international financial reporting standards (IFRS).

We set tasks

What is the accounting policy of the organization? Accounting is impossible without determining the tasks to be solved. Otherwise, there will be too much data that can be considered. Generally speaking, it is necessary to have an orderly system for collecting, summarizing and registering information about the obligations and property of the organization in monetary terms, and also to document all business operations. More specifically, this:

1. Formation of reliable and complete information about the organization’s activities, as well as its property status, which can be used by managers and owners, and in some cases, creditors and investors.
2. Providing all necessary data to internal and external users, monitoring compliance with the laws of the Russian Federation, checking for appropriateness, recording the use of financial, labor and material resources.
3. Formation of a system of standards that can confirm the usefulness of information.
4. Prevention of the probability of a negative financial result. Search for internal reserves that can ensure financial stability.
5. Formation of the regulatory framework.
6. Support for international cooperation.
7. The provision of methodological assistance in management accounting.
8. Ensuring compliance with state and international standards.

You can expand them and increase the number, but this should be done solely for the existing needs of each individual enterprise.

About Assumptions

We all cannot know. And even more so to predict the future. Therefore, the accounting organization plan should contain certain assumptions. There are four important points that you need to pay attention to. It:

1. Assumption of property isolation. That is, it is necessary to separate the assets and liabilities of the organization and the owners. If there is property that is controlled by the enterprise, although it does not belong to it, then the rules of simple accounting are used.
2. Assumption of continuous activity. In this case, it is understood that the organization will work in the near future, and it has no intentions or need to reduce it or even liquidate it. In this case, all obligations will be fulfilled.
3. Assuming a sequence of implementation of selected priorities. In this case, it is assumed that the course of activity will not change, and the selected standards will be invariably used in future reporting periods. This is necessary to create a stable accounting.
4. The assumption of temporal certainty of factors affecting economic activity. With respect to income, it does not matter when it is received or paid. It is necessary to rely on the facts of economic activity.

And what about the requirements?

We already know what accounting is. An organization’s policies can affect it. But how? The following requirements must be put forward:

1. Completeness. In accounting all facts of economic activity should be displayed.
2. Timeliness. Business facts should be displayed on time.
3. Discretion. It is necessary to focus on expenses and liabilities, paying less attention to possible incomes and assets. Care must be taken to ensure that hidden reserves do not arise.
4. Consistency. Care must be taken to ensure that the data contained in various places is consistent with each other.
5. Priority content on forms. In this case, it is understood that the reflection in accounting should be built taking into account the legal form and economic essence of the facts, as well as the conditions of the business.
6. Rationality. It is necessary to adequately approach accounting. For this, one should proceed from the existing conditions, as well as the size of the enterprise.

Of course, if you wish, this list is easy to expand. But the information given here is the basic minimum that is necessary to start building the accounting subsystem of the organization. But throwing something out of the list is strongly discouraged. But at the same time, care must be taken not to overload the responsible specialists. Everything that is done should be useful.

Example

Let's look at how accounting is carried out in budgetary organizations. Two stages are conditionally distinguished, although they are often called accounting actions:

1. First stage. It organizes ongoing monitoring, counting, collection and registration of business transactions. Usually the word “documentation" is used for this designation. His order contains an order for the organization of accounting. Accountants knowingly carefully check the received primary documents. Indeed, the ability to prove the fulfillment of facts of activity depends on the correctness of their design. Additionally, a classification of documents can be carried out.
2. Second phase. Here, attention is paid to the systematization, grouping and generalization of the accounting information received. This procedure allows you to capture and organize all the information about the activity. This stage is called registration. It is presented in the form of accounting accounts, which are determined by internal regulatory documentation.

So, initially you need to create a plan diagram, according to which everything will work. You can prescribe the standards that define the accounts in the accounting organization. But at the same time, one should not forget about the order of the senior manager who will create this subsystem within the enterprise or institution. For some reason, many people believe that if an organization receives money from the budget, then it does not need to pay anything. It's a delusion. Yes, it may seem ridiculous, illogical and bureaucratic to some, but you have to pay. Therefore, the organization of tax accounting should be carried out by budget organizations. It is desirable that all this be provided for in the orders and regulations, and work instructions.

Conclusion

How extensive is the topic and how limited are the possibilities for its consideration. Accounting of property of the organization, conducted business operations is used for a reason. It allows you to avoid or promptly identify all losses, shortages, and abuses. It is best when it is properly organized from the very beginning. In this case, if problems arise, it will be very easy to understand the cause of their occurrence and quickly find solutions to resolve them. When organizing accounting, it is necessary to take into account the human factor. That is, trust, but verify. In addition, you need to monitor the load. If you put so many responsibilities on one person so that he constantly lingers at work, then you should not be surprised at the high staff turnover. When creating an internal structure, it will be useful to focus on international financial reporting standards. And if the Regulation is a binding document that everyone should follow, then IFRS is not. Nevertheless, these are extremely useful recommendations. No wonder the government of the Russian Federation insists on their use.