Accounting is an ordered system of collecting, fixing and summarizing information in monetary terms about the state of property, capital and liabilities of the enterprise and their changes. It can be conducted by an accountant accepted into the organization under an employment contract, or a third-party company.
Purpose of accounting
The key task of accounting is the formation of reliable and complete information about the work of the enterprise, its property status. Based on this information:
- negative results of economic activity are prevented;
- the on-farm reserve is identified, at the expense of which the financial stability of the organization is ensured.
Monitoring is carried out for:
- compliance with the law when an enterprise performs various operations;
- the appropriateness of the organization;
- the use of labor, material and financial resources;
- compliance of the company with established standards, norms and norms.
Off-balance sheet accounting
It is necessary to summarize information on the availability and movement of property that does not belong to the enterprise, but is in its temporary possession or use, and also to ensure control of some business operations. In practice, it is also called “off-balance sheet accounting”. However, this concept is used, as a rule, in relation to credit organizations.
As statistics show, many accountants either do not keep records on off-balance sheet accounts, or reflect extremely little information on them. Of course, the preparation of any reporting is a very laborious process, requiring the expenditure of effort, time, other resources, including money. Keeping records should never be turned into a formality. After all, the main task of the accountant is to provide control over the availability and movement of property and liabilities in order to subsequently transfer information to the head of the enterprise. Moreover, he needs to follow the most important rule - the cost of reporting should not exceed the benefit from it. It applies to accounting on off-balance accounts.
Nuances
Before we begin to deal with the purpose and features of accounting for property on off-balance accounts, we note the following points.
Since the end of 2000, nothing has changed for commercial organizations. In accordance with the standard chart of accounts, off-balance sheet items as there were 11, so much remains. As for budget organizations, their situation is different. Each year, the number of off-balance accounts in budgetary institutions changes upward. Today they use cf. 01-42.
I must say that it is in the budget accounting of off-balance accounts that you can find a methodology in some areas of the activities of commercial companies. This is especially true in the case when the rules are not formally established and the organization of the reporting process is left to the accountant in the formation of financial policy.
Why do you need off-balance sheet reporting?
At first glance, enterprises whose work is not connected with strict rules for off-balance sheet accounting do not need it. However, this is not quite true. Let’s figure out why.
Firstly, the accountants who passed the audit are well aware that without off-balance sheet accounting properly drawn up, they will not be able to get a positive opinion from specialists. Direct responsibility for his absence has not been established. However, the Code of Administrative Offenses imposes an administrative penalty for the lack of information on indicators reflecting at least 10% of data on business transactions.
Secondly, recently the check of off-balance sheet accounting by tax officials has become regular and more thorough. This is understandable: the tax service is constantly checked by the state and requires work results. Inspectors ask accountants a variety of questions. For example, where does the balance sheet reflect the premises in which the employees of the enterprise fulfill their duties? If it is not reflected in the documents, then do people sit at home or work on the street? If the premises are not shown in the accounting, how is it possible to accept rental costs as part of income tax expenses? There is no property in the balance sheet, which means that there are no costs. The inspection may well send the case to court. And judicial practice is far from always developing in favor of the payer.
Thirdly, the preparation of off-balance sheet accounts contributes to the convergence of accounting and management accounting. Managers like to ask financiers different questions. For example, a laptop for 40 thousand rubles. it is not reflected in the account, since it was written off in materials, and then in costs. This means that he no longer belongs to the enterprise, and can any employee take it to himself? Or, for example, a software package was purchased several years ago. After the operation has left the expense item for the coming periods, there is no accounting for this software. The manager wants to see the number of programs and the terms of their licenses in balance.
Where to start?
First of all, it is necessary to determine the list of assets that will be recorded off the balance sheet. Next, you need to consolidate the rules for the preparation of documents in the financial policy of the enterprise. Ideally, corporate principles should be drawn up, including accounting for off-balance sheet property. They are approved by the chief accountant.
For example, the corporate principle of "Off-balance sheet accounting of a budget institution" is fixed. It prescribes detailed instructions for reflecting information.
The starting point for off-balance sheet accounting of fixed assets and liabilities is an inventory of property and the preparation of necessary documents. The head issues an order. Based on it, an inventory of liabilities and assets is carried out, which will be reflected in off-balance sheet accounting. A document is formed according to the results of the audit - a collation statement. Information from it is transferred to accounting.
Important points
Please note that the information behind the balance sheet reflects off-system. Revenues are shown on debit, write-offs - on credit. With off-balance sheet accounting of fixed assets, there should be no credit balance. Information on off-balance sheet items does not affect the balance sheet amount.
When generating financial statements, property data are reflected in the Notes. Each operation on off-balance accounts must be confirmed by documents. The inventory rules for liabilities and assets also apply to off-balance sheet items.
Leased OS
There is a list of liabilities and assets that are most often recorded on the balance sheet. Of course, this list should not be considered official. We consider only the most common situations.
Let's start with account 001 “Leased OS”. It reflects information about:
- Premises leased. The act of receiving and transmitting an object will act as a basis for reflecting data. It is signed at the time of the conclusion of the lease. As a rule, the contract does not spell out information about the cost of the transferred premises (only the renter's fee is indicated). This information can be requested from the owner, but he may refuse to provide it. Attracting an appraiser in such situations is impractical. To reflect the data, the accountant can use the notional value, for example, 1 ruble per meter. It is important to prescribe the conditional assessment procedure in the financial policy of an enterprise or corporate principles.
- Values received with the rented premises. It also uses the act of acceptance. It is, for example, blinds, air conditioning, cabinets, etc.
- Floor coolers received for a fee or a bonus to drinking water. For these fixed assets, accounting on the off-balance account 001 is also carried out according to the act of equipment reception and transfer, drawn up upon receipt of the cooler. This document usually reflects collateral value. It is she who is being taken out of balance.
Goods and materials in custody
For them, the sc. 002. As a rule, it reflects the data on the bottles for the cooler. On the day the water arrives, the supplier, along with the standard invoice, transfers the receipt and expenditure documents (or a combined version of the invoice). The collateral value of the bottles can be taken from these papers or from the contract.
On the count. 002 may also include mats provided by a cleaning company. They periodically change according to the act of acceptance.
From the completeness of the information reflected in the account. 002, the correctness of the calculation of property tax will depend. If it is revealed that the company acquired an operating system and without any reason reflected them in off-balance sheet accounting, then it will have to pay a fine, as well as an additional tax. In such situations, ownership will be crucial. If the asset was received for rent or free use and capitalized on the account. 01 instead of 001, the consequences will not make you wait.
Blanks
As a rule, notional cost is used for strict reporting forms, and their number is determined by direct translation. This information reflects on the account. 006. The strict reporting forms include:
- Checkbooks provided by the bank.
- Labor books and inserts to them.
- Subscriptions for issuance to employees.
- Forms of certificates and diplomas.
In addition, on account 006 reflects information about:
- Executive letters on employees paying child support.
- Disability leaflets.
- Constituent documentation.
Based on the data, it is possible to control the persons responsible for the storage of forms.
Securing Obligations and Issued Payments
Information about these operations is reflected in the account. 009.
If the company acts as a surety, the balance sheet contains information in the amount of the corresponding guarantee. The basis for this is the contract.
Any company can add its articles to the off-balance sheet. Of course, all innovations must be consolidated in financial policy.
Difficulty in practice
As a rule, when posting large objects, accountants do not experience special problems. Difficulties, especially in budgetary institutions, begin when you need to take into account property whose value is less than 3 thousand rubles. Experts recommend compiling a statement of the issuance of values for the needs of the enterprise. All damage is subsequently reflected in the off-balance sheet account 21.
Accounting for assets whose value exceeds 3 thousand rubles is carried out until their disposal. The write-off is recorded on the credit of the account. Additional postings are not necessary.
The book value of assets is up to 40 thousand rubles. should be zero after putting them into operation. As for the objects, the price of which is 3-40 thousand rubles, then the initial st-st and depreciation should be restored for them.
The write-off of property from an off-balance sheet account is made by decision of a special commission. The basis is an act signed by the owner of the asset and the head of the enterprise. The formation of the record in the report is carried out at the initial cost.
The provision of valuables for use is drawn up on the account. 21 on the basis of the relevant act. At the same time, the responsible person changes.
Assets worth less than 3 thousand rubles. on off-balance accounts of a budget organization are reflected at full cost. The exceptions are library funds, as well as real estate. Posting OS is made according to the primary documentation confirming their commissioning. Movement within the enterprise is reflected by changing the storage location or person in charge.
Commission agreement
When transferring goods for sale, the principal does not lose ownership. Consequently, such property is recorded on an off-balance sheet account. 004 at the cost reflected in the acceptance certificate. When transferring an object, the amount is to be debited in full. Problems with the company may arise if such a product is recorded on the balance sheet. In this case, the tax inspector qualifies the transaction as a sale. If the payment for the object instead of the principal is paid by a third party, it will be very difficult to prove the legality of such an action even in court.
Violations
As practice shows, off-balance sheet accounting does not cause special problems for accountants. Reflection of information is quite simple: the receipt, receipt or provision of guarantees is recorded only in debit, and repayment of obligations, respectively, on the loan. Meanwhile, even with such a simple scheme, some specialists do not pay due attention to the maintenance of off-balance accounts. As a result, tax inspectors find errors in the documents and impose fines.
Article 15 of the Code of Administrative Offenses establishes administrative measures for violations of accounting rules. This, in particular, about the distortion of the information of any reporting item by more than 10%. Additionally, Article 120 of the Tax Code stipulates liability for the deliberate underestimation of the value of objects of taxation or indicators of income items.
Conclusion
In the article we examined the main features of off-balance sheet accounting. To summarize a short summary.
So, special off-balance sheet items are used by the enterprise to account for material assets that are in temporary use, i.e., not belonging to it. Operations related to capitalization are always recorded at debit, and write-offs of property - at credit. If necessary, the accountant can maintain off-balance sheet accounting in "1C". To do this, add the appropriate accounts to the system. The basic version already contains the necessary items of expenditure and subconto. The formation of standard operations and reporting is carried out in standard documents.
Amounts that appear on off-balance accounts do not fall into the balance sheet. That is why the net assets of leasing companies and enterprises that accept a large amount of materials for storage are underestimated.
Off-balance sheet accounting is very important for the organization. Its results directly affect the effectiveness of managerial decisions. In addition, information off-balance sheet accounts are always interesting to users of reporting. This information allows interested parties to form a more complete picture of the financial and economic activities of the organization.
Experts do not recommend ignoring the need for off-balance sheet accounting. Recently, tax inspectors have especially carefully checked information reflected off the balance sheet. It should be remembered that the legislation establishes liability for the provision of incomplete data on financial and economic operations. The rules for reflecting information are so simple that even a novice accountant can do the job.