All participants in the business turnover are required to keep records - as established by law. Legal responsibility for its correctness and timeliness is assigned to the owner or the head of the company authorized by him, as well as to the chief accountant.
Signature Entities
The head of the enterprise and the chief accountant, as a rule, sign all accounting documents of the enterprise. Such a right is assigned to them legislatively or by the internal documents of the enterprise.
The powers of the leader are usually fixed in the constituent documents and the contract; the powers of the chief accountant can be fixed in his job description, in the order of the head or in the employment contract.
What to do if officials change
Changing a director or chief accountant is a rather troublesome business and requires a thoughtful approach. In this case, the company needs to not only notify the regulatory authorities and the servicing bank, but also correctly carry out the acceptance and transfer of primary accounting documents to a new employee.
Legislatively such an order is provided only for budget organizations; self-supporting enterprises determine it independently, for example, by a separate order or regulation. In any case, an act of acceptance of documents is drawn up, an example of which is given below.
Based on the prevailing business practice, when changing the persons responsible for conducting accounting, a special commission is created at the enterprise by order, which conducts an internal audit and accepts documents from the head or chief accountant.
An audit is not mandatory, however, the company can independently engage auditors who will give an opinion on the state of accounting and tax accounting. Such a document can help the company avoid future financial sanctions of inspection bodies.
If the changing officials were financially responsible, then a mandatory inventory of property and documents is carried out in the prescribed manner.
How to transfer documents correctly when changing a director or chief accountant
For violation of the accounting procedure at the enterprise, officials are provided with liability up to criminal liability, therefore it is so important to correctly arrange the reception and transfer of documents when changing them.
Cases are transferred to the newly appointed director or chief accountant, and in the absence of candidates to the commission, or to the employee appointed by order. The commission or executive officer subsequently transfers the accepted documents to the newly appointed director or chief accountant. If the chief accountant is changing, then the head of the enterprise can directly accept the documents.
The act is executed in three copies: one for the shift employee, the second for the appointed employee, the third for accounting. An act of acceptance of documents upon a change of director is signed by members of the commission or a responsible employee, chief accountant and new head. And in the event of a change in the chief accountant, members of the commission, the head of the enterprise and the new accountant do this.
Act of acceptance of documents: sample
The content of the transfer papers is determined by the enterprise independently. Below is the act of receiving and transmitting documents when changing the chief accountant. This is an indicative option, for example, one enterprise.
Act of acceptance of primary accounting documents of LLC "Rank".
Date, place of compilation.
We, the director of LLC “Rang” Pavlov Ivan Trofimovich, acting on the basis of the Charter, the members of the commission for the acceptance of documents by the economist Lepta OV, the accountant Kud NP, the archivist Rudenko TL, acting on the basis of the order, with on the one hand, and the chief accountant V.A. Alferova, acting on the basis of an order for employment and job descriptions, on the other hand, this act was drawn up in that Alferova V.A. transfers, and LLC “Rang” in the person of the director and the commission accepts the following documents of LLC “Rank” for the period from April 2010 to April 2015 (detailed list):
- invoices for the release of goods and tax invoices, acts on the release of goods and materials and goods, contracts, invoices, acts of work performed, acts reconciliations;
- tax and financial reporting;
- a breakdown of amounts of debt, assets and liabilities;
- salary documentation;
- acts of acceptance and transfer of documents to the archive;
- inspections of regulatory authorities (if any).
The director and the commission established a shortage of 1 tax invoice dated 04/01/2014 under supply contract No. 3 dated 01/01/2014. On this fact from V. Alferova. an explanatory note was received, and a duplicate of the missing document was requested from the counterparty.
The rest of the comments on accounting records are not available.
Auditing and the inventory was not carried out due to lack of justification.
The act was drawn up in three authentic copies: one for V. A. Alferova, the second for the accounting department of LLC “Rank”, the third for the director of LLC “Rank”, and signed by three parties.
Legal advice: for convenience, the list of documentation can be issued in the form of a mandatory annex to the act of acceptance.
Who and how to notify about the change of responsible persons
Within 10 days from the date of the changes, the enterprise must notify the tax authorities of the change of the responsible person. Such a notice is issued by submitting an approved registration form.
It is also necessary to apply for a servicing bank a new card with sample signatures, notarized.
If the company has an electronic digital signature, then you should contact the certification center to cancel the old one and issue a new digital signature, which is necessary for the submission of electronic reports.
In the event of a change of director, it is also necessary to amend the state register of enterprises: a special form is provided for this.
Responsibility and sanctions
If any internal violations revealed during the transfer of cases, the commission must seek written explanations from the director or the chief accountant. If the document is missing or destroyed, it is necessary to notify law enforcement authorities in writing and include their representative in the commission.
The law establishes that the signatories bear the responsibility for incorrect accounting, however, this does not exempt the company from possible sanctions during inspections. The new director or accountant will not be liable for the mistakes of the previous one, and financial sanctions may be imposed on the enterprise, as a business entity. That is why it is so important to properly draw up the process of receiving and transmitting documents when changing officials.
Act of transfer of affairs of the chief accountant
