Accounting is the most important phenomenon in terms of building an effective management policy in the organization. And therefore, knowing what its basic principles are based on is useful both for the managers themselves, who are responsible for making key decisions regarding business development, and for owners and shareholders of companies.
Accounting: the ratio of goals, objectives and principles
Consider the principles of accounting in accordance with the main objectives of this type of managerial activity.
With those that, in turn, are determined by various regulatory requirements, a significant part of which is dictated by law.
Actually, as such the principles in question are logically based on these very goals defined by regulatory requirements.
Or, in some cases, corporate priorities. What are the main goals of accounting? Russian experts highlight their following list.
- Quantitative and qualitative reflection of the properties of the property, as well as the obligations of enterprises in relation to financial and economic activities. The main toolkit here is a specialized accounting account (the same with which operations of the "debit-credit" type are conducted).
- Fulfillment of obligations regulated by legislation in the field of tax reporting, solving social problems, etc., from the moment of registration with the company as a separate legal entity until the fact of its liquidation or change of status.
- The need to build a high-quality management policy based on the industry specifics of the organization and the scale of business, the level of competition and other market factors.
Accounting Principles and Objectives
Based on the above goals of the corresponding type of managerial activities, we consider the key objectives and principles of accounting. These include Russian experts:
- formation of documentation, which reflects reliable and informative information relating to the activities of the company, with subsequent familiarization with it by the management and owners of the organization;
- providing information about the work of the company to the competent authorities, called upon to exercise control over compliance with the relevant legislation of the Russian Federation (tax, accounting, civil) in accordance with established reporting forms;
- optimization of the company, increasing its competitiveness, forecasting activities and improving the business model;
- promotion of healthy competition in the segment.
Key principles
Now, in fact, we can study the principles of accounting as such. Based on the common interpretation of this term ("base", "base", "initial conditions" that determine all other properties of the object), we can distinguish the following.
Autonomy
In accordance with this principle, it is assumed that the organization exists as a separate entity (primarily in the legal sense). Some experts, commenting on the essence of this principle, draw an analogy with the sovereignty of the state. The property that de jure belongs to the organization is considered in accounting strictly autonomously relative to that owned by the founders of the company, its employees, as well as other legal entities.
Systematic
Accounting principles, according to Russian experts, must necessarily include this property.It assumes that accounting should be built in the framework of a system model containing elements that can adapt to absolutely any part of the business process in an organization.
No financial and business transaction should be outside the attention of the accounting system. Each of them, if they are systematic, will be substantiated, documented and duly recorded (and, if necessary, reflected in reports to interested parties - regulatory authorities, shareholders, creditors, etc.).
Double entry
There is a so-called double-entry method. Some experts identify it as a separate principle, although others merely assign it the role of one of the accounting tools. He suggests that the facts characterizing the course of business operations should simultaneously be reflected in the debit and credit of two different accounts.
Constancy of presence
Some principles of accounting (financial) accounting can sound quite abstract. At the same time, their essence is significant, according to experts, from the point of view of understanding the mechanisms of functioning of accounting. The constant presence of the organization means that the company conducts its business on the market in a continuum, having any stable business relations with other legal entities, plans for the future, mutual or unilateral obligations.
Verifiability
There is a principle of verifiability of facts. This implies that all documents must be correct, and the facts in them are verifiable. One of the key criteria here is the compliance of the securities with legislative standards. However, as we said above, the content in accounting is more important than form. Therefore, the reliability of the facts is no less important, as well as the availability of tools and criteria to identify it.
Sequence
Accounting principles include such. It implies the inadmissibility of a sharp transition from one model of decision-making in the field of accounting to another without substantial reason. For example, if we are talking about adequate forecasting of asset growth, then, say, one successfully signed contract should not be the basis for further modeling of irrepressible revenue intensification. And vice versa, if, say, some valuable client ceased to cooperate with the company, this is not a reason for a sharp reassessment of the effectiveness of the business model.
Factual
There should be a fixation of facts, not states. Some experts believe that this is not one, but the combined principles of the organization of accounting on the basis of "operation is the result, not the process." In practice, this most often means that the calculation does not fix the expectation of the arrival of funds, but only a fact that assumes their subsequent receipt. A payment may not go through, say, for technical reasons (it takes a long time to process the bank), however, the corresponding accruals will be recorded in the financial statements.
Periodicity
This principle applies, as a rule, to the reporting and analytical aspect of the work of accountants. It is about the fact that this or that information is generalized and systematized by periods - months, quarters, years. This is done to facilitate and minimize errors in calculating liabilities and reporting to the tax authorities, other agencies, creditors, etc.
Trade secrets
This principle is probably not specific to specific accounting activities. Trade secrets - a phenomenon characteristic of most types of business activities. However, Russian experts include them in the basic principles of accounting.
Cash measurability
This principle is important in terms of standardizing the work of Russian accountants. All payments and prices within the Russian Federation are in rubles (if we are not talking about relations with foreign suppliers).The country's monetary currency is the main measure of the facts generated by economic activities within the enterprise.
These are the basic accounting principles that are common among Russian experts. Of course, there may be additions to this list that appear both during the modernization of the methodological school and, say, as a result of the introduction of certain new technologies. What are these accounting principles?
In the Russian expert community, for example, there is a thesis about continuity. He may assume that there are principles of accounting organization, such as, for example, working with documents taking into account the established national tradition. As an option - in the language of one of the indigenous ethnic groups of the Russian Federation (in addition to Russian).
In a number of cases, international accounting principles are also distinguished. There is no generally accepted list of criteria regarding the latter among Russian experts. Common points are:
- compliance of the methodology for conducting business operations with international law;
- ensuring the correct calculation of amounts under contracts in accordance with the exchange rate;
- where the specific nature of the joint activity requires and there are no contradictions to the legislation, unification and mutual understanding of accounting procedures.
In some cases, experts include in this list the priority of international law over national law. But it is applicable to far from all states.
In some cases, expert sources use the term “principles” - “assumptions” of accounting. That is, experts say, they can be understood as synonyms. It is also possible that another term is used that replaces the "principles" - the "requirements" of accounting. There is no particular mistake, analysts say, either. However, there are approaches in accordance with which completely different categories relate to accounting requirements. Further we will consider their essence and features.
Accounting Principles and Information
Having studied the main principles of accounting in those interpretations that are common in the Russian expert environment, we consider other aspects related to the relevant managerial activities. Work in accounting is mainly related to the circulation of information. What quality criteria regarding it exist in Russian practice? Experts call the following.
First of all, the information should be useful. That is, each of the numbers (or the totality of those within the framework of the thematic block) should convey to the person who gets to know them significant information from the point of view of understanding business processes in a particular organization. What information can be considered useful? Actual. Reliable (verified, verified). And also comparable - so that on the basis of which it is possible to identify dynamics relative to certain sections of the business process.
SecondlyHigh quality accounting information should be unambiguous. It is undesirable in accounting sources to pose a problem, to allow different scenarios. It is always likely that the forecast or simulation of the course of certain stages in the development of the company is erroneous. However, the source of information should indicate one option, which is necessarily justified. The fact is that the total value of two opposite or noticeably common scenarios in documents related to accounting is close to zero (more precisely, the methodology of compiling the document itself, which allows for duality of conclusions, is annihilated). The dialectical approach is applicable, of course, to many disciplines, but not to accounting.
Thirdly, the information should be compiled taking into account the targeting, so that it is understandable to the target reader.If these are reports to creditors, then it is undesirable to draw up a document with a large number of typically accounting terms that the investor, if he, for example, is a physicist or environmentalist, will be incomprehensible.
Accounting principles and requirements
The principles of accounting construction include, according to the methodological views of modern Russian experts, a number of requirements for the content of accounting policies. We single out the main ones.
1. Reasonable discretization of accounting objects (for example, separate accounting for production and capital investments, which have a different nature).
2. Conducting accounting policies must be in full compliance with the criteria defined by law. The key experts are a number of experts:
- priority of the content of documents over their form;
- work with reliable numbers;
- completeness and relevance of the information stated in the accounting documents.
3. The completeness of the reflection of information in accounting documents (it is unacceptable to miss some facts related to business activities).
4. Timeliness of recording facts reflecting events on certain sections of business processes (the interval between the financial and economic transaction and the fact of its registration in accounting documents should be minimal).
As we see, the requirements in this case are not identical to the principles set forth above. Although, of course, the semantic meaning of some formulations is very similar. It is quite acceptable to believe, and a number of experts adhere to this position, that the principles in this case predetermine the requirements.
