A change in accounting policy must be introduced from. Change in accounting policy

"Accounting in construction organizations", 2012, N 10

The accounting policies adopted by the organization are applied consistently from year to year. However, changes may be made to it. When introducing them, it is necessary to have an understanding of the consequences, as well as the procedure for retrospective or prospective reflection of these consequences. It depends on the reasons for the change in accounting policy.

Reasons for changing accounting policies

In accordance with clause 10 of PBU 1/2008 “Accounting Policies of an Organization,” changes in accounting policies can be made in the following cases: when the legislation of the Russian Federation and (or) regulatory legal acts on accounting change; when an organization develops new methods of accounting; with a significant change in business conditions. A change in accounting policy may also be due to the application of a regulatory act for the first time.

It is not considered a change in accounting policy to approve the method of accounting for facts of economic activity that are essentially different from the facts that occurred previously, or that arose for the first time in the organization’s activities.

Example 1. An organization engaged in production activities formed an accounting policy for 2013 and recorded it in an order dated December 30, 2012.

In 2013, in addition to production activities, the organization began to carry out trading activities, and therefore there was a need to determine the procedure for evaluating and accounting for purchased goods, as well as expenses associated with their sale. Therefore, additions are made to the previously formed accounting policy. The approval of new accounting methods is not considered a change in accounting policy.

Registration of changes in accounting policies

Changes in accounting policies must be justified and documented in appropriate organizational and administrative documentation. In this regard, it is advisable to formalize the changes by order of the head of the organization, containing either the full text of the accounting policy (including changes), or only the text of the changes.

The order to change the accounting policy must contain a justification for the reasons for making changes to the accounting policy. Clause 9 of PBU 1/2008 establishes that the accounting methods chosen by the organization when developing its accounting policies are applied from January 1 of the year following the year of approval of the relevant organizational and administrative document. Moreover, they are applied by all branches, representative offices and other divisions of the organization (including those allocated to a separate balance sheet) regardless of their location.

Thus, in order to ensure comparability of accounting data, changes in accounting policies must be introduced from the beginning of the reporting year. However, there is an exception to this rule: changes in accounting policies can be introduced during the year if there are reasons for such a change. For example, during the year there may be a change in activities or reorganization of the organization.

Assessing the consequences of changes in accounting policies

In accordance with paragraph 13 of PBU 1/2008, the consequences of changes in accounting policies that have had or may have a significant impact on the financial position of the organization, the financial results of its activities and (or) cash flows are assessed in monetary terms. The assessment in monetary terms of the consequences of changes in accounting policies is made on the basis of data verified by the organization as of the date from which the changed method of accounting is applied.

The consequences of changes in certain methods that make up the accounting policy of the organization are not the same. If changes concern its organizational aspects, then this has a greater impact on the qualitative characteristics of the accounting process itself. Adjustments to methodological techniques may affect the financial position and financial performance of the organization, which, in turn, will affect the conclusions and actions of users of financial statements. The consequences of changes in accounting policies are reflected in accounting depending on their cause.

Changes in accounting policies when the legislation of the Russian Federation and (or) regulatory legal acts on accounting change

Based on the provisions of clause 14 of PBU 1/2008, the consequences of changes in accounting policies caused by changes in the legislation of the Russian Federation and (or) regulatory legal acts on accounting are reflected in accounting and reporting in the manner prescribed relevant legislation of the Russian Federation and (or) regulatory legal act on accounting. Thus, clause 3 of Order of the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated December 25, 2007 N 47n “On amendments to the Accounting Regulations “Accounting for Assets and Liabilities, the Value of which is Expressed in Foreign Currency” (PBU 3/2006)” contained transitional provisions for accounting for expressed in foreign currency the value of long-term securities (except for shares).

As of January 1, 2008, the organization was obliged to convert into rubles the value of long-term securities, denominated in foreign currency, listed on the balance sheet (regardless of the date of their receipt). When recalculating, the official rate of the Bank of Russia or another rate established by law or agreement of the parties was used. The amounts of increase or decrease in the value of these securities resulting from recalculation must be attributed to the accounts of retained earnings (uncovered loss).

Clause 3 of Order of the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated December 27, 2007 N 153n “On approval of the Accounting Regulations “Accounting for Intangible Assets” (PBU 14/2007)” contained transitional provisions for excluding organizational expenses from intangible assets. As of January 1, 2008, organizations had to write off in their accounting records the amount of organizational expenses accounted for as part of intangible assets (minus accrued depreciation) to the account of retained earnings (uncovered loss). According to clause 14 of PBU 1/2008, if the relevant legislation of the Russian Federation and (or) a regulatory legal act on accounting do not establish a procedure for reflecting the consequences of changes in accounting policies, then these consequences are reflected in accounting and reporting retrospectively.

For example, Order of the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated March 26, 2007 N 26n “On Amendments to Regulatory Legal Acts on Accounting” abolished the application of the previously used LIFO method to the assessment of inventories in accounting. However, the said Order did not contain transitional provisions for the transition to another method of valuing inventories.

By Order of the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated December 24, 2010 N 186n “On Amendments to Regulatory Legal Acts on Accounting” (came into force with the financial statements of 2011), the following significant changes were made to the accounting procedure and the preparation of financial statements:

acceptance for accounting as fixed assets of real estate objects, the ownership rights to which are not registered in the manner prescribed by law;
changes in the cost criterion (no more than 40,000 rubles per unit) of assets reflected in accounting as inventories;
carrying out and reflecting the results of the revaluation of fixed assets and intangible assets - as of the end of the reporting period;
classification of assets as deferred expenses;
changes to the procedure for creating provisions for doubtful debts;
changes in the procedure for forming reserves for future expenses;
changes to the procedure for reflecting exchange rate differences on assets and liabilities of an organization used to conduct business outside the Russian Federation;
reflecting changes in the amount of deferred tax assets and deferred tax liabilities in the event of changes in income tax rates in accordance with the legislation of the Russian Federation on taxes and fees, etc.

Order of the Ministry of Finance of Russia N 186n also did not establish the procedure for making changes to the accounting policy of the organization. In such circumstances, the consequences of changes in accounting policies must be reflected in accounting and reporting retrospectively. By Order of the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated February 14, 2012 N 23n, changes were made to PBU 8/2010 “Estimated liabilities, contingent liabilities and contingent assets”, according to which the estimated liability is formed in relation to employment contracts.

In this regard, an estimated liability should be formed for payment of annual leave and compensation for unused leave. In addition, by Order of the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated February 14, 2012 N 23n, changes were made to the procedure for reflecting estimated liabilities under obviously unprofitable contracts in accounting. The amount of such an estimated liability should be determined as the lesser of two values: the excess of the inevitable costs of executing such a contract and the expected revenues from it, or the amount of sanctions for terminating the contract. If the organization's accounting policy for the recognition of estimated liabilities differed significantly from the previously adopted procedure, then the consequences of the accounting policy should be reflected in the financial statements retrospectively.

At retrospective reflection consequences of changes in accounting policies are based on the assumption that the changed method of accounting was applied from the moment the facts of economic activity of this type arose. Retrospective reflection of the consequences of changes in accounting policies consists in adjusting the opening balance for the item "Retained earnings (uncovered loss)". The adjustment is made for the earliest period presented in the financial statements. The values of financial reporting indicators related to the item “Retained earnings (uncovered loss)”, disclosed for each period presented in the financial statements, are also adjusted. The adjustment is made as if the new accounting policy had been applied from the moment the facts of economic activity of this type arose. When a retrospective change in accounting policy occurs, the values of the balance sheet, profit and loss statement, and statement of changes in capital indicators that are associated with the item “Retained earnings (uncovered loss)” are adjusted.

The consequences of changes in accounting policies made in connection with changes in the legislation of the Russian Federation and (or) regulatory legal acts on accounting based on the provisions established in paragraph 15 of PBU 1/2008 may be reflected in the financial statements promising, If:

these consequences have not had or are not capable of having significant influence on the financial position of the organization, financial results of its activities and (or) cash flows;
assessment in monetary terms of such consequences in relation to periods preceding the reporting period cannot be made with sufficient reliability.

Prospective reflection of the consequences of a change in accounting policy means that the changed method of accounting is applied to the relevant facts of economic activity that occurred after its introduction. In this case, the values of financial reporting indicators for previous periods are not adjusted.

Thus, when reflecting the consequences of changes in accounting policies caused by changes in the legislation of the Russian Federation and (or) regulatory legal acts on accounting, the organization must determine what impact these consequences have on the financial position of the organization, the financial results of its activities and (or) cash flows : essential or insignificant.

When determining the materiality of the influence, you can be guided by the provisions of clause 17 of PBU 1/2008, according to which methods of accounting are recognized as significant, without knowledge of the application of which by interested users of financial statements it is impossible to reliably assess the financial position of the organization, the financial results of its activities and (or) cash flows. In addition, it is necessary to determine whether the monetary consequences of a change in accounting policies can be estimated reliably from previous periods.

Example 2. The following changes were made to the organization's accounting policy for 2012 in accordance with the changes introduced in PBU 8/2010 "Estimated liabilities, contingent liabilities and contingent assets", the procedure for reflecting estimated liabilities in the accounting records was determined, according to which an estimated amount is formed in the organization's accounting obligation to pay vacation pay to employees of the organization. The total amount of estimated liabilities for previous years is 700 thousand rubles, including: in 2011 - 500 thousand rubles, in 2010 - 200 thousand rubles, which is reflected in the “Short-term liabilities” section of the balance sheet. The consequences of changes in accounting policies are determined (Tables 1, 2).

Table 1

Adjustment of balance sheet indicators for previous periods due to changes in the legislation of the Russian Federation and (or) regulatory legal acts on accounting (thousand rubles)

Name indicator	Period	Name normative document	Influence at financial position organizations	Rating in monetary expression of this consequences in respect periods, previous reporting	Amount up to adjustments	Adjustment	Amount after adjustments
1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8
Chapter "Non-negotiable assets"	behind 2011				1000		1000
behind 2010				400		400
Section "Negotiable assets"	behind 2011
behind 2010
Section "Capital and reserves"	behind 2011
behind 2010
Including article "Unallocated profit (uncovered lesion)"	behind 2011	Order Ministry of Finance from Russia 14.02.2012 N 23н	Essential	Produced with sufficient reliability	1000	-500	500
behind 2010	Order Ministry of Finance from Russia 14.02.2012 N 23н	Essential	Produced with sufficient reliability	400	-200	200
Chapter "Long-term obligations"	behind 2011
behind 2010
Chapter "Short-term obligations"	behind 2011
behind 2010
Including article "Evaluative obligations"	behind 2011	Order Ministry of Finance from Russia 14.02.2012 N 23н	Essential	Produced with sufficient reliability		+500	500
behind 2010	Order Ministry of Finance from Russia 14.02.2012 N 23н	Essential	Produced with sufficient reliability		+200	200

table 2

Adjustment of the profit and loss statement for the previous period due to changes in the legislation of the Russian Federation and (or) regulatory legal acts on accounting

Name indicator	Period	Name normative document	Character changes in accounting politics	Amount up to adjustments	Adjustment	Amount after adjustments
1	2	3	4	5	6	7
Revenue	behind 2011			2000		2000
Cost price sales	behind 2011			(700)	+500	(1200)
Including Creation reserve for vacation pay	behind 2011	Order Ministry of Finance from Russia 14.02.2012 N 23н	Essential Influence at financial results activities organizations		+500
Gross profit (lesion)	behind 2011			1300	-500	(800)
Profit (loss) up to taxation	behind 2011			1300	-500	(800)
Current tax at a profit	behind 2011			(300)		(300)
Other	behind 2011
Net profit	behind 2011			1000	-500	500

The indicator for the line “Current income tax” is not adjusted, since only the accounting reporting data is updated. In our case, the current income tax is calculated by adding the conditional income tax expense, which is determined on the basis of accounting profit (260 thousand rubles) and permanent tax liabilities (40 thousand rubles). Permanent tax liabilities arose due to the non-recognition for tax purposes of expenses in the form of material assistance to employees of the organization.

Taking into account the changes made, the balance sheet and profit and loss account indicators for the reporting year 2012 are formed.

Balance sheet as of December 31, 2012 (fragment) (thousand rubles)

Adjustments due to changes in accounting policies will be shown in the statement of changes in equity (Table 3).

Table 3

The procedure for generating data in the Statement of Changes in Capital for 2012. Adjustments due to changes in accounting policies and correction of errors (fragment)

Explanations	Name indicator	Code lines	On 31th of December 2010	Changes capital for 2011	On 31th of December 2011
due to clean arrived (loss)	due to other factors
1	2	3	4	5	6	7
	Capital - total	3300
	before adjustments	3400	400	1000	-	1000
	adjustment in connections with:
	change accounting policy	3410	(200)	(500)	-	(500)
	After adjustments	3500	200	500	-	500
	including:
	unallocated profit (uncovered lesion):
	before adjustments	3401	400	1000	-	1000
	adjustment in connections with:
	change accounting policy	3411	(200)	(500)	-	(500)
	After adjustments	3501	200	500	-	500

Changing accounting policies when an organization develops new accounting methods

The use of a new method of accounting implies a more reliable representation of the facts of economic activity in the accounting and reporting of the organization or less labor intensity of the accounting process without reducing the degree of reliability of the information. New accounting methods can be applied in the following situations:

the organization decides on regular revaluation of fixed assets and intangible assets;
a decision is made to reflect it in the balance sheet in section. I "Non-current assets" amounts of advances issued and prepayments for work, services related to the construction of fixed assets (in accordance with recommendations to audit organizations for conducting an audit of the annual financial statements of organizations for 2010);
when disclosing information about deferred expenses in the balance sheet, assets are presented with a division into short-term and long-term depending on the maturity date (in accordance with recommendations to audit organizations for conducting an audit of the annual financial statements of organizations for 2011);
the organization determines that cash equivalents include demand deposits opened with credit institutions (based on the provisions of clause 23 of PBU 23/2011 “Cash Flow Statement”);
An organization switches from one method of accounting to another, alternative, proposed by regulatory documents on accounting.

According to paragraph 15 of PBU 2/2008, the consequences of changes in accounting policies caused by the development of new accounting methods that have or are capable of having a significant impact on the financial position of the organization, the financial results of its activities and (or) cash flows are reflected in the financial statements retrospectively.

Retrospective application is necessary to reflect comparative information for several reporting periods in the financial statements. At the same time, the consequences of changes in accounting policies made in connection with the development of a new accounting method by an organization or a significant change in business conditions may be reflected in the financial statements promising(Clause 15 PBU 1/2008).

Perspective reflection is possible under the following circumstances:

the consequences of changes in accounting policies have not had or are not capable of having a significant impact on the financial position of the organization, the financial results of its activities and (or) cash flows;
monetary assessment of such consequences in relation to periods preceding the reporting period cannot be made with sufficient reliability.

Example 3. In accordance with the accounting policy, for a number of years the organization has assessed finished products at actual production costs.

From January 1, 2013, the organization makes changes to its accounting policies. In order to carry out operational accounting of the movement of finished products and identify deviations, the assessment of finished products is planned to be carried out at standard cost. However, due to the impossibility of reliably assessing the consequences of changes in accounting policies due to the large range of products and their significant balances in the warehouse, the organization uses a forward-looking approach to reflect the consequences of changes in accounting policies. The new method for valuing finished products will be applied starting from January 1, 2013. At the same time, the reporting of previous periods is not adjusted.

Changes in accounting policies in the event of a significant change in business conditions

A significant change in the business conditions of an organization may be associated with a change in types of activities, reorganization, etc. A newly created organization that arose as a result of reorganization draws up its chosen accounting policy no later than 90 days from the date of state registration of the legal entity. The accounting policy adopted by such an organization is considered to be applied from the date of state registration of the legal entity.

In accordance with civil law, the reorganization of a legal entity can occur in the form of merger, accession, division, separation or transformation.

Thus, reorganization is a way of both terminating the activities of legal entities and the emergence of new legal entities. In two cases of reorganization (merger and spin-off), the legal entity does not cease its activities. In this regard, the reorganized organization may continue to apply the same accounting policies.

Example 4. The participants of Progress LLC decided to reorganize the company by separating Trading House LLC from its composition. Before the reorganization, Progress LLC was engaged in production and trading activities. After the reorganization, this company will carry out only production activities; trading activities will be transferred to Trading House LLC. In this case, the newly created legal entity - Trading House LLC - will continue to apply the accounting policies formed before the reorganization of Progress LLC.

At the same time, in accordance with PBU 1/2008, during the reorganization of an organization in the forms of merger and separation, a change in accounting policies may occur.

When a legal entity is reorganized in the forms of merger and division, duties and rights, including property rights, are transferred in the order of succession to other persons. These legal entities will have to formulate new accounting policies.

Example 5. The participants of Progress LLC decided to reorganize the company by dividing it into two legal entities: Trading House LLC and Signal LLC. Since new legal entities are formed as a result of the reorganization, Trading House LLC and Signal LLC will form a new accounting policy.

Transformation of a legal entity in the form of a change in its organizational and legal form can be carried out without cessation of its activities. Thus, according to Federal Law No. 208-FZ of December 26, 1995 “On Joint-Stock Companies,” a company has the right to transform into a limited liability company or into a production cooperative in compliance with the requirements established by federal laws. By unanimous decision of all shareholders, the company has the right to transform into a non-profit partnership. In accordance with Federal Law No. 14-FZ of 02/08/1998 “On Limited Liability Companies,” a company has the right to transform into a business company of another type, a business partnership or a production cooperative.

Since during the transformation the organization continues its activities, only changing its organizational and legal form, then, following the principle of consistency in the application of accounting policies, there is no need for its re-approval.

Example 6. The participants of Progress LLC decided to reorganize the company by transforming it into Progress OJSC. The activities of the newly created legal entity do not change. In this case, Progress OJSC will continue to apply the accounting policies formed before the reorganization of Progress LLC.

At the same time, in accordance with clause 10 of PBU 1/2008, during the reorganization of an organization, a change in accounting policies may occur. In this case, the newly created organization formalizes the changes made to the accounting policy with the appropriate organizational and administrative document.

According to paragraph 15 of PBU 1/2008, the consequences of changes in accounting policies caused by a significant change in business conditions that have or are capable of having a significant impact on the financial position of the organization, financial results of its activities and (or) cash flow are reflected in the financial statements retrospectively.

The exception is cases where the assessment in monetary terms of such consequences in relation to periods preceding the reporting period cannot be made with sufficient reliability.

L.I.Kulikova

Professor

Kazan Federal University

Changes in accounting policies can be made in the following cases:

· changes in the legislation of the Russian Federation or regulations of bodies regulating accounting;
· development by the organization of new methods of accounting;
· significant changes in the conditions of its activities.

Particular attention must be paid to the compliance of the accounting policies with the economic situation, which refers to the internal and external conditions of the organization’s functioning. In particular, accounting policies may be influenced by such events in economic life as:

§ prohibition or restriction of a particular activity;
§ changing the terms of contracts concluded with consumers (buyers) of products, works, services, including government agencies, and suppliers of material and technical resources, services;
§ introduction or abolition of state regulation of product prices;
§ restructuring the sources of financial resources; changes in the conditions of foreign economic activity;
§ tightening or liberalizing the tax regime;
§ inflation rate, etc.

Changes in accounting policies that have had or are likely to have a significant impact on the financial position, cash flow or financial performance of the organization are subject to separate disclosure in the explanatory note to the financial statements. Information about them should, at a minimum, include:

1. The reason for the change in accounting policy;
2. Assessment of the consequences of changes in monetary terms (in relation to the reporting year and each other period, data for which are included in the financial statements for the reporting year);
3. An indication that the relevant data from the periods preceding the reporting year included in the financial statements for the reporting year have been adjusted.

The consequences of changes in certain methods that make up the accounting policy of the organization are not the same. If changes concern its technical and organizational aspects, then this has a greater impact on the qualitative characteristics of the accounting process itself. Adjustment of methodological techniques can affect the financial results of the organization’s activities and thereby change the picture of its financial position, which in turn will affect the conclusions and actions of users of financial statements. Such changes must be assessed in monetary terms on the basis of data verified by the organization (inventory results) as of the date from which the changed method of accounting is applied.

The consequences of changes in accounting policies can be assessed:

1) as the difference in the value of assets for which new valuation methods are used, before and after making these changes;
2) as the outstanding amount of the initial cost of assets. For example, when moving from valuing finished goods at actual production costs to valuing them at standard production costs, the consequences can be measured based on the cost of the same volume of finished goods in two ways. The deviation of the actual cost from the standard cost will amount to an amount that is qualified as a consequence of a change in accounting policy, since the organization’s profit will decrease by this amount at the time of transition (if the deviation is positive) or increase (if the deviation is negative).

In connection with changes in accounting policies, the organization must determine the procedure for regulating differences that arise during the transition to using new accounting methods. In other words, it is necessary to decide whether the resulting difference will be included in production (circulation) costs or attributed to net profit or capitalized. The procedure for writing off the specified difference involves establishing not only the source at the expense of which this is done, but also the time of write-off. It can be made at a time during the period when the difference is identified, or over a period of time (six months, a year, etc.) following this period. When resolving this issue, factors such as the financial condition of the organization, possible tax consequences, and accounting rules are taken into account.

Just like the accounting policy itself, changes in it must be documented (meaning the need to issue an appropriate administrative document and bring it to the attention of all interested officials and other employees of the organization) (Appendix 2).

Particular care must be taken in determining the date from which a new method is introduced into the accounting policy. Its introduction should not distort the financial result of the organization’s activities, complicate the accounting process or interfere with its normal course.

Theoretically, a new accounting method can be introduced from any date chosen by the organization. However, from a practical point of view, the most acceptable moment is January 1 of the year (beginning of the financial year) following the year of their approval by the organizational and administrative document, and are announced in the explanatory note to the financial statements of the organization.

Adjustment of accounting policies from the beginning of a new reporting year ensures the consistency of the accounting process throughout the entire reporting year and greater representativeness of the indicators formed in accounting.

In accounting practice, two approaches are adopted to reflect changes in accounting policies - prospective and retrospective.

A promising approach is that changes in indicators due to changes in certain provisions of the organization’s accounting policies are carried out at the beginning or during the year from which new accounting methods are introduced. The retrospective approach is that changes in indicators due to a change in accounting policy are carried out by adjusting opening balances in the statements. No accounting entries are made in this case, because adjustments to opening balances are carried out during the inter-reporting period.

Until recently, in the Russian system of normative regulation of accounting, preference was given to the forward-looking approach:

“If, when clarifying the accounting policy for the next reporting year, the organization considers it inappropriate to accrue reserves for future expenses, then the balances of the reserves for which there are carryover balances in the established order, as of January 1 of the following year after the reporting year, are subject to inclusion in the financial result of the organization with reflection in the organization's accounting for January." (Methodological recommendations on the procedure for forming indicators of an organization’s financial statements (approved by order of the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation dated June 28, 2000 No. 60n, currently not applied), paragraph 58.)

Thus, in January the following entries should have been made: debit account 96 credit account 91 - reflecting the write-off of carryover balances of reserves, the formation of which is not provided for in the reporting year (under the item of non-operating income).

Thus, a feature of the forward-looking approach was that the closing balances of the previous year’s statements fully corresponded to the incoming balances of the next year’s statements, and income and expenses generated by changing the accounting policy formed the financial result of the year from which the new accounting policy began to be applied. With this approach, it was quite difficult to understand where any adjustments should have appeared in the profit or loss report: Column 4 of the report is filled out based on the data in Column 3 of the report for the previous year. If the data for the same period of the previous year are not comparable with the data for the reporting period, then the first of these data are subject to adjustment based on changes in accounting policies, laws and other regulations. Corrective entries in accounting are not made" (Ibid., paragraph 63).

Thus, the transition to a retrospective approach completely eliminated possible confusion and discrepancies in regulatory documents.

The need to take into account the principles of IFRS for Russian enterprises is due to the goals of the Russian accounting reform specified in the Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation dated March 6, 1998 No. 283 “On approval of the accounting reform program in accordance with international financial reporting standards.”

The main disadvantage of the retrospective approach is that a change in accounting policy forces the accountant to change the amount of the organization's net profit, which leads to two problems:

- in the case of an increase in net profit, the legislation does not contain any special instructions that this increase should not be used to pay dividends. Such a prohibition can only be derived indirectly, therefore, in practice, a situation is possible when these funds will be used for dividends in the absence of appropriate volumes of working capital, which will significantly worsen the financial position of the organization;
- in the event of a decrease in net profit, the accountant violates the requirements of civil legislation (Civil Code of the Russian Federation) and corporate legislation (Laws “On Joint Stock Companies” and “On Limited Liability Companies”), according to which spending profits is an inalienable right of the owners of the organization.

Both problems are explained by a certain weakness of Russian accounting, its unwillingness to reflect the peculiarities of the organization’s relationship with the owners.

Changes in the legislation of the Russian Federation and (or) regulatory legal acts on accounting;

Development of new methods of accounting by the organization. The use of a new method of accounting involves improving the quality of information about the accounting object;

Significant changes in business conditions. A significant change in the business conditions of an organization may be associated with reorganization, change in types of activities, etc.

11. Changes in accounting policies must be justified and formalized in the manner prescribed by paragraph 8 of these Regulations.

12. Changes in accounting policies are made from the beginning of the reporting year, unless otherwise determined by the reason for such a change.

13. The consequences of changes in accounting policies that have had or may have a significant impact on the financial position of the organization, the financial results of its activities and (or) cash flows are assessed in monetary terms. The assessment in monetary terms of the consequences of changes in accounting policies is made on the basis of data verified by the organization as of the date from which the changed method of accounting is applied.

14. The consequences of changes in accounting policies caused by changes in the legislation of the Russian Federation and (or) regulatory legal acts on accounting are reflected in accounting and reporting in the manner established by the relevant legislation of the Russian Federation and (or) regulatory legal acts on accounting. If the relevant legislation of the Russian Federation and (or) a regulatory legal act on accounting do not establish a procedure for reflecting the consequences of changes in accounting policies, then these consequences are reflected in accounting and reporting in the manner established by paragraph 15 of these Regulations.

15. The consequences of changes in accounting policies caused by reasons other than those specified in paragraph 14 of these Regulations, and which had or could have a significant impact on the financial position of the organization, financial results of its activities and (or) cash flows, are reflected in the financial statements retrospectively, for except in cases where the assessment in monetary terms of such consequences in relation to periods preceding the reporting period cannot be made with sufficient reliability.

When retrospectively reflecting the consequences of changes in accounting policies, we proceed from the assumption that the changed method of accounting was applied from the moment the facts of economic activity of this type arose. Retrospective reflection of the consequences of changes in accounting policies consists of adjusting the opening balance under the item “Retained earnings (uncovered loss)” and (or) other balance sheet items as of the earliest date presented in the accounting (financial) statements, as well as the values of related accounting items disclosed for each period presented in the financial statements, as if the new accounting policy had been applied from the moment the facts of economic activity of this type arose.

(see text in the previous edition)

In cases where an assessment in monetary terms of the consequences of a change in accounting policy in relation to periods preceding the reporting period cannot be made with sufficient reliability, the changed method of accounting is applied to the relevant facts of economic activity that occurred after the introduction of the changed method (prospectively).

15.1. Organizations that have the right to use simplified accounting methods, including simplified accounting (financial) reporting, may reflect in their financial statements the consequences of changes in accounting policies that have had or may have a significant impact on the financial position of the organization, the financial results of its activities and (or) cash flows. funds, prospectively, except for cases where a different procedure is established by the legislation of the Russian Federation and (or) a regulatory legal act on accounting.

(see text in the previous edition)

16. Changes in accounting policies that have had or are capable of having a significant impact on the financial position of the organization, the financial results of its activities and (or) cash flows are subject to separate disclosure in the financial statements.

Compiled upon registration of a company, and after approval, applied continuously year after year. If necessary, changes can be made to the accounting and taxation policies, but this should only be done in accordance with established rules. When you can make changes to the current accounting policy and how to do it - our article will tell you about this.

When changes are made to accounting policies

Changes are made to accounting or tax accounting policies when an enterprise changes the way it accounts for any existing fact of its business activities. There are only three reasons for the change; they are regulated by law and can be the following (clause 10 of PBU 1/2008):

amendments have been made to the legislation on accounting and taxation, or a new regulatory act has been adopted, for example, changes have been made to the PBU or the law on accounting,
the company has developed a new method of accounting, which improves the quality of information about the accounting object, for example, another, more appropriate method of calculating depreciation,
business conditions have changed significantly - a reorganization has taken place, the company has changed its activity profile, etc.

This list is exhaustive; changes to accounting policies in other cases are unacceptable.

The organization will be able to apply changes made to the accounting policy no earlier than the next reporting year. That is, if you make changes before December 31, 2017, you can count on their application in accounting only from January 1, 2018. If the enterprise was forced to change its accounting policies in connection with amendments to the law, such changes should be applied from the moment the regulatory act came into force (clause 12 of PBU 1/2008).

Changes should be distinguished from additions to accounting policies. The accounting policy can be supplemented every time the company introduces new types of activities that were not carried out before (clause 10 of PBU 1/2008). There are no restrictions on the number of additions made to the document. For example, a store that was engaged only in retail trade decided to also sell wholesale. In this case, the accounting policy must additionally reflect the ways in which the accounting for “wholesale” transactions will be reflected. Moreover, the additions made, unlike changes, can be applied immediately, without waiting for the beginning of the next year.

Procedure for changing accounting policies

Changes to the accounting policy must be justified and approved by order or order of the head of the enterprise. Additional approval of changes (for example, by the tax authorities) is not required. The order must indicate:

what provisions (clauses) of accounting or tax policies are changing,
provide in the order or in an appendix to it the text of the amended or new provision
indicate the date from which the changes come into force - if the reason for the changes is related to legislative amendments, then the date will coincide with the day the legislative amendments come into force, in other cases the changes will come into force on January 1 of the year following the year of their approval.

Information about changes in accounting policies must be reflected in the accounting (financial) statements of the enterprise. The following are subject to disclosure (clause 21 of PBU 1/2008):

the reason for the change in accounting policy,
content of the change,
the procedure for reflecting the consequences of changes in accounting statements,
the amount of adjustments due to changes for each accounting item for each reporting period presented,
the amount of the adjustment (to the extent possible) for the reporting periods preceding those presented.

In general, PBU 1/2008 provides for a retrospective procedure for applying changes (except for those related to changes in legislation), when it is assumed that a change in the organization’s accounting policy is applied from the moment the corresponding fact of the enterprise’s economic activity arises. To do this, the initial balance under the item “Retained earnings (uncovered loss)” of the earliest period presented in the accounting statements is adjusted and other items related to the adjustment are recalculated.

In the event that changes in accounting policies cannot be reflected for past periods, changes in accounting are applied only to transactions carried out after the introduction of the changes, that is, prospectively (clause 15 of PBU 1/2008).

It is this promising method that can be used by enterprises that conduct simplified accounting and submit accounting reports using simplified forms to reflect in their reporting the consequences of changes in accounting policies (clause 15.1 of PBU 1/2008).

When amendments to the law, PBU, Tax Code of the Russian Federation, etc. the mandatory use of a specific method of accounting is approved; the enterprise is obliged to use it, even if it has not changed its accounting policies.

The list of cases when changes in accounting policies are allowed is given in paragraph 16 of PBU 1/98; it is exhaustive and limited to only three positions.

A change in an organization's accounting policy can be made in the following cases:

changes in the legislation of the Russian Federation or regulatory acts on accounting;

Development by the organization of new methods of accounting; the use of a new method of accounting implies a more reliable representation of the facts of economic activity in the accounting and reporting of the organization or less labor intensity of the accounting process without reducing the degree of reliability of the information; significant changes in operating conditions; a significant change in the operating conditions of an organization may be associated with reorganization, change of owners, change in types of activities and

A change in accounting policy must be introduced from January 1 of the year (beginning of the financial year) following the year of its approval, by the corresponding organizational and administrative document.

This means that if such facts arise, accounting policies can be adjusted during the calendar year. Such facts include, for example, the acquisition of fixed assets belonging to a group that was previously absent from the organization.

The consequences of changes in accounting policies that have had or are likely to have a significant impact on the financial position, cash flow or financial performance of the organization are assessed in monetary terms. The assessment in monetary terms of the consequences of changes in accounting policies is made on the basis of data verified by the organization as of the date from which the changed method of accounting is applied

If changes to accounting policies are made as a result of changes in the legislative or regulatory framework, then the relevant acts, as a rule, determine the procedure for assessing the consequences of changes in accounting policies.

If the change is made for other reasons or the procedure for assessing the consequences is not established in the relevant legislative or regulatory acts, the consequences of the change in accounting policy that had or could have a significant impact on the financial position, cash flow or financial results of the organization are reflected in the financial statements based on requirements for the presentation of numerical indicators for at least two years, except in cases where the assessment in monetary terms of these consequences in relation to periods preceding the reporting period cannot be made with sufficient reliability. In this case, the changed method of accounting is applied to the facts of the business

significant activity that took place only after the introduction of this method.

Reflection of the consequences of changes in accounting policies consists of adjusting the relevant data included in the financial statements for an even period for the periods preceding the reporting period.

These adjustments are reflected only in the financial statements. In this case, no accounting records are created.

Adjustment of financial statements, as a rule, is associated with a change in the opening balance (balance sheet currency or indicators for individual lines). In accordance with paragraph 4.33 of the Instructions on Accounting Reports, the reasons for such changes must be explained in detail in the explanatory note. It should also disclose the methods of accounting chosen during the formation of accounting policies that differ from the previous year.

Paragraph 22 of the PBU specifies that information on changes in accounting policies provided in the financial statements must, at a minimum, include:

the reason for the change in accounting policy;

assessment of the consequences of changes in monetary terms (in relation to the reporting year and each other period, data for which are included in the financial statements for the reporting year);

an indication that the relevant data from the periods preceding the reporting year included in the financial statements for the reporting year have been adjusted.