Who does the chief accountant report to? Who does the accounting department report to in the enterprise? Who can the chief accountant report to?

Anastasia Vitkovskaya, MBA (SSE), Partner and Director of Open Programs at AMI Business School, St. Petersburg

What we will tell you about in this article

• The feasibility of combining the positions of chief accountant and financial director
• Functions and responsibilities of the chief accountant and financial director
• 3 scenarios for effective combination of positions in the company
• Powers of the financial director and chief accountant

The feasibility of combining positions chief accountant and financial director determined based on the answers to the following questions:

• What functions do accounting and financial management perform in your company?
• Who works there?
• How is the structure of the financial department and accounting department organized in the company?
• And what kind of structure would you like to see?

Organizationally, the chief accountant and financial director in the company structure can be located at the same (Scheme 1) or at different (Scheme 2) levels. In the latter case, the financial director is at the head, to whom the financial department and the chief accountant report. A modification of the last scheme for small companies - the financial director carries out his functions alone, without a financial department, and the accounting department also reports to him.

Divisions on the same level

The chief accountant reports to the financial director

As for the hierarchy of managers, the chief accountant and financial director may report directly to the General, Executive or Commercial Director (this distribution of powers is not uncommon). Sometimes the financial director is subordinate to the General Director, and the chief accountant is subordinate to the executive (Diagram 3).

Power distribution option

The practitioner tells

Andrey Andryukhin,

In small companies, the business structure of which consists of one, maximum two links, the manager is responsible for planning and solving strategic issues, the chief accountant is responsible for financial and operational activities, and the need for a financial director disappears by itself.

When a company expands, the business structure becomes multidisciplinary and the staff increases, there is a need for a person who will be involved in financial planning, distribution of cash flows, and attraction of investments. It doesn’t matter what the title of this employee’s position is - deputy for economics and finance or financial director, the point is that the chief accountant alone cannot support the company. After the appearance of the financial director, the responsibility of the chief accountant becomes the protection of the rear - providing “crystal” accounting, tax and statistical reporting. And his interference in the affairs of the CFO would be more harmful to the business than useful.

Roles and Responsibilities

Accounting carries out operational and reporting work: it serves the company’s interaction with government agencies, banks and clients. Its main functions:

Among the primary functions of the financial department are the following:

• cash flow management (planning, distribution, control);
• taking into account risks for the enterprise as a whole, individual divisions and specific products;
• development of proposals for tax optimization;
• managing departments and assisting them with budgeting;
• adjustment of cash flow and cost plans;
• ensuring financial operations are consistent with the company's strategy;
• determination of financial policies and rules for working with external and internal clients.

Based on the described functions, job responsibilities are distributed between the chief accountant and the financial director. It is obvious that their functions complement each other and partially overlap. The main differences and similarities between the job responsibilities of the financial director and the chief accountant are shown in the table below.

Job responsibilities of the financial director

1. Organizing and conducting regular financial analysis, planning and control.
2. Setting up and implementing management accounting.
3. Checking the compliance of financial planning with the company's strategy.
4. Regular budgeting.
5. Financial forecasting.
6. Rationale for pricing.
7. Attracting investments.
8. Work with credit institutions and banks.
9. Distribution of financial flows within the company.
10. Management of risks.
11. Development of proposals to ensure the solvency of the enterprise.
12. Construction of internal financial reporting mechanisms.

Job responsibilities of the chief accountant

1. Organization of optimal maintenance and storage of accounting documentation.
2. Monitoring compliance with the legislation of accounting policies and accounting.
3. Organization of timely submission of accounting, tax and statistical reporting to the relevant authorities (for example, to the federal, regional and local budgets), insurance contributions to state extra-budgetary social funds, payments to banking institutions, etc.
4. Control over the economical use of material, labor and financial resources, and the safety of enterprise property.
5. Management of the preparation and adoption of the working chart of accounts, forms of primary accounting documents (if they are not in the package of standard documentation), development of forms of internal accounting documents, ensuring the procedure for conducting inventories.
6. Control over the processing of accounting information, document flow procedures, compliance with staffing, financial and cash discipline.
7. Providing complete, timely, reliable accounting information about the organization’s activities, its property status, income and expenses.
8. Control (together with the financial director or instead of him) over compliance with financial discipline.
9. Control of timely reflection in accounting accounts of transactions related to the movement of cash and fixed assets, inventory items.
10. Costing and employee payroll.
11. Participation in the analysis of the financial activities of the enterprise.

Effectively assigning the responsibilities of the chief accountant to the financial director

Let's consider three development scenarios using the example of companies successfully operating on the Russian market, in which there is or previously existed a combination of the positions of chief accountant and financial director.

Powers of the financial director and chief accountant

	Financial Director	Chief Accountant
Differences	Planning, analysis of financial activities taking into account various factors, internal audit	Accounting and control of cash flow
Similarities	Determining the company’s financial strategy, ensuring compliance with financial policies, pricing, budgeting, and financial flows of the company’s activities as a whole Strategic-tactical level of tasks to be solved	Providing the required documentation to various bodies, making payments to organizations, maintaining financial discipline. Costing. Payment of wages Operational and tactical level of tasks to be solved
	Knowledge of the legal framework, determination of financial policies at different levels, management of financial flows

Scenario one

Company X has been on the market for 12 years. Turnover reaches 500 thousand euros per year. A team of 25 permanent employees serves about 40 clients. Until now, the functions of financial planning are performed by the chief accountant, who knows all the nuances of the company’s activities very well.

The chief accountant, although he has an assistant, basically does everything himself. Namely:

• is responsible for organizing the optimal maintenance and storage of accounting documentation, compliance of accounting policies and accounting with the legislation of the Russian Federation;
• organizes the timely submission of accounting, tax and statistical reporting to the relevant authorities;
• controls the use of material, labor and financial resources, as well as the safety of the enterprise’s property;
• manages costing and employee payroll;
• tracks debts to banks;
• participates in the analysis of the financial activities of the enterprise.

The General Director is responsible for resolving issues related to strategic planning and cash flow management. The chief accountant helps him with this.

• How to fire a CFO without financial consequences

The practitioner tells

Andrey Andryukhin, Financial Director of the Plavsk Machine-Building Plant “Smychka”, Plavsk (Tula Region)

For four years I combined the positions of chief accountant and financial director. The number of employees (about 530 people) and the business structure have not changed in the company for many years. After the 1998 default, when we, like many other domestic enterprises, found ourselves on the brink of an abyss, we had to cut staff and cut costs. The position of director of economics and finance was eliminated, and I, then still the chief accountant, was forced to deal with financial planning, distribution of cash flows, and attraction of investments. When we found a good chief accountant in 2002, I became financial director.

Scenario two

Company Y, with a turnover of 15 million euros (11 years on the market, 80 employees), introduced the position of financial director in the fifth year of existence, when the turnover reached 3 million euros and the staff amounted to 20 people. Now the company is engaged in three different types of activities and serves about 140 large clients. For efficient work, a financial department (of three employees) and an accounting department (of five) were organized.

The main reason for hiring a CFO was the growth of the company. The chief accountant's workload increased and he needed new special knowledge. The introduction of the position of financial director made it possible to separate strategic and operational functions, while strengthening the planning and control of each type of company activity.

The financial director provides:

• organizing and performing regular financial management;
• financial analysis, planning and control;
• setting up and performing management accounting;
• checking the compliance of financial planning with the company's strategy (in other words, he is involved in planning the business as a whole);
• regular budgeting;
• financial forecasting, discounting, pricing;
• attracting investments;
• work with credit institutions;
• distribution of financial flows within the company;
• working with banks;
• ensuring risks.

Recently, the owners discussed the possibility of selling part of the company's business and the CFO was asked to estimate its value. His responsibilities include developing proposals to ensure the solvency of the enterprise. It is engaged in cargo insurance and securities issue. And the CFO’s theoretical knowledge of mergers and acquisitions may be needed this year due to the fact that the company is actively “eating up” its competitors.

Obviously, combining the positions of chief accountant and financial director is impossible in this case, since the company is growing rapidly. Separation of functions is essential.

General Director speaks

Evgeny Kabanov, General Director of the Kubanyagroprod group of companies, Krasnodar region

Until 2003, at Center Soya LLC, our soybean processing enterprise in the Krasnodar Territory, there was no need for a financial director. The chief accountant handled accounting and tax reporting. And decisions on financial forecasting, issues related to financial discipline, planning, control and analysis of the enterprise’s activities were made at the Moscow head office.

Over the past two years, the company has been undergoing changes, the goal of which is to create a strong team at the enterprise in the Krasnodar region, capable of independently making strategically important decisions. The Moscow management company is gradually transferring some of the operational and strategic functions of a financial, production and marketing nature to the region, so that the levers of control are in the hands of the managers of the enterprise in Krasnodar.

Thus, the center of responsibility is shifting from Moscow to the Krasnodar region and the chief accountant is assigned more and more responsibilities as a financial director. In this regard, two full-time positions of economists have appeared who are engaged in the collection, processing and analysis of financial and economic information. I think that for some time there will be no doubt about the effectiveness of combining the functions of a financial manager and chief accountant.

Scenario three

Company Z has been operating on the market for eight years, turnover is 3 million euros per year, 40 employees, three types of activities (the first - 650 clients per year, the second - 120-150, the third - 12-15). The position of financial director was introduced in the seventh year of the company's existence. Until this moment, the General Director himself conducted the financial analysis, and the chief accountant only prepared reports according to the requested schemes.

The growth of the company was the main reason for the emergence of a CFO. With his arrival, some negative aspects of combining the responsibilities of the chief accountant and financial director were revealed. As it turned out, due to the low qualifications of the chief accountant, the General Director, using distorted data, incorrectly calculated indirect costs and incorrectly implemented the pricing strategy. The company suffered losses that might not have happened. Another weak link was the insufficiently competent use of accounting programs, which did not allow combining data on Russian and Western financial statements.

The CFO introduced new rules for presenting financial statements and tasked programmers with correlating the data. Today the company has become attractive to investment funds, whereas previously the balance sheet prepared in accordance with Russian legislation did not create the prerequisites for such interest. In addition, the financial director conducted an internal audit and sent the chief accountant to advanced training courses, since new knowledge became necessary at the new stage of development of the company (and the country).

The main aspects of the work of the financial director were:

• participation in strategy development;
• ensuring compliance of financial management (financial strategy) with the company's strategy;
• building mechanisms for internal financial reporting (personal, by division, by type of activity) and reporting to the owners of the company (once a quarter).

In this case, it is obvious that the company delayed the separation of the functions of the financial director and chief accountant. As a result of poor financial management, the company lost significantly more than it saved on costs associated with including the position of financial director in the staffing table.

Back in Ancient Greece, the Roman Empire, and then medieval Western Europe, there was a position of treasurer - a person in charge of the treasury (of a monarch, merchant or church). Apparently, even then our ancestors understood that it was easier to concentrate finances in one hand: so that they would have someone to ask for. Now, perhaps realizing that in some cases it is better to divide the “treasury”, leaders are introducing new financially responsible structures. But it is worth organizing them only in the case when the chief accountant and other directors cannot cope with the function of financial management, when they do not have enough knowledge and time.

There are several most universal recommendations. The separation of the positions of chief accountant and financial director is necessary in the following situations:

1. The company actively attracts financial resources (takes out loans, issues bonds, etc.). In this case, the financial director is needed for qualified work with external partners and preparation of the information they need.
2. One of the company's primary tasks is budgeting, financial planning and management accounting. To make management decisions, company management requires detailed financial and economic analysis in various areas. In such a situation, as a rule, the scale of financial management tasks does not allow combining them with accounting.

The accounting department of the organization is headed by Chief Accountant, who is appointed and dismissed by the head of the organization.

The main task of the chief accountant is to organize management of the process of functioning and development of the accounting system in the management structure of the organization.

Chief accountant: details for an accountant

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We believe that no one will argue that the chief accountant is one of the key positions in the company. An employee holding such a position is responsible for the correct and timely movement of cash flows, reporting, calculation and payment of taxes, and maintaining financial discipline. Since January 1, 2013, the Federal Law of December 6, 2011 No. 402-FZ “On Accounting” has been in force, changing the status of the organization’s chief accountant. We will tell HR specialists about these innovations, as well as whether it is now necessary to make any changes to personnel and other documents.

The adoption of federal laws and other normative legal acts that are mandatory for application throughout the Russian Federation, establishing the specifics of the legal regulation of labor of certain categories of workers, falls under the jurisdiction of federal government bodies (paragraph 14, part 1, article 6 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation). Currently, with regard to the position of chief accountant, such laws include, first of all, the Federal Law of December 6, 2011 No. 402-FZ “On Accounting” (hereinafter referred to as the Accounting Law).

In the previously in force Federal Law of November 21, 1996 No. 129-FZ “On Accounting” (hereinafter referred to as Law No. 129-FZ), a separate article 7 was devoted to the chief accountant. The Accounting Law currently does not have such an article, and the legal status of the chief accountant accountant is presented in Art. 7 “Organization of accounting.” At the same time, the norms of these Laws concerning the chief accountant are fundamentally different ( table).

All innovations directly affecting chief accountants are divided into the following areas.

1. Lack of rules on appointment to a position, dismissal from a position, on direct subordination to the head of the organization, mandatory requirements of the chief accountant for documents for all employees, as well as on his responsibility;

2. Introduction of a single-level signature - only the head of the organization; the signature of the chief accountant on primary accounting documents and financial statements is not required (Article 9, Part 8 of Article 13 of the Accounting Law);

3. Redistribution of responsibility between the head of the organization and the chief accountant (Part 8 of Article 7, Parts 2 and 8 of Article 13 of the Accounting Law);

4. Detailed procedure for resolving disagreements between the manager and the chief accountant (Part 8 of Article 7 of the Accounting Law);

5. Introduction of special qualification requirements for chief accountants of socially significant companies whose shares are quoted on the international market (Part 4 of Article 7 of the Accounting Law);

6. No requirement to have a qualification certificate as a professional accountant;

7. Restrictions on the management of accounting personally by the head of the organization. Next, we will consider how these innovations affect the organization of work for specific employers.

CHANGE 1. LACK OF SEPARATE STANDARDS

Law No. 129-FZ (Article 7) directly established the subordination, powers, duties and responsibilities of the chief accountant, the mandatory requirements of his requirements for documenting business transactions and submitting to the accounting department the necessary documents and information for all employees of the organization. The Accounting Law no longer contains similar provisions.

Comparison of norms on the status of the chief accountant of the Accounting Law and Law No. 129-FZ

Now all these issues must be regulated in accordance with the general rules of labor legislation and in accordance with the employer’s local regulations (job descriptions, regulations on the organizational structure of the organization and the interaction of its structural divisions, regulations on accounting, regulations on document flow, document flow schedule, etc.).

In paragraph 2 of Art. 7 of Law No. 129-FZ stated that the chief accountant reports directly to the head of the organization. Our company also has the position of financial director, and for a long time there was a conflict between the employee holding this position and the chief accountant. The financial director constantly demanded to change the subordination structure, and the chief accountant referred to the requirements of the law and followed the instructions only of the general director. As a result, in conflict situations, financial problems took months to be resolved, and they were not so much resolved as the whole company watched the bickering of top managers. With the entry into force of the new Law on Accounting, we breathed a sigh of relief, since now we have the opportunity to resolve the issue of subordination of the chief accountant independently. Please tell me how to do this correctly?

Indeed, previously the chief accountant reported directly to the head of the organization, and under these conditions, in many organizations, friction arose regarding the relationship between the financial director and the chief accountant in the subordination structure. under the conditions of the new Law on Accounting, the employer has the right to independently resolve the issue of subordination of the chief accountant.

So, if the chief accountant heads the accounting department, which, according to its functional structure, is part of the financial unit, you can:

• (or) provide for his subordination directly to the financial director;
• (or) describe the procedures for approving decisions, the powers and responsibilities of the chief accountant in a local regulatory act with his traditional subordination directly to the general director;
• (or) provide that the chief accountant reports to:
• to the general director - on issues within his competence in the field of accounting, i.e. follows only his orders and instructions;
• to the financial director - on all other issues within the competence of the financial director.

The chosen option must be reflected, for example, in the following documents:

• Regulations on the organizational structure of the organization and the interaction of its structural divisions;
• Accounting Regulations;
• Regulations on the financial department;
• Job description of the chief accountant.?

This is also necessary so that the employee who is truly guilty of violating the law is brought to disciplinary, administrative, and criminal liability.

Please note: issues of subordination by position do not constitute a change in either the labor function or any other terms of the employment contract, which means that the written consent of the chief accountant is not required for their entry into force.

The head of the company instructed all departments to work together and find out on what production issues which structural divisions interact and with whom, in order to prescribe all the basic rules of communication in the Regulations on the structure of the organization. This work is supervised by the personnel service. The most pressing issues are issues of interaction with the accounting departments of all departments. There is not a single department that does not prepare some kind of documentation for accounting every month. How should such responsibilities be spelled out in the Regulations?

Previously, the requirement for all employees of the organization of the chief accountant to document business transactions and submit the necessary documents and information to the accounting department was enshrined at the legislative level (paragraph 2, paragraph 3, article 7 of Law No. 129-FZ). Currently, the law does not contain such requirements, but it is advisable to consolidate them in a local document, for example, in a document flow schedule, which should be rational and convenient both for accounting and for all other departments, and describe the entire path of each specific document (from the moment of its registration, control of its preparation, approval (signing) before the document is transferred to the relevant departments and subsequent storage, indicating the executors, departments, number of copies, deadlines for registration and transfer to the accounting department, as well as storage periods).

In fact, the chief accountant is currently not responsible for any actions performed by the organization. At the same time, he, as before, bears disciplinary responsibility on a common basis with other employees. That is, for failure to perform or improper performance of job duties, the employer can reprimand the chief accountant, reprimand or even fire him (Articles 192 and 193 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation). In addition, the chief accountant, like any other employee (depending on the act committed, the presence of his guilt, compliance with the statute of limitations for bringing to responsibility) can be brought to material, administrative and even criminal liability (Article 241, Part 2 of Art. 243 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, paragraph 10 of the resolution of the Plenum of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation of November 16, 2006 No. 52, article 2.4 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation, paragraph 24 of the resolution of the Plenum of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation of October 24, 2006 No. 18, articles 199 and 199.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, paragraph 7, 17 of the resolution of the Plenum of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation dated December 28, 2006 No. 64).?

CHANGE 2. INTRODUCTION OF SINGLE-LEVEL SIGNATURE

The signature of the chief accountant is no longer required in primary accounting documents and financial statements. Instead of a two-level signature provided for by Law No. 129-FZ, the Accounting Law introduced a single-level signature - only the head of the organization. The chief accountant now only has to approve financial documents and statements, and only if the employer establishes the procedure for approval in a local regulatory act.

We are currently making changes to the job description of the chief accountant. They “stumbled” on his authority. For example, the right to sign documents. As you know, currently one signature is sufficient on financial documentation - the head of the organization. But what about the requirements for a two-level signature contained in regulatory documents on accounting, which have not been officially canceled?

The new Law on Accounting does not contain provisions on the need for the signature of the chief accountant on monetary and settlement documents, documents confirming financial and credit obligations, as well as on documents used to formalize transactions with funds, as was previously provided for in paragraph. 3 p. 3 art. 7, para. 2 p. 3 art. 9 of Law No. 129-FZ.

At the same time, in accordance with Part 1 of Art. 30 of the Law on Accounting, until the approval of federal and industry accounting standards provided for by this Law, the rules for maintaining accounting records and preparing accounting (financial) statements approved by the authorized federal executive authorities before the date the Law enters into force are applied. Among such documents, for example, the Regulations on accounting and financial reporting in the Russian Federation, approved. by order of the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated July 29, 1998 No. 34n (hereinafter referred to as the Regulations on Accounting).

Paragraphs 2 and 3 of clause 14 of the Accounting Regulations stipulate that documents used to document business transactions with funds are signed by the head of the organization and the chief accountant or persons authorized by them. Without the signature of the chief accountant or a person authorized by him, monetary and settlement documents, financial and credit obligations are considered invalid and should not be accepted for execution (with the exception of documents signed by the head of the federal executive body, the design features of which are determined by separate instructions of the Ministry of Finance of Russia). Financial and credit obligations are understood as documents documenting the organization’s financial investments, loan agreements, credit agreements and agreements concluded on commodity and commercial loans. Thus, the Accounting Regulations essentially repeat and clarify the provisions of Law No. 129-FZ that have lost force.

The norms of by-laws and regulatory legal acts that directly correspond with the provisions of Law No. 129-FZ that have lost force have also lost force. The Accounting Law establishes requirements for primary accounting documents, among which there are no requirements for the signature of the chief accountant. The Law does not contain special requirements for any specific types of primary accounting documents.

Article 30 of Law No. 402-FZ speaks only about the application of accounting rules and preparation of financial statements. At the same time, the norms of paragraph. 3 clause 14 of the Accounting Regulations do not contain rules for accounting and preparation of financial statements, but relate to issues of the validity of financial and credit obligations and the concept of such obligations.

Meanwhile, these issues are regulated by the civil legislation of the Russian Federation and do not fall within the scope of accounting regulation based on the concept of accounting given in Article 1 of the Accounting Law. On this basis, the norms of paragraph. 2, 3 clause 14 of the Accounting Regulations from January 1, 2013 are not subject to application.

However, after December 31, 2012, the procedure for signing documents that formalize transactions with funds continues to be regulated by regulatory legal acts approved by authorized bodies based on the legislation of the Russian Federation, in particular the Regulations on the procedure for conducting cash transactions with banknotes and coins of the Bank of Russia in the territory Russian Federation, approved. Bank of Russia 10/12/2011 No. 373-P, Regulations on the rules for transferring funds, approved. Bank of Russia 06/19/2012 No. 383-P. On this basis, the signature of the chief accountant is still required on cash documents: in the cash book 0310004, on incoming cash orders 0310001, on outgoing cash orders 0310002.

According to Part 8 of Art. 13 of the Accounting Law, accounting (financial) statements are considered prepared after a paper copy is signed by the head of the economic entity. Unlike paragraph 5 of Art. 13 of Law No. 129-FZ, the signature of the chief accountant (the accounting official) on the financial statements is no longer required.

CHANGE 3: REDISTRIBUTION OF RESPONSIBILITY

According to Law No. 129-FZ (clause 2 of Article 7), the chief accountant was responsible for the timely submission of financial statements, their completeness and reliability. But even then, tax inspectors tried to hold accountable for failure to submit or untimely submission of financial statements not the chief accountant, but the head of the organization, although it was not at all difficult to challenge this in court (resolution of the Plenum of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation dated October 24, 2006 No. 18, Volgograd Regional Court dated 03/06/2012 No. 7a-131/12).?

Who is currently responsible for failure to submit financial statements on time or for their incomplete submission?

The Accounting Law does not clearly delimit the powers of the manager and the chief accountant in relation to the preparation and presentation of reports; it only says that they are compiled by an economic entity, i.e. an organization, and not a specific official (Part 2 of Article 13).

At the same time, “overall responsibility” for accounting and reporting is not assigned to either the manager or the chief accountant. in relation to the manager, it is said that he organizes the maintenance of accounting (and is not responsible for it), but sole responsibility is assigned to him only if there are disagreements with the chief accountant, i.e. a closed list of situations is fixed (parts 1 and 8 of Art. 7 of the Accounting Law).

Currently, it is planned to develop proposals to amend the legislation for violation of the deadlines for disclosing financial statements (clause 17 of the Ministry of Finance plan for 2012-2015, approved by Order of the Ministry of Finance dated November 30, 2011 No. 440). Therefore, before such changes are adopted, when choosing an official to bring to administrative responsibility for late submission of reports or its incomplete submission (Part 1 of Article 15.6 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation), the tax inspectorate “out of habit” may select the chief accountant.

Who is responsible for developing accounting policies?

According to Law No. 129-FZ, the chief accountant was also responsible for the formation of accounting policies. There is no similar rule in the Accounting Law; it again states that an economic entity, and not a specific official, independently forms its accounting policy, guided by the accounting legislation, federal and industry standards (Part 2 of Article 8). It turns out that most likely, in the event of a tax audit, the responsibility for the formation of accounting policies will be borne by the head of the organization, who is “responsible for everything.”

Is it possible to recover from the chief accountant the tax and insurance fines and penalties paid by the organization?

It is impossible to recover from the chief accountant the tax and insurance fines and penalties paid by the organization, since the legal representative of the organization both before the tax inspectorate and before extra-budgetary funds is the head of the organization (clause 1 of article 27 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, subclause 1 of clause 3 of article 40 of the Federal Law of 02/08/1998 No. 14-FZ “On Limited Liability Companies”, paragraph 2 of Article 69 of the Federal Law of 12/26/1995 No. 208-FZ “On Joint-Stock Companies”, Parts 4 and 6 of Article 5.1 of the Federal Law of 07/24/2009 No. 212-FZ “on insurance contributions to the Pension Fund of the Russian Federation, the Social Insurance Fund of the Russian Federation, the Federal Compulsory Medical Insurance Fund”).

CHANGE 4: SETTLEMENT OF DISPUTES

The procedure for resolving disagreements between the manager and the chief accountant is provided for in Part 8 of Art. 7 of the Accounting Law.

From this norm it follows that for the sole responsibility of the manager, the chief accountant needs to receive his written order to accept for accounting the disputed data of primary accounting documents or accounting objects.

Note! The draft Federal Law “On Amendments to the Federal Law of December 6, 2011 No. 402-FZ “On Accounting”” was posted on June 20, 2012 on the website of the Ministry of Finance of Russia (www1.minfin.ru)

We are talking about disagreements between the manager and the chief accountant regarding accounting regarding a closed list of situations (Part 8 of Article 7 of the Accounting Law):

• data contained in the primary accounting document (accepted or not accepted);
• accounting objects (reflected or not reflected). The chief accountant usually sets out his comments on these situations in a memo ( Annex 1).

The Accounting Law does not yet directly say anything about the registration of imaginary and feigned accounting objects (non-existent objects reflected in accounting only for appearance, including unrealized expenses, non-existent obligations, imaginary transactions, facts of economic life that did not take place, as well as non-existent objects reflected in accounting instead of another object in order to cover it up, sham transactions).

The head of the organization gave an oral order to the head of the company to accept for execution imaginary and feigned accounting items. What is the procedure for the chief accountant in this situation?

We believe that in such a situation, the chief accountant needs to draw up a memorandum of disagreement with such actions. This will free him from administrative liability and reduce the risks of criminal prosecution for economic crimes (Articles 15.5, 15.6 and 15.11 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation, Articles 199, 199.1 and 199.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation).

Such a memorandum should:

1. Describe in detail the order received from the manager to reflect specific facts of economic life in accounting (indicating the names of counterparties, details of contracts, primary accounting documents, invoices), paying attention to the oral form of such an order.

2. Inform the head of the organization about the negative tax consequences of taking into account such facts of economic life and the high probability of prosecution (with reference to the norms of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation, the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, Resolution of the Supreme Arbitration Court of the Russian Federation dated October 12, 2006 No. 53, the position of the Ministry of Finance of Russia, Federal Tax Service of Russia, arbitration practice, information received from the services of the Federal Tax Service of Russia to verify the integrity of the counterparty, etc.).

3. State:

• (or) a proposal to refuse to record questionable facts of economic life;
• (or) a request to confirm in writing the received oral order.

In this case, the memorandum must be addressed directly to the head of the organization (Part 8 of Article 7 of the Law on Accounting), even if there is a financial service in the organizational structure of the company, headed by a financial director, which includes accounting, and an approved regulation for the approval of decisions, powers and responsibilities in internal control system or a special division of the company whose responsibilities include calculating taxes and preparing tax returns.

The document itself will not relieve the chief accountant from responsibility; it is necessary for the manager to issue a written order (Part 8 of Article 7 of the Accounting Law):

• (or) in the form of a manager’s resolution on a memorandum;
• (or) in the form of a separate written order issued on the basis of a memorandum.

A report with the manager’s resolution or a separate written order:

• will confirm the written instructions of the head of the company on the implementation of controversial facts of economic life;
• will relieve the chief accountant from administrative responsibility;
• will be regarded as a mitigating circumstance when applying liability for economic crimes.

CHANGE 5. QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENTS

For the first time, special qualification requirements have been introduced at the legislative level for persons charged with maintaining accounting records in socially significant companies whose shares are quoted on the international market. The establishment of these requirements is an additional measure to protect the interests of potential investors of socially significant companies, including foreign ones, since the Accounting Law prioritizes the assessment of the financial condition of an economic entity.

According to Part 4 of Art. 7 of the Law on accounting in open joint-stock companies (except for credit organizations), insurance organizations and non-state pension funds, joint-stock investment funds, management companies of mutual investment funds, and other economic entities whose securities are admitted to trading on stock exchanges and (or ) other organizers of trading on the securities market (with the exception of credit organizations), in the management bodies of state extra-budgetary funds, in the management bodies of state territorial extra-budgetary funds, the chief accountant or other official entrusted with accounting must meet the following requirements:

• have higher professional education;
• have work experience related to accounting, preparation of accounting (financial) statements or auditing activities for at least three years out of the last five calendar years, and in the absence of higher professional education in the specialties of accounting and auditing - at least five years out of the last seven calendar years;
• not have an unexpunged or outstanding conviction for crimes in the economic sphere.

Individuals with whom the organization enters into an agreement for the provision of accounting services must also meet these requirements. Legal entities providing such services must have at least one employee who meets the established requirements (Part 6, Article 7 of the Accounting Law).

Additional requirements for the chief accountant or other official charged with maintaining accounting records may be established by other federal laws (Part 5 of Article 7 of the Accounting Law).

As you can see, the requirements for chief accountants established by the Accounting Law are quite simple. However, liability for their violation has not been established. This is due to the fact that liability is the subject of other branches of legislation and in this case it is necessary to turn to other laws. Just remember that all socially significant companies whose shares are quoted on the international market have supervisory authorities that monitor compliance with current legislation and have appropriate enforcement mechanisms for this.

The specified requirements must be taken into account by specialists of personnel services of socially significant companies when filling out the form for posting a vacancy and drawing up profiles of candidates (applicants) for the vacant position of chief accountant.

I work in the HR department of an insurance company. In accordance with the new Accounting Law, certain qualification requirements are imposed on persons who are entrusted with accounting in our organization. However, the chief accountant does not have the required work experience. Is this grounds for his dismissal?

The listed requirements do not apply to persons entrusted with maintaining accounting records on the day the Accounting Law came into force (January 1, 2013). This is indicated in Part 2 of Art. 30 of the Accounting Law. In fact, this norm enshrines the employee’s constitutional right to not have conditions worsen as a result of changes in the legislative framework. Consequently, previously concluded employment contracts (as well as contracts for the provision of accounting services) in case of non-compliance with the requirements of Parts 4 and 6 of Art. 7 of the Accounting Law cannot be terminated on this basis.?

CHANGE 6. QUALIFICATION CERTIFICATE OF PROFESSIONAL ACCOUNTANT

The Accounting Law makes no mention of the need for professional certification of accountants as a prerequisite for their performance as chief accountant of any company.

The formation of a system of professional certification of accountants was proposed in the Accounting Reform Program in accordance with international financial reporting standards, approved. Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation dated 03/06/1998 No. 283. As part of the implementation of this Resolution, a Regulation on the certification of professional accountants was developed, approved by the Interdepartmental Commission on Reforming Accounting and Financial Reporting, Protocol No. 8 dated 09/30/1998 (hereinafter referred to as the Regulation on Certification).

Clause 1.2 of the Certification Regulations establishes that certification of professional accountants confirms:

• compliance of the specialist with the requirements of professional competence (level of special training, acquired skills and accumulated experience in the relevant field of activity);
• the ability of a specialist, if necessary, to organize high-quality work of relevant services in organizations of various forms of ownership and industry affiliation, as well as independently advise on accounting issues;
• the specialist’s readiness to comply with professional ethics.

Certified professional accountants are awarded a qualification certificate (clause 1.3 of the Certification Regulations).

By the way

Qualification reference book for positions of managers, specialists and other employees, approved. Resolution of the Ministry of Labor of Russia dated August 21, 1998 No. 37, contains a list of qualification requirements for the position of chief accountant of any organization - this is a higher professional (economic) education and at least five years of experience in accounting and financial work, including in management positions. At the same time, clause 10 “General Provisions” of the Qualification Handbook states that persons who do not have special training or work experience established by the qualification requirements, but have sufficient practical experience and perform efficiently and fully the job duties assigned to them, upon recommendation The certification commission, as an exception, can be appointed to the corresponding positions in the same way as persons with special training and work experience. The qualification directory is not a normative legal document; it is only advisory in nature for organizations in various sectors of the economy, regardless of ownership and organizational and legal forms (clause 2 of the resolution of the Ministry of Labor of Russia dated August 21, 1998 No. 37). From January 1, 2013, the specified provisions of the Qualification Handbook cannot be applied to the position of chief accountant of socially significant companies, since they do not comply with the norms of Part 4 of Art. 7 of the Accounting Law.

In addition, the following were published:

• Regulations on the certification of Associate members of the Institute of Professional Accountants and Auditors of Russia applying for a qualification certificate of a professional accountant, approved. by decision of the Presidential Council of the Institute of Professional Accountants and Auditors of Russia (minutes No. 12/-05 of December 21, 2005);
• Regulations on the certification of Associate Members of the Institute of Professional Accountants and Auditors of Russia applying for a qualification certificate of a reserve professional accountant, approved. by decision of the Presidential Council of the Institute of Professional Accountants and Auditors of Russia (Minutes No. 12/-05 of December 21, 2005).

Currently, many accountants have passed (and continue to pass) qualification exams, are (become) members of the Institute of Professional Accountants and Auditors of Russia (IPB Russia), and regularly improve the level of their professional training.

However, the presence of a qualification certificate of a professional accountant has not received a legally defined status. The Accounting Law does not impose such requirements on chief accountants of either socially significant or ordinary companies.

We believe that when posting vacancies and in application forms for applicants for the position of chief accountant, you can indicate that the presence of a qualification certificate of a professional accountant is welcomed as an additional factor in assessing the professional training of a specialist. In such cases, it is also welcome to have diplomas from certification programs for accountants according to international standards - IFRS DipIFR, CPA, ACCA, CMA, etc.

CHANGE 7. MANAGER AND CHIEF ACCOUNTANT - ONE PERSON

Now only the head of a small and medium-sized enterprise, except for credit organizations (Part 3 of Article 7 of the Law on Accounting), can take charge of accounting. Previously, heads of any organizations could personally conduct accounting (subparagraph “d”, paragraph 2, article 6 of Law No. 129-FZ).

Which organizations are classified as small and medium-sized businesses?

The criteria for classifying organizations as small and medium-sized businesses are established in Art. 4 of the Federal Law of July 24, 2007 No. 209-FZ “On the development of small and medium-sized businesses in the Russian Federation” and in the Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation of February 9, 2013 No. 101 “On the maximum values ​​of proceeds from the sale of goods (works, services) for each category of entities small and medium-sized enterprises."

I have the following situation: 1. I am the chief accountant of the Management Company (subordinate to organization 22 - Construction).2. I report directly to the financial director.3. There are only two signatures on the bank card (1st General Director 2nd Mine)4. Payments are sent by an employee who does not report to me, but uses my electronic signature.5. I coordinate all payments, but there are cases when payment occurs first, and then I find out and have to coordinate. When I was on vacation, my electronic signature was used. This is the first time in my life that I will encounter such a situation.6. In fact, my electronic signature is used by a Finn. director.7. I also sign all financial and tax reporting (by proxy from the General Director).8. Essentially, I am exposed to serious risks (liability). Employees directly reporting to the General Director do not accept my demands. They say that you have a leader, contact him, and we will solve everything with him. The financial director does not know the requirements of accounting and tax legislation. My duties state that I do not have the right to demand anything from the organization’s employees. I can only ask. The Director General does not delve into accounting and tax accounting. Very often I have to resolve problems with concluded contracts that I did not approve (information hunger). With all this, the General Director appreciates me very much and very often sets tasks for me directly. I ask you provide assistance in the selection of legal documents to justify the removal from the subordination of the finance director to the subordination of the general director. Thank you.

If there are several general directors, the organization needs to independently determine on what issues the chief accountant should report to which of the managers. . In practice, two structure options are common, within each of which potentially conflicting situations may arise:

In this case, the chief accountant reports to the financial director.

The chief accountant in this case reports directly to the general director.

For more details on the relationship between the parties, see below in Article No. 2.

It should also be taken into account that when using electronic signatures, participants in electronic interaction are obliged to ensure the confidentiality of electronic signature keys, in particular, to prevent the use of electronic signature keys belonging to them without their consent (in other words, just as in the case of a simple signature, to prevent the key into the wrong hands).

Formally, you cannot use someone else’s electronic signature.

Rationale
(Information that will help you make the right decision is highlighted in color)

What will change in your work due to large-scale amendments to the Civil Code

Two CEOs in one company

Why dual power is convenient: one director can sign financial documents without a power of attorney when the other is absent.

Important detail

From September 1, any company can have two general directors, three, etc. (Clause 3, Article 65.3 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation). They can act together or independently of each other. At the same time, the charter must clearly state how many directors there are in the organization and what competence each of them has.

On the one hand, it's convenient. After all, when one director is on vacation, another can sign an urgent document without a power of attorney. In addition, in large companies in which, for example, there are several projects, each of them can be supervised by its own director.

On the other hand, there is a risk of abuse when, for example, in the absence of one director, another concludes some deal in his favor. In addition, the presence of dual power can confuse workers whose orders they must carry out. Let's take, for example, the chief accountant. With many general directors, there can still be only one chief accountant in the company. It turns out that the company needs to determine on what issues which manager should report.

Financial director and chief accountant: how to resolve conflicts

IGOR BASOV, managing partner of the company "Financial Standard"

Typically, in practice, both the financial director and the chief accountant have a great influence on the business processes of their company, so their interaction with each other is often associated with certain difficulties. However, if two specialists manage to successfully avoid sharp corners, then the company as a whole receives undeniable benefits from this. Let's take a closer look at what causes the most common problems in the relationships between these key figures and how you can really minimize the causes of their occurrence.

How finance structure affects relationships

Not only the microclimate in the department, but also the successful functioning of the organization itself often depends on the place of the financial director and chief accountant in the hierarchical structure of the company. But if the financial director always heads the financial service, then the role of the chief accountant may vary in different companies. In practice, two structure options are common, within each of which potential conflict situations may arise.

Option 1. Accounting is part of the financial service. In this case, the chief accountant reports to the financial director, and the level of tension in the relationship between them is usually quite high. I will highlight two key critical points within this structure from the point of view of the chief accountant:

• he is forced to coordinate with the financial director all his fundamental initiatives relating to his main job responsibilities;
• he actually has double subordination and is forced to maneuver between the general and financial directors.

From the position of the financial director, a situation may become the basis for conflicts when, bypassing him, senior management will convey new information and give instructions directly to the chief accountant (see also the table). In the eyes of the general director, both specialists represent the financial service, so any financial issues can be addressed to each of them. And since he sometimes has to communicate with the chief accountant more often (when preparing tax reporting, agreeing on contracts, confirming current payments, etc.), he accepts more instructions and new input. This position cannot suit the CFO: having less necessary information, he becomes a less valuable employee for the company and the significance of his decisions decreases. He is forced to request data from the chief accountant, thereby receiving it in a distorted form and putting himself in a dependent position. A situation is possible when the presence of the financial director is no longer necessary: ​​he may be fired, and the chief accountant will take over his functions. To avoid this, it is important to very accurately describe the responsibilities of the chief accountant and clearly delimit areas of responsibility with him, and also convey this to the general director.

TABLE. Potentially conflicting issues between the financial director and the chief accountant

Potentially conflicting issues	CFO position	Position of chief accountant
Making management decisions within the division	In the final instance, resolves all personnel and organizational issues in an independent and functional accounting unit	It is not enough to have the authority to fire a subordinate, send him on vacation, allocate a bonus as part of the financial service’s incentive plan, etc.
Adoption of regulatory documents of an accounting nature (regulations on document flow, accounting policies, regulations on business trips and reporting documents, etc.)	Acting as the final authority, the financial director can make changes that are inconvenient for the chief accountant, exclude some provisions, or suspend approval of the document
Presentation of accounting and tax reporting	Does not formally participate in this process	The reporting is completely prepared in the accounting department, signed by the chief accountant and submitted to the general director for approval.
Accounting for current payments based on primary documents	When the payment function is assigned to the treasury, subordinate to the financial director, and the accounting department checks the primary documents that serve as the basis for the payment, misunderstandings may arise regarding the completeness of the submitted documents, as well as the urgency of the payment
Submission of primary accounting documents for previously made advance payments	Manages accounts receivable, so timely reflection of advances in costs is also important	It is critically important to have all primary documentation in a timely manner before submitting reports to regulatory authorities
Conducting advance reports and accountable amounts	Takes into account the essence of the expenses incurred, the order of their registration is secondary	There may be questions regarding the preparation of primary documentation

PERSONAL EXPERIENCE

Gayane Asatryan, financial director CSI Vostok company

Accounting should be part of the financial service. In my opinion, in this case there should be fewer conflict situations. Conflicts may arise when the financial director interferes excessively in the work of the chief accountant. It is necessary to set the general vector for the development of accounting and leave the resolution of operational issues at the level of the chief accountant.

Option 2. Accounting is separated into a separate division. The chief accountant in this case reports directly to the general director. The financial service retains the functions of planning and financial analysis. Financial responsibility in the company is distributed and blurred. Sometimes it is difficult to determine whose responsibility it is to solve a particular problem. This especially applies to issues of management accounting, automation of the financial function, the formation of long-term accounting policies and budgeting policies. In matters that require the mutual participation of financiers and accounting, a conflict of interest and misunderstanding of the importance of processes may arise. The head of the company assumes most of the control and interaction between financial departments and is forced to independently decide which specialist to give the appropriate financial assignment. Of course, the authority and weight of the financial director in such a structure is reduced.

PERSONAL EXPERIENCE

Gayane Asatryan, financial director CSI Vostok company

When the chief accountant is directly subordinate to the general director, there is no proper control over the work of the accounting department, since no one understands anything about its work. The financial director is precisely the person who can provide this control. Let me give you an example from practice. The chief accountant did not use income tax benefits and did not apply increasing factors to the depreciation rate, so as not to have differences between accounting and tax accounting and not to count deferred taxes. Another example: the chief accountant preferred the advance payment scheme for income tax, since in this case tax reporting had to be submitted to the tax office once a quarter, and not every month. This led to significant overpayments of taxes to the budget.

I would also like to note this important point: the financial director does not bear any legal responsibility for decisions made, although his position in the company is often higher than the chief accountant. But the chief accountant bears legal responsibility for the correctness of accounting and timely submission of accounting and tax reporting. At the same time, his powers are often limited only to tax and accounting, and responsibility for the preparation of management reporting and IFRS lies with the financial director. But even in this case, it is the chief accountant who controls the correctness of recording primary documentation in accounting systems. He also determines the accounting policy, reporting forms, necessary analytics and principles for entering primary documentation. Although accounting legislation is gradually being brought into line with IFRS and, as a result, an increasing number of evaluative and forecast judgments are being included in company reports, which forces the chief accountant to gradually move away from the exclusively accounting and reporting function towards forecasting indicators. And this has traditionally been the function of the CFO. Now this functionality increases the value of the chief accountant in the eyes of the company's senior management, since now, based on accurate accounting information, he will be able to form more accurate forecasts and budgets. This cannot but bring disagreement into their relationship.

PERSONAL EXPERIENCE

The author proceeds from the fact that the basis of the relationship between the financial director and the chief accountant is always competition, which gives rise to conflict. However, often the chief accountant is satisfied with his specialization and does not rush into the territory of the financial director. If both specialists understand the boundaries of their powers, they will interact constructively. The chief accountant, even if he is subordinate to the financial director, must be left with a certain autonomy, create comfort for his work, because he is also a manager and bears great responsibility.

Conclusions. In my experience, the most effective model is one in which accounting is included in the financial service, but the chief accountant is included in the structure of the board of directors in parallel with the financial director, and has the same right of independent opinion and vote in this board. In this case, subordination will be observed in resolving work issues. The financial director will act as a single leader and will bear full power and responsibility within the financial service. At the same time, the chief accountant will not lose the opportunity to express his own dissenting opinion on the most important issues within the board of directors. He will act as the main accounting ideologist in the company, thinking much broader than fiscal legislative restrictions and guided in his decisions not only by letters from the Ministry of Finance and the Federal Tax Service, but primarily by the interests of the company itself. To minimize conflict situations, it is necessary to clearly describe the responsibilities and division of powers between the financial director and the chief accountant. This decision is becoming increasingly relevant as accounting legislation develops towards convergence with IFRS and, as a consequence, expansion of the functionality of the chief accountant. In a situation where he has to make assessments and forecasts more and more often, his role is seriously increasing. This is especially noticeable in large companies that prepare reports in accordance with international standards.

PERSONAL EXPERIENCE

Gayane Asatryan, financial director CSI Vostok company

I consider it unnecessary to include the chief accountant on the board of directors: the presence of two department representatives on the board looks strange, especially when its representatives express diametrically opposed views on the same issue. In companies where this is practiced, there is likely to be a degree of distrust of the CFO on the part of the CEO and shareholders. You need to motivate and express respect for the work of the chief accountant in other ways.

Oleg Khoroshiy, Head of the Department of Profit Taxation of Organizations of the Department of Tax and Customs Tariff Policy of the Ministry of Finance of Russia

To whom can an electronic signature key be issued?

An electronic signature key can be issued to an entrepreneur or a specific employee who has the right to sign paper documents on behalf of the organization (paragraph 4, clause 3.3. for the right to sign reports electronically.

To the manager about the new accounting law

At the end of 2011, the State Duma adopted Federal Law No. 402-FZ of December 6, 2011 “On Accounting” (hereinafter referred to as Law No. 402-FZ). The new Law will come into force only in a year - January 1, 2013, so the manager still has time to build a new relationship with the chief accountant.

More than 15 years have passed since the adoption of Federal Law No. 129-FZ of November 21, 1996 “On Accounting” (hereinafter referred to as Law No. 129-FZ). During this time, much has changed: accounting has been computerized, electronic documents and electronic signatures have appeared, and business conditions have changed.

All this became a natural reason for the preparation and adoption of a new legislative act regulating the organization and maintenance of accounting in Russia.

Managers are already accustomed to the fact that many legislative acts are adopted retroactively, and there is absolutely no opportunity to calmly and carefully study them and prepare for new business conditions. Now the legislator acted very far-sightedly, giving a whole year to study the new Law.

In addition, for the first time in Law N 402-FZ, certain rules take into account the specifics of conducting accounting in institutions of the public sector of the economy. So, according to paragraph 2 of Art. 2 of Law N 402-FZ, its norms are applied when maintaining budgetary accounting of assets and liabilities of the Russian Federation, constituent entities of the Russian Federation and municipalities, operations that change these assets and liabilities, as well as when drawing up budget reporting.

Consequently, Law N 402-FZ applies to all types of state (municipal) institutions: state-owned, budgetary and autonomous.

Manager and Accounting

Law No. 402-FZ for the first time defines who is the head of an economic entity:

Supervisor- this face, being the sole executive body an economic entity, or a person responsible for conducting the affairs of an economic entity, or a manager to whom the functions of the sole executive body have been transferred (Article 3 of Law No. 402-FZ).

However, it is important to note that in comparison with Law N 129-FZ, according to which the manager was responsible for organizing accounting and compliance with the law when carrying out business transactions (Clause 1, Article 6), according to Law N 402-FZ, the manager organizes the maintenance of accounting records and storage of financial documents (clause 1 of article 7). In this case, the manager is obliged to entrust the maintenance of accounting records to the chief accountant or other official or to enter into an agreement for the provision of accounting services (clause 3 of Article 7).

Please note that Law No. 402-FZ For the first time, the moment when reporting is considered completed is clearly formulated. So, in accordance with paragraph 8 of Art. 13 of Law N 402-FZ, accounting (financial) statements are considered prepared after a paper copy is signed by the head of an economic entity. Thus, the manager puts the finishing touches on the accountant’s work in preparing all types of reporting.

Obviously, the legislator, having placed the responsibility for maintaining accounting on the manager and obliging him to shift this burden to the chief accountant, considered his mission accomplished, since Law N 402-FZ does not say anything more about the rights and responsibilities of the manager in relation to accounting. Consequently, all other administrative issues regarding the organization and maintenance of accounting in institutions must be regulated by other regulatory documents and local acts.

At the same time, it is important for the head of a state (municipal) institution to remember what rights and responsibilities are assigned to him by Instruction No. 157n<1>.

<1>Instructions for the application of the Unified Chart of Accounts for public authorities (state bodies), local governments, management bodies of state extra-budgetary funds, state academies of sciences, state (municipal) institutions, approved. Order of the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated December 1, 2010 N 157n “On approval of the Unified Chart of Accounts for public authorities (state bodies), local governments, management bodies of state extra-budgetary funds, state academies of sciences, state (municipal) institutions and Instructions for its application ".

Thus, in accordance with paragraph 16 of Instruction No. 157n, the manager retains the obligation to appoint a commission to investigate the causes in the event of loss, destruction or damage to primary (consolidated) accounting documents and (or) accounting registers, as well as take measures to restore primary (consolidated) accounting documents ) accounting documents and accounting registers.

The head of the institution (his deputy) is present when marking soft equipment items<2>. At the same time, the marking stamps themselves must be kept by the head of the institution or his deputy (clause 118 of Instruction No. 157n).

<2>According to paragraph 118 of Instruction No. 157n, soft equipment includes: linen and bedding; clothing and uniforms, including workwear; shoes, including special ones; other soft equipment.

Instruction No. 157n also contains requirements for the manager to organize work with cash and prepare primary documents.

Therefore, managers should acquire the necessary knowledge and skills to reduce the risks of making uninformed management decisions. It is no coincidence that the concept of “risk” appeared in the regulatory documents of the Ministry of Finance. Thus, by Order of the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated October 19, 2011 N 383 “On the procedure for implementing operational monitoring of the quality of financial management in the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation,” the concept of “budgetary risk” was introduced for the first time in relation to the public sector of the economy.

Budget risks— this is the possibility of non-fulfillment (in whole or in part) of certain parameters (characteristics) of the federal budget, ineffective management of the liquidity of the account for accounting for federal budget funds, as well as ineffective use of federal budget funds in the current financial year, provided that the quality of financial management is maintained during the current financial year, achieved in the reporting period.

Increasing the legal and financial literacy of managers is especially important for the public sector of the economy. As a rule, specialized specialists from the employees of this institution are appointed to the position of heads of budgetary institutions: doctors, teachers, cultural figures, etc. Often, such specialists, although possessing high professional skills in their profession, do not have the necessary skills and knowledge in the field of civil, budgetary, and tax law when entering leadership positions.

Let us also recall that administrative liability of officials for gross violation of the rules of accounting and presentation of financial statements is established by Art. 15.11 Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation.

Chief accountant in 2012

First of all, we note that Law No. 402-FZ does not have a separate article devoted to the rights and responsibilities of the chief accountant, similar to Art. 7 of Law No. 129-FZ.

However, Law N 402-FZ lists the requirements for persons applying for the position of chief accountant<3>. They need:

• have higher professional education;
• have work experience related to accounting, preparation of accounting (financial) statements or auditing activities, at least three years out of the last five calendar years, and in the absence of higher professional education in accounting and auditing - at least five years out of the last seven calendar years;
• not have an unexpunged or outstanding conviction for crimes in the economic sphere.

<3>Article 7 of Law No. 402-FZ.

These requirements are relevant primarily for those who intend to work as a chief accountant in commercial structures, governing bodies of state and territorial extra-budgetary funds.

However, such requirements do not apply to accountants of state (municipal) institutions.

However, additional requirements for the chief accountant or other official responsible for accounting may be established by other federal laws<4>.

<4>Clause 5 of Art. 7 of Law No. 402-FZ.

In addition, if the head of an institution intends to enter into a civil agreement for the provision of accounting services with an individual, this individual must also meet the requirements established by Art. 7 of Law No. 402-FZ. In the event that an agreement for the provision of accounting services is concluded with a legal entity, the latter must have at least one employee who meets the requirements for organizing accounting established by clause 4 of Art. 6 of Law No. 402-FZ. And an employment contract must be concluded with these employees.

Let us recall that in accordance with clause 5 of Instruction No. 157n, the head of an institution has the right to transfer the maintenance of accounting and the preparation of reports based on it, under a contract (agreement) to another institution, organization (centralized accounting).

Now the main powers of the chief accountant of a state (municipal) institution are contained only in paragraph 8 of Instruction No. 157n.

Let us remind you that in state (municipal) institutions, regardless of their type, without the signature of the chief accountant or a person authorized by him, monetary and settlement documents, documents formalizing financial investments, loan agreements, credit agreements are not accepted for execution and accounting.

An exception to this rule is documents signed by the head of a government body (state body), local government body, if the specifics of the execution of such documents are determined by the laws and (or) regulatory legal acts of the Russian Federation.

About controversial situations

The new Accounting Law sets out a slightly different mechanism for resolving disputes that may arise between the manager and the chief accountant (or the person with whom the contract for the provision of accounting services has been concluded).

In the event that disagreements arise regarding primary documents and the data contained in them, which must be reflected in accounting, Law N 402-FZ<5>instructs the chief accountant to accept (or not accept) primary accounting documents by written order of the head of the economic entity, who is solely responsible for the information created as a result.

<5>Clause 8 of Art.

7 of Law No. 402-FZ.

In another case, the situation of reflection (non-reflection) in the accounting (financial) statements by the chief accountant of certain operations (accounting objects) is considered. At the same time, Law N 402-FZ also requires the chief accountant to submit to the manager on the basis of a written order from the head of the economic entity. The manager is solely responsible for the accuracy of the presentation of the financial position of the economic entity as of the reporting date, the financial result of its activities and cash flows for the reporting period<6>.

<6>Right there.

Accounting policy in 2013

A separate article is devoted to accounting policy in Law N 402-FZ. 8, according to which accounting policy is a set of ways for an economic entity (that is, an organization, institution) to maintain accounting records.

It is noted that an economic entity independently forms its accounting policy, guided by the legislation of the Russian Federation on accounting, federal and industry standards. By Order No. 160n dated November 25, 2011, the Ministry of Finance introduced International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) on January 1, 2012, and also provided their clarifications, which mainly apply to commercial organizations. It is possible that already during 2012 standards will appear that are also relevant for institutions in the public sector of the economy.

It is noteworthy that clause 6 of Art. 8 of Law N 402-FZ established new conditions for changing accounting policies, namely:

• changes in the requirements established by the legislation of the Russian Federation on accounting, federal and (or) industry standards;
• development or selection of a new method of accounting, the use of which leads to an increase in the quality of information about the object of accounting;
• a significant change in the operating conditions of an economic entity.

It is obvious that some orders of the Ministry of Finance, which are aimed at improving the quality of information on the activities of state (municipal) institutions, can be considered as a reason for changing accounting policies during the reporting period.

It is impossible not to note one very important point: according to Art. 5 of Law N 402-FZ, the accounting objects of an economic entity are:

• facts of economic life;
• assets;
• obligations;
• sources of financing its activities;
• income;
• expenses;
• other objects if this is established by federal standards.

And if assets, liabilities, sources, income and expenses have long been the object of accounting, then “a fact of economic life” is clearly a new object of accounting.

Note. A fact of economic life is a transaction, event, operation that has or is capable of influencing the financial position of an economic entity, the financial result of its activities and (or) cash flow.

It is obvious that the fact of economic life means business transactions, since Art. 9 of Law N 402-FZ states that every fact of economic life is subject to registration with a primary accounting document.

This thesis of Law N 402-FZ coincides with the norm set out in Art. 9 of Law N 129-FZ, which states that all business transactions carried out by an organization must be documented with supporting documents.

We note that in accordance with paragraph 3 of Art. 9 of Law N 402-FZ the primary accounting document must be drawn up when committing a fact of economic life, and if this is not possible, then immediately after its completion.

Who does the chief accountant report to in a government agency?

This also corresponds to the norm of paragraph 4 of Art. 9 of Law N 129-FZ, that the primary accounting document must be drawn up at the time of the transaction, and if this is not possible, then immediately after its completion.

Obviously, after Law No. 402-FZ comes into force in 2013, the Ministry of Finance will have to make appropriate clarifications to its regulatory documents (orders, instructions) and eliminate the term “business operations”, replacing it with the concept “fact of economic life”.

Features of accounting by institutions of the public sector of the economy

Law N 402-FZ contains separate rules that indicate the specifics of regulating accounting activities in organizations in the public sector of the economy. In Art. 3 of Law N 402-FZ contains a definition of such organizations.

Public sector organizations- these are state (municipal) institutions, state academies of sciences, state bodies, local governments, governing bodies of state extra-budgetary funds, governing bodies of territorial state extra-budgetary funds.

In accordance with Law No. 402-FZ, organizations in the public sector of the economy are subject to the provisions of the budget legislation of the Russian Federation in the following cases:

• when establishing the forms of primary accounting documents (Article 9);
• when establishing accounting registers (Article 10);
• when establishing the composition of accounting (financial) statements (Article 14);
• in case of establishing the procedure for drawing up accounting (financial) statements during reorganization (Article 16).

Let us remind you that budgetary institutions are not participants in the budget process and their activities are regulated by other federal laws, in particular Instruction 157n, Order of the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated December 15, 2010 N 173n “On approval of forms of primary accounting documents and accounting registers used by public authorities (state bodies), local authorities self-government, management bodies of state extra-budgetary funds, state academies of sciences, state (municipal) institutions and Guidelines for their application."

In turn, budgetary and autonomous institutions apply the Instructions on the procedure for compiling and submitting annual and quarterly financial statements of state (municipal) budgetary and autonomous institutions<7>.

<7>Approved by Order of the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated March 25, 2011 N 33n “On approval of the Instructions on the procedure for compiling and submitting annual and quarterly financial statements of state (municipal) budgetary and autonomous institutions.”

Thus, starting from 2013, all regulations governing the specifics of the formation of primary accounting documents, accounting registers and the preparation of financial statements used by state (municipal) institutions must not contradict Law No. 402-FZ.

Lost power...

Please note that from the moment Law No. 402-FZ comes into force on January 1, 2013, the following main legislative acts or their individual provisions will no longer be in force:

• Law N 129-FZ;
• Art. 9 of the Federal Law of December 31, 2002 N 187-FZ “On introducing amendments and additions to part two of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation and some other acts of legislation of the Russian Federation”;
• Art. 3 of the Federal Law of December 31, 2002 N 191-FZ "On introducing amendments and additions to Chapters 22, 24, 25, 26.2, 26.3 and 27 of the second part of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation and some other acts of legislation of the Russian Federation";
• Art. 12 of the Federal Law of 05/08/2010 N 83-FZ "On amendments to certain legislative acts of the Russian Federation in connection with the improvement of the legal status of state (municipal) institutions."

It is obvious that during 2012, in development of certain norms and provisions of the document, the legislator and the relevant ministries and departments will issue legislative and regulatory acts. Therefore, the manager needs to closely monitor changes in legislation governing accounting and the emergence of accounting standards. In turn, on the pages of the magazine we will promptly and in detail tell readers about the most important documents.

A.S.Kanashin

Saint Petersburg

9. Accounting structure and status of the chief accountant of the enterprise

Accounting? This is an independent structural unit of an economic entity, consisting of various units that perform certain accounting functions to ensure the economic activities of enterprises, organizations and institutions. It is headed by the chief accountant, who subordinates accounting and accounting workers. The staffing level of the accounting department is determined depending on the size of the enterprise, the volume of manufactured products and the level of accounting automation.

The accounting department of an enterprise can distinguish the following departments:

1) settlement department;

2) material department;

3) production and costing department;

4) general department.

There are 4 main types of accounting organization:

1) linear (hierarchical)? all accounting employees report directly to the chief accountant;

2) line-staff (vertical)? intermediate management links (groups, departments, sectors) are created, headed by senior accountants;

3) functional? distribution of labor between workers and the performance of homogeneous operations by each of them;

4) combined? used in large enterprises and production associations.

The central figure in accounting activities is Chief Accountant. Its status is enshrined in Art. 7 Federal Law “On Accounting”. Job responsibilities and requirements for the chief accountant are set out in the Qualification Directory of Positions of Managers, Specialists and Other Employees (approved.

Who does accounting report to in an enterprise?

In accordance with this regulatory act The chief accountant organizes the work on setting up and maintaining accounting records of an organization in order to obtain complete and reliable information about its financial and economic activities and financial position by interested internal and external users. The chief accountant also forms, in accordance with the legislation on accounting, an accounting policy based on the specifics of business conditions, structure, size, industry affiliation and other features of the organization’s activities, which allows timely receipt of information for planning, analysis, control, assessment of the financial position and results of the organization’s activities.

According to the provisions of the regulatory act under consideration The chief accountant leads the work:

1) on the preparation and approval of a working chart of accounts containing synthetic and analytical accounts, forms of primary accounting documents used for registration of business transactions, forms of internal accounting reporting;

2) to ensure the procedure for conducting an inventory and assessment of property and liabilities, documentary evidence of their availability, compilation and assessment;

3) on organizing a system of internal control over the correct execution of business transactions, compliance with the document flow procedure, technology for processing accounting information and its protection from unauthorized access.

The chief accountant also manages formation of an information system for accounting and reporting in accordance with the requirements of accounting, tax, statistical and management accounting, ensures the provision of the necessary accounting information to internal and external users and accounting employees.

The chief accountant of the enterprise organizes the work:

1) to improve the qualifications of accounting employees;

2) on setting up and maintaining accounting records of the organization;

3) on maintaining accounting registers based on the use of modern information technologies, progressive forms and methods of accounting and control, execution of cost estimates, accounting of property, liabilities, fixed assets, inventories, cash, financial, settlement and credit transactions, costs production and circulation, sales of products, performance of work (services), financial results of the organization.

The chief accountant of the enterprise provides:

1) timely and accurate reflection in the accounting accounts of business transactions, movement of assets, generation of income and expenses, fulfillment of obligations;

2) control over compliance with the procedure for preparing primary accounting documents;

3) timely transfer of taxes and fees to the federal, regional and local budgets, insurance contributions to state extra-budgetary social funds, payments to credit organizations, funds to finance capital investments, repayment of loan arrears; control over the expenditure of the wage fund, the organization and correctness of calculations for the remuneration of employees, the conduct of inventories, the procedure for maintaining accounting records, reporting, as well as conducting documentary audits in the divisions of the organization;

4) drawing up a report on the execution of cash budgets and cost estimates, preparing the necessary accounting and statistical reports, submitting them in the prescribed manner to the relevant authorities;

5) safety of accounting documents and their delivery in the prescribed manner to the archive.

The chief accountant of an enterprise also provides methodological assistance to department heads and other employees of the organization on issues of accounting, control, reporting and analysis of business activities.

The knowledge requirements for the chief accountant of an enterprise are also contained in the Qualification Directory of positions for managers, specialists and other employees. Thus, according to the said normative act, the chief accountant should know:

Accounting legislation;

Fundamentals of civil law;

Financial, tax and economic legislation;

Regulatory and methodological documents on the organization of accounting and reporting, economic and financial activities of the organization;

Regulations and instructions for organizing accounting, rules for its maintenance;

Codes of Ethics for Professional Accountants and Corporate Governance;

Profile, specialization and structure of the organization, strategy and prospects for its development;

Tax, statistical and management accounting;

The procedure for registering accounting transactions and organizing document flow in accounting areas, writing off shortages, receivables and other losses from accounting accounts, accepting, capitalizing, storing and spending money, inventory and other valuables, conducting audits; forms and procedure for financial settlements;

Conditions for taxation of legal entities and individuals;

Rules for conducting inventories of funds and inventory, settlements with debtors and creditors, conducting inspections and documentary audits;

The procedure and timing for drawing up balance sheets and reporting;

Modern reference and information systems in the field of accounting and financial management;

Methods for analyzing the financial and economic activities of an organization;

Rules for storing accounting documents and protecting information;

Advanced domestic and foreign experience in organizing accounting;

Economics, organization of production, labor and management;

Basics of production technology;

Labor legislation;

Labor safety rules.

The chief accountant (an accountant in the absence of a chief accountant position on the staff) is appointed to the position and dismissed by the head of the organization. He reports directly to the head of the organization and is responsible for the formation of accounting policies, accounting, timely submission of complete and reliable financial statements (clauses 1, 2, article 7 of the Federal Law “On Accounting”).

According to paragraph 3 of Art. 7 of the Federal Law “On Accounting”, the chief accountant ensures compliance of ongoing business transactions with the legislation of the Russian Federation, control over the movement of property and the fulfillment of obligations.

The requirements of the chief accountant must be met by all employees of the organization. Cash and settlement documents, financial and credit obligations are considered valid from the moment they are signed by the chief accountant. In case of disagreements between the head of the organization and the chief accountant regarding the implementation of certain business transactions, documents on them can be accepted for execution with a written order from the head of the organization, who bears full responsibility for the consequences of such operations (clause 4 of article 7 of the Federal Law “On Accounting” ").

The responsibilities of the chief accountant are also formulated in the Qualification Directory of Positions of Managers, Specialists and Other Employees.