The adoption of the new accounting law No. 402-FZ instead of the invalid 129-FZ introduced changes to a number of important concepts. Thus, instead of the familiar concept of “Russian accounting standards” (RAS), 402-FZ introduced the concept of “federal accounting standards”. In the article we will consider whether changes in the wording have affected the work of accountants, and we will dwell on the prospects for the development of the Federal Accounting Service.
Where did RAS disappear?
The update of PBU 1/2008 “Accounting Policies of the Organization” was removed from the program, since it was carried out within the framework of the previous program. The main change concerns organizations preparing consolidated statements in accordance with IFRS. Now such organizations have the right not to use the accounting method according to national rules when such a method contradicts the requirements of IFRS. This innovation has already raised a number of questions, including whether organizations that prepare IFRS reports voluntarily can apply such innovations? Today there is a position that yes, there are no restrictions on the application of IFRS rules even for those who do this voluntarily. In addition, given the range of choice of accounting methods, it is impossible to refuse to apply the national rule if there is any IFRS accounting method, although it is not enshrined in the accounting policy of the organization.
This goal has not yet been embodied in the new FSBUs and has not affected the previously adopted ones. However, at the moment, the deadline established for public discussion of the following FBU projects has expired:
- stocks;
- fixed assets;
- intangible assets;
- changes to PBU 3/2006.
Also on the website of the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation there is a draft of the new FSBU “Rent Accounting”.
Important information from the Russian Ministry of Finance for all accountants. Officials approved a new program for developing federal accounting standards for 2018-2019 and delayed the start of some already approved standards for several years. Thus, the “Fixed Assets” standard will become mandatory only in 2020.
What's happened?
The Russian Ministry of Finance issued order of June 7, 2017 No. 85n, which approved a new program for the development of federal accounting standards for 2018-2019. The previous program for 2016-2018 has become invalid. In fact, officials have revised the timing of the entry into force of key federal accounting standards.
New deadlines for introducing federal standards
According to the new program, instead of the previously planned 2018, the following accounting standards will become mandatory in 2019:
- "Stocks";
- "Intangible assets".
The following standards will come into effect in 2020:
- "Fixed assets";
- “Documents and document flow in accounting”;
- "Financial statements".
It was previously assumed that these standards would also come into effect in 2018. In addition, the Ministry of Finance postponed the start date of the following standards from 2019 to 2020:
- "Income";
- "Expenses";
- "Rent".
The list of accounting standards in the program has also undergone significant changes. The Ministry of Finance decided to abandon the development of several standards, in particular, the following were excluded from the list:
- “Reorganization of legal entities”;
- “Financial assets and liabilities”;
- "Employee Benefits";
- “Chart of Accounts”;
- PBU 1/2008 “Accounting policies of the organization.”
Instead, new standards appeared in the program:
- "Financial instruments";
- "Mining";
- “Accounts receivable and payable (including debt costs)”;
- "Unfinished capital investments."
Some of them will take effect in 2020, and some only in 2021, unless officials change their plans again by then.
Why are federal standards needed?
Let us recall that accounting standardization presupposes the existence of legislative acts that make compliance with standards mandatory for accountants of various organizations. First of all, federal accounting standards will become mandatory for organizations and institutions of the public sector. Commercial organizations will also have to be guided by them in order not to deviate from uniform accounting and reporting requirements.
FSBU, or federal accounting standards, are newly introduced provisions for accounting in public sector institutions. The change in accounting in the budgetary sector began back in 2018 - the first five Federal Accounting Standards were introduced. In 2019, the second five standards were introduced. We analyze federal accounting standards from 2019, or how public sector employees should work according to the new rules.
New accounting standards 2019
From 01/01/2019, new accounting standards 2019 are mandatory for use by all public sector institutions. Now public sector organizations do not have the right to keep records in circumvention of the new rules and regulations. It is worth noting that most of the provisions do not contain fundamental changes, but only consolidate the standards that were in force before, but only at the level of recommendations.
So, federal accounting standards from 2019 for the public sector:
- Accounting policies, estimates and errors (No. 274n dated December 30, 2017).
- Events after the reporting date (No. 275n dated December 30, 2017).
- Income (No. 32n dated February 27, 2018).
- Cash flow statement (No. 278n dated December 30, 2017).
- The impact of changes in foreign currency exchange rates (No. 122n dated February 30, 2018).
Let us outline the main innovations in more detail: accounting standards 2019.
Accounting policy 2019
Now public sector employees are required to draw up accounting policies based on the provisions of FSBU No. 274n. However, the indicated Order of the Ministry of Finance does not provide for fundamental changes. In essence, the new provisions on accounting policies are the current provisions of Law No. 402-FZ. Note that there are also innovations.
Thus, the FSB identified the following aspects:
- The person responsible for drawing up the accounting policy is specified. This is the chief accountant or another person entrusted with accounting responsibilities.
- The finished document must be publicly available. In other words, the UP is subject to publication on the official website of the institution.
- Subordinate institutions must develop their own management programs based on the provisions of a higher organization, ministry, or department.
- The cases of making changes and additions to the document are limited.
The new procedure for drawing up the CP taking into account changes in the FSBU is in a separate material.
Events after the reporting date
This FSBU established not only the concepts of events after the reporting date, but also the rules for their reflection in accounting depending on the period of their occurrence. The standard outlined the classification of events of this nature. So, depending on what type of event a particular event belongs to, the way it is reflected in the accounting records of the institution also depends. The standard also reveals the specifics of including this information in the organization’s reporting.
Let us recall that previously such provisions were disclosed only in the accounting policies of the institution. Moreover, each economic entity could establish its own exclusive rules. New accounting standards 2019 have eliminated these disagreements. Now events after the reporting date can be reflected in accounting only in accordance with the designated standards, and nothing else.
FSBU: Revenues
The initial concept of income was presented in the FSBU 2018 “Conceptual Framework”. This is the receipt of economic benefits or an increase in the useful potential of assets determined during the reporting period. Moreover, investments and contributions from the founder cannot be counted as income. It is also impossible to recognize as income the non-monetary exchange of goods, works, and services between counterparties without making appropriate payments.
The new 2019 accounting standards for income should not be applied to all cases. So, for example, the FSBU “Income” is not applicable when selling fixed assets or intangible assets, when receiving rental payments, when receiving gratuitous income and in other situations.
Now income should be divided into two groups. Those received from exchange transactions are called exchange income. These include income from transactions with assets and property of the institution. Non-exchange income is those received from non-exchange transactions. These include revenues from taxes, contributions, fines, gratuitous budget revenues, compensation for penalties, damage, harm, etc.
Impact of changes in foreign exchange rates
Current accounting standards establish that any operation of the economic activity of a subject must be reflected in accounting in ruble equivalent. That is, if the transaction was carried out in foreign currency, then the amount must be recalculated. The procedure and rules for recalculation establish accounting standards for public sector employees starting in 2019.
The new FSBU establishes methods and procedures for recalculating the value of assets and liabilities provided for foreign Russian institutions. The provisions also establish the rules for reflecting this information in the reporting of public sector organizations.
Current accounting standards 2018
Since January 2018, five federal accounting standards have been in force, approved by Orders of the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation on December 31, 2016:
- Conceptual Framework of Accounting and Reporting for Public Sector Organizations (No. 256n).
- Fixed assets (No. 257n).
- Rent (No. 258n).
- Impairment of assets (No. 259n).
- Providing accounting (financial) statements (No. 260n).
The program for introducing new accounting is regulated by Order of the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated October 31, 2017 No. 170n. Future innovations will affect the procedure for developing accounting policies, the rules for reflecting events after the reporting date, the algorithm for reflecting contingent liabilities and assets, and so on.
Federal standard 2018: fixed assets
In accounting for fixed assets in public sector institutions, the grouping of fixed assets will change: now non-residential premises, buildings and structures will be combined into one group, and a separate category has been created for perennial plantings. The institution's library collection will no longer be allocated to a separate group.
The federal standard “fixed assets 2018” introduces a completely new concept of “investment real estate” for immovable objects of an institution that are rented out or increase the value of the remaining property. However, such real estate cannot be used by the institution to carry out its main activities.
Since 2018, fixed assets can be accounted for comprehensively. For example, combine office equipment into one object. In a similar way, you can combine office furniture (table, cabinet, chair) or other objects.
The boundaries of the cost of fixed assets have been changed. Now all objects costing less than 10,000 rubles will be classified as low-value. They should be accounted for in an off-balance sheet account.
100% depreciation is now charged on fixed assets worth up to 100,000 rubles, as in tax accounting. Library collections worth up to 100,000 rubles are accounted for in a similar way.
For objects costing over 100,000 rubles, depreciation will be calculated in a new way. There will be three methods:
- linear;
- reducing balance;
- proportional to the volume of products produced.
You will have to recalculate and add additional depreciation. To help public sector accountants, the Ministry of Finance has issued guidelines for the transition and implementation of new rules. The instructions are contained in Letter No. 02-07-07/79257 dated November 30, 2017.
Major changes to the 2018 OS standard
Federal reporting standard
The 2018 Accounting Standard on Reporting contains a new methodology for the preparation and presentation of financial statements. Some reporting data will have to be disclosed.
The assets and liabilities of the institution will be divided into short-term and long-term, or current and non-current, respectively.
Officials also identified a number of principles that the institution’s budget reporting must meet:
- relevance (relevance);
- reliable presentation (completeness, neutrality, absence of significant errors);
- verification;
- timeliness;
- materiality;
- comparability;
- clarity.
Lease - federal accounting standard 2018
If an institution leases property or leases fixed assets, such transactions should be carried out in accordance with the new federal standard 2018. In order to correctly reflect transactions in accounting, it is necessary to determine which category the lease belongs to: operating (non-financial) or non-operating (financial) .
Property received under a non-operating transaction should be included in the fixed assets of a budget institution. However, a monetary liability in the amount of rent payable should also be taken into account at the same time.
An institution has the right not to apply these rules if a state organization is provided with assets for temporary possession or use. For example, biological or intangible assets for temporary use.
Ask questions and we will supplement the article with answers and explanations!
A distinctive feature of accounting in Russia is its strict regulation. The state regulates the national accounting system through a number of mandatory regulations. In turn, organizations, guided by the requirements of the regulator, form a package of local acts to regulate the internal accounting process, based on industry specifics, business conditions, structure, management needs and other factors. All documents that in one way or another regulate accounting and the preparation of financial statements in a single company, depending on the decrease in their legal status, can be conditionally presented in the form of a four-level hierarchical system.
Founding document first level– this is the Federal Law of December 6, 2011 No. 402-FZ On Accounting (hereinafter referred to as Law No. 402-FZ). The law establishes:
circle of persons obliged to maintain accounting records;
composition of accounting objects;
methods of organizing accounting at an enterprise;
requirements for the chief accountant for certain categories of economic entities;
main elements of accounting policies;
the procedure for preparing primary accounting documents and accounting registers;
general requirements for financial reporting and its composition;
the need to conduct inventories and organize internal control;
storage periods for accounting documents.
The law also covers in detail the issues of accounting regulation, including relevant principles, documents, subjects, and functions of regulatory bodies. Separate articles of Law No. 402-FZ are devoted to federal and industry accounting standards.
Regulation of accounting in the Russian Federation at the state level is carried out by the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation (Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation) and the Central Bank of the Russian Federation (CBRF). The Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation approves the program for the development of federal standards, federal standards and, within its competence, industry standards, organizes the examination of draft accounting standards and carries out other functions provided for by Law No. 402-FZ and other legislative acts. The second regulator, the Central Bank of the Russian Federation, is responsible for the legal and methodological regulation of legal relations in accounting in relation to banks and non-credit financial organizations.
As for the development of the standards themselves, Law No. 402-FZ delegates this right to subjects of non-state regulation of accounting, including professional associations, associations, unions and other non-profit organizations aimed at developing accounting. In turn, the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation is assigned the obligation to develop federal standards intended for public sector enterprises, and other federal standards in the event that not a single subject of non-state regulation of accounting has exercised its right to prepare the corresponding project.
In practice, the developer of the federal accounting standard (FSBU) can be any entity mentioned above that has come up with the appropriate initiative. After preparing the project, the developer sends a notification to the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation and posts a preliminary version of the standard on its official website on the Internet for public discussion. After completion of the discussion, which lasts for at least three months, the finalized draft standard and the list of comments received in writing from interested parties are published on the developer’s website for public review, after which these documents are sent to the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation for examination in the prescribed manner. Upon completion of the examination, the draft standard is accepted by the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation for approval or rejected with a reasoned decision attached.
Currently, only one document has undergone a fully described approval procedure - this is FSB 25/2018 Lease Accounting. Public discussion of three projects has been completed - FSBU Fixed Assets, FSBU Inventories and FSBU Unfinished Capital Investments. The developer of the FSBU is the Foundation “National non-state accounting regulator “Accounting Methodological Center” (BMC).
Until the approval of federal standards, rules for accounting and reporting are applied, the sources of which are accounting provisions - documents second level in the system of hierarchy of accounting regulations.
Among the accounting regulations, the central place is occupied by the Regulations on Accounting and Financial Reporting in the Russian Federation, which regulates general issues of accounting and reporting. The Regulations disclose the requirements for organizing and maintaining accounting records, drawing up and submitting reports, documenting business transactions and conducting inventories. In addition, the Regulations contain rules for assessing certain types of assets and liabilities of an economic entity.
It should be noted that the Regulation largely duplicates and develops the norms of the Federal Law of November 21, 1996 “On Accounting” No. 129-FZ, which has lost force, as a result of which a number of its provisions do not comply with the requirements of Law No. 402-FZ. This concerns the use of unified forms of primary documents, deadlines for drawing up interim financial statements, reflecting the facts of economic activity before the state registration of the company, checking the status and assessment of assets and liabilities during inventory, etc. Therefore, the Regulations apply to the extent that they do not contradict Law No. 402-FZ. The same applies to the Accounting Regulations (PBU), which address private issues related to accounting and disclosure of business transactions.
Depending on the purpose of use, PBUs are classified into provisions:
regulating general issues of organizing the accounting process and preparing financial statements;
defining rules for accounting for certain types of property and liabilities;
establishing the features of the formation of financial results;
used in certain sectors of the national economy;
Third level present methodological guidelines and recommendations, instructions, comments, letters from the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation and other ministries and departments involved in regulating the accounting process in the Russian Federation. These documents are of a clarifying and recommendatory nature on certain issues of accounting and reporting that have not been sufficiently fully considered or not regulated by higher-level documents.
A special document of this level is the Chart of Accounts, which is a list of synthetic accounts and sub-accounts used by accountants to reflect business transactions in accounting. The instructions attached to the plan give a brief description of their structure, purpose and economic content, discuss the procedure for reflecting the most common facts of economic activity, and provide correspondence accounts.
Included in the documents fourth level includes local acts and internal regulations that form the accounting policy of the organization in methodological, technical and organizational aspects.
In order to reduce the accounting burden and reduce labor costs, domestic legislators have provided some preferences for individual business entities. Thus, in accordance with Law No. 402-FZ, individual entrepreneurs (IP) have the right to completely refuse to maintain accounting records if they record taxable items in the manner established by tax legislation. There are no opportunities for organizations to be exempt from accounting. All legal entities, regardless of their form of ownership, size, industry, business structure and applicable tax regime, are required to maintain accounting records and prepare financial statements. However, some of them have the right to carry out these procedures according to a simplified scheme. Such enterprises include non-profit organizations, participants in the Skolkovo project and most small businesses. These business entities are allowed to apply a simplified accounting procedure, including: using an abbreviated chart of accounts; do not take into account individual requirements of PBUs and do not apply some PBUs as a whole; generate financial statements in a reduced volume, presenting relevant information on groups of items without their detail.
Why can we talk about 2017 as the last without fundamental changes in accounting?
Because the Russian Ministry of Finance has prepared a new order, which presents an updated version of the Program for the Development of Federal Accounting Standards (hereinafter referred to as FSBU). Currently, the order is at the stage of completing the development and formation of the final version of the text. You can track the timing of its adoption and entry into force, as well as familiarize yourself with the final version.
This is the second document on this topic. Just last year, the Russian Ministry of Justice already registered (No. 42294) the order of the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation dated May 23, 2016 No. 70n “On approval of the Program for the Development of Federal Accounting Standards for 2016-2018.” The provisions of the new order will supersede this document.
Well, let's see what the updated program looks like.
Table FSBU development program for 2017 - 2019.
| № | Working title of the draft standard | Deadline for submitting notification of the development of a draft standard | Deadline for submitting the draft standard to the Accounting Standards Board | Estimated date of entry into force of the standard for mandatory application | Responsible executors (developers of draft standards) |
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1. Development of FSBU |
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| 1.1 | Reserves | presented | II quarter 2017 | Foundation "NRBU "BMC"* |
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| 1.2 | Intangible assets | presented | II quarter 2017 | Foundation "NRBU "BMC" |
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| 1.3 | Rent | II quarter 2017 | III quarter 2017 | Ministry of Finance of Russia |
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| 1.4 | Fixed assets | presented | IV quarter 2017 | Foundation "NRBU "BMC" |
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| 1.5 | Unfinished capital investments | III quarter 2017 | IV quarter 2017 | Foundation "NRBU "BMC" |
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| 1.6 | Accounts receivable and payable (including debt costs) | III quarter 2017 | I quarter 2018 | Foundation "NRBU "BMC" |
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| 1.7 | Documents and document flow in accounting | IV quarter 2017 | I quarter 2018 | Ministry of Finance of Russia |
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| 1.8 | Financial statements | I quarter 2018 | II quarter 2018 | |||||||
| 1.9 | Non-profit activities | II quarter 2018 | III quarter 2018 | Foundation "NRBU "BMC" |
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| 1.10 | Income | II quarter 2018 | IV quarter 2018 | NP "IPB Russia"*** |
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| 1.11 | Expenses | II quarter 2018 | IV quarter 2018 | NP "IPB Russia" |
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| 1.12 | Financial instruments | IV quarter 2018 | II quarter 2019 | Foundation "NRBU "BMC" |
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| 1.13 | Mining | I quarter 2019 | IV quarter 2019 | Foundation "NSFO"**** |
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| 1.14 | Participation in affiliated organizations and joint activities | II quarter 2019 | III quarter 2019 | Ministry of Finance of Russia |
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2. Amendments to the PBU |
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| № | Name | Deadline for submitting notification of project development | Deadline for submitting the project to the Accounting Standards Board | Estimated Effective Date | Responsible executors |
| 2.1 | Changes to PBU 3/2006 “Accounting for assets and liabilities, the value of which is expressed in foreign currency” | presented | II quarter 2017 | Ministry of Finance of Russia |
|
| 2.2 | Changes to PBU 18/02 “Accounting for corporate income tax calculations” | IV quarter 2017 | I quarter 2018 | Ministry of Finance of Russia |
|
| 2.3 | Changes to PBU 13/2000 “Accounting for state aid” | I quarter 2018 | II quarter 2018 | Ministry of Finance of Russia |
|
| 2.4 | Changes to PBU 16/02 “Information on discontinued operations” | II quarter 2018 | III quarter 2018 | Ministry of Finance of Russia |
|
* Accounting Development Fund “National non-state accounting regulator “Accounting Methodological Center”.
** Self-regulatory organization of auditors “Russian Union of Auditors”.
*** Non-profit partnership “Institute of Professional Accountants and Auditors of Russia”.
**** Foundation “National Organization for Financial Accounting and Reporting Standards”
Changes to PBU
In addition to the introduction of new standards, it is expected that in 2017 - 2020. Changes will be made to the current PBU.Draft changes to , are currently being prepared.
And PBU 3/2006 “Accounting for assets and liabilities, the value of which is expressed in foreign currency” has already been presented for public discussion.
What will most likely be accepted at first?
Three federal standards - “Fixed assets”, “Inventories”, “Intangible assets”, the responsible developers of which are stated by the BMC, have already been submitted for discussion.This means that next year there is a fairly high probability of their adoption. It is planned that from the date of entry into force of these regulations, organizations will be given the right to apply them proactively.
I highly recommend doing this, since a lot of systematic work will be required to prepare and switch to their use. From 2019, previously existing standards will no longer be in force, and new ones will be mandatory.
The new standards can be found on the website of the Accounting Methodological Center:
What should accountants do now?
The news about the approval of the program for developing federal standards has practical significance. Since there are no plans to change the order of presentation of comparable data in the annual accounting statements, I propose to look at the 2019 balance sheet from this point of view. In 2018, organizations will have to provide data on assets and liabilities for three reporting dates: 12/31/2019, 12/31/2018 and... that’s right - 12/31/2017!I draw the attention of accountants to the obvious fact: the easiest way to collect information comparable for future periods is in the process of preparing the current annual report, since the figures are familiar at this point.
It is for this reason that bringing them to the future order (or at least making marks to highlight assets, liabilities and transactions that require adjustments for comparison) at a time when the 2017 numbers are not yet known will end up being less labor-intensive.
In two years, it will take much more time to obtain the same results: first, you will need to remember the history of the 2017 numbers, and then identify new accounting objects and evaluate the necessary adjustments.