The accounting statements of the financial statements are different. Accounting and financial reporting: briefly about the main

Dmitry Ryabykh General Director of Alt-Invest LLC, Moscow

What questions can you find answers to in this article

• What is the difference between financial and management reporting from accounting.
• What practical conclusions can be drawn from the analysis of profitability of sales
• What indicators of management reporting should be known to the CEO
• What potential investors pay attention to

There are three types of company reporting: accounting (tax), financial and management. Let's figure out what are the features of each of them.

Accounting (tax) reporting make up all Russian companies... These statements include "Balance Sheet", "Profit and Loss Statement", tax returns and a number of other forms. It is interesting in that it is subject to verification by state bodies, which is why financial statements- the first thing that your creditors or partners of the company will want to study. However, if your company uses gray schemes in its work, then the reporting data will be distorted, and you are unlikely to be able to adequately assess the situation in the company. That is why the company must also have either financial and management reporting, or simply management.

Financial statements may look like an accounting (tax) one. but financial statements has an important difference. It is not compiled for reasons of conformity legislative regulations and optimization of taxes, while focusing on the most accurate reflection of real financial processes in business. This, for example, concerns the accounting of liabilities, write-off of costs, depreciation, valuation of share capital.

Management reporting concentrates on the internal aspects of the enterprise. For example, it can be any production data (such management reporting can be prepared for you by the production director), information on work with debtors and creditors, data on stocks and similar numbers. Without reflecting the full picture of the business, management reporting provides a good basis for setting goals and monitoring their achievement. It is especially important to draw up management reports in small and medium-sized companies, which do not conduct all data officially. In fact, only guided by management reporting, you will be able to assess the real state of affairs in the company (see also Two principles of work with any reporting).

Key indicators of financial statements

Financial statements are usually prepared by large enterprises. At the same time, they are guided by International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) or American GAAP. For managers of small and medium-sized companies, I recommend forming the indicators described below, at least within the framework of management reporting. You can entrust this work to the financial director or chief accountant.

1. Profitability of sales. it the most important indicator, it is on him that you need to pay attention first of all. The profitability of sales, that is, the ratio of net profit to turnover, is never calculated on the basis of financial statements, it is a financial report that is needed here. If it is not there, then you should analyze the management reporting. A rise in profit margins is a good thing, but a drop indicates problems. The rate of return is usually determined by the enterprise itself; its value depends on the market sector, the chosen strategy and a number of other factors.

High profitability is a signal that a company can invest much more freely in long-term projects and spend money on business development and increasing competitiveness. Success must be developed and consolidated. When profitability is low, it is necessary to determine a set of measures aimed either at increasing sales or at reducing costs. Or try to influence both sales and cost. For example, you can reduce investment in long-term projects, try to get rid of non-production costs.

2. Working capital. You can analyze working capital both on the basis of financial statements and on the basis of accounting statements. However, the conclusions will be different. The financial statements assess the quality of the actual working capital management. The analysis includes the study of the most common indicators:

• inventory turnover (reflects the speed of inventory sales, while high inventory turnover increases the requirements for the stability of the supply of materials and may affect the stability of the business);
• the turnover of receivables (shows the average time required to collect this debt, respectively, a low value of the ratio may indicate difficulties in collecting funds);
• accounts payable turnover.

Stocks and receivables Are funds frozen in the current business processes of the company. If they are large, then the company will become inactive, will bring low profit to shareholders, and will require loans. But on the other hand, a decrease in inventory can jeopardize production or trade, and strict requirements for debtors will affect the attractiveness of your company to potential customers. Each company must determine for itself the optimal values ​​of indicators and among the tasks of financial management that the General Director should be interested in, not the last place will be taken by regular monitoring of the level of working capital.

Accounts payable, when increased, can provide a free source of funding. But, as with accounts receivable, it cannot simply be increased - this will affect the liquidity and solvency of the company. Here, too, the optimal value should be determined, to which one should strive.

An analysis of items of working capital based on financial statements (in particular, section II of the balance sheet "Current assets") will show you, for example, how well the workflow is established in the company. To do this, compare the turnover on the balance sheet with the turnover calculated according to the data of financial or management reports, as well as with your optimal values. If the data diverges, it means that not all financial documents reach the accounting department. Because of this, nonexistent reserves, assets, and liabilities begin to accumulate on the accounting accounts and, accordingly, in the balance sheet. For example, some costs have already been written off to production, but in the balance they are still listed under the item "Inventories". The appearance of such "garbage" also indicates that your company carries unnecessary tax risks and also does not use legal opportunities to reduce tax payments.

3. Assets and liabilities... These characteristics determine the long-term financial position of the company. In operational management, these indicators should be monitored by financial services. But it is also useful for you to periodically ask a number of questions from this area:

• Does the company have enough fixed assets? Are they maintained in the new state? This is relatively easy to verify. Annual investments in equipment and transport should be no less than the depreciation of property (and as a rule, more by 20-30% to compensate for inflation).
• What is total amount obligations of the company? What is the share of the liability in the assets of the company? How much does the annual turnover cover obligations?
• What is the share of interest-bearing debt (bank loans and other liabilities that require fixed interest payments)? How much does the annual income cover the interest payments?

Otherwise, you can leave the financial statements for analysis to the CFO.

Management reporting

If the financial and accounting statements are built according to uniform rules and cover all the activities of the company, then the management reports are individual and, as a rule, focus on certain aspects of the work. Among the management reports that the CEO studies, most often there are:

1. Report on production indicators, that is, the physical volume of work. The content of this report is highly dependent on the type of business. If this industrial production, then the report indicates the number of units produced and shipped to customers. In trading, it can be either monetary indicators sales, or physical volumes of sales for key products. In the project business, such a report can be based on schedules for the implementation of work plans.

2. Analysis of the structure of income and costs. The report may include the cost of goods sold and the profitability of its sale, or may reflect only the situation as a whole. The task of the General Director, when studying these reports, is to see items of costs that are unreasonably growing, and also to find that some of the services or products the company begins to sell to itself at a loss. Accordingly, the cost structure is selected so that on its basis it was possible to easily formulate the tasks to be solved. A very common option is to structure all costs both by item and by place of origin (departments, branches, etc.).

Let's bring all of the above into a single plan, according to which the General Director can build his work with reporting. You can tailor this plan to suit your particular business. However, for a start, you can use it without changes (see. table).

Table. What reporting metrics a CEO should study

The company through the eyes of a lender or investor

The last element of financial analysis that you can perform is the valuation of the company from the perspective of shareholders and creditors. It is better to do it on the basis of financial statements, since it is these statements that the bank will use. The simplest assessment option includes:

• payment credit rating companies using the methodology of one of the banks;
• business value calculation. One way of calculating is comparing with other companies. In this case, one or two key "value drivers" are determined and market coefficients are calculated for them.

Calculating these metrics from scratch can be inconvenient. But by including them in the set of standard reporting provided by financial services, you will have a good picture in front of your eyes, reflecting a strategic view of the state of affairs in the company.

It is known that a company working with good bank or an investor, often has a stable financial condition. This is due, among other things, to the fact that its activities are regularly monitored based on objective reporting data, and deviations from the recommended indicators cause a harsh reaction from the investor. Any company can achieve a similar result. But for this you should more often rely in your judgments and orders on the data of financial and management reporting.

Two principles of work with any reporting

1. No report is perfect or universal. Some aspects are reflected worse, others are better. Therefore, it is important to understand what was most important in preparing the report you are studying and focus only on this. As a rule, from each report you can glean two or three indicators, which are most accurately reflected in it, so you will inevitably have to work with different sources data for analysis.

2. Study only what you can control. If, on the basis of some report, you do not plan to set goals for your subordinates, then this report may be interesting, but it is not directly related to the management of the company. It is better to put it on the background. Of paramount importance are reports that can be directly used for strategic or tactical purposes of the company and by which it is possible to calculate the degree of achievement of these goals.

Petrova Anna Nikolaevna,
Cand. econom. Sci., Associate Professor of the Department of Accounting and Auditing
Faculty of Economics,
Mari State Technical University, Yoshkar-Ola,
Russian entrepreneurship,
No.4 (202) / February 2012

Profit and Loss Statement 2 serves to measure the profitability of an enterprise for a certain period by correlating expenses and income. But it lacks the moment when the movement took place Money and the impact of production activities on liquidity and solvency. This information is provided by the Statement of Cash Flows 3. The need to draw up this report in international practice defined by International Financial Reporting Standard No. 7 “Cash Flow Reports”. Most estimates of accounting objects are based on data on cash flows in the past, present and _ future. Income is considered as an increase in cash from the sale of products, goods, services, expenses - as paid or expected to be paid for services, etc. Thus, the inflow and outflow of funds are the main factors in the economic life of the enterprise. It is no coincidence that assumptions were made about the complete replacement of the Profit and Loss Statement and Balance Sheet 4 with a Cash Flow Statement. In our opinion, this is somewhat incorrect. The income statement reflects all income received and all expenses incurred. The cash flow statement reflects the income that is received in cash and the expenses paid. And which of the reports is better depends only on what needs to be measured.

1 Material from the series "Analytical reviews". - Approx. ed.

2 Profit and loss statement is one of the main standard forms of financial statements of organizations approved by order of the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated 02.07.2010 No. 66n (Appendix 1). - Approx. ed.

3 Cash flow statement is one of the standard forms of financial statements of organizations approved by order of the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated 02.07.2010 No. 66n (Appendix 2). - Approx. ed.

Cash receipts from financing and investment activities

International Financial Reporting Standards 5 recommend dividing cash receipts and payments for production, financial and investment activities applies to all items of the Profit and Loss Statement, Also balance sheet items such as accounts receivable, inventories, accounts payable, prepayment. Financial activities includes funds received from owners and their return either in the form of cash or in the form of dividends. It also includes funds received from creditors and payment of obligations. Investment activities reflects different accommodation options valuable papers that are not cash equivalents and other assets that generate income for a long time.

4 We are talking about the Balance Sheet - the form of financial statements of organizations approved by order of the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated 02.07.2010 No. bbn (Appendix 1). Along with the Profit and Loss Statement, the Balance Sheet is considered to be the main form of reporting. - Approx. ed.

5 International Financial Reporting Standards in Russia are mainly applied by joint ventures. - Approx. ed.

There are two methods for determining the amount of cash as a result economic activity: indirect and direct. The indirect method involves adjusting net income for non-cash items. Positive side This method is that it facilitates a reconciliation of accounts that reflects the difference between net income and cash flow from business activities. The direct method is designed to reflect all cash receipts and payments related to production activities. This method in to a greater extent reflects the interests of creditors. The risks to which they are exposed are more associated with fluctuations in the amount of cash as a result of economic activities than with fluctuations in net income. The use of this method, in contrast to the indirect one, is costly. In most cases, preference is given to direct method, since, firstly, the amount of cash as a result of economic activity as an indicator is less susceptible to distortions than the amount of net profit. The reason lies in the use of the accrual method. Secondly, the net profit is subject to restrictions (elements of revenue and expenses are excluded that do not affect this moment for cash).

Cash flow statement

The cash flow statement has been introduced in Russia since 1996. However, there are still problems of compiling it related to the economic situation in the country, and the interpretation of the information it contains. In Russia, he did not receive the recognition that he has in international practice. When drawing up a statement of cash flows, it is necessary to show the owners and creditors that the company is able to provide a cash flow as a result of current activities. To this end, it is necessary to correctly attribute the amounts to the appropriate type of activity. It is important to use the report to eliminate internal turnovers that arise when funds are transferred and: from one item to another. International standard! No. 7 “Statements of Cash Flows” does not consider such a movement of funds as a movement. In the process of working with the information in the report, it is advisable to single out stable and random sources of funds for the enterprise. This procedure allows you to create an information base for forecasting future cash flows.

This report is linked to the Profit and Loss Statement and involves adjustments to some of its items. To obtain an indicator of net cash income from the main activity, the indicators of the Profit and Loss Statement are adjusted for expenses in the form of depreciation and some groups of balance sheet items, changes in which affect the financial results and the state of cash.

Capital flow statement

Another equally important report, introduced by international financial reporting standards, is the statement of capital flows 6. Its purpose is to disclose in detail the profits and losses that are not credited to the financial results accounts, but to the reserves accounts. The main articles of the Statement of Capital Flows in accordance with international accounting standards are: the amount of net profit or loss for the period; separately each amount of profit or loss, reflected in accordance with international standards for capital and reserve accounts; transactions with owners for participation in capital and distribution of profits; traffic retained earnings for the period; movement during the reporting period of each class of capital and reserves.

6 In the Russian financial statements there is a Cash Flow Statement (approved by order of the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated 02.07.2010 No. bbn (Appendix 2) .- Ed.

The financial reporting forms contain only the necessary information, which requires additional disclosure to ensure reliability. Its disclosure is given in the notes. They reflect information about the basis of the assessment; auxiliary information for articles of financial reporting forms, etc. Separately, in the notes, a section is highlighted. accounting policies that describes the measurement basis used to prepare the financial statements; accounting policy issues relevant to correct understanding financial reporting. Indicators presented in financial reporting forms are valuable when they are measured and interpreted to enable users to make decisions.

Differences between financial statements and accounting

1. Financial statements in their economic essence is the logical conclusion of the accounting procedure for a certain reporting period. As well as financial statements, it contains a number of basic forms, the names of which are recognized in world practice: Balance sheet, Profit and loss statement, Statement of cash flows (flows).

2. Financial reporting, in contrast to accounting, is focused more on an external user, for example, an investor who is ready to invest in the development of an enterprise. Therefore, it should disclose methods for assessing individual items that are not used in the preparation of traditional financial statements. Financial results can have different levels of development: on a gross or net basis. Financial statements presuppose the availability of data on value added, which can be drawn up by a special Report on Value Added. The main indicators of profit and its components can be determined depending on the goals of users: "earned profit", "net profit for investors", "net profit for holders of ordinary shares", etc.

3. The influence of the main groups of balance sheet items on financial results and on the state of cash allows you to determine the main directions of interpretation of financial statements and ways of adjusting the Profit and Loss Statement.

conclusions

The author believes that the financial statements can be prepared in parallel with the accounting and contain varying degrees of information detail. However, it is not the detailing of indicators that distinguishes financial statements from accounting statements, but rather the methods of reflecting information in different assessments not used for the preparation of traditional accounting statements.

Literature

1. Bernstein L.A. Analysis of financial statements: theory, practice and interpretation: trans. from English / Ed. prof. I'M IN. Sokolov. - M .: Finance and statistics, 1996.

2. Thomas P. Kazmin, Albert R. McLean. Analysis financial statements(based on GAAP). - M: INFRA-M, 1998.

3. Hendreksen E.S., Van Breda M.F. Accounting theory: per. from English / Ed. prof. I'M IN. Sokolov. - M .: Finance and Statistics, 1997.

"International accounting", 2012, N 18

The article highlights the main aspects of drawing up accounting (financial) statements in accordance with Russian legislation and international standards. Differences in reporting requirements in Russia and at the international level are identified. The composition of the financial statements, reporting definitions, the purpose of preparation, the reporting period and others are considered. important factors affecting reliability, information content and transparency.

The activities of business entities are associated with the presence of an appropriate economic space in which they consider areas of mutually beneficial cooperation with business partners.

An important role in this belongs to the financial reporting of the organization, which is a system economic indicators on the essence and results of the economic activity of the organization for a specific reporting period of time. The preparation and presentation of the organization's financial statements include tables calculated on the basis of accounting, statistical and operational accounting, and represent the final stage of accounting economic activity organizations.

Financial statements are a connecting link in the process of interaction between organizations and society and acts as an enterprise management tool.

Many Russian companies different types economic activities seek to enter international capital markets in order to attract financing for more favorable terms... This area is directly related to the preparation of financial statements in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) or generally accepted US accounting principles, the transparency and information content of which play a decisive role in attracting capital, finding partners and investors.

In this regard, the issue of preparing financial statements in accordance with international standards is of paramount importance for Russian companies.

There are, of course, negative aspects of the transition to international standards. These include:

• decrease in the value of the balance sheet profit;
• allocation of significant labor, financial and time resources;
• difficulty in assessing positive economic impact from the transition to IFRS at the initial stage.

In order to understand why financial statements that comply with IFRS are understandable for most users in all countries of the world, it is necessary to understand the requirements for reporting in Russia and at the international level.

Consider the definitions of reporting offered by the standards.

According to clause 4 of the Regulation on accounting"Financial statements of the organization" (PBU 4/99) financial statements- this is one system data on the property and financial position of the organization and on the results of its economic activities, compiled on the basis of accounting data in accordance with established forms.

According to clause 7 of IAS 1 "Presentation of Financial Statements" financial statements- This is reporting designed to meet the needs of those users who do not have the ability to receive reports prepared specifically to meet their specific information needs. It is a structured display of the financial position and financial performance of an organization.

It follows from the definitions that the standards use different terms: in Russian accounting standards (RAS) - financial statements, in IFRS - financial statements. It can also be said that the content of financial statements is broader than accounting statements. Financial statements can include additional types of reports, for example financial reviews company management, security reports environment, Official Value Added Bulletins.

Consider the composition of the reporting and compare the completeness.

According to IFRS full set financial reporting consists of the following components:

• statement of financial position at the end of the period;
• statement of comprehensive income for the period;
• statement of changes in equity for the period;
• cash flow statement for the period;
• notes, including a summary of significant elements of accounting policies and other explanatory information;
• the statement of financial position as at the beginning of the earliest comparative period when the entity applies an accounting policy retrospectively or retrospectively restates or reclassifies items in its financial statements.

For clarification, we clarify that, in accordance with IFRS, retrospective application is the application of a new accounting policy to transactions, other events and conditions in such a way as if this policy had always been applied, and retrospective restatement is a correction of the recognition, measurement and disclosure of amounts in elements financial statements as if a prior error had never been committed.

Let's pay attention to the wording of the reports. In accordance with IFRS, the exact wording of the name the listed forms reporting is optional. Organizations may use report titles that differ from those used in the standard. However, in this case, the condition applies - the names of the reporting forms must be understandable to users and reflect economic essence required financial indicators.

The statement of financial position designated in IFRS is analogous to the balance sheet, but more precisely characterized by its purpose and economic content. This form discloses indicators of assets, liabilities and capital, which fully inform the user about the financial position of the organization.

The statement of comprehensive income is analogous to the statement of financial results... But its interpretation is conditional and does not seem economically justified, since this report reflects not only income, but also expenses of the organization.

According to RAS, a complete set of financial statements consists of the following components:

• balance sheet;
• profit and loss statement;
• statement of changes in equity;
• cash flow statement;
• explanations to the balance sheet and income statement.

Thus, we can say that there are no fundamental differences in the composition of the main forms of reporting in international and domestic practice.

But the approach to information disclosure itself has significant differences. When reporting to international capital markets, the degree of disclosure is essential.

According to IAS 1, all reporting forms are basic and required without fail.

In Russian legislation, it is mandatory balance sheet and a profit and loss statement.

The status of the forms for reports on changes in capital and cash flows is interpreted as annexes to the balance sheet and income statement, and small businesses, at their own discretion, may not submit these forms.

The status of Form No. 5 is interpreted as explanations for Forms Nos. 1 and 2. These explanations can be drawn up both in the recommended tabular form and in the form of text.

The fundamental difference between Russian accounting and international accounting is the purpose of drawing up accounting (financial) statements.

According to the docs Russian system regulation accounting statements must provide reliable and full presentation about the financial position of the organization, financial results of its activities and changes in its financial position.

In IFRS, the main purpose of financial statements is to present information about the financial position, financial performance and cash flows of a company that is useful to a wide range of users when making economic solutions... The financial statements also reflect the results of the management of resources entrusted to the management of the company.

It follows from this that when formulating the purpose of preparing financial statements, IFRS prioritize the needs of actual and potential investors and financial institutions over other groups of users of financial statements and at the same time proceed from the assumption that information about the financial position of the organization, its results of operations and changes in financial regulation is necessary for a wide range of users and is able to meet their needs properly.

The purpose of the financial statements, formulated in RAS, generally coincides with the formulation of the goal in IFRS, but looks somewhat "impersonal" in regulatory documents... The consequence of this is that, in most cases, the reporting is not prepared in order to satisfy the interests of a wide range of users in the information they need to make economic decisions, but to formally fulfill the requirements of the legislation in terms of the procedure for drawing up and submitting reports.

Thus, if the reporting under IFRS is aimed at meeting the information needs of investors, then the reporting prepared in the Russian system is more likely to be of a fiscal nature. Financial statements prepared in accordance with RAS are used by tax authorities, bodies government controlled and statisticians who have different interests and different information needs.

In this regard, the accountant in its preparation is guided not by fundamental principles and not by professional judgment, but by the potential reaction of these user groups.

There is one more difference for the purposes of reporting under IFRS and RAS. It lies in the fact that for Russian users of financial statements, information about the financial results of a company is of the greatest interest, and in accordance with the content of international standards, reporting is aimed at generating reliable information about the financial position of a company, i.e. dynamics is important.

The next aspect that distinguishes Russian and international accounting is reporting period, reporting date and events after the reporting date.

In accordance with Russian legislation accounting statements are prepared for the reporting year, which is determined by the period from January 1 to December 31 of the calendar year inclusive. The first reporting year for newly created organizations is the period from the date of their state registration to December 31 of the corresponding year, and for organizations created after October 1 - to December 31 of the following year. The reporting date in the Russian accounting system is the last calendar day of the reporting period.

In accordance with IFRS, financial statements must be submitted at least annually. When, in exceptional circumstances, the company's balance sheet date changes and the annual financial statements are presented for a period longer or shorter than 1 year, the company must disclose, in addition to the period covered by the financial statements:

• the reason for using a period greater or less than a year;
• the fact that the comparative amounts for the income statements, changes in equity, cash flows and related notes are not fully comparable.

As such, there is no definition of "reporting date" in IFRS. But according to paragraphs. “c” paragraph 51 of IAS 1, along with other components of the financial statements, shall indicate the “end date of the reporting period or the period covered by the financial statements or notes” if this is necessary for a correct understanding of the information presented.

The reporting date of IFRS reporting is not tied to the end of the calendar year. The main thing is that the end date of the reporting period or the period covered by the financial statements or notes are repeated from one statement to another.

Thus, unlike Russian standards IFRS does not fix the reporting date, thus giving the organization the opportunity to choose the reporting period, including for interim reporting. This is useful, for example, for organizations with a production cycle that is different from the calendar year. In addition, a more realistic picture of the enterprise's activities for the study period is presented, for example, if production cycle lasts from May of one year to May of the next year. This qualitatively distinguishes international standards from Russian regulations, which clearly define the frequency of preparation of both interim and annual accounting (financial) statements, making exceptions only for newly created organizations.

According to IAS 10 "Events after the end of the reporting period" this concept is used by those organizations that publish their financial statements.

Developed on its basis, the Accounting Regulation "Events after the reporting date" (PBU 7/98) differs in that it establishes the procedure for reflecting such information for all existing commercial organizations, with the exception of credit, i.e. its use is not limited to a narrow circle of organizations.

According to IAS 10 events after the reporting date- These are events, both favorable and unfavorable, that occur between the reporting date and the date the financial statements are authorized for issue. At the same time, two types of such events are distinguished: those that confirm certain conditions that occur at the reporting date, and those that indicate the occurrence of certain conditions that arise after the reporting date.

According to PBU 7/98, an event after the reporting date is a fact of economic activity that has or may have an impact on the financial condition, cash flow or performance of the organization and which took place between the reporting date and the date of signing the financial statements for the reporting year.

Thus, an event after the reporting date may not be considered any event, but only one that entailed a change financial condition organizations and cash flow. V in this case there is a narrowing of the scope of recognition of the fact of performing any actions after the reporting date.

From the point of view of IFRS for the recognition of an event after the reporting date, it is not only the date of approval of these statements that is important. For accounting and disclosure in financial statements of events after the reporting date, a certain period of time, limited by two dates, is important. The last day of the reporting period is accordingly taken as the reporting date, and the second date is the number associated with the approval of the financial statements for publication for the interests of external users.

Thus, it is also important that practical work above financial reporting is fully completed and it can be provided for the needs of external users.

In accordance with PBU 7/98 and others regulations regulating accounting in Russia, the financial statements will reflect those events after the reporting date that occurred in a period with a clearly limited scope of legislation.

In addition, IAS 10 does not specifically define an event or quantify materiality. To determine the materiality of an event, the requirements are used, which are described in the Principles for the preparation and preparation of financial statements.

Clause 6 of PBU 7/98 provides clear instructions for determining the materiality of an event after the reporting date: an event after the reporting date is considered significant if, without the users of the financial statements knowing about it, it is impossible to reliably assess the financial condition, cash flow or performance of the organization.

Concerning interim reporting, then Federal law"On accounting" it is established that such is the monthly and quarterly reporting, which is compiled on an accrual basis from the beginning of the year. The organization must generate interim financial statements no later than 30 days after the end of the reporting period in the amount presented by the balance sheet and the income statement, unless otherwise provided by the participants or founders.

In IFRS, an interim period is a reporting period that is less than a full financial year. Interim financial statements are financial statements containing a complete package or a set of abbreviated financial reporting forms (components) for an interim period.

International Financial Reporting Standard (IAS) 34 "Interim Financial Reporting" sets out the minimum composition of interim financial reporting:

• short balance sheet;
• a short profit and loss account;
• a short statement of cash flows;
• a summary of changes in equity;
• notes to the financial statements.

In this situation, the company is given the choice by which it can publish a complete set of reporting forms in its interim financial statements, and not abbreviated statements and some notes to the financial statements.

From the analysis of the document, it can be concluded that the requirements of international standards in relation to the procedure for presentation and composition of interim reporting are much less formalized than the requirements of the Russian accounting system.

So, directly in the text of IAS 34, a clause is made that " this Standard does not provide guidance on which companies should publish interim financial statements, with what frequency or at what time after the end of the interim period. ”It was decided to refer these issues to the competence of national governments, organizations regulating the circulation of securities stock exchanges and bodies setting the accounting rules.

With regard to the composition of the statements, IAS 34 defines the minimum required composition of the statements, while making a note that the organization, at its discretion, can present a complete set of statements.

RAS clearly defines the frequency of preparation of interim reporting, without focusing on which organizations are required to prepare and submit such reports. Whence it follows that interim reporting should be prepared by all organizations. Moreover, RAS also regulate the composition of interim reporting, including the balance sheet and the income statement.

The next difference that can be pointed out is that Russian rules accounting to a greater extent than IFRS focused on legal form, technical accounting procedures and strict documentation requirements, and to a lesser extent - on economic content operations.

So, the methodology of Russian accounting is determined by the Chart of accounts of accounting of financial and economic activities of organizations and the correspondence of accounts. In this regard, in RAS, he is assigned important role.

International financial reporting standards, when designating correspondences, use the names of reporting elements (assets, liabilities, capital, income, expenses) and the nature of income or expenses (depreciation, cost price, financial income, financial expenses) rather than specific accounts. This is due to the fact that the standards are more focused on the result of work. financial services- accounting (financial) statements and therefore do not contain any mention of accounting accounts.

Also, one of the distinguishing points in Russian accounting is the strict reference to the availability of primary accounting documents, which is the result of the influence tax legislation... V Tax Code RF clearly stipulates the rules for documenting business transactions.

This may result in incomplete recognition of the costs incurred in reporting period, in the absence of their documentary evidence.

The priority direction of IFRS is the formation of the most objective financial result, which is one of its key approaches. The standards do not mention the relationship between primary document and performing the operation.

In this regard, according to IFRS, the accrual principle is applied more consistently than in RAS.

With regard to the recognition of income and expenses, RAS allows the use of a cash basis in relation to selected categories organizations. For example, the corresponding norm can currently be used by small businesses. The procedure for recognizing proceeds from the sale of products after the receipt of funds is a permitted way of transferring ownership, use and disposal of the delivered products in accordance with the terms of the agreement of the parties. The nature of the transaction in the accounting corresponds to the name of the concluded agreement.

The expenses of the organization are recognized after the debt has been repaid.

Cash basis is not allowed in IFRS. IFRS involves the analysis of the merits of a transaction concluded by one or more contracts for the purpose of presentation in the financial statements. For example, a dual contract of sale and lease may pursue such a goal as to attract financing against the security of an asset.

The listed differences can be called differences in fundamental approaches to accounting.

From the above, the following conclusion can be drawn:

• reporting in accordance with IFRS is one of the important steps that open up the opportunity for Russian organizations to join international capital markets;
• international practice shows that statements prepared in accordance with IFRS are highly informative and useful for users;
• financial statements prepared in accordance with IFRS allow interested users to assess the financial position, results of the company's activities, as well as the quality of the company's management in order to make economically viable decisions;
• the use of IFRS can significantly reduce the time and resources required to develop new national reporting rules, since these standards consolidate a fairly long experience in accounting and reporting in a market economy.

If Russian organizations will be able to achieve the implementation of a competent transformation of financial statements in accordance with IFRS, then the situation will improve Russian Federation from the point of view of positions in the world economy, and all the costs that will be incurred in the course of the reform will pay off.

Bibliography

1. Guarantor [Electronic resource]: information and legal system. Access mode: http://www.garant.ru.
2. ConsultantPlus [Electronic resource]: reference and legal system. Access mode: http://www.consultant.ru.
3. About putting into effect International standards financial statements and Clarifications of International Financial Reporting Standards in the Russian Federation: Order of the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated November 25, 2011 N 160n.
4. On the approval of the Regulation on accounting "Financial statements of the organization" (PBU 4/99): Order of the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated 06.07.1999 N 43n.
5. On approval of the Accounting Regulations "Events after the reporting date" (PBU 7/98): Order of the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated November 25, 1998 N 56n.

L.N. Gerasimova

Professor

Department of Accounting

Financial University

under the Government of the Russian Federation

Hello Veronica.

Many argue that there is no difference between the concepts of accounting and financial reporting. They argue their answer by the fact that financial statements are drawn up on the basis of several reporting forms based on financial accounting. You can even come across a definition of accounting, which is written like this: "Accounting (financial) statements".

This state of affairs can be viewed from 2 sides. On the one hand, the statement is true and quite convincing, but only if you do not go into details. On the other hand, it’s worth delving deeper, and then there comes an understanding that these are completely different concepts, which are even at different levels of the enterprise’s reporting hierarchy.

Accounting and financial reporting: briefly about the main

The financial statements of any enterprise is a unified, but multi-component system of information regarding its financial position and results of economic activity. This reporting must be filed with government bodies, whose powers include the implementation of processes related to taxation, as well as the maintenance and replenishment of the national system of collection, analysis and processing economic information.

Today, there are quite a few accounting systems, and each country has its own laws in this regard. On the territory of the Russian Federation, all issues related to financial statements are regulated by the law on accounting and the corresponding regulation.

The following sections of the financial statements are mandatory for all enterprises operating in the Russian Federation: balance sheet, profit and loss statement, explanatory note, applications, auditor's report (this document confirms that the financial statements are reliable and comply with all the requirements of the current legislation). The only exception to the issue of compulsory maintenance and timely submission of financial statements is budget enterprises and public organizations that do not carry out commercial activities.

Financial reporting is only a branch of accounting that records purely financial indicators and does not show the general picture of the company's activities and financial needs (the need for the acquisition and liquidation of securities, the dynamics of the state of the company's capital, financial appraisal quality of management, assessment of the current state of the company and making forecasts for the financial future).

Accounting reports are prepared based on the results of the reporting year. Information is submitted to the authorities tax office, founders, government bodies, whose responsibilities include control and analysis of the use of subsidies and subventions provided to the enterprise from the country's budget. Annual financial statements are submitted throughout the entire calendar year, i.e. from January 1 to December 31.

Financial statements are prepared more often: per day, week, month, quarter, year - it depends on the need for this kind of documentation. Financial statements cannot be distorted (there is responsibility for this) or hidden, because this information must be in the public domain, right up to publication in the media.

It is impossible to imagine the activities of an enterprise without drawing up accounting and financial statements. If you do not take into account the organizational and legal form of organization of the enterprise, its commercial or non-commercial orientation, then accounting and the financial analysis can be used for clarity and a more correct assessment.

The reliability and completeness of the presentation of information about the property and financial situation of the enterprise, information about the financial results of its activities and many others economic aspects it is quite possible to achieve if you follow the requirements and rules of accounting.

Sincerely, Natalia.