A. Palahniuk

 N. Kostiv

Yu. Kovalyuk

Bukovyna State Finance Academy, Chernivtsi

 

 

The role of accounting policies in the organization of accounting of enterprise

 

 

The present paper deals with current issues related to accounting policy and its role in organizing the firm's accounting.

 

 

Introduction into the problem. In the contemporary economy there is growing importance of accounting policy in economic activities of enterprises. In connection with the reform of the accounting system, which aims to bring the national accounting system to the needs of the market economy and to the international financial reporting standards, business entities granted more autonomy to accounting and developing management reporting forms. This independence is realized through the formation of accounting policy.

Topicality. Accounting policies are important for all types of businesses and depend largely on the efficiency of economic activities and the company’s long-term development strategy. Creating  accounting policy in the business is very laborious and responsible process, because the company does not have to work one year and take into account its assets and liabilities developed in accordance with its accounting policies. This requires more opportunities to develop  accounting policy that is specific to its work.

The aim of the present paper is to analyze the role of accounting policies in the general organization of the firm's accounting.

Analysis of recent researches and publications. The question about formation and implementation of accounting policy are reflected in the works of Ukrainian scientists: M. Beluga, F. Butyntsya, G. Kireytsev, L. Kindratskaya, V. Linnik, M. Pushkar, V. Hill, W. Shvets, and foreign – R. Alborova, A. Bakayeva, N. Kondrakov, S. Korotaev, M. Cutters, B. Nidlza, S. Nikolaev, V. Piles, L. Khabarova, E. Hendryksen, L. Shneydman and others.

Problem statement. In the Law of Ukraine "On Accounting and Financial Reporting in Ukraine" accounting policy is defined as a set of principles, methods and procedures used for the presentation and preparation of financial statements [1, 8].

Choosing the right accounting policy lies within the competence of the company's owner, the body authorized to manage state property, agency or the body authorized to manage state corporate rights.

The authority of a business owner to set up accounting policy is implemented through the definition of administrative documents in the list of assessment methods, and accounting procedures, for which the legislature provides more than one version of them [1, 20].

The choice of accounting policy is affected by the following factors:

1) field of industry or activity;

2) legal form ( a private enterprise, etc.);

3) output (number of employees);

4) skill level of accounting personnel and their computer equipment;

5) relationship with the taxation system (amount of taxes the company pays);

6) strategy of financial and business enterprises.

Nowadays, increasingly formal approach to setting up accounting policies is observed, which reduce preparation of financial statements according to general requirements (standards) and external users.

The reasons for this situation are following:

- unstable commodity and financial markets formed in Ukraine and their infrastructure, the main elements of which are stock exchange, auctions, credit and emission systems, information technologies and means of business communication, commercial risk insurance system;

- economic entities, in many cases, have to work under the rules that are dictated by investors, suppliers of raw materials, energy resources;

-lack of sufficient experience in the new economic environment.

-the Law «On Accounting and Financial Reporting» does not establish clear rules on the formation and implementation of accounting policies [3, 15].

The analysis of scientific sources shows that theoretically, there are three approaches to the problem of accounting policies of enterprise:

-centralized;

-decentralized;

-mixed [2, 264]

The centralized approach of accounting policy involves the regulation of accounting in one place. According to this approach, the company must follow the rules and regulations produced by the center. This option is available in the transitional economy.

The decentralized  approach provides individualized accounting rules for each particular enterprise, depending on ownership and type of activity scale. While this approach provides maximum adequacy and accounting process of the enterprise, yet, in a market economy it is of limited use.

The third approach (mixed) is based on a clever combination of elements of the first and the second approaches. Experience of other countries with developed market economies shows that while this approach remains within centralized regulation, it establishes common rules and principles that provide accounting and usefulness of this information, which is formed in accounting. Implementation of all these rules and principles are particular to each company and sold through the company is developing accounting policies, which affect the formation of different factors (Fig. 1) [4, 28].

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


Fig. 1. Mechanism of accounting policies

 

If take credit into the experience of countries with developed market relations, which suggests that skillfully formed accounting policy promotes reliable description of a financial result, taxable income and requires proper design of accounting information and full disclosure of its financial statements.

Conclusion. Thus, accounting policy should create conditions for effective implementation of comprehensive management processes. Absence of major commodity and financial markets, their infrastructure, insufficient work experience of businesses in the new economic environment and scientifically based recommendations regarding formation of accounting policies, adaptation to environments with national standards accounting standards, formal approach,that is formation of accounting policies requires substantial training of the accounting personnel. Professional accountants must not only follow the basic principles of accounting, but adopt a systematic approach to the formation of accounting policies and at the same time be guided by their principles, while the principles of accounting policies formation correspond to the general scientific ones as well as to economic accounting logics and industrial systems management.

 

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