PBU 1/2008 “Accounting policies of the organization” (nuances)

What is PBU “Accounting Policy”

To begin with, let us remember that the legal regulation of accounting (hereinafter referred to as accounting) in the Russian Federation is represented by several levels:

Art. 21 of Law No. 402-FZ defines the following structure of BU regulatory documentation:

Until federal and industry accounting standards are drawn up and given legislative force, the regulatory framework developed before the entry into force of Law No. 402-FZ is in force (information of the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation No. PZ-10/2012 “On the entry into force of the law of December 6, 2013”) 2011 No. 402-FZ “On Accounting”).

New federal standards will come into force in 2022. The most used are FSBU 6/2020 “Fixed assets” and FSBU 26/2020 “Capital investments”, which will replace PBU 6/01. ConsultantPlus experts explained how to apply the new FAS in practice and what nuances needed to be taken into account when making changes to the accounting policy for 2022. Get free demo access to K+ and go to the ready-made solution to find out all the details of the procedure.

PBU “Accounting Policies” is one of the accounting provisions that regulate the procedure for drawing up and applying accounting policies in an organization. This PBU has serial number 1, the first edition of the PBU “Accounting Policy” (PBU 1/98) was approved by order of the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation dated December 9, 1998 No. 60n. Currently, PBU 1/2008 is in force, approved by order of the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated October 6, 2008 No. 106n.

The norms of PBU “Accounting Policies of an Organization” apply to all legal entities, except for credit institutions and budgetary institutions - they draw up accounting policies for other legal acts (clause 1 of PBU 1/2008).

Composition of the annual financial statements 2016

The annual financial statements of commercial companies must include:

• Balance sheet;

Statement of financial results (profit and loss statement);

• Statement of changes in equity;
• Cash flow statement;
• explanatory notes to the balance sheet and reports;
• auditor's report - if the organization is subject to mandatory audit.

The forms of the balance sheet and the above-mentioned reports were approved by Order of the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated July 2, 2010 No. 66n.

Attention! Insurance and credit organizations have their own reporting forms. For more information about them, see the relevant paragraphs of this reference material.

What is accounting policy

Accounting policy (hereinafter referred to as UP) is a set of methods for maintaining accounting by an organization (Clause 1, Article 8 of Law No. 402-FZ). UP are required to be compiled by all economic entities, except for those exempt from the obligation to maintain accounting: individual entrepreneurs, branches or representative offices of a foreign company - provided that they keep records of income and expenses in accordance with other legal acts of the Russian Federation (clause 2 of article 6 of law No. 402-FZ ).

Note! Unlike accounting, tax accounting (TA) is mandatory for all taxpayers - both legal entities and individual entrepreneurs, regardless of the taxation regime. Therefore, the UE for the purposes of NU is made up of all economic entities (clause 2 of article 11, article 313 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation). Entrepreneurs can draw up the UE for accounting purposes at their own request, but are not required to do so. In the following, in the article we will consider the issues of drawing up and designing the UE only for accounting purposes.

Accounting policies are drawn up not only for the purposes of accounting and national accounting, but also for the needs of management accounting - you will find an approximate structure of such an accounting policy in the article “Accounting policies for management accounting purposes .

Economic entities draw up UP independently on the basis of regulatory legal acts according to accounting regulations. The company chooses accounting methods from those established by federal standards, and if a situation arises that is not regulated by the federal standard, then it is allowed to develop an accounting method independently.

The latest changes made to the text of PBU 1/2008 (Order of the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated April 28, 2017 No. 69n) established the order of preferences in choosing a model for an independently developed accounting method (clause 7.1 of PBU 1/2008):

• rules contained in IFRS standards;
• analogies available in Russian standards;
• recommendations given on this issue.

The UE is applied consistently from year to year. Changes made to the UP must be effective from the beginning of the next calendar year. Changing the UE during the year is allowed in exceptional cases:

• changes in the legislation of the Russian Federation;
• the use of other methods of accounting in order to generate the most reliable information about accounting objects;
• change in the conditions of the company’s activities (clause 5, article 8 of law No. 402-FZ).

In practice, changes and additions to the management program are of two types:

• actual changes in the management program (for example, in connection with changes in legislation), the consequences of which are reflected in accounting and reporting in accordance with legal requirements, and in the absence of such requirements - retrospectively;
• additions made to the management program (for example, when developing a new line of business) - they are introduced and are in effect from the moment it became necessary. And in accounting and reporting they are reflected prospectively.

For more information about the procedure for making changes to the accounting policy, read the article “When and how a change in accounting policy should be introduced.”

Forms of financial statements of commercial organizations

1. Balance sheet (form 071001) - consists of 5 sections: Non-current assets, Current assets, Capital and reserves, Short-term and Long-term liabilities. The balance sheet form is filled out line by line, each line contains the indicators as of the reporting date of the reporting period, as of December 31 of the previous year and as of December 31 of the previous year.
2. Statement of financial results (report and profit and loss) - form 0710002. It reflects information on the organization’s income and expenses, as well as its profits and losses for the reporting period and the same period of the previous year (this is established in PBU 4/99).
3. Statement of changes in capital (form 0710003) - shows the movement of the organization’s capital for the reporting year and the two previous years.
4. Cash flow statement (form 0710004) - shows the flow of cash and cash equivalents in the organization for the reporting year and the previous year.
5. Explanatory note to the Balance Sheet and the Financial Results Report - these documents can be formatted either as a table or as text. In the case of a table, the organization itself determines the content of these explanations.

All these forms of financial statements, as well as the procedure for filling them out, were approved by Order of the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated July 2, 2010 No. 66n.

Small businesses also use the Balance Sheet and Financial Results Report forms approved by the same order of the Ministry of Finance.

Contents of PBU “Accounting policies of the organization”

PBU 1/2008 consists of four sections.

Section I is devoted to general information about the normative act itself and the terminology used below.

What to pay attention to:

• PBU applies only to legal entities, with the exception of credit and budget organizations. All companies that are subject to the PBU must comply with the regulations regarding the formation of the UP; in terms of disclosure of information about the provisions of the CP, its changes and other aspects provided for in Section IV of PBU 1/2008 - only companies that publish accounting reports.
• Branches and divisions of foreign legal entities on the territory of the Russian Federation can draw up UE either according to the rules of PBU 1/2008, or according to the rules of the country of origin, but then they should not contradict IFRS (clause 1 of PBU 1/2008).
• Methods of maintaining accounting include methods of grouping, assessing the facts of economic activity, repaying the value of assets, organizing document flow and processing information, inventory, using accounts and registers of accounting (clause 2 of PBU 1/2008).

Section II contains detailed instructions for the formation of the UP and a checklist of what should be in the UP.

What to pay attention to:

• The UP is compiled by the chief accountant or the person responsible for maintaining accounting records in the company, and is approved by the manager by order or directive (clause 4 of PBU 1/2008).
• UP is based on the following assumptions: property isolation, continuity of activity, consistency of application of UP and time certainty of business operations (clause 5 of PBU 1/2008).
• The requirements for UP are: completeness, timeliness, prudence, consistency, rationality of reflecting business operations, priority of content over form (clause 5 of PBU 1/2008).
• companies that are allowed to use simplified accounting methods can keep records without double entry (clause 6.1 of PBU 1/2008) and, when independently choosing an accounting method, be guided only by the requirement of rationality (clause 7.2 of PBU 1/2008).
• If you have just recently created a company or reorganized an existing one, then the UP for the BU should be formed within 90 days from the date of state registration, and after approval, the UP is considered valid from the moment of state registration of the company.
• The methods of maintaining accounting records recorded in the UP are applied from the beginning of the calendar year following the year of approval of the UP, by all divisions of the legal entity, even if they are allocated to a separate balance sheet (clause 9 of PBU 1/2008).

Section III is devoted to changes in the CP.

What to pay attention to:

• Changes to the accounting policies come into force from the beginning of the next reporting year or in exceptional cases, which were discussed in the section “What are accounting policies”.
• Changes to the management program are made by instructions or orders of the manager.
• The approval of methods for conducting accounting for new business operations that are significantly different from those carried out by the organization previously, or that arose for the first time in the company’s activities (clause 10 of PBU 1/2008) is not considered a change in the CP.
• The results of changes in the UE are expressed in monetary terms, and are reflected in accounting in accordance with the legislation of the Russian Federation. If the PP has changed not due to changes in legislation, then the consequences of the change in the PP should be reflected retrospectively, that is, by adjusting the opening balance under the item “Retained earnings (uncovered loss)” for the earliest period presented in the reporting and presenting related reporting items as if if the new UP had been applied earlier (clauses 13, 14 of PBU 1/2008).
• Firms that use simplified methods of accounting reflect in their accounting records the consequences of changing the accounting program without retrospective recalculation, unless otherwise established by the legislation of the Russian Federation (clause 15.1 of PBU 1/2008).

Section IV of PBU 1/2008 informs the accountant about the need to disclose the provisions of the UP in accounting reports.

What to pay attention to:

• Information about the UE should be disclosed in an explanatory note (Appendix 3 to the order of the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated July 2, 2010 No. 66n).
• If the UE is formed taking into account the assumptions from clause 5 of PBU 1/2008, then such assumptions may not be voiced in the accounting reports. In other cases, the composition and volume of information about the UE subject to disclosure in accounting statements is determined in accordance with other PBUs. If there are doubts about the applicability of the continuity assumption, they must be pointed out and the reasons for such doubts must be given (clauses 19, 20 of PBU 1/2008).
• The essential methods of accounting adopted in the organization are revealed (clause 17 of PBU 1/2008).
• When changing the UE, the explanatory note records the reasons for the changes, their essence, the procedure for reflecting the results of the change in the accounting records and the amount of adjustments for reporting items (clause 21 of PBU 1/2008).
• If an organization plans to change some provisions of the CP for the next reporting year, then this fact must be documented in the explanations to the accounting reports for the current period (clause 25 of PBU 1/2008).

II. Formation of accounting policies

4. The accounting policy of the organization is formed by the chief accountant or another person who, in accordance with the legislation of the Russian Federation, is entrusted with maintaining the accounting records of the organization, on the basis of these Regulations and is approved by the head of the organization. In this case it is stated:

• a working chart of accounts containing synthetic and analytical accounts necessary for maintaining accounting records in accordance with the requirements of timeliness and completeness of accounting and reporting;
• forms of primary accounting documents, accounting registers, as well as documents for internal accounting reporting;
• the procedure for conducting an inventory of the organization’s assets and liabilities;
• methods for assessing assets and liabilities;
• document flow rules and accounting information processing technology;
• the procedure for monitoring business operations;
• other solutions necessary for organizing accounting.

5. When developing accounting policies, it is assumed that:

• the assets and liabilities of an organization exist separately from the assets and liabilities of the owners of this organization and the assets and liabilities of other organizations (assuming property separation);
• the organization will continue its activities for the foreseeable future and it has no intention or need to liquidate or significantly reduce its activities and, therefore, obligations will be repaid in the prescribed manner (going concern assumption);
• the accounting policy adopted by the organization is applied consistently from one reporting year to another (assumption of consistency in the application of accounting policies);
• the facts of the organization's economic activities relate to the reporting period in which they took place, regardless of the actual time of receipt or payment of funds associated with these facts (the assumption of temporary certainty of the facts of economic activity).

5.1. An organization chooses accounting methods regardless of the choice of accounting methods by other organizations. If the parent company approves its accounting standards, which are mandatory for use by its subsidiary, then such subsidiary chooses accounting methods based on these standards.

6. The organization’s accounting policies must ensure:

• completeness of reflection in accounting of all facts of economic activity (completeness requirement);
• timely reflection of the facts of economic activity in accounting and financial statements (timeliness requirement);
• greater willingness to recognize expenses and liabilities in accounting than possible income and assets, avoiding the creation of hidden reserves (requirement of prudence);
• reflection in accounting of facts of economic activity based not so much on their legal form, but on their economic content and business conditions (the requirement of priority of content over form);
• the identity of analytical accounting data with turnovers and balances on synthetic accounting accounts on the last calendar day of each month (consistency requirement);
• rational accounting, based on business conditions and the size of the organization, as well as based on the ratio of costs for generating information about a specific accounting object and the usefulness (value) of this information (the requirement of rationality).

7. Accounting for a specific accounting item is carried out in the manner established by the federal accounting standard. If, for a specific accounting issue, the federal accounting standard allows for several accounting methods, the organization selects one of these methods, guided by paragraphs 5, 5.1 and 6 of these Regulations.

An organization that discloses consolidated financial statements drawn up in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards or financial statements of an organization that does not create a group has the right to be guided by federal accounting standards, taking into account the requirements of International Financial Reporting Standards, when forming its accounting policies. In particular, such an organization has the right not to apply the accounting method established by the federal accounting standard when such a method leads to a discrepancy between the organization's accounting policies and the requirements of International Financial Reporting Standards.

7.1. If the federal accounting standards do not establish accounting methods for a specific accounting issue, the organization develops an appropriate method based on the requirements established by the legislation of the Russian Federation on accounting, federal and (or) industry standards. In this case, the organization, based on the assumptions and requirements given in paragraphs 5 and 6 of these Regulations, uses the following documents sequentially:

• international financial reporting standards;
• provisions of federal and (or) industry accounting standards on similar and (or) related issues;
• recommendations in the field of accounting.

7.2. An organization that has the right to use simplified accounting methods, including simplified accounting (financial) statements, in the absence of appropriate accounting methods for a specific issue in federal accounting standards, has the right to formulate an accounting policy, guided solely by the requirement of rationality.

7.3. In exceptional cases, when the formation of an accounting policy in accordance with paragraphs 7 and 7.1 of these Regulations leads to an unreliable representation of the financial position of the organization, the financial results of its activities and the flow of its funds in the accounting (financial) statements, the organization has the right to deviate from the rules established by these paragraphs , subject to all of the following conditions:

• circumstances that impede the formation of a reliable representation of its financial position, financial performance and cash flows in the accounting (financial) statements have been identified;
• an alternative method of accounting is possible, the use of which allows one to eliminate these circumstances;
• the alternative method of accounting does not lead to other circumstances in which the accounting (financial) statements of the organization will give an unreliable picture of its financial position, financial performance and cash flows;
• information about deviations from the rules established by paragraphs 7 and 7.1 of these Regulations and the use of an alternative method of accounting is disclosed by the organization in accordance with these Regulations.

7.4. To the extent that the application of the accounting policies formed in accordance with clauses 7 and 7.1 of these Regulations leads to the formation of information, the presence, absence or method of reflection of which in the accounting (financial) statements of the organization does not depend on the economic decisions of the users of these statements (hereinafter referred to as – immaterial information), the organization has the right to choose the method of accounting, guided solely by the requirement of rationality (without applying clauses 7, 7.1 of these Regulations). The organization independently classifies information as non-essential based on both the size and nature of this information.

8. The accounting policy adopted by the organization is subject to registration with the relevant organizational and administrative documentation (orders, instructions, standards, etc.) of the organization.

9. Accounting methods chosen by the organization when forming its accounting policies are applied from the first January of the year following the year of approval of the relevant organizational and administrative document. Moreover, they are applied by all branches, representative offices and other divisions of the organization (including those allocated to a separate balance sheet), regardless of their location. A newly created organization, an organization resulting from a reorganization, draws up its chosen accounting policy in accordance with these Regulations no later than 90 days from the date of state registration of the legal entity. The accounting policy adopted by the newly created organization is considered to be applied from the date of state registration of the legal entity.

Differences between PBU 1/08 “Accounting Policies of an Organization” and PBU 1/98 “Accounting Policies of an Organization”

As mentioned above, PBU 1/2008 “Accounting Policy of the Organization” is currently in force, approved by Order of the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation dated October 6, 2008 No. 106n.

Below in the table we present the key differences between PBU 1/2008 and PBU 1/98, which was in force previously:

III. Change in accounting policy

10. Changes in the accounting policies of an organization can be made in the following cases:

• changes in the legislation of the Russian Federation and (or) regulatory legal acts on accounting;
• the organization's development of new accounting methods. The use of a new method of accounting involves improving the quality of information about the accounting object;
• significant changes in business conditions. A significant change in the business conditions of an organization may be associated with reorganization, change in types of activities, etc.

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

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

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

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

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

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

When retrospectively reflecting the consequences of changes in accounting policies, we proceed from the assumption that the changed method of accounting was applied from the moment the facts of economic activity of this type arose. Retrospective reflection of the consequences of changes in accounting policies consists of adjusting the opening balance under the item “Retained earnings” (uncovered loss) and (or) other balance sheet items as of the earliest date presented in the accounting (financial) statements, as well as the values ​​of related accounting items disclosed for each period presented in the financial statements, as if the new accounting policy had been applied from the moment the facts of economic activity of this type arose. In cases where an assessment in monetary terms of the consequences of a change in accounting policy in relation to periods preceding the reporting period cannot be made with sufficient reliability, the changed method of accounting is applied to the relevant facts of economic activity that occurred after the introduction of the changed method (prospectively).

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

Are there any innovations in the accounting policy of the organization in 2021-2022?

The last minor amendments to PBU 1/2008 were made in 2020.

According to the current rule, organizations disclosing financial statements prepared in accordance with IFRS have the right not to apply the accounting method established by the FSB if this leads to a discrepancy between the accounting policies and the requirements of IFRS. From March 17, 2020, accounting standards approved by such organizations and mandatory for use by their subsidiaries may establish accounting methods chosen by them in accordance with the specified procedure.

There is no information yet about adjustments to the situation in 2022.

Until 2022, the latest innovations in PBU 1/2008 came into force on 08/06/2017, approved. by order of the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated April 28, 2017 No. 69n. As a result of these changes, a number of paragraphs of the PBU were subject to editorial changes that clarified the wording (paragraphs 1, 6, 7, 8, 10, 15, 17, 18, 24), but new provisions also appeared that supplemented the text of the PBU. The latter include the following:

• The organization chooses methods for maintaining accounting independently from other legal entities (clause 5.1). An exception is made for subsidiaries - they must use the same accounting methods as the parent company.
• If a company prepares financial statements according to IFRS, then it uses federal accounting standards in accordance with the requirements of IFRS (clause 7). However, if the accounting method recommended by federal standards contradicts IFRS, then the organization may not apply this method. In this case, the company will have to justify why the method proposed by the federal standard contradicts IFRS.
• The choice of a sample for independent development of an accounting method that is not in federal or industry standards is carried out in a certain sequence (clause 7.1): IFRS - analogies in RAS - accounting recommendations. Firms that have the right to use simplified accounting methods in such a situation can only proceed from the principle of rationality (clause 7.2).
• In exceptional situations, if the application of PBU 1/2008 leads to the receipt of unreliable information about the financial position of the company, it is allowed to deviate from the norms of PBU (clause 7.3) provided that circumstances that prevent the use of PBU are identified and alternative accounting methods are introduced that will not lead to to its even greater unreliability.
• With regard to the organization of accounting for information that is not essential for understanding the financial situation, it is possible to choose an accounting method based on the principle of rationality (clause 7.4).
• In the explanations to the statements, the company must disclose the reasons and consequences of replacing the methods contained in RAS with the provisions of IFRS (clause 20.1), as well as the reasons for the deviation from RAS standards (clause 20.2) with explanations of the differences arising in accounting.
• If the legislation on accounting has changed, and innovations can be voluntarily applied before the deadline for mandatory application, then the company that applied the new regulatory legal act ahead of schedule reflects this fact in the accounting reports (clause 23).

Excluded from the text of the PBU was the requirement to disclose in the explanations to the accounting statements the provisions of the accounting regulations for the year following the reporting year (clause 25).

Transition to a new accounting policy in 2022 (FSBU 6/2020, FSBU 26/2020, FSBU 25/2018)

Starting from 2022, regulatory documents such as: Order of the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated September 17, 2020 No. 204n “On approval of Federal Accounting Standards FSBU 6/2020 “Fixed Assets” and FSBU 26/2020 “Capital Investments” (hereinafter referred to as ― FSBU 6/2020 and FSBU 26/2020) and order of the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated October 16, 2018 No. 208n “On approval of the federal accounting standard FSBU 25/2018 “Lease Accounting” (hereinafter referred to as FSBU 25/2018). In this regard, we invite you to read the bulletin, which explains frequently received questions[1].

1. When is it necessary to reflect adjustments to indicators in the accounting registers and financial statements in connection with the application of FSBU 6/2020, FSBU 26/2020 and FSBU 25/2018?

According to paragraph 2 of PBU 1/2008[2], the accounting policy of an organization is understood as the set of accounting methods adopted by it - primary observation, cost measurement, current grouping and final generalization of the facts of economic activity.

Accounting methods include methods of grouping and assessing facts of economic activity, repaying the value of assets, organizing document flow, inventory, using accounting accounts, organizing accounting registers, and processing information.

Changes in accounting policies are made from the beginning of the reporting year, unless otherwise determined by the reason for such change. Clause 12 PBU 1/2008

According to paragraph 14 of PBU 1/2008, the consequences of changes in accounting policies caused by changes in the legislation of the Russian Federation and (or) regulatory legal acts on accounting are reflected in accounting and reporting in the manner established by the relevant legislation of the Russian Federation and (or) regulatory legal acts on accounting accounting.
If the relevant legislation of the Russian Federation and (or) a regulatory legal act on accounting do not establish a procedure for reflecting the consequences of changes in accounting policies, then these consequences are reflected in accounting and reporting in the manner established by paragraph 15 of PBU 1/2008. In turn, paragraph 15 of PBU 1/2008 establishes that the consequences of changes in accounting policies caused by reasons other than those specified in paragraph 14 of PBU 1/2008, and which had or could have a significant impact on the financial position of the organization, the financial results of its activities and (or) cash flows are reflected in the financial statements retrospectively, except for cases where the assessment in monetary terms of such consequences in relation to periods preceding the reporting period cannot be made with sufficient reliability.

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

From the provisions of PBU 1/2008 it follows that the consequences of changes in accounting policies caused by changes in legislative and regulatory acts on accounting are reflected in the manner prescribed by such legislative and regulatory acts. The retrospective approach provided for in paragraph 15 of PBU 1/2008 is applied only if the specified legislative and regulatory acts do not provide for the procedure for transition to a new accounting policy.

Turning to the provisions of FSBU 6/2020, FSBU 26/2020 and FSBU 25/2018, it should be noted that each of the listed documents sets out the procedure for transition to a new accounting policy.

FSBU 6/2020 “Fixed assets”

According to paragraph 48 of FAS 6/2020, the consequences of changes in accounting policies in connection with the start of application of FAS 6/2020 are reflected retrospectively (as if FAS 6/2020 had been applied from the moment the facts of economic life affected by it arose), unless otherwise established by FAS 6/2020 .

Paragraph 49 of FAS 6/2020 establishes that in the accounting (financial) statements of an organization, starting from which FAS 6/2020 is applied, it is allowed not to recalculate comparative indicators for periods preceding the reporting period, making a one-time adjustment to the book value of fixed assets at the beginning of the reporting period ( the end of the period preceding the reporting one) in accordance with paragraph 49 of FAS 6/2020. For the purposes of this adjustment, the carrying amount of fixed assets is considered to be their original cost (including revaluations), recognized before the application of FAS 6/2020 in accordance with the previously applied accounting policy, less accumulated depreciation. In this case, accumulated depreciation is calculated in accordance with FAS 6/2020 based on the specified initial cost, liquidation value and the ratio of the expired and remaining useful life, determined in accordance with FAS 6/2020.

FSBU 26/2020 “Capital investments”

Paragraph 25 of FAS 26/2020 establishes that the consequences of changes in accounting policies in connection with the start of application of FAS 26/2020 are reflected retrospectively (as if FAS 26/2020 had been applied from the moment the facts of economic life affected by it arose), unless otherwise established by FAS 26/ 2020.

By virtue of paragraph 26 of FAS 26/2020, organizations are allowed to apply FAS 26/2020 prospectively (only in relation to facts of economic life that occurred after the start of application of FAS 26/2020, without changing previously generated accounting data).

FSBU 25/2018 “Accounting for leases”

According to paragraph 49 of FAS 25/2018, the consequences of changes in accounting policies in connection with the start of application of FAS 25/2018 are reflected retrospectively, unless otherwise established by paragraphs 50-52 of FAS 25/2018.

Paragraph 50 of FAS 25/2018 establishes that instead of retrospective recalculation, the lessee may, for each lease agreement, simultaneously recognize at the end of the year preceding the year from which FAS 25/2018 is applied, the right to use the asset and the lease liability with the difference being attributed to retained earnings. At the same time, the retrospective impact on any other accounting items is not recognized, and comparative data for the year preceding the year from which this standard is applied is not recalculated.

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From the set of norms of clauses 12, 14 and 15 of PBU 1/2008, clauses 48 and 49 of FSBU 6/2020, clauses 25 and 26 of FSBU 26/2020 and clauses 49 and 50 of FSBU 25/2018, it follows that adjustments to indicators must be reflected in the accounting registers accounting in the period in which the new accounting policy is applied (from the beginning of the reporting period), established by the new regulatory document. Thus, if FSBU 6/2020, FSBU 25/2018 and FSBU 26/2020 are applied from 2022, then the adjustment to the indicators must be reflected in 2022.

These adjustments will also be reflected in the financial statements in 2022 (for the corresponding reporting period[3]) depending on the method used to reflect the accounting policy: retrospectively, prospectively or through a one-time adjustment.

2. Is it necessary to disclose the decision to apply FSB 6/2020, FSB 26/2020 and FSB 25/2018 from 2022 in the annual financial statements for 2022?

In accordance with paragraph 26 of PBU 4/99, the procedure for disclosing the accounting policies of an organization is established by PBU 1/2008.

In turn, paragraph 21 of PBU 1/2008 states that in the event of a change in accounting policies, the organization must disclose the following information:

• the reason for the change in accounting policy;
• content of changes in accounting policies;
• the procedure for reflecting the consequences of changes in accounting policies in the financial statements;
• the amount of adjustments associated with changes in accounting policies for each item in the financial statements for each of the reporting periods presented; and if the organization is required to disclose information about earnings per share, also based on data on basic and diluted earnings (loss) per share;
• the amount of the corresponding adjustment relating to reporting periods prior to those presented in the financial statements, to the extent practicable.

Previously, PBU 1/2008 contained a requirement to disclose changes in accounting policies for the year following the reporting year. In 2017, this requirement was abolished.

If a change in accounting policy is due to the application of a regulatory legal act for the first time or a change in a regulatory legal act, the fact of reflecting the consequences of the change in accounting policy in accordance with the procedure provided for by this act is also subject to disclosure.

According to paragraph 16 of PBU 1/2008, changes in accounting policies that have had or may have a significant impact on the financial position of the organization, the financial results of its activities and (or) cash flows are subject to separate disclosure in the financial statements.

It is also worth noting that FAS 6/2020, FAS 25/2018 and FAS 26/2020 have rules on the procedure for disclosing the consequences of changes in accounting policies in the first accounting (financial) statements prepared using the relevant standard:

At the same time, it is worth paying attention to paragraph 24 of PBU 4/99[4], according to which explanations to the balance sheet and profit and loss account must disclose information related to the accounting policies of the organization and provide users with additional data that is inappropriate to include in the balance sheet and income statement, but which are necessary for users of financial statements to realistically assess the financial position of the organization, the financial results of its activities and changes in its financial position.

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Thus, we did not find any direct rules on the need to disclose in the explanations to the financial statements for 2022 the decision on the application of FAS 6/2020, FAS 26/2020 and FAS 25/2018 and the new accounting policy from 2022. At the same time, an organization can take advantage of the provisions of paragraphs 16 and 21 of PBU 1/2008, paragraph 24 of PBU 4/99 and disclose this information briefly.

For example, in the explanations to the financial statements for 2022, the following wording may be given: “In connection with the entry into force of the new FAS 6/2020 in 2022, changes are planned to be made to the organization’s accounting policy, which will be applied from January 1, 2022.”

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[1] The bulletin does not cover cases of simplified accounting.

[2] Order of the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation dated October 6, 2008 No. 106n “On approval of the accounting regulations “Accounting Policy of the Organization” (PBU 1/2008)” (hereinafter referred to as PBU 1/2008).

[3] In this case we are talking about a quarter, half a year, nine months, a year.

[4] Order of the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation dated July 6, 1999 No. 43n “On approval of the Accounting Regulations “Accounting Statements of an Organization” PBU 4/99.”

We draw up accounting policies - PBU 1/2008

In accordance with clause 4 of PBU 1/2008, the organization’s management system must include the following documents:

• working chart of accounts;
• primary forms, accounting registers and internal accounting documents;
• inventory procedure;
• methods for assessing assets and liabilities;
• rules for document flow and information processing;
• control mechanism for business operations;
• other documents necessary for organizing accounting.

In a typical situation from ConsultantPlus you will find examples of accounting policies for different taxation systems. Check whether you took into account all the changes in legislation for 2022 when drawing up your UE. And if you do not have access to the legal reference system, sign up for temporary demo access. It's free.

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It is not for nothing that PBU 1/2008 “Accounting Policy of an Organization” has the first serial number among all PBUs, since the UP is the most important document for organizing the accounting of an economic entity. The Regulations contain the rules for drawing up, approving and amending the CP, and also describe the procedure for choosing methods for maintaining BU.

See also the section “Accounting Policies - 2022”.

You can find more complete information on the topic in ConsultantPlus. Free trial access to the system for 2 days.