Inventory before reporting at the end of the year

Inventory of material assets is a reconciliation of what is reflected in the accounting registers with what is actually in the office, warehouse, etc., including separate divisions of the company.

An inventory of obligations is a reconciliation of debts that are reflected in accounting records with data from contracts, acceptance certificates, tax returns, etc.

Everything about inventory is in the booklet “Practical Encyclopedia of an Accountant”

• How to Prepare for Inventory
• How to take inventory
• How to register inventory results

Let's start taking inventory

First of all, issue an order from the manager to conduct an inventory. Then create an inventory committee.

Members of the commission can be employees of the administration, accounting department and other specialists who are able to assess the state of the company's assets and liabilities.

In the order, indicate exactly which assets and liabilities the commission will inventory.

Before starting the inventory, the accountant must provide the commission with accounting data that records the list and value of the company's assets and liabilities.

The accounting registers must contain the following entries:

• date and name of a particular business transaction;
• its amount;
• accounting account balances as of the inventory start date.

The head of the inventory commission is obliged to endorse incoming and outgoing documents and make an entry in them “before inventory on (date).”

Based on these documents, the commission determines the value of the company’s assets and liabilities at the beginning of the inventory. This data is entered into inventory records and acts (column “According to accounting data”).

Previously on the topic:

Inventory can be carried out remotely

Inventory list (act)

- This is a document that reflects the results of the inventory. Each type of asset and liability has its own form.

For example, when taking inventory of cash, an act is filled out in form No. o INV-15, goods or materials - an inventory in form No. INV-3, etc.

The inventory of property is carried out with the participation of financially responsible persons (storekeepers, cashiers, etc.). From these employees they take receipts stating that the received assets have been capitalized, the released assets have been written off, and all the primary documents for them have been submitted to the accounting department.

When is inventory required?

Since we are talking about an annual inspection, there are no emergency situations when a particular object suddenly needs to be checked. In this case, inventory for 12 months is carried out in the period from 01.10 to 31.12. It is worth noting that the completion and recording of the results of the procedure must be no later than the submitted reporting.

The duration of the inventory may be increased due to circumstances beyond our control, for example, a large volume of inspection. The extension is fixed by management in the relevant order.

Reasons for intermediate check:

• change of financially responsible employee;
• transfer of any property for rent or leasing;
• detection of facts of damage, harm, theft of property;
• circumstances beyond the control of the company, for example, natural disasters, martial law;
• liquidation or reorganization of the company in any form.

Taking into account the nuances of the enterprise’s charter, other reasons for conducting an unscheduled inventory are possible.

How to check the availability of fixed assets

Before starting the inventory, you need to check:

• are inventory cards, books and inventories filled out;
• is there technical documentation for fixed assets;
• Are there any documents for leased or leased fixed assets?

If these documents are not available, they must be urgently completed or restored.

If during the inventory the commission discovers an item of fixed assets that is not taken into account, an entry must be made in the inventory about its name, technical characteristics and materials from which it is made.

Such objects must be valued at market prices.

The inventory commission records all information on fixed assets in the inventory (form No. INV-1).

In addition, fill out a separate inventory of OSes not owned by the company (rented). In it, make references to the documents on the basis of which these fixed assets are in your possession.

When is the annual inventory carried out at the enterprise?

Strictly before the balance sheet date and in accordance with paragraph 4 of PBU 1/2008, in accordance with Order of the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation No. 106n dated October 6, 2008.

The start of work depends on the type of property:

1. If these are income, expenses, debts, liabilities (not counting unrealized provisions, mandatory insurance contributions, budgetary calculations), current biological objects, inventories, non-current assets (in the last two cases, the exception is items temporarily located outside the company’s possession) – You need to start 3 months before the day of summing up the results.

2. If this is money, deductions for targeted financing, investments, unfinished capital investments, semi-finished or unfinished products - then 60 calendar days before the balance is completed.

3. If these are assets sent somewhere for long periods of time (for example, ships and cars leaving on voyages) or material assets that will definitely be outside the company - then up to temporary disposal.

Yes, the reason for inventory is annual reporting, but there are still three exceptions:

• it is permissible not to inspect property that has already been inspected during the period from October to December of the year that has not yet expired;
• the frequency of all work on updating available data is once every 36 months for fixed assets and once every 5 years for library collections;
• those companies and organizations that operate in the Far North have the right to inspect materials, goods and raw materials stored on their balance sheet during periods when their availability is running out (with the smallest balance).

Please note that if the owner wishes, this issue can be dealt with more often, but not less often than required.

Stages of the annual inventory

In general, the procedure can be divided into 4 steps - they are simple, logical and understandable, so we will consider them briefly.

Preparatory

At this stage, commission members are appointed who take preliminary measures - sealing warehouses and so on. We will present a more complete list of actions separately below.

Check

Direct work takes place here: counting the amount of inventory, establishing the condition of assets, measuring the dimensions of goods or equipment (if necessary) and drawing up statements. The latter are especially important; they are filled out separately and in two copies - by the authorized auditor and the financially responsible person.

Comparative-analytical

At this stage, previously compiled inventories are compared with each other and/or with existing documents. This is done to identify inconsistencies, errors or even cases of fraud. Exactly what caused the data discrepancy is clarified during the consideration of each problematic case.

Final

A protocol is filled out, which indicates all controversial issues and measures to resolve them - the need for a repeat inspection, testimony of financially responsible persons, statements to law enforcement agencies regarding theft or theft. If there are no difficulties, this document is also prepared. And in both cases, it goes to the head of the enterprise for consideration. As soon as the head of the company puts his signature, the business paper acquires administrative force, and statistical information from it is transferred to the financial statements.

Preparatory activities

Before conducting a direct inventory at the end of the year, you need to:

• issue an order for inspection - this is done by the head of the company;
• establish deadlines for the completion of all work depending on the volume and types of property being inspected;
• form a commission, distributing roles and responsibilities among its members, and instruct them;
• stock up on forms for filling out inventories and protocols;
• display the balances of assets for the previous reporting period.

The auditors themselves need to do something, for example, limit general access to storage facilities - seal them - and collect receipts from responsible persons. Such preparation will take literally a couple of days (and with proper planning, even less), but it will significantly simplify the further stages of the procedure.

How to check the availability of inventories

Data on goods, materials, semi-finished products and finished products are reflected in the inventory according to form No. INV-3. Their types, groups, articles and varieties are indicated there. All valuables are counted, remeasured, and reweighed in the presence of commission members. The inventory is compiled in two copies:

• one copy is transferred to the accounting department for drawing up a matching statement;
• the second copy remains with the person responsible for the safety of valuables.

For shipped goods that are not in the company’s warehouse, fill out a separate inventory.

Make notes in it about buyers, names of goods, their cost and date of shipment.

The final part of the annual inventory

Upon completion, the chairman and members of the commission hold a meeting where they record the monitoring results in the appropriate minutes. There is no unified format for the act, but it can be approved by a local document and included in the company’s charter. In addition to basic information, it is recommended to include in the act:

• proposal for regrading;
• when discrepancies are identified, clearly justify the reason for the occurrence;
• if there is damaged property, then you need to describe its condition in detail and evaluate its profitability;
• amounts of outstanding receivables;
• conclusions and proposals based on the results of the inventory.

In conclusion, it is necessary to correctly formulate the verdict and record it using the INV-26 form. The inventories in which the results of inspections are recorded have an expiration date. Thus, they are kept in the archive for 5 years, starting from January 1 of the reporting year. The storage duration can be increased upon request.

How to reconcile cash at the till and monetary documents

During the inventory process, the commission counts the money in the cash register and compares the amount received with the balance at the end of the day in the cash book.

In addition to money, the commission must check the safety of monetary documents: postage stamps, vouchers to holiday homes and sanatoriums, etc.

Monetary documents include executed bills or bonds of your company intended for issue. Cash desks often store documentary securities of third parties (bills, bonds), but they are not monetary documents. As for shares, these securities do not have a documentary form.

When making an inventory, standard forms are used in the form No. INV-15 “Cash Inventory Act” and No. INV-16 “Inventory list of securities and forms of strict reporting documents.”

If a shortage is identified as a result of the inventory, the manager can make one of the following decisions:

withhold the amount of the shortfall from the financially responsible person;

write off the shortfall at the expense of the organization's funds (if the shortfall is not the cashier's fault or if the manager refuses to collect the shortfall from the cashier).

The manager’s decision is recorded on the reverse side of the act.

Dates

In general, the organization independently determines the timing of the inventory before drawing up annual reports. But it is important to rely on the deadlines that are in the law:

• an inventory of assets must be carried out in the fourth quarter of the current year - from October 1 to December 31;
• inventory of the organization's liabilities - as of December 31 of the year for which reporting is being prepared.

Right now at Clerk we are recruiting a group for a refresher course on the topic “FSBU 5/2019: “Inventories”!

After the course you:

• learn to understand and put into practice the requirements of the new standard;
• you will know what to do when orders arrive, materials become depreciated, and materials are released into production;
• you will be able to choose the method of application of new standards that suits your company;
• You will only make the necessary wiring.

You can view the course program here.

How to register inventory results

Read in the berator “Practical Encyclopedia of an Accountant”

How to register inventory results

After the inventory, submit the completed inventories and acts to the company’s accounting department. If they record discrepancies between the actual balances of material assets and the balances according to accounting data, enter the amounts of deviations in the matching statements. Unified forms are provided for these statements. Each type of value has its own form. For example, in form No. INV-18 the results of the inventory of fixed assets are indicated, in form No. INV-19 - inventory items, etc.

What is subject to inventory before annual reporting

According to the first paragraph of Article 11 of the same Federal Law No. 402, these are objects of four categories. Let's look at each of them right now.

Money

An extensive group that includes:

• office and industrial buildings, utility rooms, land plots and other real estate;
• production equipment, special equipment used, automobiles and other vehicles;
• already produced products and raw materials for their production, as well as goods available for sale;
• any other stock that does not fall within any of the above cases.

Attention, both your own property and those in custody or taken for temporary use are subject to accounting, that is, the same passenger cars rented by the company are also included in this subcategory.

Company finances

An annual inventory is a mandatory check of money, both cash in the cash register and funds lying in the organization’s accounts. And not only them, but in general all assets of a similar nature: shares, investments, deposits.

Accounts receivable deserve special attention. It is necessary to make sure that they are supported by relevant business papers, for example, concluded and valid contracts or receipts drawn up according to all the rules.

The company's own debts

You need to look especially carefully at your current creditor obligations: loans, financial assets in reserve, payments not yet made to counterparties, partners, suppliers. You should also check your latest bank payments to ensure your balance is up to date and interest charges are up to date.

Intangible assets

Indeed, a competent annual inventory of property should take into account everything that the company spent money on (and continues to own at the moment). Including:

• registered trademarks, brands, trade names;
• licensed copies of software products, for example, all installed versions of 1C: Accounting.

Please note that the property and liabilities of all four of the above groups are subject to verification, regardless of their actual location. Even if some objects (for example, vehicles or industrial machines) are transported to a branch located in another city, they will still need to be reflected in the results, since they are on the organization’s balance sheet.

How to suspend activities while taking inventory

A company with a small staff may have a large amount of inventory or a large product range. In addition, small and medium-sized businesses have every buyer or client “on their account.” Therefore, neither the owners nor the management want to close, for example, a store or a catering outlet for several days (especially in the days before and after the New Year).

How to fulfill the condition of the Instructions on the suspension of the movement of material assets during the inventory?

inventory plan before the event begins .

EXAMPLE

If the company has a separate store (shops) and a warehouse, you can recalculate the warehouse on one date, allowing the store to work as usual (make the appropriate delivery of goods from the warehouse in advance), and count the store on the next date, choosing the most suitable time for this.

In practice, the recount of a retail outlet is often scheduled outside of its normal operating hours or in such a way that the overlap between inventory time and operating hours is small . As a rule, when recalculating a point, you can do it in less time than when recalculating a warehouse, so some temporary shift can be organized.

In this case, the company conducting the recalculation should remember the rules for involving employees in overtime work. For example, if a salesperson works a regular shift and then stays to take part in inventory, then this would be overtime .

In a situation where it is impossible to completely stop work during the recalculation, you can apply the rules for the arrival and departure of valuables during inventory. They do this as follows:

• if during the inventory something arrived at the warehouse (for example, a car with goods arrived), then it is permissible for the financially responsible person to carry out acceptance in the presence of members of the commission. In this case, the receipt is recorded in a separate document - the inventory “Inventory assets received during inventory”. When comparing balances at the beginning of the inventory according to documents with actual balances of inventory items for this separate inventory, they are not taken into account ;
• if during the inventory you need to ship something (for example, an order to a buyer placed before the start of the recount), for such an operation you must obtain written permission from the manager and chief accountant. The release of goods and materials should also be carried out by the mat. responsible persons in the presence of members of the commission. For inventory items disposed of in this way, there is also a separate inventory “Inventory items released during inventory counting.” Registration of disposal of mat. by the responsible person in the presence of the commission in this case is equivalent to a recount . That is, the results of inventory items released during the inventory can participate in summing up the inventory.

EXAMPLE

If product A at the time of shipment had not yet been counted by the commission, 5 pieces were released according to the inventory, 10 pieces were added to the inventory list after counting, the total balance according to the documents was 15 pieces, then there is neither a shortage nor a surplus for product A.

If during the inventory there are internal movements (for example, goods from an already counted own warehouse arrived at the store while the inventory is being taken there), this needs to be documented in the same way - with a separate inventory for the receipt of goods and materials during the inventory. To ensure that inventory results (especially with internal movements) do not contain errors , the accountant needs in advance correct separate accounting for storage locations of inventory items.

How to form an inventory commission

According to the Methodological Instructions for Inventory (approved by Order of the Ministry of Finance dated June 13, 1995 No. 49, hereinafter we will simply call them Instructions), it should be carried out by an inventory commission .

These Instructions impose conditions :

• number of members – at least 3 people ;
• financially cannot participate in the commission .

Accordingly, organizations with a small number of employees have a question: what to do if it is impossible to form an inventory commission from the existing employees - as required by the Directions? For example, the company has only 5 employees, of which three are financially responsible.

Let us immediately note that such circumstances are not a reason not to carry out an inventory. In clause 38 of PBU 4/99 “Accounting statements of an organization” and clause 26, clause 27 of the Regulations on accounting and financial reporting, such exceptions are not provided .

There is only one way out in such circumstances - to involve outside . For example, clause 2.3 of the Guidelines allows for the involvement of employees of independent audit companies in the inventory.

If an already appointed member of the inventory commission does not show up for the inventory (for example, he got sick), there are 2 options for getting out of the situation:

1. Pause inventory.
2. Appoint a replacement for the absent person by a separate order from management.

We do not recommend conducting an inventory with incomplete commission . If the inspectors subsequently discover that one of the participants physically unable to be present during the recount (for example, the documents contain his sick leave or a business trip report), the inventory will be considered formal , and its results will be invalid.

This is a gross violation of accounting rules. It is punishable under Art. 15.11 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation with a fine of 5,000 - 10,000 rubles for violation imposed on company officials. If the violation occurs repeatedly, the fine is doubled , and officials responsible for accounting in the organization may be disqualified for up to 2 years .

Rules for conducting an inventory of payments

Now let's talk about reconciliation of calculations. This is something that definitely needs to be done during the annual inventory - check with all contractors. Everything is simple here: just go ahead and send reconciliation letters to all contractors on the list. They say, according to our data, you owe us 20,000 rubles, we ask you to confirm (or deny) within 10 days. And if you have not responded to our letter, then you agree with our amount. And that's all. And then, based on the results of the mailing, draw up a comparison sheet, and if discrepancies in the calculations emerge, then you will have to figure out the truth: which of the two sides is right and who owes whom and how much.

Let us note that neither auditors nor tax inspectors have the right to require the organization to have reconciliation reports with all counterparties, since this is not regulated by either accounting or tax legislation. Checking mutual settlements on the basis of reconciliation acts is an act of goodwill of the organization, a necessity dictated by common sense.

Inventory value

Inventory is of no small importance in the economic activity of a company. This procedure ensures the reliability of its accounting data and financial statements, since during this event the presence, condition and assessment of:

• property - fixed assets, intangible assets, financial investments, inventories, finished products, goods, other inventories, cash and other financial assets;
• financial liabilities - accounts payable, bank loans, loans and reserves.

The main goals of inventory are to identify the actual availability of property; comparison of its actual availability with accounting data; checking the completeness of recording of liabilities.

Attention

Before drawing up annual financial statements for property, the inventory of which was carried out later than October 1 of the reporting year, the inventory may not be carried out.