Who are the accountable persons?
The order determines the list of employees who receive funds from the organization’s cash desk on account (for entertainment and operating expenses of the organization, to solve various business problems).
It also installs:
- the time for which financial resources are issued - there is no need to issue a separate order on the timing of reporting on imputed amounts, all provisions are contained in a single document;
- purpose of funds.
In addition, such an order is used to generate accounting and tax reporting; its presence and content are monitored during desk audits.
It is enough to issue this document once, if there are no changes in the approved list of employees. If their list changes, a new order is drawn up.
Where is the order on accountable persons applied in 2020-2021
Due to the fact that the order must contain a lot of information that will play an important role in accounting for funds in the cash register and settlements with accountable persons, it is necessary to draw up this document as correctly as possible. The form of such an order is not unified and has not been approved by any government agency.
Read about the registration of cash transactions in our article “Nuances of documenting cash transactions” .
Therefore, having before your eyes a completed sample of this local act, it will be easier for accountants to develop their own document. You can download a completed sample order on accountable persons on our website.
The concept of accountable money
This is the common name for funds given in advance to an employee from the organization’s cash desk to pay for the needs of the enterprise.
The amount of amounts issued for reporting is indicated in the document. The settlement limit (no more than 100,000 rubles per agreement) is taken into account only when making payments between organizations.
At the same time, all expenses incurred by employees using the money issued are economically justified by production necessity. The employer has the right to establish rules and deadlines for submitting reports on expenses incurred, and, if necessary, issue an order to tighten the acceptance of reporting documents from accountable persons, if this measure is economically or organizationally justified.
Is it possible to issue money on account for long periods?
The law does not prohibit giving money to accountants not only for a few days or months, but also for several years. At the same time, it is worth understanding that excessively long periods of time for funds to remain with the accountable must be justified by production necessity, and the funds themselves must be spent on targeted expenses. Otherwise, there may be a risk that regulatory authorities will reclassify accountable amounts as income or an interest-free loan, which entails the need to withhold personal income tax from income (or material benefits).
Such requalification can only be challenged in court. At the same time, arbitration practice on this issue is ambiguous and largely depends on the conditions accompanying a particular situation involving accountable funds.
IMPORTANT! Pay attention to the letter of the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated January 14, 2013 No. 03-04-06/4-5, in which the department reports that until the management approves the advance report, it is impossible to unambiguously determine whether the employee will have income subject to personal income tax and what the amount of this income will be .
Whether it is possible to issue accountable amounts in the absence of a report on previous amounts received under account, find out from the article “Procedure for accounting for settlements with accountable persons (nuances)” .
The procedure for providing funds for reporting
- We determine a list of employees who, due to official needs, have the right to receive money from the company’s cash register or to a bank card.
- We issue an order for the release of funds for reporting, which, in addition to the list of employees, indicates the purposes for using the money issued for reporting.
- We formalize one-time transfers of funds for reporting in separate administrative documents indicating the required details.
The order sets a limit on issuance; it cannot be exceeded. The employee reports on his expenses.
Sample order for the release of money for reporting
Limited Liability Company "PEONY" Order No. 99 May 21, 2022, St. Petersburg About issuing money I order that P.P. Khrumov be given funds in the amount of 15,000 (fifteen thousand) rubles for a period until May 25, 2020 (inclusive) for the next maintenance of the car (registration number mo197r 198). General Director A.V. Voronov |
Cash dispensing algorithm
It may be necessary to issue cash to an employee on account, for example, for the following purposes:
- purchases of inventory items;
- expenses incurred on a business trip;
- settlements under contracts concluded on behalf of the organization.
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The main document that establishes the rules for issuing funds on account is the Bank of Russia Directive No. 3210-U dated March 11, 2014 “On the procedure for conducting cash transactions by legal entities and the simplified procedure for conducting cash transactions by individual entrepreneurs and small businesses” (hereinafter referred to as the Directive ). To issue cash against a report, in general, we recommend following the following algorithm:
Step 1: Get an application
The employee must submit an application to the manager for the release of funds to him on account. There is no single application form, so any form may be used. The text of the application must reflect: - the amount of cash; — date of issue. The manager must agree on the issuance of money and put his signature and date on the application (subclause 6.3 of the Directive). Without an application, you cannot issue cash against a report (except for cases when a corporate bank card has been opened for payments).
Step 2: Issue a cash receipt order
After receiving the application, issue a cash receipt order. The form of the order (KO-2) was approved by Decree of the State Statistics Committee of the Russian Federation dated August 18, 1998 No. 88. A cash order can be issued (subclause 4.2, clause 4 of the Directions): - chief accountant; — an accountant or other official (including a cashier) specified in an administrative document, or an official of an organization, an individual with whom an agreement has been concluded for the provision of accounting services; - manager (in the absence of a chief accountant and accountant). The cash order must be signed by the chief accountant or accountant. In case of their absence - by the manager (subclause 4.3, clause 4 of the Directions).
Step 3: Submit the order to the cashier
The cashier checks the received order. If there are no errors, then after presenting a passport or other identification document, the employee is given cash (subclause 6.1, clause 6 of the Directive). The cash order is signed by the recipient and the cashier.
Step 4: Check the cash book
According to the issued order, the cashier must make an entry in the cash book. In this case, the entries in the cash book are verified with the data of cash documents by the chief accountant or accountant (in their absence, by the manager) and signed by the person who carried out the specified reconciliation (subclause 4.6, clause 4 of the Instructions).
If the company does not have a cashier (an employee whose job responsibilities include conducting cash transactions), then the manager can sign the cash order and issue cash (clause 4 of the Directions).
Is it possible to do without an order?
It is necessary if the company uses the practice of transferring funds to employees on account.
There are no statutory penalties for incorrect execution of the issuance of money on account. But in practice, in the absence of an order, the inspection authorities (tax service or labor inspectorate) have the right to impose a fine for violation of cash rules (see Part 1 of Article 15.1 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation):
- for officials in the amount of 4,000 to 5,000 rubles;
- for legal entities - from 40,000 to 50,000 rubles.
Should I set a deadline for issuing money under the report?
Any answer to this question has its positive and negative consequences. It is worth understanding that by determining a specific deadline for issuing accountable money, the company will be obliged to comply with it. Otherwise, there is a high chance of filing claims from tax authorities for failure to receive funds to the cash register. The fine for this violation is 4–5 thousand rubles. for officials and 40–50 thousand rubles. for legal entities (clause 1 of article 15 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation).
At the same time, such claims cannot be considered absolutely justified, since such a violation as untimely return of accountable funds is directly contained in Art. 15 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation is not provided for. However, such a risk exists and must be kept in mind.
Read more about possible penalties for violations when handling cash in the article “Cash discipline and responsibility for its violation .
Check whether you are correctly registering mutual settlements with accountable persons in accounting using the Ready-made solution from ConsultantPlus. If you don't have access to the system, get a free trial online.
In turn, if the deadline for the return of accountable cash is not recorded anywhere, then the controllers cannot have any claims for its untimely return. True, in this case, problems with the tax authorities are not excluded. Thus, in letter No. 04-1-02/704 of the Federal Tax Service of Russia dated January 24, 2005, tax officials expressed the opinion that if the deadline for issuing cash on account is not specified, such a period is considered equal to 1 day. However, they do not justify their position with any legal acts.
In connection with the above, making a decision at the level of local internal corporate acts on establishing (or not establishing) deadlines for issuing reports is based on an assessment of one’s own economic situation and possible risks.
Appointment of accountable persons
Instructions on how to make an order for payment on an advance report consist of the following steps:
- Draw up a document in any form or form approved by a specific organization.
- Have it signed by the head of the organization.
- Under signature, familiarize all employees affected by the order with the order, this is the employee who receives the money in accordance with the document, and the person responsible for the execution of the document. By this they confirm that they have read and agree with the document.
The text indicates:
- registration number of the document and the date of its preparation;
- Company name;
- a complete list of persons to whom money is issued, indicating their positions, full name;
- the maximum amount allowed for issuance;
- the purposes and terms for which the money is issued.
It is not necessary to certify it with a seal.
Since such an order relates to documents related to the main activity, it is subject to permanent storage.
Sample order for issuing money for reporting to employees of an organization
What wording should an order not contain?
As mentioned above, it is important when issuing accountable funds to issue an order for issuance.
Let's consider some wording that may raise doubts among the inspection authorities and lead to the imposition of a fine of 50,000 rubles on the organization.
- “I order in the future to extradite O.I. Katanova. funds in an amount not exceeding 35,000 rubles without applications”;
- “I order the extradition of O.I. Katanova. funds without applications until the advance amount reaches 35,000 rubles"
The example statements do not contain precise information about the specific disbursement of funds. In addition, they do not indicate the period for which accountable funds are issued to the employee. When checking such documents, tax authorities have the right to consider the issuance of funds as the employee’s income, which will lead to unnecessary consequences for the company and the employee.
Issuance of accountable amounts
If a certain amount needs to be given to one of the employees of the enterprise, a corresponding order is drawn up to allocate accountable funds to the employee’s account, into which the following data is entered:
- name of company;
- name of the published paper;
- document number, date, place of its preparation;
- rationale and basis for publication;
- who is responsible for issuing accountable amounts;
- maximum amount of amounts;
- the period for which they are issued;
- an employee who has the right to receive the necessary funds from the cash register;
- official responsible for execution.
The paper is signed by the head of the enterprise, the employee who has the right to receive money, and the person responsible for executing the order. Also, the details of the decree should be recorded in a special accounting journal.
Results
Neither the minimum nor maximum terms for issuing money to accountables are established by law. Business entities have the right to determine them independently. These deadlines can be recorded in the local acts of the enterprise. However, the law does not oblige the enterprise to draw up such administrative documents.
For information on the legislative framework relating to settlements with accountable persons, see the article “Settlements with accountable persons - regulatory documents” .
Sources:
- Federal Law of December 6, 2011 No. 402-FZ
- Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation
- Directive of the Bank of Russia dated March 11, 2014 No. 3210-U
You can find more complete information on the topic in ConsultantPlus. Free trial access to the system for 2 days.
Rules for drawing up a document
There is no unified form, but pay attention to the following rules:
- Create a document on the institution’s letterhead in a single copy. If such a form is not available, then in the header of the document indicate the name of the government agency (full), number, date and name of the order.
- A sample of a new order for reporting should be registered in the order register in the usual manner.
- When creating a new order, strictly follow the chronological order, otherwise the inspectors will suspect forgery.
- Only the head of the organization or his deputy or the person acting as head has the right to approve the document.
- In the document, be sure to indicate the following details: Accountable person: last name, first name and patronymic (if any), position.
- Subreport amount: indicate the amount in words and figures, in rubles and kopecks.
- Purpose: write down the specific purpose of the allocated money.
- Reporting deadline: indicate the deadline (day, month, year) until which the money was issued.
Don't forget to appoint a responsible person, for example, a chief accountant. If the organization does not have an accounting department, then control over compliance with this order should be entrusted to the manager.