What items relate to accounts receivable? What is a company's accounts receivable and what does it show? Doubtful and bad debt of the debtor

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“Bad debts (debts that are unrealistic for collection) are those debts to the taxpayer for which the established statute of limitations has expired, as well as those debts for which, in accordance with civil law, the obligation has been terminated due to the impossibility of its fulfillment, on the basis of an act of a state body or liquidation organizations."

Accounts receivable that are unrealistic for collection may arise as a result of:

Liquidation of the debtor;
debtor;

Expiration of the statute of limitations without confirmation of debt on the part of the debtor;
availability of funds in accounts in a “problem” bank. There are two options here:

O firstly, if after the decision to liquidate the bank there are not enough funds to pay off the receivables, then such receivables are considered unrealistic for collection and, accordingly, must be written off to the financial results;

O secondly, if instead of liquidating a bank it is envisaged, then the organization can create a reserve for doubtful debts and wait for the bank to restore solvency;

The impossibility of a bailiff collecting the amount of debt by a court decision (for example, the property of an organization is under the right of operational management).

Depending on the expected repayment period, accounts receivable are divided into:

Short-term (repayment of which is expected within a year after the reporting date);
long-term (repayment of which is expected no earlier than one year after the reporting date).

It should be noted that in relation to overdue receivables, it is advisable to use deferred (installment) payment, make payments in shares, and use barter.

When granting a deferred (installment) payment, it is necessary to take into account the solvency and business reputation of the counterparty.

Accounts receivable management

Accounts receivable is an integral element of the sales activities of any enterprise. A fairly large part of it in the overall asset structure reduces the financial stability of the enterprise and increases the risk of financial losses for the company.

Modern conditions for the development of the economy of our country provide for the dynamism of the development of mutual settlements between counterparties. In such conditions, special attention must be paid to accounts receivable.

Very often it is defined as a component of working capital, which represents requirements for individuals or legal entities regarding payment for goods, products, and services.

There is a tendency to equate accounts receivable with trade credit. A commercial loan is provided to the buyer taking into account its cost (the company's resources are provided for use on a paid basis) and urgency (the period of use of the funds provided is limited).

The structure of equity capital is determined based on the analysis of the constituent elements. The effectiveness of their use is assessed using relative indicators and coefficients. Particular attention is paid to indicators that are directly related to the risk of sales on credit: the ratio of debt obligations to the total cost of fixed and working capital, the ratio of current assets, accounts payable coverage ratios, etc.

The liquid property of the organization, which can be considered as collateral, serves as collateral for a commercial loan. When selling goods on credit, it is necessary, in addition to the usual conditions stipulated by contracts, to take into account the general state of the economy at a given time and the position of the buyer and supplier in the market for the relevant goods and services.

Obtaining and assessing information about the solvency of a possible buyer, allowing him to credit him with the sale of goods on credit without much risk for the supplier, is not an easy task.

In a number of Western countries there are special agencies that collect such information and then provide it for a fee.

Based on this information, the selling company can create a kind of rating of the solvency of its customers and, depending on this, carry out an individual credit and sales policy in relation to each client.

Accounts receivable risk includes the potential for significant increases in accounts receivables, increases in bad debts and the overall time to pay off debt obligations.

The possibility of increasing the degree of such risk is evidenced by a significant increase in the supply of goods on credit, an extension of the terms of this loan, an increase in the number of bankrupt organizations among buyers, and a general deterioration in the economic situation in the country and the world.

Accounts receivable turnover

In theory, the receivables turnover ratio is calculated as the ratio of sales revenue (B) to the average value of receivables for the period (Odz): Odz = B / (DZnp + DZkp) / 2

Where ДЗнп, ДЗкп – accounts receivable at the beginning and end of the period.

The receivables turnover period (Receivable) is calculated using the formula: Receivable = Tper / Odz.

The receivables turnover period characterizes the average duration of deferred payments provided to customers.

Since accounts receivable, in addition to the obligations of buyers and customers, also include the debt of the founders for contributions to the company, obligations of third parties for advances issued, some distortions are possible.

We can conditionally distinguish three principal types of the company’s credit policy in relation to product buyers: conservative, moderate and aggressive.

The conservative (tight) type of credit policy of an enterprise is aimed at minimizing credit risk. In this case, the enterprise does not strive to obtain high additional profits by expanding the volume of product sales.

A moderate type of credit policy of an enterprise focuses on the average level of credit risk when selling products with deferred payment. Most trading companies that are at the stage of stable development (not a new aggressive company, but not old ones) can be classified as this type.

An aggressive (or preferential) type of credit policy is an expansion of the volume of product sales on credit, regardless of the high level of credit risk. What comes to mind here is not a company, but an entire country - China, which has flooded half the world with its cheap goods.

In the process of choosing the type of credit policy, the following main factors should be taken into account:

The general state of the economy, which determines the financial capabilities of buyers and their level of solvency;
the current product market, the state of demand for the enterprise’s products;
the potential ability of the enterprise to increase the volume of production while expanding the possibilities for its sale by providing credit;
legal conditions for ensuring the collection of receivables;
financial capabilities of the enterprise in terms of diversion of funds into current accounts receivable;
the financial mentality of the owners and managers of the enterprise, their attitude to the level of acceptable risk in the process of carrying out business activities.

In Western practice, analysts use the same formula, but they do not take the average value, but at the end of the period (sometimes minus doubtful accounts receivable) for the purpose of subsequent comparison with previous periods, and more often the turnover is calculated in days: Odz = (Accounts receivable - Doubtful accounts receivable debt) / Net revenue * 365

The acceleration of accounts receivable turnover over a number of periods is considered a positive trend. But too strict control over the repayment of receivables can lead to the loss of customers, and too soft can lead to a shortage of working capital and a weakening of the payment discipline of debtors, many of whom, according to the old Russian tradition, delay payment “until the last minute”.

Accounts receivable accounting

In modern market conditions, the rules are dictated by buyers and customers, for whom it is beneficial to first receive goods or accept work, and only then pay. In order to maintain their positions in the market, suppliers and contractors follow the wishes of clients and are increasingly using commercial lending, providing deferred payments, etc. If the fact of delivery of goods (works, services) does not coincide in time with the receipt of funds for them, the supplier (contractor) has a receivable.

Accounts receivable, from the point of view, is a property right, i.e. the right to receive a certain amount of money (goods, services, etc.) from the debtor. This type of debt is reflected in the financial statements as part of the organization's assets.

In accounting, accounts receivable are reflected in the debit of the accounts:

60 “Settlements with suppliers and contractors” (if the organization issued an advance on delivery);
62 “Settlements with buyers and customers” (in the case of delivery of goods, works, services on account of subsequent payment);
68 “Calculations for taxes and fees” (in case of overpayment to the budget);
69 “Calculations for social and security” (in case of overpayment in calculations for social insurance, pensions, compulsory medical insurance of the organization’s employees);
70 “Settlements with personnel for wages” (when certain amounts are withheld from the employee in favor of the organization);
71 “Settlements with accountable persons” (in case of failure by the accountable person to return the funds issued to him);
73 “Settlements with personnel for other operations” (if there are debts of employees on loans provided, compensation for material damage, etc.);
75 “Settlements with founders” (if there is debt of the founders on contributions to the authorized, share capital);
76 “Settlements with various debtors and creditors” (in case of arrears for compensation for damage due to an insured event; settlements for claims in favor of the organization; settlements for what is due, etc.).

Currently, there are frequent cases of debtors failing to fulfill their obligations. For violation of the terms of contracts, the following measures of civil liability are applied: fines, penalties, penalties, interest.

Amounts of sanctions recognized by the debtor or for which court decisions on their collection have been received are included by commercial organizations in non-operating income (clause 8 of the Accounting Regulations “Income of the Organization” (PBU 9/99), approved by Order of the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation No. 32n). This will record:

Dt sch. 76 “Settlements with various debtors and creditors”, subaccount. "Calculations for claims"
for the amount of the accrued fine (penalty, penalty).

The amounts of fines, penalties, penalties before their receipt are reflected in the balance sheet as part of accounts receivable (clause 76 of the Regulations on accounting and financial reporting in the Russian Federation, approved by order of the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation dated July 29, 1998 No. 34n).

Accounts receivable that are not repaid on time and are not secured by appropriate guarantees are considered doubtful.

Bad debts (debts that are unrealistic to collect) are debts to the organization:

For which the established limitation period has expired;
for which, in accordance with civil law, the obligation is terminated due to the impossibility of its fulfillment on the basis of an act of a state body or the liquidation of an organization.

Debt for which the statute of limitations has expired and other debts that are unrealistic to collect are subject to write-off. To write off an organization, it is necessary to conduct an inventory of accounts receivable.

Further, based on inventory data, written justification and order (instruction) of the head of the organization, each individual obligation that is unrealistic for collection is repaid from the reserve for doubtful debts (clause 77 of the Regulations on accounting and financial reporting in the Russian Federation). If a reserve has not been created, amounts of receivables for which the statute of limitations has expired, and other debts that are unrealistic for collection, are included in the organization’s expenses (clause 14.3 of the Accounting Regulations “Organization Expenses” (PBU 10/99), approved by order of the Ministry of Finance RF dated 05/06/99 No. 33n).

Provision for doubtful debts

By creating a reserve for doubtful debts, the organization reduces its profit in advance (payment is deferred). The amounts of contributions to the reserve are included in operating expenses (clause 11 of PBU 10/99) on the last day of the reporting period.

When creating and using a reserve for doubtful debts, the following conditions must be taken into account:

The creation of a reserve must be specified in;
the reserve for doubtful debts is created only for settlements for sold products, goods, works and services;
the amount of the reserve for doubtful debts is determined based on the results of the inventory of receivables carried out on the last day of the reporting period;
the total amount of the created reserve for doubtful debts cannot exceed 10% of the revenue of the reporting (tax) period;
the amount of the reserve is calculated separately for each doubtful debt;
The amount of the reserve is calculated depending on the timing of the debt.

The creation of a reserve for the amount of overdue debt is reflected by the entry: K-account. 63 “Provisions for doubtful debts”.

The reserve for doubtful debts can be used by an organization only to cover losses from bad debts. The write-off of outstanding debt that is unrealistic for collection at the expense of the created reserve is reflected by the entry:

The written off debt is not cancelled. Its amount is reflected in off-balance sheet account 007 “Debt of insolvent debtors written off at a loss” for five years from the date of write-off. This procedure is provided because the debtor’s property situation may change and the organization may be able to collect the debt. If the amount of the created reserve is less than the amount of bad debts subject to write-off, the difference (loss) is subject to inclusion in non-operating expenses. Recording is made:

Dt sch. 91 “Other income and expenses”, subaccount. "Other expenses",
K-t sch. 62 “Settlements with buyers and customers”, etc.
the amount of accounts receivable exceeding the reserve is written off.

The amount of the reserve for doubtful debts that is not fully used in the current reporting period may be carried forward to the next reporting period. In this case, the amount of the reserve newly created based on the results of the inventory must be adjusted to the amount of the balance of the reserve of the previous reporting period.

If the debtor has repaid the debt, the following entries are made:

Dt sch. 51 " " and others,
K-t sch. 62 “Settlements with buyers and customers”, etc.
full (partial) repayment of debt is reflected;
Dt sch. 63 “Provisions for doubtful debts”,
K-t sch. 91 “Other income and expenses”, subaccount. "Other income"
the amount of the unused reserve is included in other income.

Writing off debt without creating a reserve

If the reserve was not created, the amounts of receivables for which the statute of limitations has expired, and other debts that are unrealistic for collection, are included in the organization’s expenses (clause 14.3 of the Accounting Regulations “Organization’s Expenses” (PBU 10/99). In this case, entry:

Dt sch. 91 “Other income and expenses”, subaccount. "Other expenses",
K-t sch. 62 “Settlements with buyers and customers”, etc.
the amount of accounts receivable is written off.
In the future, if the debtor returns the previously written off debt, the following entry is made:
Dt sch. 51 “Current accounts”, etc.,
K-t sch. 91 “Other income and expenses”, subaccount. "Other income"
debt has been repaid.

The written-off debt must also be reflected in the debit of off-balance sheet account 007 “Debt of insolvent debtors written off at a loss” within five years from the date of write-off. When such a debt is repaid, an entry is made in the credit of account 007 “Debt of insolvent debtors written off at a loss.”

write-off of accounts receivable

In tax accounting, writing off bad receivables is an expense that reduces taxable profit.

In accordance with sub. 7 clause 1 non-operating expenses not related to production and sales include the expenses of an organization using the accrual method for the formation of reserves for doubtful debts. The norm contained in sub. 2 p. 2 art. 265 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, equates losses received by an organization in the reporting (tax) period to non-operating expenses. In particular, the amounts of bad debts, and if the organization creates a reserve for doubtful debts, the amounts of bad debts not covered by the reserve funds. To justify a reduction in taxable profit, the hopelessness of collecting receivables must be confirmed in the proper manner. One of the grounds for recognizing a debt as unrealistic to collect is the expiration of the statute of limitations.

Limitation of actions– this is the period for protecting the right in a claim of a person whose right has been violated. The rules regarding the limitation period are regulated by Ch. 12 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation. As a general rule, the statute of limitations is three years. In some cases, the law establishes special limitation periods (shorter or longer). Confirmation of the hopelessness of a debt is not any impossibility of fulfilling an obligation on the part of the counterparty, but only an impossibility based on the provisions of an act of a government body or arising due to the liquidation of an organization. Thus, if the basis for recognizing the hopelessness of collection is the expiration of the limitation period, then the supporting document may be a court ruling that denied the organization protection of its rights due to the expiration of the limitation period.

The norm contained in Art. 416 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, determines that an obligation can be terminated due to the impossibility of its fulfillment, if this impossibility is caused by a circumstance for which neither party is responsible. For example, the impossibility of fulfilling an obligation may be a consequence of the death of an individually defined thing, the impracticability of the assigned work, or the death of a person participating in the obligation. According to paragraph 3 of Art. 401 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, unless otherwise provided by law or contract, a person who has not fulfilled or improperly fulfilled an obligation is liable unless he proves that proper fulfillment was impossible due to force majeure, i.e. extraordinary and unavoidable circumstances under given conditions.

Force majeure circumstances are:

Natural disasters (earthquakes, floods, fires, typhoons, hurricanes, storms, snow drifts, sudden temperature fluctuations leading to the loss of crops or late ripening of grain, etc.);
certain circumstances of public life (military actions, epidemics, national and industrial strikes, orders of the competent authorities prohibiting the performance of actions provided for by the obligation, etc.).

Evidence of the existence of such circumstances are documents issued by the relevant competent authorities (ministries, departments).

Losses from emergency situations, as well as those associated with their prevention or liquidation, are included in non-operating expenses in accordance with subparagraph. 6 paragraph 2 art. 265 Tax Code of the Russian Federation.

The obligation may be terminated in whole or in part as a result of the issuance of an act of a state body (Article 417 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation). Such an act, in particular, may be a decision of government authorities on the requisition of property (Article 242 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation). Obligations also terminate upon liquidation of a legal entity (Article 419 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation).

The proof will be a certificate from the tax authorities confirming the exclusion of the organization from the Unified State Register of Legal Entities. In the event of liquidation of an organization, the claims of creditors that are not satisfied due to the insufficiency of the property of the liquidated legal entity are considered extinguished. In turn, creditors are forced to recognize the debt of the liquidated organization as unrealistic for collection.

Liquidation of a debtor organization may occur in the event of its bankruptcy1. In this case, the basis for writing off receivables is the ruling of the arbitration court on the completion of bankruptcy proceedings. A similar basis for recognizing a debt as unrealistic for collection can be considered “money stuck” in a problem (bankrupt) bank.

The debtor organization ensures legal succession of obligations (Article 58 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation), so the debt is not written off.

A document confirming the impossibility of collecting a debt may be an act of a bailiff drawn up in accordance with Art. 26 of Federal Law No. 119-FZ “On Enforcement Proceedings”. The act is drawn up when it is recognized that it is impossible to enforce the court decision to collect the debt and is approved by the senior bailiff.

One of the reasons for recognizing the impossibility of enforcing a court decision may be obstruction (by action or inaction) on the part of the claimant himself. The bailiff's act is also drawn up in the event that the claimant refused to retain the debtor's property. If it is impossible to enforce a court decision, this document cannot be accepted as evidence of the hopelessness of the debt. Accordingly, the income tax base cannot be reduced by the amount of this debt.

Tax accounting of penalties

The procedure for tax accounting of income in the form of fines, penalties or other sanctions for violation of contractual obligations is established in. These types of income are non-operating.

Taxpayers who measure income using the accrual method report amounts due according to the terms of the agreement. If the terms of the agreement do not provide for penalties or compensation for losses, the taxpayer-recipient does not have an obligation. When collecting a debt in court, the taxpayer's obligation to accrue this non-operating income arises on the basis of a court decision.

VAT when writing off accounts receivable

For organizations that have approved in their accounting policies for tax purposes the moment of determining the tax base for VAT upon shipment and presentation of settlement documents (for shipment) to the buyer, VAT is calculated and paid on the day of shipment (transfer) of goods (works, services), taking into account the transfer of rights property in accordance with the provisions of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation. Such organizations do not have the question of when to calculate VAT on overdue accounts receivable, since they assessed this tax by shipping the goods (performing work, providing services).

Organizations that have approved in their accounting policies for tax purposes the moment of determining the tax base as funds are received (for payment), calculate and pay VAT on the day of payment for goods shipped (work performed, services rendered). Determination of the date of accrual and payment of tax if the counterparty fails to fulfill its obligations before the expiration of the limitation period is carried out in accordance with the norms of clause 5. The date of payment for goods (works, services) is the earliest of the following dates:

The day of expiration of the specified limitation period;
the day the accounts receivable are written off.

An organization that determines revenue “on payment” by writing off bad receivables must pay VAT to the budget, which is listed in accounting in account 76 “Settlements with various debtors and creditors”, the subaccount “Settlements for unpaid VAT”.

Write-off of accounts receivable

For all organizations, regardless of their legal form, writing off overdue receivables in the cases that will be described below is a mandatory procedure.

In order to prevent data distortion and ensure the financial stability of the organization, receivables must be claimed. First, the collection of receivables is carried out through a claim procedure, then the collection of receivables takes place in court.

Each organization must exercise control over the state of receivables, record them, and reconcile mutual settlements. When the amount of receivables is identified, it must be presented to the debtor and claimed. If during the limitation period the amount of receivables is not collected or the debtor is liquidated, then the organization writes off the receivables.

An organization can create a reserve for doubtful debts, expecting the debtor to restore solvency. The concept of doubtful debt and the procedure for creating a reserve are given in Article 266 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation. Thus, doubtful debt is any debt to the taxpayer arising in connection with the sale of goods, performance of work, provision of services, if this debt is not repaid within the time period established by the agreement and is not secured by a pledge, surety, or bank guarantee.

According to paragraph 77 of the Regulations on maintaining accounting and financial reporting in the Russian Federation, approved by Order of the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation No. 34n “On approval of the regulations on maintaining accounting and financial reporting in the Russian Federation”:

“accounts receivable for which the statute of limitations has expired, and other debts that are unrealistic for collection are written off for each obligation based on the inventory data, written justification and order (instruction) of the head of the organization and are charged accordingly to the reserve for doubtful debts or to the financial results from a commercial organization, if during the period preceding the reporting period, the amounts of these debts were not reserved in the manner prescribed by paragraph 70 of these Regulations, or to increase expenses from a non-profit organization.”

At the same time, when applying this legal norm in practice, it is necessary to take into account the following conclusion of the Federal Arbitration Court of Cassation: Current legislation does not contain the obligation of the taxpayer to write off receivables at the moment when the three-year limitation period has expired. The expiration of the statute of limitations is not the only condition for writing off receivables. Such debt must also be written off if it is deemed uncollectible. The unreality of collection is determined independently by the business entity, which is guided by the totality of objective circumstances that have arisen in the course of its activities (Resolution of the Federal Arbitration Court (hereinafter referred to as FAS) of the Volga-Vyatka District No. A43-20240/2005-30-656).

In accordance with paragraph 77 of the Regulations on maintaining accounting and financial reporting in the Russian Federation, approved by Order of the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation No. 34n “On approval of the regulations on maintaining accounting and financial reporting in the Russian Federation”:

“Writing off a debt at a loss due to the insolvency of the debtor does not constitute cancellation of the debt. This debt must be reflected on the balance sheet for five years from the date of write-off to monitor the possibility of its collection in the event of a change in the debtor’s property situation.”

According to Article 12 of Federal Law No. 129-FZ “On Accounting”, to ensure the reliability of accounting data and financial statements, organizations are required to conduct an inventory of property and liabilities, during which their presence, condition and assessment are checked and documented. In this regard, there are Guidelines for the inventory of property and financial obligations, approved by Order of the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation No. 49 “On approval of guidelines for the inventory of property and financial obligations” (hereinafter referred to as the Guidelines).

In accordance with clause 1.2. Methodical instructions:

“The organization’s property means inventory, finished products, goods, other inventories, cash and others, and financial liabilities mean accounts payable, bank loans, loans and reserves.”

According to paragraph 1.3 of the Methodological Instructions, all property of the organization is subject to inventory, regardless of its location.

Thus, accounts receivable belong to the organization’s property and are subject to mandatory inventory.

The results of the inventory in terms of settlements with buyers, suppliers and other debtors and creditors must be documented in the Inventory Act of settlements with buyers, suppliers and other debtors and creditors in form No. INV-17, approved by Resolution of the State Statistics Committee of the Russian Federation dated August 18, 1998 No. 88 “On approval of unified forms of primary accounting documentation for recording cash transactions and recording inventory results.”

Based on the results of the inventory, doubtful accounts receivable and accounts receivable that are unrealistic for collection are identified, overdue accounts receivable, and statute of limitations for each obligation.

Based on the results of the inventory, in terms of settlements with debtors, an accounting certificate is drawn up, which indicates:

Name, address, organization of the debtor;
- amount of debt;
- the basis on which the receivables were formed;
- date of debt formation;
- primary documents confirming the fact of debt occurrence, their details;
- documents evidencing debt collection, their details.

The act in form No. INV-17 separately reflects the amounts of receivables that were confirmed or not confirmed by debtor organizations.

Next, on the basis of the accounting certificate, the head of the organization, if necessary, issues an order to write off the overdue and (or) unrecoverable amount of receivables. If the organization did not create a reserve for doubtful debts, then the written off receivables, and in the amount in which they are reflected in the accounting records (including VAT), are included in the financial results. In accordance with paragraphs 12 and 14.3 of PBU 10/99 “Expenses of the organization”, approved by Order of the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation dated May 6, 1999 No. 33n “On approval of the accounting regulations “Expenses of the organization” PBU 10/99” (hereinafter referred to as PBU 10/99 ), written-off debt is included in non-operating expenses.

Non-operating expenses are the amounts of receivables for which the statute of limitations has expired, and other debts that are unrealistic for collection.

Judicial practice proceeds from the fact that for income tax purposes, non-operating expenses include losses from the write-off of receivables for which the statute of limitations has expired, and other debts that are unrealistic for collection if there is documentary evidence of them. This provision is confirmed by Resolutions of the Federal Antimonopoly Service of the Moscow District, No. KA-A40/8894-05, No. KA-A40/469-04, No. KA-A40/1128-03, No. KA-A41/3289-00, Resolutions of the Federal Antimonopoly Service of the Ural District No. F09 -1748/05-С7 and No. Ф09-3190/05-С2, Resolutions of the Federal Antimonopoly Service of the Volga-Vyatka District No. A31-673/19, No. A28-2208/03-102/23, Resolutions of the Federal Antimonopoly Service of the Central District No. A09-6738/04 -13DSP and Resolution of the Federal Antimonopoly Service of the North Caucasus District No. F08-2677/2005-1084A.

At the same time, I would like to draw the reader’s attention to the court’s conclusion, set out in the Resolution of the Federal Antimonopoly Service of the Volga-Vyatka District No. A82-2756/2004-14, according to which receivables for goods not paid on time may be included in the reserve for doubtful debts , and in the absence of a written agreement.

“Receivables for which the statute of limitations has expired, and other debts that are unrealistic for collection, are included in the organization’s expenses in the amount in which the debt was reflected in the organization’s accounting records” (clause 14.3 of PBU 10/99).

Moreover, the right to write off for losses receivables for which the statute of limitations has expired arises in the presence of circumstances indicating the unreality of its collection, which is confirmed by the resolution of the Federal Antimonopoly Service of the Volga-Vyatka District No. A29-6853/2003A.

So, let's summarize. To recognize an operation to write off receivables as legal, the following documents are required:

Agreement with the debtor organization;

In the absence of an agreement with the debtor, the taxpayer organization must be prepared to defend the legitimacy of its position in the courts. It is positive that the courts in a similar situation side with the taxpayer, see, for example, the above Resolution of the Federal Antimonopoly Service of the Volga-Vyatka District No. A82-2756/2004-14.

Primary documents confirming the fact of debt (for example, invoices);
act in form No. INV-17;
order from the manager to write off the amount of receivables.
The impossibility of repaying the amount of receivables can be confirmed:

Firstly, an extract from the Unified State Register of Legal Entities (USRLE), a certificate from the tax authority on the liquidation of the debtor organization;
- secondly, by a court decision, notification of the bankruptcy trustee (liquidation commission) about the refusal to satisfy the requirements for collection of the relevant debt due to the insufficiency of the property of the liquidated debtor organization;
- thirdly, by an act of the bailiff - executor on the impossibility of collecting debt from the debtor organization.

In the presence of the above documents and in the absence of a reserve for doubtful debts, receivables are subject to write-off to financial results as not realizable for collection (bad).

Accounts receivable period

Let us note that organizations need to monitor the status of settlements with debtors and reconcile mutual settlements with them. If the amount of debt is identified, in order to prevent distortion of the balance sheet data and ensure the financial stability of the organization, it must be presented to the debtor and an attempt must be made to recover this amount from him. First, the collection of receivables is carried out through a claim procedure, then the collection of receivables takes place in court.

If, however, it was not possible to collect the debt from the debtor within the limitation period or the debtor was liquidated, the amount of the receivable is written off from the balance sheet.

In accordance with paragraph 77 of the Accounting Regulations, accounts receivable for which the statute of limitations has expired, as well as other debts that are unrealistic for collection, are written off for each obligation, as already noted, based on the inventory data, written justification and order ( orders) of the head of the organization.

Based on the results of the inventory (the inventory procedure is discussed in Section 3 of the book “Writing off accounts receivable and payable”), doubtful accounts receivable and debts that are not realistic for collection are identified.

As already mentioned, according to paragraph 2 of Article 266 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, for profit tax purposes, there are four grounds for recognizing receivables as bad:

Bad debts are those debts for which the established limitation period has expired (Article 196 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation);
- debts for which, in accordance with civil law, the obligation has been terminated due to the impossibility of its fulfillment (Article 416 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation);
- debts for which, in accordance with civil law, the obligation is terminated on the basis of an act of a state body (Article 417 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation);
- debts for which, in accordance with civil law, the obligation is terminated by the liquidation of the organization (Article 419 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation).

At the same time, as the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation indicated in Letter No. 03-03-04/2/195, on the third basis we mean legislative and regulatory legal acts of government bodies and bodies (laws, decrees, resolutions, orders, regulations, including including, in particular, instructions from the Bank of the Russian Federation (for example, on the introduction of a moratorium on satisfying the creditor’s claims for loan debt) and the like).

In the event of liquidation of the debtor organization, accounts receivable can be written off only if there is an extract from the Unified State Register or a certificate from the tax authority on the liquidation of the debtor after the head of the organization has made a decision to recognize the debt as bad and has issued an order to write it off. Let us note that the Ministry of Finance in Letter No. 03-03-04/1/380 indicated that an organization has the right to write off unrealistic debt only upon official notification of the exclusion of the debtor from the Unified State Register of Legal Entities. And in Letter No. 03-03-04/2/195, the Ministry of Finance indicated that debts that cannot be collected are written off as non-operating expenses from the date of exclusion of the taxpayer-debtor from the Unified State Register of Legal Entities. The Letter of the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation No. 03-04-11/50 also states that at the moment when a company is excluded from the Unified State Register (this also applies to cases when the debtor has been reorganized), Article 266 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation allows the recognition of doubtful debt as bad .

You can also obtain information about organizations and individual entrepreneurs contained in the Unified State Register of Legal Entities and the Unified State Register of Individual Entrepreneurs (hereinafter referred to as the Unified State Register of Individual Entrepreneurs) (with the exception of passport data of individuals, information about accounts and place of residence of an individual entrepreneur) via the Internet. The Federal Tax Service of the Russian Federation reported this on its official website www.nalog.ru. This service is paid. The procedure and cost of providing data are indicated in the Order of the Federal Tax Service of the Russian Federation No. SAE-3-09/7@ “On approval of the procedure for providing electronically information contained in the unified state register of legal entities and in the unified state register of individual entrepreneurs.” To obtain information contained in the Unified State Register of Legal Entities or the Unified State Register of Individual Entrepreneurs in electronic form, you must send an Application for the provision of the necessary information and a payment document to the Federal Tax Service at the address: 127381, Moscow, Neglinnaya Street, 23.

If the debtor organization is not liquidated, after the expiration of the limitation period, the doubtful debt goes into the category of debts that are not realistic for collection, and after an inventory of payments is carried out, it is written off in the generally established manner.

As set out in Letter of the Ministry of Taxes and Taxes of the Russian Federation No. 02-5-10/53 “On the procedure for writing off bad debts for which the statute of limitations has expired for tax purposes”, not collected due to missing the deadline for applying to a bailiff for execution of a court decision receivables cannot be taken into account for tax purposes to reduce the tax base, since this basis is not contained in the list of conditions for recognizing debt as bad, established by paragraph 2 of Article 266 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation.

As a general rule, accounts receivable are written off upon expiration of the statute of limitations, that is, three years after the debt was incurred. The limitation periods and the rules for calculating them are established by Chapter 12 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation.

In accordance with Article 198 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, the limitation periods and the procedure for calculating them cannot be changed by agreement of the parties.

In addition, statutes of limitations do not apply to all types of civil claims. For example, Article 208 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation defines the types of obligations of an open-ended nature. The limitation period does not apply to the following claims:

§ on the protection of personal non-property rights;
§ on the protection of other intangible benefits;
§ depositors to the bank about the issuance of deposits;
§ on compensation for harm caused to the life or health of a citizen;
§ the owner or other possessor to eliminate any violations of his rights, even if these violations were not associated with deprivation of possession (Article 304 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation);
§ other requirements in cases established by law.

However, claims brought after three years from the moment the right to compensation for harm caused to the life and health of a citizen arose are satisfied for the past period of no more than three years preceding the filing of the claim.

It should be noted that in relation to most civil obligations, the time frame for protecting rights is limited.

There are general and special limitation periods. According to Article 196 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, the general limitation period is three years. According to Article 197 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, special (shorter or longer than general) terms are established by law in relation to certain types of obligations:

U A claim to declare a voidable transaction invalid and to apply the consequences of its invalidity may be brought within a year from the date of cessation of the violence or threat under the influence of which the transaction was made (clause 1 of Article 179 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation), or from the day when the plaintiff learned or should was found out about other circumstances that are the basis for declaring the transaction invalid (clause 2 of Article 181 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation);
u The limitation period for claims brought in connection with inadequate quality of work performed according to is one year in accordance with paragraph 1 of Article 725 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, and in relation to buildings and structures is determined according to the rules of Article 196 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation.

Of significant practical importance, in this case, for a reasonable determination of the fact of expiration of the limitation period for overdue receivables, is the correct calculation of the limitation period.

As a general rule, in accordance with Article 200 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, the limitation period starts from the day when the person learned or should have learned about the violation of his right, that is, from the day following the day when the period for fulfilling the obligation expired. So, for example, if the obligation to pay for goods should have been fulfilled by the buyer on December 1, then the limitation period begins to count from the second December. For obligations with a certain period of performance, the limitation period begins at the end of the performance period (clause 2 of Article 200 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation). For obligations for which the deadline for fulfillment is not defined or is determined by the moment of demand, the limitation period begins from the moment when the creditor has the right to make a claim for the fulfillment of the obligation, and if the debtor is given a grace period for fulfilling such a claim, the calculation of the limitation period begins at the end of the specified period . For recourse obligations, in accordance with paragraph 3 of Article 200 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, the limitation period begins from the moment of fulfillment of the main obligation.

Organizations in which the occurrence of receivables is associated with a change in persons in the obligation (conclusion of transactions for the assignment of rights of claim and transfer of debt), should keep in mind that if the limitation period has already begun at the time of the change, then its course continues in the generally established manner. That is, a change of persons in the obligation does not affect the running of the limitation period.

Article 201 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation:

“A change of persons in an obligation does not entail a change in the limitation period and the procedure for calculating it.”

Meanwhile, in a number of exceptional cases, civil law provides for the suspension and interruption of the limitation period.

Suspension of the limitation period implies that in the event of the occurrence of circumstances determined by law that cause significant difficulties for the injured party in protecting its rights, the limitation period is not calculated, and as they cease, the period continues to run.

An exhaustive list of circumstances, the occurrence of which is associated with the suspension of the limitation period, is contained in Article 202 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation.

The limitation period may be suspended in the following cases:

If the filing of a claim was prevented by an extraordinary and unavoidable circumstance under the given conditions (force majeure);
if the plaintiff or defendant is part of the Armed Forces transferred to martial law;
due to the deferment of fulfillment of obligations established on the basis of law by the Government of the Russian Federation (moratorium);
due to the suspension of the law or other legal act regulating the relevant relationship.

If the specified circumstances arose or continued to exist in the last six months of the limitation period, and the limitation period is six months or less than six months, then the running of the limitation period is suspended - during the limitation period. According to paragraph 3 of Article 202 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, from the date of termination of the circumstance that served as the basis for the suspension of the limitation period, its period continues. The remaining part of the period is extended to six months, and if the limitation period is six months or less than six months - to the limitation period.

Suspension should be distinguished from interruption of the limitation period. If a claim is filed in the prescribed manner, as well as if the obligated person performs actions indicating recognition of the debt, the limitation period is interrupted on the basis of Article 203 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation. After a break, the limitation period begins anew, and the time elapsed before the break is not counted towards the new period. A break is possible in two cases:

The debtor acknowledged the debt (partially repaid the debt or paid interest for late payment);
- the debtor signed an act of reconciliation of mutual settlements (wrote a statement about the offset of mutual claims, etc.).

Let's look at an example of calculating the limitation period.

Example 1.

CJSC "A" sold a collection of winter women's clothing to LLC "B" on October 21. The contract states that it must be paid within a month from the date of shipment, that is, until November 21. However, by this time the funds had not arrived.

Let’s assume that LLC “B” signed a reconciliation act for mutual settlements received from JSC “A”. Thus, LLC “V” admitted its debt. The limitation period in this case is interrupted. The new deadline will begin on February 15. Therefore, it will end on February 15th.

Please note that in accordance with Article 204 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, if the court leaves a claim without consideration, which began before the filing of the claim, the limitation period continues in the general manner.

The court recognizes as valid the reason for missing the limitation period due to circumstances related to the personality of the plaintiff:

1) serious illness;
2) helpless state;
3) illiteracy and the like.

The reasons for missing the limitation period can be considered valid only in the following cases:

If they occurred in the last six months of the statute of limitations;
- during the limitation period - if this period is six months or less than six months.

In such exceptional cases, the violated right of a citizen is subject to protection (Article 205 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation).

With the expiration of the limitation period for the main claim, the limitation period also expires for additional claims, which include, for example, a penalty, a pledge, a surety, and the like (Article 207 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation).

Having calculated, taking into account the generally binding legal requirements given in Article 203 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, the limitation period in relation to specific circumstances, the creditor determines whether the limitation period for forced collection of debt has expired. Having identified the fact that this period has expired, the creditor organization has the right to write off its debt to the financial results of its activities and take them into account when taxing profits.

The expiration of the limitation period for compulsory protection of a violated right should be distinguished from the termination of the obligation itself. In practice, situations arise when the debtor, despite the expiration of the limitation period, still fulfills his obligation - after all, the right belonging to the creditor and the corresponding obligation of the debtor continue to exist. In this case, the funds received by the creditor (goods, works, services) are subject to inclusion in non-operating income with their subsequent inclusion in the tax base when calculating income tax.

Note!

The FAS of the Ural District in Resolution No. Ф09-3874/06-С2 in case No. A71-317/05, the FAS of the Volga-Vyatka District in Resolution in case No. A43-20240/2005-30-656 indicated that the deadline for writing off debt, according to for which the statute of limitations has expired is not established by law. Thus, the taxpayer is not obliged to write off receivables solely during the period when the statute of limitations has expired.

The question of whether an organization has the right to recognize a debt as unrecoverable only on the basis of the expiration of the statute of limitations, without taking measures provided for by law aimed at settling the debt, is controversial.

According to the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation, set out in Letter No. 03-03-04/2/68, the fact that the statute of limitations has expired is a sufficient basis for recognizing a debt as bad and writing it off as a loss, equated for profit tax purposes to non-operating expenses, if The organization has not created a reserve for doubtful debts. In this case, the organization is not required to take other measures to recognize receivables as bad. In addition, Letter No. 03-03-04/2/151 of the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation states that if an organization does not have official information about the liquidation of debtor organizations, writing off bad receivables as losses is possible only after the expiration of the statute of limitations. Letter of the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation No. 03-03-04/2/45 “On writing off overdue debts” also states that after the expiration of the statute of limitations (three years) or after the liquidation of the debtor, the taxpayer has the right to write off the amount of receivables and reduce the tax base for the tax at a profit.

However, it should be noted that local tax authorities do not always listen to the opinion of the Ministry of Finance. As evidenced by extensive judicial practice, in court proceedings the taxpayer had to defend the above point of view. Thus, in the Resolutions of the FAS of the North-Western District in case No. A52/2702/2004/2, in case No. A13-6739/2005-05, in the Resolutions of the FAS of the West Siberian District in case No. F04-3489/2005(11955-A27- 33), the Resolution of the Federal Antimonopoly Service of the Volga-Vyatka District in case No. A31-6223/10 and so on concluded that recognizing a debt as bad and classifying it as non-operating expenses is sufficient for the expiration of the statute of limitations. According to the judges, the legislation does not make the write-off of receivables dependent on the presence of any actions to collect the debt on the part of the creditor organization.

At the same time, it is necessary to take into account the following conclusion of the FAS cassation instance: The current legislation does not contain the obligation of the taxpayer to write off receivables at the moment when the three-year limitation period has expired. The expiration of the statute of limitations is not the only condition for writing off receivables. Such debt must also be written off if it is deemed uncollectible. The unreality of collection is determined independently by the business entity, which is guided by the totality of objective circumstances that have arisen in the course of its activities (Resolution of the Federal Antimonopoly Service of the Volga-Vyatka District in case No. A43-20240/2005-30-656).

Liquidation of the debtor - as a basis for recognizing a debt as bad, is considered completed after making an entry about it in the unified state register of legal entities. And the amounts of bad debts can be taken into account as part of non-operating expenses in the reporting (tax) period in which the liquidation of the credit organization was completed, if a reserve for doubtful debts was not created in the organization. This is stated in the Letter of the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation No. 03-03-04/1/26.

Let's give an example from our audit practice.

Example 2 from the consulting practice of JSC "BKR - INTERCOM - AUDIT".

Violation.

The accounting records accounts receivable and payable with an expired statute of limitations.

Correct design.

Accounts receivable that are recognized as unrecoverable must be written off, since unwritten off debt distorts financial (accounting) reporting data and calculations when determining the value of the organization, as well as its solvency and operational efficiency.

The following is considered unrealistic for collection:

Debt with an expired statute of limitations. In accordance with the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, the general limitation period is three years;
- debt of a liquidated organization, an organization declared bankrupt and in the process of liquidation, if it is already reliably known that it will not be possible to collect debts from it;
- debt that could not be collected from the debtor in court.

The basis for writing off debts with an expired statute of limitations in accounting and tax accounting is an order from the head of the organization based on the results of the inventory, which is issued on the basis of a written justification provided by the accounting service.

To confirm the legality of the transaction to write off receivables, the following must be available:

Agreement with the debtor;
- invoice confirming the shipment of inventory items;
- inventory sheet in form No. INV-17 with annex;
- order from the head of the organization to write off the debt.

This debt must be reflected on the balance sheet in account 007 “Debt of insolvent debtors written off at a loss” within five years from the date of write-off to monitor the possibility of its recovery in the event of a change in the debtor’s property status.

Amounts of unclaimed accounts payable for which the statute of limitations has expired are, for accounting purposes, other income of the organization and are subject to inclusion in financial results.

Write-off of amounts of accounts payable for which the statute of limitations has expired is carried out for each obligation on the basis of the inventory data, written justification and order (instruction) of the head of the organization and is included in the financial results of the commercial organization.

Accounts receivable audit

One of the most important indicators characterizing the financial condition of an enterprise is the state of settlements with debtors and creditors. Accounting Regulation (Standard) No. 10 “Accounts Receivable”, approved by Order of the Ministry of Finance No. 237, defines the methodological basis for the formation of accounting and disclosure of information in financial statements by enterprises, institutions, organizations and other legal entities, regardless of their form of ownership (except for budgetary organizations). o accounts receivable, which the auditor must use in his work. The task of auditing accounts receivable:

Establishing the reality of receivables and overdue debts (for which the statute of limitations has expired);
- Checking the correctness of writing off debts for which the statute of limitations has expired; - Checking the accuracy of the reflection in accounts receivable accounting, depending on the adopted method for determining sales;
- Checking the correctness and validity of debt write-off;
- Research into the correctness of registration and recording of debt for advances issued and claims made.

Sources of information for checking accounts receivable:

Synthetic accounting registers and reporting (Balance Sheet F-1, General Ledger).
- Registers of synthetic and analytical accounting of calculations (magazine No. 3 from 3. 1-3 6 corresponding machines for automated accounting).

Primary documents for accounting payments (invoices, invoices, cash and bank documents, contracts). The audit of calculations is carried out in several stages. At the first stage, it is necessary to establish whether the debt is reflected in the balance sheet as overdue; at the second stage, accounts receivable and payable are considered for which the claim period has expired, the debt is written off and the correctness of accounting.

First, the data on the relevant accounts is checked. This data on accounts 16, 36, 37, 38, 63, etc. is compared with data from journals and information on a certain date (1st day of the month).

After this, the auditor examines contracts for the supply of products, the provided form of payment, the use of advance payment by the buyer of products, in particular by scheduled payments, settlement checks, bills, orders, establishes on whose initiative the form of payment was chosen that is unfavorable for the enterprise and what measures are being taken to improve the payment system .

An important issue is the assessment of receivables to reflect them in the balance sheet of the enterprise. According to Standard 10, accounts receivable must be shown on the balance sheet at net realizable value, i.e. by the actual amount of debt that the company may have.

It is also necessary to take into account price discounts that are provided to the client, as well as the return of goods by customers.

For an audit, it is important to know the percentage of bad receivables in order to verify information about the creation of a reserve for doubtful debts. In accordance with the principle of prudence, a company must determine the amount of bad debts at the end of the year and create a reserve to pay it off from current year expenses. To obtain information about the real state of receivables, you can send request letters to debtor enterprises for data reconciliation and independently conduct counter checks.

The auditor should focus special attention on monitoring the statute of limitations of debt, which is listed on the balance sheet as real, but in fact, the deadline for its collection through arbitration or court by the enterprise administration has been missed, so it must be written off as a loss. The auditor must identify the causes of mismanagement, the location of the damage and the persons responsible for it.

Find out if there are any cases of concealment of receivables by reflecting them in the balance sheet instead of the detailed ones. While studying this issue, the following accounts are considered: “Settlements with buyers and customers”, “Settlements with suppliers and contractors”, “Settlements with various debtors and creditors”, etc.

It must be emphasized that reducing accounts receivable does not violate the equality of asset and. Sometimes individual managers and chief accountants collect accounts receivable in order to have a basis for receiving bonuses. In this regard, it is necessary to check the primary documents.

The task of an audit of accounts receivable is to check the reality (truthfulness and correctness of its execution, the correctness of determining the likelihood of repayment of this debt.

Debt is checked in the context of individual buyers, customers and dates of debt origination, the duration of which is more than a year. Such debt (if documents are available) can be classified as non-operating expenses and written off as losses as receivables for which the statute of limitations has expired, or with other debts that are unrealistic for collection by decision of the inventory commission.

It is necessary to study each debtor and determine whether there are any impersonal analytical accounts. It is important to study indicators of the quality and liquidity of receivables.

Based on the accounting records with buyers and customers, the auditor can draw up an analytical table that analyzes the status of receivables by timing.

Monthly maintenance of such information allows the accountant to analyze receivables and take timely measures to eliminate overdue debts. Such an analysis of accounts receivable, as mentioned above, is carried out according to the internal reporting of the enterprise and is used for management needs. But, as you know, external users of information who are in business relations with an enterprise are also very interested in having information about its accounts receivable, since its growth always indicates an unstable financial situation. Therefore, it is very important for the auditor to provide a reliable estimate of such debt.

According to the financial statements (form 1, form 2), a number of indicators are determined that characterize the status of the debt, for example, the share of doubtful receivables in the total debt, interest, receivables turnover, etc. Methodology for auditing receivables turnover indicators: data for the reporting period is compared with data for the previous year (or for another reporting period).

The study of claim amounts begins with an analysis and inventory of the debt for each amount. At enterprises, reconciliation of calculations is necessary. To do this, debtors are sent statements from their personal accounts or referred to them by specialists. Checking statement No. 3. 5 and journal No. 3 for account 374 “Calculations for claims” makes it possible to find out about the satisfaction of claims for discrepancies in prices and tariffs, the presence of arithmetic errors and shortages, downtime, fines, penalties that have to be withheld from suppliers and contractors based on decisions of economic courts, written consent of suppliers to satisfy claims, cargo acceptance certificates, bank statements or waiver of these claims.

When examining the claim debt, it is necessary to justify it with relevant documents and establish whether the amounts of claims with overdue claims are not indicated in the balance sheet. Attention is drawn to the amounts of unreimbursed claims written off at the expense of the client's performance.

They establish and maintain operational records of claims and how control is exercised over the timeliness and validity of the transfer of materials to the economic court for debt recovery. Attention is drawn to the timeliness of concluding and executing contracts for the supply of products and materials. The agreement also defines the parties' responsibilities for failure to fulfill their obligations. The results of the audit of settlements, debts, claims and conflicts, debts are reflected in the statement.

It is important to find various options and ways to disclose possible violations, abuses, and illegal formation of receivables. Sometimes receivables for which the statute of limitations has expired are unreasonably written off as expenses, which reduces income and, therefore, payments to the budget.

All possible fines and penalties recognized by the debtor or for which decisions have been received from a local or arbitration court on their collection are examined. It should be emphasized that writing off a debt at a loss as a result of the debtor’s insolvency is not a basis for liquidating the debt, which is reflected in the balance sheet within the appropriate period, i.e. from the moment of write-off. If there is a receivable for which the statute of limitations has expired, the issue of the correctness of writing off the amounts by decision of the head of the enterprise is examined and it is clarified to which account it is attributed. It is also important to check the legality of such write-offs. Settlements with compensation for losses caused and settlements with other debtors are checked in the same way.

Reduction of accounts receivable

Increasingly, organizations and individual entrepreneurs are faced with the problem of non-repayment of debts from unscrupulous counterparties. At the same time, many companies still believe that work with the debtor begins only from the moment of late payment. At the preliminary stage of working with a client, due to enormous interest in the transaction, lack of qualified specialists or other reasons, there is usually not enough time and effort.

At the same time, this stage of work is very important when building an effective debt management system. It begins at the first meeting between the seller and the client, at which an observant specialist can determine whether this buyer will pay on time, or whether he will try to use your money as efficiently as possible as a preferential (interest-free) loan. It is at this stage that it is advisable for the company’s lawyer to get involved in the activities of sales employees and financiers. It’s not for nothing that popular wisdom says: “One head is good, but two, and especially three, are even better.”

The first stage of work is getting to know the client.

Based on the information provided by colleagues, the lawyer prepares the necessary draft agreement, assessing and minimizing the risks of a commercial loan. For example, information about a potential client can be obtained by analyzing data from his financial statements, studying his working methods, when the client himself presents this information, and thereby shows his readiness and interest in close and mutually beneficial cooperation. Also, to obtain such information before concluding a contract, you can try to contact the potential client’s counterparties, analyze the media and Internet resources.

In this matter, it would not hurt to take advantage of the experience of credit institutions. So, in order to provide a loan, banks, using a scoring system (borrower assessment system), minimize their risks associated with non-repayment of issued loans. At the same time, any information about the borrower is assessed, including the presence of a higher education, not to mention the ownership of property sufficient to satisfy the bank’s requirements in the event of improper fulfillment of obligations.

One more tip. It is advisable, before signing the contract, to contact the relevant government bodies and organizations (so-called third parties who own the information and are not interested in completing the transaction) in order to obtain information about the potential client contained in unified government databases.

So, in accordance with Art. 6 Federal Law “On State Registration of Legal Entities and Individual Entrepreneurs” No. 129-FZ information and documents contained in state registers are open and publicly available, with the exception of:

Information about the number, date of issue and the authority that issued the identity document of an individual;
information about bank accounts of legal entities and individual entrepreneurs.

Extracts from the relevant state register (extracts from the Unified State Register of Legal Entities and the Unified State Register of Individual Entrepreneurs);
copies of the document(s) contained in the relevant state register;
certificates confirming the absence of the requested information.

As for accounting documents for counterparties - joint-stock companies, they can also be requested from statistics departments. To do this, you must prepare and send a written request to these institutions. The provision of the above information is carried out on a paid basis. The invoice for payment is issued by the relevant statistics department, upon submission of a written request.

It is advisable to indicate in your request:

What type of information about the counterparty should be provided;
for what purposes this information is requested.

Do not forget that on the website www.nalog.ru you can publicly obtain (free of charge) the information contained in the Unified State Register of Legal Entities or the Unified State Register of Individual Entrepreneurs and clarify:

The exact name of the counterparty;
TIN, KPP, OGRN;
exact legal address;
Which tax authority is it registered with?
when and for what reason information was entered into the unified state register.

As already noted, if a potential counterparty really has an interest in mutually beneficial and sincere cooperation, he himself, before concluding a transaction, can provide the information and documents requested by the organization’s lawyer. Otherwise, the lawyer, in order to maximize the protection of the interests of his company, must make it a mandatory condition of the transaction for the counterparty to provide additional guarantees for payment of invoices, for example, by:

Guarantees;
transfer of the deposit;
submission of a bank guarantee;
use of a letter of credit form of payment;
presentation of liquid property as collateral;
Possibility of property retention;
penalties;
other instruments ensuring the fulfillment of contractual obligations.

Thus, the more a lawyer knows about the counterparty, the more effectively he will be able to protect the interests of his organization.

The second stage of work is preventive measures.

In order to improve control over the safety of the assets of the organization, it is recommended that the counterparty, three working days before the payment deadline, send a written notice of the need to fulfill obligations within the time limits stipulated by the agreement (payment reminder), in which it is advisable to reflect:

An indication of the basis for the occurrence of a monetary obligation (contract, agreement, invoices, acts of fulfillment of obligations, etc.);
an indication of the total amount of debt under the contract;
an indication of the payment procedure;
an indication of the deadline for the fulfillment of obligations by the counterparty and the need to pay the debt within these deadlines;
an indication of a possible system of bonuses and discounts applicable to loyal counterparties.

The notification must also be accompanied by a reconciliation report containing the following information:

Name of organizations;
place of compilation and date of compilation;
the period of time for which the calculations are reconciled;
amounts of payment (debt) by calendar dates (deadlines);
reasons for payment (number and date of agreement);
number and date of documents confirming the fact of shipment (payment),
the total amount of debt on the specified grounds,
signatures of managers and chief accountants, sealed with the seals of organizations.

Acts of reconciliation of mutual settlements are submitted for signature directly to the counterparties, or sent to their addresses by registered letters with acknowledgment of delivery of postal correspondence. After receipt, the acts of reconciliation of mutual settlements are registered in accordance with the document flow accepted in the organization and are stitched into special folders for storage.

In addition to the above letter, it is recommended to conduct so-called preliminary negotiations with the counterparty even before the payment deadlines, in order to clarify in advance his position on paying the debt, and to effectively remind him and himself about this. For example, during a meeting or during negotiations, it is advisable to ask the counterparty:

Have you received an invoice for payment?
is there a need to submit additional documents;
whether the accountant checked the correctness of the invoice;
are there any difficulties with paying the debt;
the lender creates a list of loyal counterparties for whom discounts and bonuses are provided; does the counterparty have a desire to be included in this list;
whether the creditor is included in the counterparty’s payment schedule;
It is possible to supply additional equipment to the counterparty, but for this it is necessary to pay the invoice in a timely manner.

The third stage of work is the negotiation process.

If the counterparty fails to pay the debt within the terms established by the contract, sales employees or financiers must inform the lawyer of this fact so that he can proceed to the next stage of working with receivables - negotiations with the debtor. Otherwise, the counterparty may think that the amount of debt is unimportant or insignificant for the creditor, the creditor does not have proper control over debts, or the creditor does not want to spoil the relationship with him. These conclusions will allow him to neglect his responsibility to pay the debt and try to delay payment for a long time.

To choose effective tactics for negotiating with the debtor, first of all, you need to find out why he does not pay. Depending on the established facts, negotiations must be held with the debtor, using the main tools of “pressure”.

So, typical reasons for non-payments may be:

The debtor’s motive is to provide himself with more comfortable conditions for doing business (to obtain a so-called interest-free loan);
financial difficulties of the debtor;
the debtor’s document flow system “suffers”;
the creditor never pays voluntarily.

If your debtor belongs to the latter category, then you should not waste time waiting for his promises to be fulfilled and proceed to the claim and judicial procedure for debt collection, as well as penalties for untimely fulfillment of obligations.

When preparing a letter of claim, special attention should be paid to the psychological aspect. The debtor must be convinced that the creditor has at his disposal all the necessary documents to file a claim with the court, or that the claim has already been prepared and will be sent to the court after a certain (minimum) period of time. The text of the claim letter must contain:

An indication that partnerships have been formed between your organizations over a long period of time, which are interesting to maintain in the future;
an indication of the basis for the occurrence of a monetary obligation (contract, agreement, invoices, invoices, acts of fulfillment of obligations, etc.), if documentation is available, make a reference to the debtor’s confirmation of the amount of his debt by an act of reconciliation of mutual settlements, or other documents (agreement on the procedure for repaying the debt , business correspondence, etc.);
an indication of the prepared statement of claim for the collection of the amount of debt and interest for the use of other people's funds (penalties);
warning about filing this application in case of failure to pay the debt within the time limits established in the claim;
an indication of the negative consequences for the debtor if the case is considered by the court (court costs, including payment of state fees, reimbursement of expenses for a representative, enforcement fee, costs of carrying out enforcement actions, etc.);
an indication that the most important priority for your company is to resolve all issues through negotiations and within the framework, bringing the matter to trial is not the style of your activity;
a reference to the willingness to consider the debtor’s proposals on the procedure and timing of debt repayment, indicating all contact numbers;

List of attachments, including a copy of the representative’s power of attorney.

In order for the claim letter to be actually read by the debtor, it is recommended to send it in a bright envelope on which stickers can be placed warning about the need to urgently repay the debt. In this case, you can also use various marks, for example, red lines of varying thickness along the edges of the letter or, in general, print the letter on paper of a non-standard form (for example, not on A4 paper, but on A3 paper). Then the debtor must notice the creditor’s letter of claim, read it and take appropriate measures.

The fourth stage of work is judicial debt collection.

If the debtor has not repaid the debt voluntarily, it is advisable to proceed to the judicial stage of debt collection. Naturally, even with the indicated development of events, it is necessary, again together with financiers, to carry out an appropriate calculation and answer the question - whether the amount collected from the debtor will cover all legal costs. After this analysis, the lawyer can prepare and send a statement of claim to the court or offer the counterparty one of the ways to terminate obligations:

Sign an agreement on compensation or novation of an obligation;
assign the right to claim debt to a third party;
notify the debtor about the offset of mutual claims.

Simultaneously with the preparation of the statement of claim, the amount of penalties (contractual penalties or interest for the unlawful use of someone else’s funds) is calculated and work is carried out to prepare a package of documents that will be attached to the statement of claim. In this case, it is necessary:

A) get acquainted with the main conclusion on the case (if any), the case materials, understand the legal situation, determine the rules to be applied taking into account the established judicial practice, identify the problems existing in the case and think through ways to solve them;
b) establish the circumstances to be proven in the case;
c) analyze the case materials from the point of view of admissibility, relevance and sufficiency of evidence, request missing evidence;
d) determine the circle of persons participating in the case (plaintiff, defendant, third parties not filing independent claims), assess the possibility of third parties filing independent claims entering the case;
e) establish jurisdiction and cases;
f) establish whether the plaintiff, according to the law, other regulatory legal act or agreement, before going to court, must apply to a bank or other credit institution to collect debt from the defendant, whether there is evidence of such an application in the case materials, whether the claim procedure applies to this dispute settlement and whether it is complied with by the plaintiff;
g) check the possibility of combining claims (if there are several of them) in one statement of claim (combination of several claims can occur when they are related to each other based on the grounds for their occurrence or the evidence provided (in particular, about the collection of an unrepaid loan, interest on the loan and penalties ; on the invalidation of an act and on the return of amounts paid on the basis of this act; on the collection of the cost of a shortage received under several transport documents and executed in one acceptance certificate or paid under one payment document);
h) find out who will sign the statement of claim, obtain documents confirming the authority of this person;
i) establish what petitions and statements must be made when filing a statement of claim, in particular:

Petition to obtain evidence;
application for securing a claim;
a petition to consolidate the cases into one proceeding;
application for a deferment in payment of state duty;
petition for summary proceedings;
a petition to consider the case in the absence of a party to the case;
j) establish what documents must be attached to these petitions (applications). Request missing documents from third parties.

And in conclusion, I would like to note that there are no trifles in the process of collecting debt through the courts. Lack of experience and initiative in forming one’s position can lead to consequences that are difficult to reverse and the impossibility of collecting debt even in court.

Preparing for the trial and participating in it is a very specific activity that requires extensive theoretical knowledge in the field of law, economics, psychology, public speaking skills and extensive practical experience in participating in legal proceedings. Therefore, it is necessary to assess the capabilities of the organization’s lawyer, and, if necessary, attract external consultants who are true professionals in their activities.

Repayment of accounts receivable

Repayment of accounts receivable - repayment of the amount of debts due to an enterprise from legal entities or individuals as a result of economic relationships with them (usually debts are generated from sales on credit).

The Federal Law “On Enforcement Proceedings” reveals the concept of parties. The parties are the debtor and the claimant. The collector is a citizen or organization, in favor or in the interests of which the debt is collected. A debtor is an organization or citizen obligated to perform certain actions or refrain from performing them. Most often, the debtor is the defendant, and the claimant is the plaintiff. However, this does not always happen: they can change places when, for example, the plaintiff’s claim was denied. In this case, the former defendant becomes a claimant for the legal costs incurred by him. The repayment of receivables must take into account the full definition of the circle of persons against whom claims can be made. In most cases, the defendant will be the party to the transaction who failed to fulfill or improperly fulfilled the contractual obligations. Sometimes the current legislation allows for the prosecution of a number of third parties who are not involved in the transaction, but are in one way or another connected with the debtor.

Subsidiary debtors from whom the creditor may demand repayment of receivables are:

Founders (participants), owners of property, managers of an organization - in case it is declared bankrupt, if the insolvency of the organization is caused by their instructions or other guilty acts (actions or inactions)
leaders and (or) founders (participants) of an organization that carried out illegal activities to attract funds from citizens
main business company - in case of bankruptcy of a subsidiary
state - for the obligations of a state-owned enterprise

Debtor- debtor or borrower. The debtor's receivables are one of the sources of repayment of his obligations. Accounts receivable are most often contained in unfulfilled contracts in which the debtor acts as a creditor in relation to a third party not participating in the legal proceedings. Also, receivables may be contained in monetary obligations, confirmed by a court decision that has entered into legal force, for which the debtor acts as a collector.

The general legal regime of receivables as an object of civil rights is determined by the rules of Chapter. 24 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation “change of persons in an obligation”. Paying off accounts receivable is a complex process. Repayment of accounts receivable can be divided into stages:

Determining the existence of receivables
assessment of liquidity (expediency) of receivables
arrest of receivables
assessment (determination) of receivables
sale of receivables (if the auction is cancelled, then commission sale of receivables)

The specifics of foreclosure on the property of legal entities are determined by the type of legal entity, which affects the degree of its property liability, and the presence of a certain sequence of actions established by law in relation to the legal entity.

Overdue accounts receivable

The financial condition of organizations is directly related to the fulfillment of the terms of contracts for payment for delivered products, goods, work performed, services rendered. Every legal entity and entrepreneur encounters situations when counterparties do not repay their debts on time.

Overdue accounts receivable arise in connection with the violation by the buyer or customer of the payment terms for the provided assets. The expiration of the settlement terms established by the contract leads to the emergence of receivables, the repayment of which becomes doubtful.

The time period for a legal entity to defend a violated right at a claim of a legal entity represents the statute of limitations. It is established by Art. 196 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, is three years and is the general limitation period. In addition to the general period, civil legislation defines a special limitation period, which is shortened (for example, a claim to declare a voidable transaction invalid according to the provisions of paragraph 2 of Article 181 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation can be brought within a year).

The limitation periods and the procedure for calculating them cannot be changed by agreement of the parties. However, the legislation establishes the grounds for suspension and interruption of the limitation period. Such grounds are:

Filing a claim in accordance with the established procedure;
- performance by the obligated person of actions indicating recognition of the debt.

The beginning of the period is determined from the day when the person learned or should have learned about the violation of his right. If the beginning of the limitation period is established for obligations with a certain performance period, then it begins at the end of the performance period.

For obligations for which the deadline for fulfillment is not defined or is determined by the moment of demand, the limitation period begins from the moment when the creditor has the right to make a claim for the fulfillment of the obligation. If the debtor is given a grace period for fulfilling such a requirement, then the calculation of the limitation period begins at the end of the specified period.

To determine the moment when the creditor has the right to make a claim for the fulfillment of an obligation, it is necessary to use the rules established by the legislation on the fulfillment of obligations. The obligation must be fulfilled within a reasonable time after its occurrence. An obligation that is not fulfilled within a reasonable time, as well as an obligation whose performance period is determined by the moment of demand, the debtor is obliged to fulfill within seven days from the date the creditor submits a demand for its fulfillment, unless the obligation to perform within a different period follows from the law, other legal acts, conditions obligations, customs of business or the substance of the obligation.

Unclaimed receivables for which the statute of limitations has expired, as well as receivables that are unrealistic for collection, in accordance with clause 14.3 of PBU 10/99 "Expenses of the organization" must be included in the expenses of the organization in the amount in which the debt was reflected in accounting. Moreover, overdue debt is written off separately for each obligation.

The grounds for writing off uncollectible debts are:

Inventory data;
- written justification for the impossibility of collecting debts from debtors;
- order (instruction) of the head of the organization to write off such obligations.

The inventory of settlements with debtors is carried out according to the reconciliation acts with the organization’s counterparties. Based on their data, an “Act of Inventory of Settlements with Buyers, Suppliers and Other Debtors and Creditors” is drawn up. The act shows receivables by type (confirmed by debtors, not confirmed by debtors, debt with an expired statute of limitations). A written justification for the impossibility of collecting debtors' debts is prepared based on a note from the chief accountant, to which supporting documents are attached. Thus, the document that serves as the basis for the impossibility of returning bad debts from a liquidated organization is an entry in the Unified Register of Legal Entities, as well as a letter from the tax authority confirming the fact of liquidation.

Write-off receivables for which the statute of limitations has expired, as well as other debts that are unrealistic for collection in the accounting of a commercial organization are included in the financial results if the amounts of these debts were not reserved in the period preceding the reporting period.

Accounts receivable attributable to financial results, in accordance with clause 14.3 of PBU 10/99 "Organization's expenses" are included in other expenses. It is reflected in the amount in which it was taken into account:

K-t sch. 62 "Settlements with buyers and customers."

However, according to taxation rules, VAT on written off overdue debts of debtors must be paid at the expense of the taxpayer’s own funds (Letter of the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated 03.03.2004 N 04-03-11/49). Therefore, after assigning a doubtful debt to the financial results of its activities, a VAT payer organization that uses the accrual method of taxation of profits reverses the amount of accrued VAT on the written off doubtful debt:

Dt sch. 90 "Sales", subaccount. 3 "Tax on",
, and then assigns the paid amount of tax on products, works, services shipped (transferred) to insolvent debtors in connection with the formation of permanent differences in VAT:

The same entries are made in the accounting of the supplier of shipped (transferred) but not paid for assets for which the statute of limitations has expired, and other debts that are unrealistic for collection, when he uses the cash method for profit tax purposes.

Value added tax written off from own funds reduces profit tax in the reporting period. As a result of writing off VAT, taxable profit, regardless of the method adopted in the accounting policy of the organization - supplier of goods, works, services for profit tax purposes, does not change. Therefore, the amount of VAT multiplied by the income tax rate, according to the rules of paragraph 7 of PBU 18/02 “Accounting for income tax calculations”, is recognized as a permanent tax liability for income tax and is reflected in accounting as an entry (see example 1):

Dt sch. 99 "Profits and losses", subaccount. "Permanent tax obligations"
K-t sch. 68 "Calculations for taxes and fees", subaccount. "Calculations for income tax."

Example 1. For products shipped in accordance with the contract, the supplier organization incurred a receivable for which the statute of limitations had expired in the amount of 70,800 rubles, including VAT of 10,800 rubles. For profit tax purposes, the product supplier uses the accrual method. Let's imagine the entries in the accounts for writing off accounts receivable:

Dt sch. 91 "Other income and expenses", subaccount. 2 "Other expenses",
K-t sch. 62 "Settlements with buyers and customers"
70,800 rub.
accounts receivable were written off due to the expiration of the statute of limitations;
K-t sch. 68 "Calculations for taxes and fees", subaccount. "VAT calculations"
10,800 rub.
the amount of VAT on shipped products not paid by the buyer was reversed;
Dt sch. 99 "Profits and losses", subaccount. "Permanent tax obligations"
K-t sch. 68 "Calculations for taxes and fees", subaccount. "VAT calculations"
10,800 rub.
Dt sch. 99 "Profits and losses", subaccount. "Permanent tax obligations"
K-t sch. 68 "Calculations for taxes and fees", subaccount. "Income tax calculations" RUB 2,592. (RUB 10,800 x 24%)

In accounting for receivables for which the statute of limitations has expired, as well as for other debts that are unrealistic for collection, a situation is possible when, under the terms of delivery, paid services, etc., the buyer made an advance payment on account of upcoming deliveries. However, after the shipment (transfer, execution) of the goods (work, services), the buyer did not repay the remaining part of the debt. As a result, after the expiration of the limitation period, overdue receivables arose in the supplier’s accounting.

Received advances or other payments for future deliveries of goods, performance of work, services are subject to value added tax, since the moment of determining the tax base for VAT is the earliest of the following dates:

Day of shipment (transfer) of goods (works, services), property rights;
- the day of payment, partial payment for upcoming deliveries of goods (performance of work, provision of services), transfer of property rights.

The amount of VAT upon receipt of advances is determined by the calculation method, according to which the tax rate is determined as a percentage of the tax rate provided for in clause 2 or clause 3 to the tax base, taken as 100 and increased by the amount of the tax rate.

After receiving an advance on account of the upcoming delivery, the calculated amount of VAT is reflected in the accounting correspondence:

Dt sch. 09 "Delayed", subaccount. "VAT deferred"
K-t sch. 68 "Calculations for taxes and fees", subaccount. “Calculations for VAT”, and VAT from the amount of the advance received is transferred to the budget.

The fact of shipment (transfer) of assets under the terms of the contract is the basis for recording in the accounting of operations for the accrual and payment of VAT to the budget on the remaining outstanding amount of receivables.

Value added tax on the cost of all shipped products is recorded as follows:

Dt sch. 90 "Sales", subaccount. 3 "Value added tax",
K-t sch. 68 "Calculations for taxes and fees", subaccount. "VAT calculations".
Since part of the value added tax was transferred to the budget based on the amount of the advance received on account of the upcoming delivery, it is written off to reduce the deferred tax asset for VAT:

K-t sch. 09 "Deferred tax assets", subaccount. "Deferred tax assets for VAT."

The remaining part of the VAT debt is transferred to the budget.
After classifying receivables as doubtful debts, it is this amount that forms a permanent tax liability for VAT, and the amount of tax not received by the supplier due to the expiration of the statute of limitations on receivables is written off at the expense of the taxpayer’s own funds (see example 2).

Example 2. In accordance with the terms of the agreement, the buyer made an advance payment for the upcoming delivery of products in the amount of 59,000 rubles. The supplier shipped products in the amount of 153,400 rubles, including VAT of 23,400 rubles, which was not paid within the limitation period. We will provide VAT records on the supplier's accounts during the limitation period and after its expiration.

During the limitation period after receiving an advance:

Dt sch. 51 "Current accounts",
K-t sch. 62 "Settlements with buyers and customers", subaccount. "Calculations for advances received"
59,000 rub.
advance payment received from the buyer;
Dt sch. 09 "Deferred tax assets", subaccount. "Deferred tax assets for VAT",
K-t sch. 68 "Calculations for taxes and fees", subaccount. "VAT calculations"
9000 rub. (RUB 59,000 x 18%: 118%)
the amount of the deferred tax asset for VAT has been calculated;
Dt sch. 68 "Calculations for taxes and fees", subaccount. "VAT calculations"
9000 rub.
VAT is transferred to the budget from the amount of the advance received.
During the limitation period after the product has been shipped to the buyer:
Dt sch. 90 "Sales", subaccount. 3 "Value added tax",
K-t sch. 68 "Calculations for taxes and fees", subaccount. "VAT calculations"
RUB 23,400
VAT is charged on products shipped to the buyer;
Dt sch. 68 "Calculations for taxes and fees", subaccount. "VAT calculations"
K-t sch. 09 "Deferred tax assets", subaccount. "Deferred tax assets for VAT"
9000 rub.
the deferred tax asset for VAT is written off;
Dt sch. 68 "Calculations for taxes and fees", subaccount. "VAT calculations"
K-t sch. 51 "Current accounts"
14,400 rub. (23 400 - 9000)
VAT is transferred to the budget.
Upon expiration of the limitation period:
Dt sch. 90 "Sales", subaccount. 3 "Value added tax",
K-t sch. 68 "Calculations for taxes and fees", subaccount. "VAT calculations"
14,400 rub.
the amount of VAT on the part of products shipped but not paid for was reversed;
Dt sch. 99 "Profits and losses", subaccount. "Ongoing tax obligations"
, K-t sch. 68 "Calculations for taxes and fees", subaccount. "VAT calculations"
14,400 rub.
a permanent tax liability for VAT has been formed;
Dt sch. 99 "Profits and losses", subaccount. "Permanent tax obligations"
K-t sch. 68 "Calculations for taxes and fees", subaccount. "Income tax calculations" RUB 3,456. (RUB 14,400 x 24%)
a permanent tax liability for income tax has been formed.

The fact of writing off at a loss receivables for which the statute of limitations has expired, and other debts that are unrealistic for collection due to the insolvency of the debtor, does not constitute cancellation of the debt. Such debt is reflected on the balance sheet for five years from the date of write-off in the debit of account 007 “Debt of insolvent debtors written off at a loss.” Analytical accounting of such debts is carried out for each debtor whose debt is written off at a loss, and for each debt. This is necessary to monitor the possibility of collecting outstanding receivables in the event of a change in the financial status of the debtors.

The procedure for taxing the profits of organizations in accordance with the Tax Code of the Russian Federation provides for the need to take into account, as part of non-operating expenses not related to production and sales and reducing taxable profit, amounts of bad debts.
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Each organization in its business activities carries out settlements with external and internal counterparties: suppliers and buyers, customers and contractors, with tax authorities, with founders, banks, with its employees, and other debtors.
Under accounts receivable understand the debt of other organizations, employees and individuals of this organization (debt of buyers for purchased products, accountable persons for sums of money issued to them, etc.). Organizations and persons who owe this organization are called debtors.
Accounts receivable are included in the more general concept of “liability”. In accordance with paragraph 1 of Art. 307 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation (Civil Code of the Russian Federation), by virtue of an obligation, one person (debtor) is obliged to perform a certain action in favor of another person (creditor), such as: transfer property, perform work, pay money, etc., or refrain from a certain action , and the creditor has the right to demand that the debtor fulfill his obligation.
According to their economic content, accounts receivable are presented in the balance sheet. This allows you to classify debtors' debts:

• according to the sources of their education;
• types of obligations;
• the nature of the debt;
• towards the creditor.

Depending on the repayment period, receivables are divided into two types:

• short-term debt- with maturity within 12 months after the reporting date;
• long-term debt- with a maturity date of more than 12 months after the reporting date.

In addition, the risk of non-repayment correlates with the maturity of receivables.

Increasing risk requires closer monitoring and control over timely and complete repayment of receivables.

According to the timeliness of repayment, receivables are divided to ensure control over the repayment and return of receivables, as well as to analyze the level of liquidity and solvency of the enterprise.

Urgent the debt of counterparties is recognized for which the performance period under the contract has not expired.

Debt for goods shipped, work performed, services, the payment period for which has not yet arrived, but ownership has already transferred to the buyer, or an advance payment has been made to the supplier for the supply of goods (work, services) - this is an urgent (normal) receivable.

Overdue, i.e. not repaid within the prescribed period, the debt is divided, in turn, into claimed and unclaimed.

Reclaimed is considered a debt for the return of which the creditor organization has taken all measures provided for by law (sending letters of claim, filing a statement of claim in court).

Debt is called unclaimed, if the creditor organization has not taken all necessary actions to return it.

Deferred the debt is the result of debt restructuring as agreed with the counterparty. According to paragraph 1 of Art. 823 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, an enterprise can provide its customers with a commercial loan in the form of deferment and installment payment for goods, work and services, which must be provided for in the contract.

According to the degree of collateral, accounts receivable are divided into secured And unsecured. The following can be used as security: penalty, pledge, surety, bank guarantee, etc. (Clause 1, Article 329 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation).

Penalty(fine, penalty) is a sum of money determined by law or contract, which the debtor is obliged to pay to the creditor in the event of non-fulfillment or improper fulfillment of an obligation, in particular in case of delay in fulfillment.

By secured collateral In a debt obligation, the creditor has the right to receive part or the full value of the pledged property in compensation for the debt. The pledgor can be either the debtor himself or a third party.

Under contract sureties The guarantor undertakes to be responsible to the creditor of another person for the fulfillment by him of his debt obligation in whole or in part.

By virtue of bank guarantee a bank or insurance organization (guarantor) gives, at the request of another individual (principal), a written obligation to pay the principal's creditor (beneficiary) in accordance with the terms of the debt obligation given by the guarantor, a sum of money upon presentation by the beneficiary of a demand for its payment. A fee is charged for issuing a bank guarantee. After the expiration of the period specified in the guarantee, it becomes invalid and terminates.

This classification is used to analyze accounts receivable from the point of view of the risk of non-payment.

According to the possibility of collection, receivables are divided into three groups: reliable, doubtful and hopeless (unrealistic for collection).

TO reliable applies:

• urgent accounts receivable;
• secured receivables.

Doubtful is considered to be a receivable of an organization that has not been repaid or with a high degree of probability will not be repaid within the time period specified in the agreement and is not provided with appropriate guarantees (clause 1 of Article 266 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation (TC RF)).

Hopeless according to paragraph 2 of Art. 266 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation recognizes the following debts:

• upon expiration of the established limitation period;
• on the basis of an act of a state body;
• in case of liquidation of the debtor;
• debts, the impossibility of collection of which is confirmed by a resolution of the bailiff on the completion of enforcement proceedings if it is impossible to establish the location of the debtor, his property or obtain information about the availability of funds and other valuables belonging to him, or the debtor does not have property that can be foreclosed on.

Limitation period a period is recognized for the protection of the right at the claim of the person whose right has been violated; the general limitation period is three years (Articles 195, 196 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation).

Classification of receivables according to the possibility of collection is necessary to correctly determine the financial result of the company’s activities. For example, writing off bad accounts receivable increases the organization's costs.

According to the method of repayment, receivables are divided into repayable monetary And non-monetary ways. Cash methods of debt repayment assume that obligations will be repaid by transferring funds to a current account or depositing cash in the cash register, i.e. by cash or non-cash payments.

Most payments between organizations are made non-cash - by transferring funds from the payer's account to the recipient's account using various banking operations that replace cash in circulation.

In the Russian Federation, the following forms of non-cash payments are provided: payment order, payment request, settlements by checks, settlements by letters of credit, settlements by collection orders.

Non-monetary methods of debt repayment are less common and can be presented in the form of mutual offsets, commodity exchange transactions (under an exchange agreement), and settlements with bills. A bill of exchange is a written debt obligation of one party (the drawer) to pay a specific amount of money upon the due date of payment to the other party (the holder of the bill) for completed trade transactions or in payment for work performed or services rendered.

Thus, the main way debtors repay their obligations is through their execution. It is as a result of fulfillment that the goal for which the obligation was established is achieved. The most common form of non-cash payments, which is used by debtors to repay their debts, is settlements by payment orders.

Regulatory regulation of accounting for settlements with debtors

Accounting is carried out in accordance with regulatory documents that have different statuses. Some of them are mandatory for application (Federal Law of December 6, 2011 N 402-FZ “On Accounting”, hereinafter referred to as Law N 402-FZ; accounting provisions), others are advisory in nature (Chart of accounts for financial and economic activities organizations, approved by Order of the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated October 31, 2000 N 94n; guidelines; comments).

An economic entity, guided by the legislation of the Russian Federation on accounting, federal and industry standards, independently forms its accounting policy based on its structure, industry and other features of its activities. In this case it is affirmed:

• working chart of accounts;
• forms of primary accounting documents, accounting registers;
• the procedure for conducting an inventory and methods for assessing assets and liabilities;
• document flow rules and accounting information processing technology;
• the procedure for monitoring business transactions, as well as other decisions necessary for organizing accounting.

The moment of occurrence of receivables is determined, first of all, by the terms of the concluded contracts and is associated with the moment of sale of goods (works, services).

The moment of transfer of ownership of the goods can be recorded separately in the contract, and then, in accordance with this moment, accounts receivable are reflected in accounting.

If the contract does not indicate the moment of transfer of ownership, it is considered to have occurred at the time of shipment of the goods by the seller, since the ownership right of the acquirer of the thing under the contract arises from the moment of its transfer, unless otherwise provided by law or contract (Article 223 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation).

Article 9 of Law N 402-FZ establishes that facts of economic life are subject to registration with a primary accounting document at the time of the transaction (fact of economic life) or immediately upon its completion.

Based on clause 10 of the Regulations on accounting and financial reporting in the Russian Federation (approved by Order of the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated July 29, 1998 N 34n, hereinafter referred to as the Regulations on accounting), clause 5 of the Accounting Regulations "Accounting Policy of the Organization" PBU 1/2008 (approved by Order of the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated October 6, 2008 N 106n) for maintaining accounting records in an organization, an accounting policy is formed that involves the use, including for accounting of receivables, of the principle of temporary certainty of the facts of economic activity, according to which the facts of the organization’s economic activity relate to the reporting period in which they took place, regardless of the state of settlements for them.

Along with this, organizations can establish in the contract the moment of transfer of ownership, different from shipment, for example, at the moment of receipt of funds in payment for shipped products.

By virtue of Art. 317 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, monetary obligations must be expressed in rubles. In this case, the agreement may provide that monetary obligations under the transaction are subject to payment in rubles in an amount equivalent to a certain amount in foreign currency or in conventional monetary units.

The procedure for assessing receivables is established by clause 6 of the Accounting Regulations “Income of the Organization” PBU 9/99 (approved by Order of the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated May 6, 1999 N 32n).

Settlements with debtors are reflected in the financial statements in amounts arising from accounting records and recognized by the organization as correct (clauses 73 - 78 of the Accounting Regulations).

The deadline for collecting receivables (the statute of limitations) is set at three years (Article 196 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation), after which the debt must be written off; The creditor has the right to provide in the contract for the presence of collateral for the shipped products, the subject of which can be any property, including things and property rights. If the buyer fails to fulfill his obligations, foreclosure may be applied to the pledged item in the manner established by the contract, unless the Pledge Law specifies a different procedure.

According to the Accounting Regulations “Accounting for assets and liabilities of an organization, the value of which is expressed in foreign currency” PBU 3/2006 (approved by Order of the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated November 27, 2006 N 154n), the value of liabilities expressed in foreign currency is subject to conversion into rubles to reflect in accounting and financial reporting. In addition, the accounting and financial statements reflect exchange rate differences on transactions related to the full or partial repayment of receivables denominated in foreign currency, if the exchange rate on the date of fulfillment of payment obligations differed from the rate on the date of acceptance of these receivables for accounting in the reporting period. period or from the rate at the reporting date in which these receivables were last recalculated.

Exchange differences on receivables are subject to credit to the financial results of the organization (except for exchange rate differences associated with the formation of the authorized capital, which are subject to credit to additional capital) in the reporting period to which the date of repayment of receivables relates or for which the financial statements are prepared.

Termination of obligations is carried out in accordance with Chapter. 26 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, which provides for various grounds for terminating receivables under contracts. Repayment of receivables is carried out, as a rule, in the manner specified in the agreement containing all the essential terms.

If the buyer is late in paying his debt, the creditor must take measures to collect the receivables by sending a claim to the purchasing organization and then filing a statement of claim with the arbitration court.

Along with the contract, debt repayment is influenced by the norms established by regulatory documents.

The amount received in repayment of receivables, which does not cover it completely, is used, first of all, to repay the creditor’s costs for obtaining performance, then to cover interest, and the rest - to cover the principal amount of the debt (Article 319 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation).

For the use of the creditor's funds due to evasion of payment for the products received by him, or other delay in payment, the recipient of the products is subject to an obligation to pay interest, the amount of which is determined by the discount rate of bank interest on the day of fulfillment of the monetary obligation (unless a different amount of interest is established by the agreement).

The creditor may assign the right to claim its receivables to third parties.

According to clause 77 of the Accounting Regulations, accounts receivable for which the statute of limitations has expired, and other debts that are unrealistic for collection, are written off for each obligation based on the inventory carried out to the account of the reserve for doubtful debts or to the financial results of the organization.

Clause 11 of the Accounting Regulations “Expenses of the Organization” PBU 10/99 (approved by Order of the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated May 6, 1999 N 33n, hereinafter referred to as PBU 10/99) determines that other expenses include, in particular, amounts of receivables, written off after the expiration of the limitation period, and debts that are unrealistic for collection.

Organization of accounting of settlements with debtors

LLC "Art-postcard" is a commercial organization created to carry out business activities in order to make a profit, is a legal entity, carries out entrepreneurial activities, has separate property by right of ownership, has an independent balance sheet, bank accounts, a round seal containing its full name in Russian and an indication of the city in which it is located.

The authorized capital of Art-postcard LLC is formed from the nominal value of the shares of its participants; its size is 10,000 rubles.

The main buyers of Art-Postcard LLC are large trading companies, including those that own a network of branches.

The main activity of Art-Postcard LLC is the wholesale trade of printing (postcards, envelopes, calendars) and souvenirs (paper bags, plastic bags, soft toys, magnets, key chains, ceramics, jewelry) products. The main share of sales falls on the “postcards” product group.

The accounting policy of the organization is formed by the chief accountant and approved by order of the head of the organization.

Accounts receivable accounting

The main receivables in Art-postcard LLC are formed based on settlements with buyers and customers.

Art-postcard LLC enters into supply agreements with its customers. According to clause 2.4 of the standard supply contract, the moment of transfer of ownership of the goods is the moment of transfer of the goods by the supplier to the buyer or carrier.

This debt is accounted for on account 62 “Settlements with buyers and customers” using the following subaccounts: 1 “Settlements with buyers and customers (in rubles)”; 2 "Calculations for advances received (in rubles)."

Analytical accounting provides the ability to obtain data separately on the amounts of advances received; in addition, for each of the subaccounts, analytical accounting is maintained in the context of buyers and customers.

Thus, Art-postcard LLC shipped printing products to the buyer Center LLC under a supply agreement in the amount of 44,840 rubles. (including VAT - 6840 rubles). Funds from the buyer for the received products were transferred to the bank account of Art-Postcard LLC.

Reflection in the accounting of settlements with the buyer of LLC "Center" is presented in table. 1.

Table 1

Entries in accounting accounts for settlements with customers when payment is deferred

	Reason for records	Corresponding accounts		Sum, rub.
Reflected price shipped goods	Agreement, commodity invoice	62, subaccount 1 "Settlements with buyers and customers (in rubles)"	90 "Sales", subaccount 1 "Revenue"
VAT accrued on implementation goods	Invoice	90, subaccount 3 "VAT"	68 "Calculations on taxes and fees", subaccount 2 "Calculations according to VAT"
Enrolled revenue for implemented goods for checking account	Bank statement, payment order	51 "Calculated accounts"	62, subaccount 1 "Settlements with buyers and customers (in rubles)"

Thus, when shipping products to customers and presenting them with payment documents (delivery note, invoice), the accounting of Art-Postcard LLC reflects the formation of receivables in the amount of the cost of sold (shipped) products at sales prices, including VAT (allocated in the presented documents as a separate line) due to be received from buyers.

In case of prepayment, Art-postcard LLC issues and sends payment documents for the upcoming delivery to the buyer. The buyer makes payment, after which the goods are shipped.

Thus, Art-postcard LLC entered into an agreement with the buyer Kniga LLC for the supply of printing products worth 160,200 rubles. (including VAT - 24,437.29 rubles). The contract provides for 100% prepayment. The buyer transferred the prepayment amount to the bank account of Art-Postcard LLC. The next month (but in the same quarter), Art-Postcard LLC shipped the products to the buyer.

Reflection in the accounting of settlements with the buyer of LLC "Kniga" is given in table. 2.

table 2

Entries in accounting accounts for settlements with customers on prepayment

	Reason for records	Corresponding accounts		Sum, rub.
Received prepayment for products	Bank statement, payment order		62, subaccount 1 "Settlements with buyers and customers (in rubles)"
Reflected closing advances	Agreement, commodity invoice	62, subaccount 1 "Settlements with buyers and customers (in rubles)"	62, subaccount 2 "Calculations according to advances received (in rubles)"
VAT accrued on closing advances	Invoice	76 "Calculations with different debtors and creditors", subaccount 7 "Calculations on taxes, postponed to payment"	68, subaccount 2 "Calculations according to VAT"
Reflected corrupt price shipped goods	Agreement, commodity invoice	62, subaccount 1 "Settlements with buyers and customers (in rubles)"	90, subaccount 1 "Revenue"
VAT accrued on implementation	Invoice	90, subaccount 3 "VAT"	68, subaccount 2 "Calculations according to VAT"
Restored prepaid expense	Agreement, commodity invoice	62, subaccount 2 "Calculations according to advances received (in rubles)"	62, subaccount 1 "Settlements with buyers and customers (in rubles)"
VAT refunded on restoration advances	Invoice	68, subaccount 2 "VAT calculations"	76, subaccount 7 "Calculations according to taxes, postponed to payment"

In addition to accounts receivable for settlements with buyers and customers, the organization also has accounts receivable for settlements with suppliers and contractors.

According to the terms of the agreement concluded between organizations, settlements with suppliers and contractors are carried out after they have shipped goods, performed work or provided services, or at any other point in time. Accounts receivable according to these calculations are formed in the organization in the case of an advance payment to a supplier or contractor, as well as in the case of the return of previously shipped products, when the former buyer of Art-Postcard LLC becomes its supplier.

To account for settlements for received inventory items, work performed and services rendered, account 60 “Settlements with suppliers and contractors” is used with the following subaccounts: 1 “Settlements with suppliers and contractors (in rubles)”; 2 “Calculations for advances issued (in rubles)”; 5 "Calculations for returns."

Analytical accounting provides the ability to obtain data in the context of suppliers and contractors.

Thus, Art-postcard LLC purchases a consignment of goods worth 8,850 rubles. (including VAT - 1350 rubles). According to the agreement with the supplier Samson LLC, the goods are shipped to the buyer only after the latter has paid 100% of its cost. The goods from the supplier arrived at Art-Postcard LLC the next day after the advance payment was transferred.

Reflection in the accounting of settlements with the supplier Samson LLC is presented in table. 3.

Table 3

Entries in accounting accounts for settlements with suppliers for advances received

	Reason for records	Corresponding accounts		Sum, rub.
Advance transferred supplier	Bank statement, payment order	60, subaccount 1 "Settlements with suppliers and contractors (in rubles)"
Received item from supplier	Commodity invoice, income order	41 "Products", subaccount 1 "Goods" in warehouses"	60, subaccount 1 "Settlements with suppliers And contractors (in rubles)"
Amount reflected VAT according acquired product	Invoice	19 "Tax on added cost by acquired values", subaccount 3 "VAT on acquired MPZ"	60, subaccount 1 "Settlements with suppliers And contractors (in rubles)"
Presented to VAT deduction	Invoice	68, subaccount 2 "VAT calculations"	19, subaccount 3 "VAT on acquired MPZ"

If there is a counterclaim of the same type with the buyer, the term of which has come, Art-Postcard LLC offsets the debt.

Thus, the mutual debt of Art-Otkrytka LLC and TK Prazdnik LLC in the amount of 21,981.78 rubles (Table 4), which arose due to the latter returning part of the goods shipped but not paid for on time, was closed by offset.

Table 4

Entries in accounting accounts to reflect offsets

A large block of accounting for settlements with debtors is devoted to settlements with accountable persons. Accountable persons are employees of the organization who have received cash in advance for upcoming administrative, business and travel expenses.

Accounting for settlements with accountable persons is kept on account 71 “Settlements with accountable persons”. In Art-Postcard LLC, subaccount 1 “Settlements with accountable persons (in rubles)” is opened to account 71.

The debit of account 71 records the amounts issued for reporting and to compensate for overexpenditure. Accounts receivable for accountable persons are registered from the moment they receive advance accountable amounts and are repaid upon full settlement of these amounts.

Analytical accounting for account 71 is carried out for each amount issued for reporting.

Thus, employee Ivanov was given 1,180 rubles on account. for the purchase of materials (Table 5). The employee purchased materials in the amount of 1180 rubles. (including VAT - 180 rubles), which is confirmed by the relevant documents of the seller. The employee provided an advance report to the accounting department.

Table 5

Entries in accounting accounts for settlements with accountable persons

	Reason for records	Corresponding accounts		Sum, rub.
Issued from the cash register monetary funds for report	Expendable cash order	71, subaccount 1 "Settlements with accountable persons (in rubles)"
Reflected price acquired materials	Advance report, commodity and cash receipts	10 "Materials", subaccount 6 "Others" materials"	71, subaccount 1 "Settlements with accountable persons (in rubles)"
Amount reflected VAT according acquired materials	Invoice	19, subaccount 3 "VAT according to purchased MPZ"	71, subaccount 1 "Settlements with accountable persons (in rubles)"
Presented to VAT deduction	Invoice	68, subaccount 2 "VAT calculations"	19, subaccount 3 "VAT on acquired MPZ"

Settlements with various debtors and creditors, settlements on claims are reflected in account 76 with subaccounts: 2 “Settlements on claims”; 5 “Other settlements with various debtors and creditors (in rubles)”; 7 "Calculations for taxes deferred for payment."

Analytical accounting for subaccount 2 “Calculations for claims” is maintained for each debtor and individual claims.

Thus, for violation of the terms of payment for goods stipulated in the supply contract, Art-Postcard LLC charged the buyer Vector LLC a penalty in the amount specified in the contract - 35,400 rubles. (Table 6). A written notification was received from the buyer that the amount of this sanction was recognized, after which the amount of the penalty was transferred to the bank account of Art-Postcard LLC.

Table 6

Entries in accounting accounts when settling claims against customers

	Reason for records	Corresponding accounts		Sum, rub.
Amount reflected penei, due to receiving	Agreement supplies, letter debtor	76, subaccount 2 "Calculations according to claims"	91 "Others income and expenses", subaccount 1 "Others income"
Credited to payment to the budget VAT	Invoice	91, subaccount 2 "Other expenses"	68, subaccount 2 "Calculations according to VAT"
Admitted to checking account amount of penalty	Bank statement, payment order		76, subaccount 2 "Calculations according to claims"

Thus, in case of delay in fulfillment by the buyer of the contractual obligations assumed to pay for the goods, Art-Postcard LLC sends a claim to the buyer, which sets out the fact of violation and contains a requirement to pay a penalty with reference to supporting documents (agreement, reconciliation report, payment documents, waybills).

In accordance with current labor legislation, deductions are made from the amounts of accrued wages, which are considered receivables to the organization. The main deduction from wages is the withholding of personal income tax (NDFL).

So, in table. 7 shows the reflection in the accounting of LLC "Art-postcard" of deductions from the salaries of employees of personal income tax for October 2012.

Table 7

Entries in accounting accounts for withholding personal income tax from employee salaries

In addition, receivables in an organization can be listed in the debit of accounts 68 and 69 “Calculations for social insurance and security” in correspondence with account 51. The formation of this debt is associated with overpayment of taxes and fees to the budget or overpayment in calculations for social insurance and pensions , compulsory medical insurance for the organization's employees.

Procedure and reflection in accounting for writing off accounts receivable

Art-postcard LLC writes off receivables not only after the expiration of the statute of limitations, but also in the case when it becomes known that the debt is unrealistic for collection. Accounts receivable with an expired statute of limitations and other debts that are unrealistic for collection are written off in the organization for each obligation based on the inventory data, written justification and order of the manager.

The very concept of a debt that is unrealistic for collection (unreliable) is not defined by accounting legislation. Art-postcard LLC is guided by the classification of bad debts, which is given in Art. 266 Tax Code of the Russian Federation.

Most often, Art-Postcard LLC writes off accounts receivable due to the expiration of the statute of limitations. The organization writes off expired debts in accounting and tax accounting. A loss from the write-off of uncollectible accounts receivable is recognized for both accounting and tax purposes. Therefore, the creditor himself is interested in writing off receivables from the balance sheet.

In addition, the organization writes off accounts receivable due to the liquidation of the debtor organization. In this case, Art-Otkrytka LLC recognizes the receivables as uncollectible and writes them off in the reporting period in which the debtor is excluded from the Unified State Register of Legal Entities.

An organization is not allowed to write off receivables as a bad debt if the creditor has a counterclaim of the same type (the statute of limitations for which has not expired) in an amount exceeding the receivables, since in this case the creditor has a real opportunity to repay the debt by offsetting mutual requirements, for which a statement from one party is sufficient.

A necessary condition for writing off accounts receivable with an expired statute of limitations and other debts that are unrealistic for collection is an inventory (clause 77 of the Accounting Regulations). The organization conducts an inventory of the debt of individual debtors in order to identify debts with an expired statute of limitations for their subsequent write-off. However, Art-Postcard LLC does not carry out an inventory of settlements with contractors before drawing up annual financial statements (clause 27 of the Accounting Regulations), as a result of which bad debts subject to write-off could also be identified.

Thus, during the inventory of accounts receivable, carried out as of September 1, 2012 on the basis of an order from the manager, it turned out that the organization’s balance sheet included accounts receivable from Kaleidoscope-TRK CJSC for a total amount of 825,876.77 rubles, arising under a supply agreement, including 168,476.58 rubles. - debt not confirmed by the debtor, RUB 657,400.19. - debt for which the statute of limitations has expired. The organization writes off unclaimed and unconfirmed receivables according to the order of the manager. No reserve for doubtful debts was created.

Reflection in the accounting of LLC "Art-postcard" of the write-off of receivables from the buyer of JSC "Kaleidoscope-TRK" is given in table. 8.

Table 8

Entries in accounting accounts for writing off accounts receivable

	Reason for records	Corresponding accounts		Sum, rub.
Decommissioned unclaimed accounts receivable debt	Order manager, Act inventory	91, subaccount 2 "Other expenses"	62, subaccount 1 "Settlements with buyers and customers (in rubles)"
Reflected written off debt on off-balance sheet account	Order manager, Act inventory	007 "Decommissioned in lesion debt insolvent debtors"
Reflected write-off accounts receivable debts for account net arrived	Order manager, Act inventory	91, subaccount 2 "Other expenses"	62, subaccount 1 "Settlements with buyers and customers (in rubles)"

Since a reserve for doubtful debts is not created at Art-Postcard LLC, receivables for which the statute of limitations has expired cannot be written off against the specified reserve and are included in the financial results. The procedure for creating and using a reserve for doubtful debts should be considered, since starting from 2011, according to the requirements of the Accounting Regulations, an organization is obliged to create a reserve for doubtful debts for accounting purposes in the event that receivables are recognized as doubtful. For tax accounting purposes there is no such requirement. The creation of a reserve must be stipulated in the accounting policies of the organization.

The procedures for creating and using a reserve for doubtful debts in accounting and tax accounting are similar, but the amount of the reserve created may differ. The reason is that accounting, unlike tax accounting, does not contain:

• restrictions on the creation of a reserve in the amount of 10% of the revenue of the reporting (tax) period;
• requirements for the amount of the reserve created depending on the duration of the overdue debt.

How the amount of the reserve is calculated is not defined by accounting legislation, and the requirements for the size of the created reserve from the point of view of tax legislation are presented below:

• Over 90 days - Full amount of debt identified based on inventory
• From 45 to 90 days (inclusive) - 50% of the amount identified based on the debt inventory
• Up to 45 days - Does not increase the amount of the created reserve

Due to the complexity of the calculations, it would be rational to determine in the accounting policy for accounting purposes the amount of the reserve for tax accounting requirements and reflect it in the same amount in accounting.

Deductions to reserves for doubtful debts in accordance with clause 11 of PBU 10/99 are recognized as other expenses and written off to account 91, subaccount 2 “Other expenses”. To summarize information on reserves for doubtful debts, account 63 “Provisions for doubtful debts” is intended (Table 9). Accounts receivable are shown in the balance sheet at the end of the reporting year minus the amount of the reserve for doubtful debts.

Table 9

Entries in accounting accounts for accounting for the creation of a reserve for doubtful debts

	Reason for recording	Corresponding accounts
A reserve has been created for doubtful debts	Inventory report calculations, order head of the organization, accounting information- calculation	91, subaccount 2 "Others expenses"
Written off on account accounts receivable reserve debt	Leader's order accounting information- calculation		62, subaccount 1 "Settlements with buyers and customers (in rubles)"
Accounted for balance amount written off debt	Accounting information

If the debt is nevertheless repaid, the accountant will restore the reserve in the amount of funds received (Table 10).

Table 10

Entries in accounting accounts for the restoration of the provision for doubtful debts

	Reason for recording	Corresponding accounts
Cash received facilities	Bank statement, payment order		91, subaccount 1 "Others income"
Decommissioned from off-balance sheet account extinguished debt	Accounting information- calculation
Restored unused reserve	Accounting information- calculation		91, subaccount 1 "Others income"

Thus, losses from writing off accounts receivable are recognized both in accounting and tax accounting. The procedure for writing off accounts receivable and payable and forming a reserve for doubtful debts in accounting is regulated by the Regulations on accounting, PBU 9/99, PBU 10/99 and other regulatory documents, and in tax accounting - by the Tax Code of the Russian Federation.

Correct and timely recording of accounts receivable is of utmost importance for the organization.

Information base and methodology for analyzing receivables

Analysis of accounts receivable is part of the overall policy of managing current assets, aimed at expanding the volume of sales of goods, and consists of optimizing the overall size of this debt and ensuring its timely repayment.

The main sources of information for analyzing accounts receivable are the data from the balance sheet and its explanations, as well as analytical accounting data.

Accounts receivable means the temporary diversion of funds from the organization’s turnover and their use in the turnover of other organizations. This temporarily reduces the solvency of the organization, i.e. leads to difficulty in fulfilling one's obligations.

The amount of accounts receivable is influenced by:

• total sales volume;
• the payment system adopted by the organization;
• payment discipline of buyers;
• receivables collection policy. The organization's active policy in relation to the collection of receivables makes it possible to reduce its balances and improve its quality;
• the state of accounting, regular inventory, the presence of an effective internal control system;
• the quality of accounts receivable analysis and consistency in the use of its results.

An increase or decrease in accounts receivable has a great influence on the turnover of capital invested in current assets, and consequently on the financial condition of the organization.

A sharp increase in accounts receivable and its share in current assets may indicate an imprudent credit policy of the enterprise in relation to customers, or an increase in sales volume, or the insolvency and bankruptcy of some customers.

A decrease in accounts receivable is assessed positively if it occurs due to a reduction in its repayment period. If accounts receivable decrease due to a decrease in product shipments, then this indicates a decrease in the organization’s business activity.

In the process of analysis, it is necessary to study the dynamics, composition, reasons and prescription of the formation of receivables, to determine whether it contains amounts that are unrealistic for collection, or those for which the statute of limitations expires. If there are any, then it is necessary to urgently take measures to collect them. Particular attention should be paid to old debts and the largest amounts of debt.

The analysis of the state of receivables begins with a general assessment of the dynamics of its volume as a whole and by item. Analysis of the level of receivables can be carried out using absolute and relative indicators, which need to be considered in dynamics. Quantitative analysis of receivables allows us to move on to the analysis of the qualitative state of receivables.

The qualitative condition of receivables characterizes the likelihood of receiving them in full. An indicator of this probability is the period of debt formation, as well as the share of overdue debt. In addition, a qualitative analysis of receivables allows us to determine the dynamics of overdue short-term and long-term receivables.

It is necessary to distinguish between justified and unjustified receivables: justified is debt for which the payment period has not yet arrived; all other debt is unjustified. The longer the deferment period, the higher the risk of non-payment of the invoice.

Particular attention should be paid to doubtful accounts receivable, i.e. debts that may not be collected by the organization. The presence of doubtful (unjustified) debt indicates that this organization has problems in the system of settlements with buyers and customers. The growth trend of doubtful accounts receivable indicates a decrease in balance sheet liquidity, which worsens the financial condition of the organization.

Let's consider the indicators used to analyze the structure, quality, and turnover of receivables.

• Accounts receivable turnover ratio:

COB = Revenue / Average accounts receivable.

It shows how many times the accounts receivable turned over during the reporting period. An increase in this ratio, as a rule, means a decrease in sales on credit; a decrease means an increase in commercial credit provided.

• Average accounts receivable for the period:

DZsr = (DZn - DZk) / 2,

where DZn and DZk are accounts receivable at the beginning and at the end of the period, respectively.

• Accounts receivable turnover in days, i.e. duration

one turnover of accounts receivable:

DOB = DZsr x Number of days in the period / Revenue

DOB = Number of days in the period / KOB.

A reduction in the repayment period of receivables is assessed positively, and vice versa.

The analysis evaluates the turnover of both all receivables (long-term and short-term) and short-term receivables maturing within 12 months. In addition, the debt of individual debtors is analyzed.

During the analysis process it is necessary to determine:

• receivables mobility ratio:

Kmob = Amount of accounts receivable / Amount of current assets.

It shows the share of accounts receivable in the amount of current assets. This ratio should be compared over a number of reporting periods;

• share of accounts receivable in the structure of the organization’s funds:

Ud. weight = Accounts receivable amount / Balance sheet currency;

• growth rate of accounts receivable:

Growth rate = DZotch / DZprosh,

where DZotch and DZprosh are accounts receivable for the reporting period and for the previous period, respectively.

This indicator should be compared with the growth rate of the balance sheet currency. If the growth rate of accounts receivable exceeds the growth rate of the balance sheet currency, this indicates a negative trend in the financial stability of the organization;

• share of overdue receivables in the total amount of receivables:

Ud. weight = Amount of overdue accounts receivable / Amount of accounts receivable.

Since accounts receivable is essentially free credit to customers, it should, whenever possible, be balanced by the same free credit from suppliers. Therefore, accounts receivable must be considered in conjunction with accounts payable. Ideally, there should not be large discrepancies between them, since accounts payable should be repaid through the receipt of receivables. The analysis of accounts receivable is also complemented by the analysis of accounts payable.
In the process of analysis, it is necessary to determine the ratio of receivables and payables:

Ksootn = Amount of accounts receivable / Amount of accounts payable.

This coefficient is considered normal when it is equal to 2, i.e. the amount of accounts payable is approximately 2 times secured by accounts receivable. If the ratio of receivables to payables is less than 2, this means that the conversion of the liquid part of current assets into cash is slowing down.

1) analysis of the dynamics, movement and structure of receivables.

Here you need to evaluate the dynamics of accounts receivable, compare the pace of sales and debt, and also analyze the structure of debt. An increase in accounts receivable can be considered justified if it occurs as a result of sales volume, but the rate of its growth should not be greater than the rate of sales growth;

2) analysis of the quality of receivables. It is necessary to assess the quality of receivables by assessing changes in the share of overdue and doubtful receivables;

3) assessment of accounts receivable turnover.

Thus, the methodology for analyzing receivables includes horizontal and vertical analysis. It also involves assessing the composition and movement of receivables based on the compilation of analytical tables and calculation of receivables turnover indicators. It is important to calculate the share of receivables in the volume of current assets and the share of doubtful debts in accounts receivable.

Analysis of the composition, structure, dynamics and turnover of receivables

The analysis is carried out in the following stages:

• analysis of absolute and relative indicators of the condition, structure and movement of receivables;
• analysis of the state of receivables by age of formation, assessment of the share of overdue receivables;
• calculation of turnover indicators, the share of receivables in the total volume of current assets, assessment of the ratio of the growth rate of receivables with the rate of sales revenue;
• analysis of the ratio of receivables and payables.

To assess the composition, structure and dynamics of receivables of Art-Postcard LLC, an analytical table has been compiled (Table 11).

Table 11

Analysis of the composition, structure and dynamics of receivables

Index	At the end of 2010		At the end of 2011		At the end of 2012		Growth rate, %		Absolute deviation, thousand roubles.
							2011 to 2010	2012 to 2011	2011 to 2010	2012 to 2011
Long-term accounts receivable debt, Total
Short term accounts receivable debt, Total
Including:
Calculations with suppliers and contractors
Calculations with buyers and customers
Calculations according to taxes and fees
Calculations according to social insurance and ensuring
Calculations with accountable persons
Calculations with different debtors and creditors
Expenses future periods

From the table 11 shows that Art-Postcard LLC has no long-term receivables; all receivables are short-term.

Table data 11 show that accounts receivable in 2011 decreased compared to 2010 by 0.41% and amounted to 234,087 thousand rubles, which is 974 thousand rubles. less than in 2010. To the greatest extent this was due to an increase in buyer debts. Thus, in 2011, compared to 2010, the amount of accounts receivable from buyers increased by 1262 thousand rubles, or by 0.54%.

Advances issued to suppliers and contractors have a positive downward trend. Thus, in 2011, compared to 2010, the amount of advances decreased by 31.63% and amounted to 227 thousand rubles, or 0.10% of the total, while in 2010 this figure was 332 thousand. rub. (0.14% of the total).

In 2012, there was a significant increase in accounts receivable compared to 2011 - by 38.66%; it amounted to 324,583 thousand rubles, which is 90,496 thousand rubles. more than in 2011. This is mainly due to the increase in buyer debts: in 2012, compared to 2011, the amount of buyer receivables increased by 83,261 thousand rubles, or by 35.68%.

Advances issued to suppliers and contractors have a negative upward trend: in 2012, compared to 2011, the amount of advances increased by 164.76% and amounted to 601 thousand rubles, or 0.19% of the total, while in 2011 this figure was equal to 227 thousand rubles. (0.10% of the total).

Thus, in all three analyzed periods, the largest share in the total amount of receivables is the debt of buyers and customers (at the end of 2010, the share of this total debt was 99.81%, at the end of 2011 - 99.69%, at the end of 2012 - 97.54%). The proportion of other components is insignificant. In connection with the above, it is necessary to pay special attention to accounts receivable formed in settlements with customers. To do this, you should study the composition, structure and dynamics of this debt (Table 12).

Table 12

Analysis of the composition, structure and dynamics of customer debt

Index	At the end of 2009		At the end of 2010		At the end of 2011		Rate of increase, %
							2011 to 2010	2012 to 2011
Calculations with buyers and customers
Including:
ZAO "Optovik-M"
LLC "Company" wholesale service"
LLC "Udachnaya" purchase"
LLC "Torgovy" house "Sales"
Others buyers

A significant part of the buyers' debt is formed by settlements with the four largest of them: Optovik-M CJSC, Opt-Service Company LLC, Udachnaya Pukupka LLC, Trading House Sbyt LLC. The debt of the remaining numerous buyers has a smaller specific weight in the total amount and combined in the column “Other buyers”.

So, according to data for the end of 2010 - 2012. The largest share in the total debt of buyers and customers is the debt of ZAO Optovik-M. Its accounts receivable in 2011 decreased compared to 2010 by 20.91% and amounted to 71,410 thousand rubles, and in 2012 compared to 2010 increased by 84.23% and reached 131,558 thousand . rub.

For a more in-depth analysis, we will compile a summary table in which receivables are classified according to the period of formation (Table 13). Regular compilation of such a table allows you to present a clear picture of the status of settlements with debtors and identify overdue receivables.

Table 13

Analysis of accounts receivable from buyers by period of formation for 2012

Name debtor	At the end of 2012		Including by terms of education, thousand roubles.				Postponement from agreements, days
			From 0 to 30 days	From 31 to 60 days	From 61 to 180 days	Over 181 days
ZAO "Optovik-M"
LLC "Company" wholesale service"
LLC "Udachnaya" purchase"
LLC "Torgovy" house "Sales"
Others buyers
Debt buyers and customers, Total
In % of total amount debt buyers

Table data 13 show that the bulk of accounts receivable are debts within an interval of up to 30 days. Its share accounts for 35.03%, or 110,922.94 thousand rubles. of the entire amount of buyers' debt.

There is a large proportion of debt with a period of formation from 31 to 60 days (34.39%) and debt from 61 to 180 days (26.69%). This debt may not be overdue, but may be held by individual debtors within the limits of contractual payment terms, which vary in different contracts.

At the same time, 3.89% of the debt, or 12,316.52 thousand rubles, can be classified as doubtful, since Art-Postcard LLC does not practice deferred payment for more than 180 days. It follows from this that funds have been diverted from the organization’s turnover for more than six months.

It is worth, for example, paying attention to the overdue receivables of the buyer of Opt-Service Company LLC, which amounts to 22,437.01 thousand rubles. (15,549.09 + 6887.92), for the debt of other buyers.

Since doubtful accounts receivable tend to become uncollectible over time, and bad accounts are subject to write-off and corresponding losses are recognized, early identification of doubtful accounts receivable can prevent the occurrence of large losses associated with late payment in the future.

As can be seen from table. 14, overdue accounts receivable tend to grow both in amount and in share in the total debt of customers. An increase in the indicator in dynamics indicates that the risk of non-repayment of debts is growing. Consequently, the company needs to pay more attention to overdue receivables, namely: promptly identify such debt and take all necessary measures to collect it.

Table 14

Share of overdue accounts receivable in customer debt

In the process of analyzing receivables, receivables turnover indicators are calculated and assessed, which characterize the number of debt turnovers during the analyzed period, as well as the average duration of one turnover (Table 15).

Table 15

Accounts receivable turnover analysis

Table data 15 show that the duration of one turnover of receivables has decreased, which indicates a decrease in the repayment period of receivables and can be assessed positively.

Thus, in 2010, the duration of the receivables turnover was 253 days, i.e. the debt was repaid on average 1.42 times over a period of 360 days; in 2011, the duration of the turnover decreased by 56 days and amounted to 197 days; in 2012, the duration of the turnover of receivables also decreased (by 8 days) and amounted to 189 days. This is a positive trend, as it leads to the release of funds from circulation.

In addition, according to table. 15 you can compare the growth rate of revenue with the growth rate of accounts receivable. Thus, the growth rate of accounts receivable in 2012 was 138.66% compared to 2011 and outstripped the growth rate of revenue, which for the same period amounted to 124.47%. The opposite situation developed in 2011: compared to 2010, the growth rate of revenue, amounting to 129.32%, was higher than the growth rate of accounts receivable - 99.59%.

Relative cash savings due to accelerating the turnover of accounts receivable in 2011 amounted to 66,619.78 thousand rubles, in 2012 - 12,638.58 thousand rubles.

The ratio of accounts receivable and accounts payable is given in table. 16.

Table 16

Analysis of receivables and payables

Index	Finally 2010	Finally 2011	Finally 2012
1. Accounts receivable
2. Accounts payable short-term, total, thousand rubles.
3. Difference in indicators, thousand rubles. (page 1 - page 2)
4. Ratio of accounts receivable and accounts payable (page 1 / page 2)

The ratio of receivables to payables in the organization exceeds 1, i.e. accounts receivable cover accounts payable. However, over the course of a number of years it has been less than the standard value of 2, which means that the conversion of the liquid part of current assets into cash is slowing down.

Thus, it is necessary for an organization to maintain a balance when the size and conditions for obtaining commercial loans and deferments from suppliers would be no worse than the conditions for the company’s lending to its customers. In this case, there is a positive trend when the correct ratio is observed for the company: the amount of accounts receivable is higher than accounts payable.

An analysis of the accounts receivable of Art-Postcard LLC allows us to draw the following conclusions:

• The bulk of accounts receivable are customer debts. In 2010, 2011, 2012 this share was 99.81, 99.69 and 97.54%, respectively, of the total amount of receivables;
• at least 72% of buyers' debt in the total amount of such debt in 2010 - 2012. amounted to the debt of four main buyers: ZAO Optovik-M, LLC Opt-Service Company, LLC Successful Purchase, LLC Trading House Sbyt;
• accounts receivable in 2012 increased compared to 2011 by 38.66%, while the amount of revenue increased by 24.47%, accounts receivable in 2011 decreased compared to 2010 by 0.41%, and the amount of revenue increased by 29.32%. An increase in accounts receivable is justified if it is accompanied by a corresponding increase in revenue;
• the share of overdue receivables in the organization is growing annually, which indicates a violation of payment discipline by buyers and inattention on the part of the organization to this group of buyers;
• advances issued to suppliers and contractors have a negative upward trend: for example, in 2012 compared to 2011, the amount of advances increased by 164.76% and reached 601 thousand rubles, while in 2011 this figure decreased compared to 2010 by 31.63% and amounted to 227 thousand rubles;
• The duration of one receivables turnover has a positive downward trend. Thanks to the acceleration of accounts receivable turnover, the organization has observed relative savings, which in 2012 amounted to 12,638.58 thousand rubles, and in 2011 - 66,619.78 thousand rubles;
• short-term accounts payable are fully covered by short-term accounts receivable, which is a positive factor that indicates the organization’s potential ability to pay its creditors without attracting additional sources of financing.

Recommendations for effective accounts receivable management

The analysis of accounts receivable allows us to conclude that the company has certain problems with debtors, in particular, there is an increase in overdue debt. It’s safe to say that the main tool for improving the quality of accounts receivable is increased control.

To increase the effectiveness of control over receivables, it is necessary to approve internal regulations on the control and management of receivables, which should prescribe the procedure for working with receivables, aimed at the timely identification of overdue debts, procedures for collecting overdue debts and those responsible for their implementation.

To manage accounts receivable more effectively, you need to:

• carry out preliminary work with potential debtors before shipment, including to determine their solvency. Such work, especially concerning new buyers, should be carried out by the legal service of the organization in terms of checking the constituent documents of the counterparty, and can also be carried out by the financial department in terms of analyzing the solvency indicators of the counterparty according to its financial statements;
• when concluding contracts, carefully negotiate with buyers the conditions for granting a deferment, a system of penalties for late payment;
• conduct regular monitoring of the debt status, in particular analysis of the composition, structure, dynamics and turnover of receivables;
• regularly carry out reconciliations with counterparties to confirm the debt (this condition, as well as the procedure and frequency of reconciliations, can be specified in the contract). Carrying out regular reconciliations with customers is especially important for the organization due to the large assortment of goods, a large number of shipments, and the provision of deferred payment;
• strengthen control over the quality of receivables, i.e. when identifying overdue accounts receivable, which may develop into bad debt, promptly take measures for pre-trial and judicial settlement of such debt;
• establish a system for filing claims;
• control the ratio of accounts payable and receivable.

A significant excess of accounts payable makes it possible to attract additional sources of financing.

These measures imply a clearer organization of accounting and analysis of receivables, which, in turn, should lead to the identification of overdue receivables at an earlier date, the timely formation of reserves for doubtful debts and, as a result, to improving the quality of receivables management in the organization.

Considering that the most important indicator of receivables is their turnover, and, as can be seen from the calculations, the duration of one turnover of receivables is gradually decreasing, it is recommended to continue to pursue a receivables management policy aimed at reducing the duration of turnover, for example, to increase the number of contracts concluded on the terms of 100 % prepayment, reduce the deferment of payment provided to the minimum possible value, develop a system of price discounts when making immediate payments for purchased products.

Thus, it is necessary to strive to minimize the receivables of each buyer and other debtors, which will reduce the need for borrowed sources of financing and have a positive impact on the liquidity of the organization’s activities.

The main goal of accounts receivable management is to develop measures to improve the current or create a new customer lending policy aimed at increasing profits. The analysis allows you to assess how effectively the company invests its funds in lending to customers.

The development of market relations leads to the emergence of a number of new forms of settlements with debtors, for example refinancing of accounts receivable(accelerated transfer to other forms of the organization’s current assets: cash and highly liquid short-term securities).

One of the main forms of refinancing receivables, which can be recommended by Art-Postcard LLC, is the sale of debts (factoring).

Factoring(from the English factoring - “intermediary”) is an instrument for refinancing receivables, when using which this current asset turns into cash by providing financing to the supplier by the financial agent in exchange for the monetary claims assigned to its debtors.

In Russian legislation, factoring is understood as a transaction formalized by a financing agreement for the assignment of a monetary claim (Chapter 43 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation), according to which one party (financial agent) transfers or undertakes to transfer to the other party (client) funds against the client’s monetary claim ( creditor) to a third party (debtor), arising from the provision of goods (work, services) by the client to a third party, and the client assigns or undertakes to assign this monetary claim to the financial agent (Article 824 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation).

That is, the object of the factoring transaction is the monetary claims that the supplier has to the buyers to whom the products were sold on deferred payment terms, assigned to the financial agent. The subjects of the transaction are: the supplier of goods (works, services), the buyer of goods (works, services) and the financial agent (a credit institution or a factor company).

The mechanism for implementing factoring is as follows. The supplier, having assigned the receivables to the financial agent, receives from the latter 60 - 90% of the debt amount, and the remaining 40 - 10% is deposited in a special account as compensation for the risk. Only after the debtors of the supplier have paid for the products supplied to them does the financial agent return the remaining amount minus the cost of factoring services.

Thus, the deferred payment turns into a delivery with immediate payment, which frees the supplier from additional costs associated with managing receivables.

Advantages factoring operations:

• for suppliers - acceleration of receivables turnover, reduction of costs associated with receivables management, improvement of financial condition, absence of collateral;
• for the buyer - the purchase of goods (works, services) on deferred payment terms, reducing the risk of purchasing low-quality products, increasing purchase volumes.

The advisability of using one or another method is determined by the goal pursued by the creditor (seller, exporter).

Factoring services are most effective for medium-sized enterprises that are experiencing financial difficulties due to late repayment of debts by debtors and limited sources of credit available to them.

Thus, in modern market conditions, business entities are forced to pay close attention to the issue of managing their receivables. When building a policy for managing this current asset, a company can use not only traditional, but also innovative methods and management tools, in particular factoring.

Flaws factoring operations:

• high price;
• lack of a clear and understandable regulatory framework regulating the procedure for their use.

In general, both the global and Russian factoring markets are in a growth stage, which indicates the demand for this service in dealing with accounts receivable.

Remote assets are one of the most liquid assets of any company. Therefore, the company can sell it, transfer it, exchange it for property, products, the result of providing services or performing work. It should also be taken into account that with large amounts of deferred payments, there may be a lack of funding for the organization itself.

The majority of accounts receivable are unpaid invoices (or invoices receivable) for products delivered. But there is also a specific element - these are bills receivable, which are, in fact, commercial securities.

Types of remote sensing

There are two groups of items in the asset balance sheet sections:

• Short-term loan - repayment is expected within a year after the reporting date.
• Long-term - more than 12 months, respectively.

Depending on how the DM was formed, 3 types can be distinguished

• Normal. It arises during the implementation of the enterprise’s production tasks and is determined by the current forms of payment. When the organization operates as usual, payment occurs within one month.
• Acceptable. This category includes advances for the purchase of agricultural products, claims against contractors for short supply of material, debt of accountable persons, and similar negative examples.
• Unjustified. May arise as a result of violation of discipline, both settlement and financial. Debts can also be caused by deficiencies in accounting, shortages, or theft.

PD can also be divided into

• Real, which debtors will probably be able to repay on time.
• A dispute that an enterprise can settle through legal proceedings.
• Hopeless, the prospects for payment of which are virtually zero. When the statute of limitations expires, it will be necessary to write off the “debt” at a loss.

If we consider debt as an accounting object based on the payment term, then it can be

• Deferred, the maturity date of which has not yet arrived.
• Overdue, for which the deadline for fulfilling obligations has already arrived.

DZ insurance

The receivables insurance mechanism is as follows:

• The organization and the insurance company enter into an agreement. It must define and clearly state the key terms of the insurance contract. This includes a complete list of insured events and the procedure for assessing the financial situation of debtors.
• The insurer, together with the policyholder, determines the composition and volume of receivables that will be subject to insurance. It is important to consider that the insurance company will not insure the liability as a whole, but will necessarily assess the risks of non-payment for each client of the insured.
• If an insured event does occur, then the insurer pays the insured company the amount of the insured liability minus that part of the debt amount that will be written off as the latter’s expenses. After this procedure, all claims on the debt are transferred directly to the insurance company.

Before concluding such an agreement, an enterprise is still recommended to compare the upcoming costs and possible benefits from this type of insurance.

It can be concluded that in order to ensure competitive commercial conditions for its counterparties (debtors), the organization should find an additional way to finance its own expenses during the deferment period. This is the most rational approach, because an increase or decrease in the amount of receivables has a tremendous impact on the turnover of capital invested in current assets, and, as a consequence, on the overall financial position of the organization as a whole.

Who is a debtor? The term "Debtor" is synonymous with the word "Debtor". This is a person who is entrusted with some kind of obligation, for example, by a contract. The debtor can be an organization, an individual entrepreneur or an individual.

This concept does not have a negative connotation; it only denotes the role of the subject in economic activity. The same companies can be creditors and debtors to each other. For example, in a sales contract, the seller acts as a debtor until the obligation to deliver the goods is fulfilled. On the other hand, the buyer must pay for the products, so he is also a debtor to the seller regarding monetary obligations.

– the monetary equivalent of unfulfilled obligations of a particular organization. Its occurrence is due to the fact that payments between companies cannot be made simultaneously with the delivery of goods, performance of work or provision of services. This is only one type of working capital of a commercial enterprise.

Classification of accounts receivable

There are several criteria for dividing this phenomenon into types.

According to the projected deadlines for fulfilling obligations, accounts receivable are:

1. short-term – when payments are expected within 12 months from the date the debt arose.
2. long-term – fulfillment of obligations will take more than a year.

This classification is important for accounting purposes. Thus, paying for expensive technological equipment can take several years, which should be taken into account when preparing reports on the profitability of the manufacturing company.

According to the criterion of the possibility of receiving payment, receivables are divided into:

1. Urgent . The debtor does not violate his obligations, since the deadline for their fulfillment has not arrived. The terms of commercial transactions may imply different procedures for mutual settlements, so the mere fact of having a debt does not indicate the presence of a problem.
2. Overdue . The debtor violates his obligations. It is precisely this kind of debt that company specialists actively work with. They send letters of claim to debtors in order to claim funds, property or fulfill obligations in another form. Judicial protection of interests is considered as an exceptional method of working with debtors who have overdue their obligations.
3. Hopeless . The creditor has no legal basis to collect the debt from the debtor. This happens, for example, if the statute of limitations has expired - more than three years have passed since the violation of the obligation, the debtor did not recognize the debt, and the claim was not filed. Another basis for recognizing a debt as bad is the economic insolvency of the debtor or him. In such a situation, the debt is written off from the enterprise’s balance sheet as non-operating expenses. There is no point in taking into account a debt on the balance sheet that is impossible to collect.

Overdue debt is divided into reliable and doubtful. Classifying a debt as reliable is possible when the creditor has real ways to receive money. For example, the debtor's property is pledged and secures the obligation.

Unlikely. The debtor's assets are decreasing, there are other overdue debts, and there are no levers of extrajudicial pressure on the organization's management. There is a high probability that such an organization will be declared economically insolvent.

According to the volume of measures taken by the creditor organization, receivables are divided into:

1. Requested (the company has taken all measures provided by law to repay the debt).
2. Unclaimed (the organization has unused mechanisms for receiving funds from the debtor).

What is Accounts Receivable?

There are several objects that make up the usual structure of an organization's receivables:

• debts for goods supplied, work performed and services rendered;
• overpayment to the budget and extra-budgetary funds for taxes, duties, fees;
• debts on bills;
• debt of subsidiaries, branches, dependent companies;
• advance payments for future deliveries or performance of work/services;
• other debts, for example, the debt of the founder, who contributed a share to the authorized capital not in full.

In general, in economic activity about 90% of debt is of the first type.

Accounts receivable management is one of the functions of financial management of an enterprise. This activity involves:

1. checking counterparties before concluding contracts, their business reputation and the condition of their assets;
2. legal support of transactions, including elaboration of payment procedures for contracts;
3. claims work with debtors who are overdue in fulfilling their obligations;
4. forced collection of funds through the court.

Dealing with debt is a complex and delicate process. In theory, the mechanism is very simple: the company works with partners on its own terms. If late payments occur, the organization begins to pursue claims or goes to court.

In practice, everything is much more complicated. Suppliers have to give long deferments to customers in order to compete with other organizations. If companies have long-term commercial relationships, then all disagreements will be resolved through negotiations, and not through the presentation of formal claims.

And legal protection of the organization’s interests can take years and entail additional costs.

Even a positive court decision that has entered into legal force does not always guarantee the debtor’s full fulfillment of his obligations.

The ultimate goal of such activities is to reduce debtors' debts to a minimum.

Kinds

Once again about the types of accounts receivable - in a convenient video format.

This happens when the buyer cannot immediately pay the full cost of the goods to the supplier and the latter has to make concessions and count on the customer’s integrity. It is the repayment of receivables that raises many questions for both parties to the contract: how long should repayment be made; is there a special formula for calculating it; What are the most convenient ways to pay off debts? All these questions will be answered in this article.

General information

Repayment of accounts receivable is the process of paying debts that arose as a result of economic relations (purchase of goods or services) between an enterprise and another individual or legal entity. The parties to the agreement regarding debt are the collector and the debtor (No. 229-FZ, Art. 48). Each of the concepts is described in more detail in the Federal Law “On Enforcement Proceedings”.

This procedure is accompanied by the determination of the circle of persons to whom claims can be made. Despite the fact that the defendant is a party to the transaction that did not fulfill its obligations on time, government agencies can involve other persons in repayment of the debt who did not take part in the transaction, but are related to the debtor. Such persons may be the founders of the enterprise if it is declared bankrupt (if he is the culprit in the liquidation of the company) or the parent organization (if its branch was declared bankrupt).

The process of repaying the borrower's debt is conventionally divided into the following stages:

1. Determining the existence of a debtor's debt.
2. Identification of the need to seize receivables.
3. Arrest of debt.
4. Determination of the market value of debtor non-payments.
5. Sale of debt (if the auction is cancelled, it is sold on commission).

Debt collection methods

Claim collection procedure

A claim is a document addressed to the debtor in case of failure to fulfill the terms of the contract. The form for filing a claim is written. In it, the claimant must indicate the reasons for writing this document, the reasons for the debt, referring to certain terms of the contract, as well as the requirements for the debtor and the timing of consideration of the claim. The act is signed by the head of the enterprise. In addition, the document must be accompanied by a package of papers on which the claims against the debtor are based.

Before going to court, the creditor must resolve the problem by sending a claim to the borrower. Using this budget option, an entrepreneur can quickly get his own money back. If you ignore this method of debt collection, be prepared to be denied a court hearing.

Litigation

Without waiting for a response to the claim from the borrower, the entrepreneur has the right to file a claim with the arbitration court. The application form is written. The deadline for filing an application should not exceed 3 years from the moment the founder learned about the debtor’s existing debt. If this rule is not observed, the court has the right to refuse to consider the filed claim. Other requirements for a claim are set out in the APC, Art. 125.

Before submitting documents to the court, the creditor must send a copy of them to the borrower.

Taking interim measures

An interim measure in a particular case is the arrest of financial assets or property of the debtor that has material value. However, the arbitration court may apply other penalties (APC, Art. 91).

To seize the arrest, the founder must submit to the court an application to secure the claim, indicating the name of the court, information about the debtor and plaintiff, the subject of the dispute, the amount of debt and the interim measure, carefully justifying his request and attaching a package of necessary documents to it. The amount of the state duty is prescribed in the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, Art. 333.21, paragraph 1, paragraphs. 9, and amounts to 3,000 rubles. Review of documents occurs the next day after submission of the application.

To seize the property, the founder must submit an application to the court to secure the claim, carefully justifying his request and attaching a package of necessary documents to it.

Conclusion of a settlement agreement

A settlement agreement is an agreement between the parties to a contract to terminate litigation on the basis of mutual concessions. Its approval is carried out by the arbitration court in the presence of the parties to the agreement. He also indicates the deadlines for fulfilling all the terms of the agreement. If they are not fulfilled, the claimant has the right to file a petition in court.

Debt restructuring

This method will help the debtor pay off debts thanks to concessions from the creditor. These may be:

• Reducing the amount of debt.
• Increasing the debt repayment period.
• Reducing the amount of the penalty.

In this case, the entrepreneur lays claim to the tangible property that belongs to the borrower.

Debt repayment terms

The receivables collection period is the period of time when a company expects to receive money from products sold. It determines the turnover period of the debtor's debt, taking into account the change in the amount of revenue from goods or services sold.

Formula for calculating the repayment period for receivables:

DSO = DAP x (AR / NS),

where DSO is the maturity date (calculated in days), DAP is the length of the period, AR is the receivables (in rubles), and NS is sales revenue (in rubles).

Repayment of receivables has a specific deadline and a special calculation formula, thanks to which both parties to the contract can control payments. This issue can be resolved peacefully, knowing all the pitfalls of this method. However, if the debtor fails to comply with these deadlines, the collector has the right to choose any of the methods convenient for him to collect debts and apply to the arbitration court.