Payments to accountable persons - regulatory documents

Accountability statement: why and by whom it is published

An internal document on the procedure for settlements with accountable persons for funds issued for business needs is developed in the organization to ensure full control of the movement of accountable amounts, their intended use and correct reflection in accounting.
When developing the Regulations, it is necessary to use regulatory documents regulating the relations of participants and their actions:

• Directive of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation “On the procedure for conducting cash transactions” dated March 11, 2014 No. 3210-U;
• Law “On Accounting” dated December 6, 2011 No. 402-FZ;
• by order of the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation “On approval of the Chart of Accounts” dated October 31, 2000 No. 94n;
• Labor Code of the Russian Federation.

The regulation may be an annex to the accounting policy, or it may be an independent local document.

Documents confirming the issuance of money from the cash register

From 01/01/2013, standard forms of primary documents are not required to be used, but this does not apply to documents for conducting cash transactions (information of the Ministry of Finance of Russia N PZ-10/2012).

The fact of issuing money from the cash register is confirmed by an expense cash order (KO-2), which is drawn up when issuing money. It is written out in 1 copy by the cashier, signed by the manager and chief accountant or an authorized person and recorded in the journal for registering incoming and outgoing cash documents (KO-4).

There are often cases when the money issued is not realized in full; the employee returns the unrealized amount to the cash desk. When returning funds, the cashier issues a cash receipt order (KO-1), consisting of 2 parts:

1. left - at the cash register
2. right - in the hands of the person to confirm the fact of depositing money

This operation is also entered into KO-1KO-4.

Important! An order (instruction) is issued as a basis for the issuance of accountable amounts; an application from the recipient of funds is not required.

Reflection of goals, deadlines and limits on accountable amounts

Accountable money is given to employees of the enterprise for expenses related to the direct activities of the organization. According to paragraph 5 of Directive No. 3210-U, an employee is a person with whom an employment contract or a civil law contract has been concluded. This means that both a full-time employee and an outside contractor can receive money.

In this paragraph of the Regulations, you can give a general description of what expenses the money will be given to employees:

• administrative and economic,
• representative,
• travel allowances

Or it is possible, at the discretion of management, to issue a separate order approving the list of business expenses and the amounts within which funds will be issued. Accountable amounts exceeding those specified in the order must be additionally approved by the manager.

The terms for which the accountable person can receive money are also determined by management and can be simultaneously specified in an order with a list of the purposes for issuing the advance and its limit. The Regulations themselves should indicate that specific deadlines for certain accountable amounts are indicated in a separate order. For cases not specified in the order, a clause should be fixed in the Regulations that defines the general maximum reporting period, for example, no more than a month.

A list of employees entitled to receive money for business expenses will make the accountant’s work easier. It can be presented in this Regulation in the form of a list of positions. It is better to collect specific names in a special list of accountable persons and issue them by a separate order, so as not to re-issue the entire Regulation due to the addition of an additional accountable person to the list.

Find out how to write an order correctly from this article .

Mandatory conditions for issuing accountable amounts

When developing the Regulations, it is necessary to reflect under what conditions the issuance of accountable amounts should occur. These rules are described in clause 6.3 of the procedure for conducting cash transactions:

• The issuance of money to the account is carried out on the basis of an application from the employee (from November 30, 2020, it is not necessary to indicate the amount and period for which the advance is issued) or an administrative document from the manager (from November 30, 2020, it is allowed to be issued for several cash advances to one or more accountable persons , in this case, the document must indicate the full name of the recipients, the amounts to be reported and the terms for which they are issued).

NOTE! The presence of debt on accountable amounts is not a limitation for receiving a new advance (clause 1.3 of instruction No. 4416-U).

• It is advisable to note the period during which the director reviews and signs the application, and how long after this the employee must be given the money to account. If the money is issued by order of the director, then similarly indicate the period during which the employee receives the money against the cash register.
• The Regulations should also fix the following point. Provided that an employee cannot, for any reason (lack of cash in the company's cash register or being at the workplace), receive an advance, but has the right, with the verbal consent of the manager, to make expenses in the interests of the company from his own funds, their subsequent compensation is made based on the application employee.

For more details, see: “What to do if the accountable person has spent his money?”

• If an employee receives an advance payment for settlement under the organization’s power of attorney, then it is necessary to note in the Regulations in what cases this should happen. You should also write that cash payments on behalf of a company with legal entities and individual entrepreneurs under one agreement should not exceed the limit established by law (for 2021 it is 100,000 rubles).

What document and how are cash payments regulated? Read here: “What is the limit for cash payments between legal entities?” .

How to issue a report according to the new rules

Before the introduction of the amendments, in order to receive money, the employee sent an application to the accounting department or human resources department, which indicated the required amount and an explanation of what it would be spent on. But after the adoption of the instruction of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation No. 4416-U dated June 19, 2017, it is not necessary to submit an application. To issue accountable money, an order or other administrative document of the company on behalf of the director is sufficient. The form of such a document is arbitrary, but indicates the required details:

• Full name of the reporting person;
• document registration number;
• amount of cash;
• the period for which cash is issued;
• purpose (optional);
• director's signature and date.

In an order, it is permissible to indicate several employees and reporting assignments at once, all at the discretion of the organization’s management. If the reporting provisions provide for a statement, it is written, the new procedure for issuing and spending accountable amounts in 2021 does not prohibit this. Organizations independently create document flow.

Application from an employee

Statement

I ask you to issue funds in the amount of 1000 rubles for the purchase of office supplies.

Order on accountable persons

ORDER No. 3

about accountable persons

In order to ensure cash discipline

I ORDER:

1. Chief accountant L.I. Maksimova issue reports once a week in amounts not exceeding 3,000 (three thousand) rubles to the following employees:

• accountant T.N. Frolova to make cash payments under all necessary circumstances;
• caretaker Romanova E.D. for the purchase of office supplies for the needs of the organization.

2. The period for issuing the report is 3 working days.

3. In all other cases, the issuance of cash on account is approved by a separate order.

The following have been familiarized with the order:

Deadlines and procedure for submitting advance reports

An advance report is a document on the basis of which control of cash flows and the establishment of the fact of a business transaction take place, because with it primary documents confirming this fact are submitted to the accounting department.

The Regulations must specify within what time the report in Form AO-1 must be submitted to the accounting department. From November 30, 2020, the organization can independently set the deadline for the accountable person to submit the advance report. The requirement that it must be submitted no later than 3 working days after the expiration date for which the reports were issued, or from the date of return to work, has been cancelled. If the report form is developed independently at the enterprise, taking into account its specifics, it is necessary to approve it by order of the manager, and write a clause about this in the Regulations.

It is recommended that a detailed description be made of what source documents must be submitted and how they must be completed in order for them to be accepted as evidence of expenditure incurred. It is often not enough to have one payment document - a cashier's check or a counterfoil for a cash receipt order. You may also need the following documents for purchased goods or services:

• in retail trade - sales receipt;
• in wholesale - delivery note and invoice;
• when paying for services - an agreement, an invoice, an acceptance certificate or a universal transfer document.

Important! Recommendation from ConsultantPlus To avoid the problem of confirming expenses in situations where cash receipts are lost or cash receipts have faded, we recommend doing the following. See K+ for three options.

Deadlines for submitting an advance report to the accounting department by the accountable person

One of the innovations in the procedure for conducting cash transactions is that from November 30, 2020, the 3-day period for an advance report by an accountable person was canceled.
Let us recall that for the funds received for expenses necessary for the economic activities of the enterprise or individual entrepreneur, the employee - the accountable person had to report in accordance with clause 6.3. instructions “On the procedure for conducting cash transactions...” dated March 11, 2014 No. 3210-U within 3 working days:

• after the end of the period for which the funds were received;
• after returning to work, if the period expired during his excused absence - illness, vacation, etc.

Also, in accordance with paragraph 26 of the resolution “On the peculiarities of sending employees on business trips” dated October 13, 2008 No. 749, it was necessary to report to the accounting department within 3 days after arriving from a business trip.

But as of November 30, 2020, by order of the Bank of Russia dated October 5, 2020 No. 5587-U, this requirement was changed. Now the organization has the right to independently set the period for which funds are issued for reporting.

ConsultantPlus experts spoke in more detail about the innovations. Get trial access to the K+ system and go to the review material for free.

By signing the application, the employer approves the amount to be accounted for and the deadline for submitting the advance report.

IMPORTANT! In the application, it is advisable for the employee to indicate the purpose for which the money is needed. This will make it easier for the manager to decide on the deadline, and for the accountant to make the appropriate entries.

In order for the employee to reasonably indicate in his application the period for which he will need funds, it is recommended to develop an internal document that will define the deadlines for the typical needs of the company. From November 30, 2020, money on account can be issued to several individuals under one administrative document. This document must also indicate the amount and period for which it is issued to the employee.

If you have access to ConsultantPlus, check whether your employees correctly prepare and submit expense reports on time. If you don't have access, get a free trial of online legal access.

Procedure for checking and approving advance reports

In this part of the Regulations, it is necessary to reflect the main points related to the advance report, after the preparation of which the employee, together with the primary documents attached to the report, submits it to the accounting department. In particular, these:

• The accountant fills out a receipt for the advance report and gives it to the employee.
• It is advisable to describe how the report itself and the documents attached to it are verified. Primary documents must contain the necessary details, correspond to the purpose and match the amount. Documents filled out incorrectly will not be accepted for accounting and will be reimbursed to the accountant.
• After checking and filling out his part of the report, the accountant sends the document for signature to the chief accountant, and then to the manager for approval.
• The period during which the report must be checked and approved, as well as the amounts for this analytical account must be closed, must be indicated in the Appendix. For example, a week is given to check and approve a report, and 2 business days are given to issue overruns or deposit the balance into the cash register after approval by the manager. If the balance of the account is not returned within the specified period, the enterprise has the right to withhold this debt from the salary of the accountable person in accordance with the law (Article 137.138 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation).

Important! Recommendation from “ConsultantPlus” To withhold an unreturned amount from an employee’s salary, you need to: 1) draw up an order from the manager about withholding in any form. This must be done no later than... (for more details, see K+).

How to correctly reflect the return in accounting, read the article “Return by an accountable person of the amount of an unspent advance .

• If during the period for which accountable funds were issued, the employee did not purchase anything, then within the period specified in the Regulations the money in full must be returned to the organization.
• If an enterprise is active, as a result of which accountable amounts are regularly issued to a large number of employees, then for control and accounting it is recommended to carry out an inventory of settlements with accountable persons several times a year. This issue should also be covered in the Regulations.

For settlements with accountable persons regarding travel expenses, it is recommended to issue a separate Regulation on business trips, which should consider all the nuances of travel expenses and possible disagreements with accountable persons and tax authorities.

A sample of such Regulations can be found at the link.

Reporting of the accountable person on funds sold

The accountable person is not required to report on expenses within 3 days in order to receive the next accountable amount. Typically, the company reimburses these amounts from wages based on the manager’s order, but the withholding can be up to 20% of wages.

Reporting on accountable amounts reflects the advance report:

• for budgetary and government institutions it is mandatory to use the unified form 0504505 (approved by Order of the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated March 30, 2015 N 52n)
• Commercial organizations have the right from 01/01/2013 to develop a report form themselves or use the unified form N AO-1 (approved by Resolution of the State Statistics Committee of Russia dated 01/08/2001 N 55).

All employee expense reports must be supported by attached expense documents, numbered according to the sequence of entries in the report.

When filling out an advance report according to form 0504505, it is drawn up in 1 copy; filling out by hand and in printed form is allowed. The report should reflect:

1. on page 1: information about the advance recipient
2. on page 2: columns 1-6 indicating the attached supporting documents (numbered)

The accountant checks for the intended use of money and, after verification and approval by the manager, enters the expenses accepted for accounting.

Filling out an advance report in form A0504505O-1 (or a report accepted and approved by a commercial organization) is carried out similarly to form 0504505.

Regulations on accountable persons: sample 2020-2021

When developing the Regulations on settlements with accountable persons in 2020-2021, it is possible to establish the right of an employee to receive sums of money for business needs not only in cash, but also by non-cash means, using:

• company corporate card;
• employee's personal bank cards.

This can be done on the basis of an application from the employee or an order from the manager (letter of the Ministry of Finance dated July 21, 2017 No. 09-01-07/46781). If money is issued upon application, then the employee indicates his card details in it.

A sample Regulation on settlements with accountable persons can be downloaded here.

You can add or shorten the sample to suit the specifics of your business.

Results

An internal document developed for settlements with accountable persons serves as an assistant for maintaining order when processing the issuance of funds and their intended use. Those points and subtleties that are not regulated by law must be specified in the Regulations. In this case, the accountant will have a legal basis for recording the fact of economic activity.

Sources:

• Labor Code of the Russian Federation
• Federal Law of December 6, 2011 N 402-FZ “On Accounting”
• Order of the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation dated October 31, 2000 N 94n
• Directive of the Bank of Russia dated March 11, 2014 N 3210-U

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

Error when auditing calculations

Some employers consider internal audit of settlements with accountable persons not important for their activities. But this is important for writing off expenses for tax purposes. Therefore, an audit is important in the field of compliance with the requirements of accounting policies and other local accounting documents in all aspects. When conducting an audit, an assessment is made of:

• organization and accounting
• correctness of documentation
• validity of issuing funds on account and timeliness of return of accountable amounts
• correctness of reflection of calculations in financial statements