How to fix the accounting error of the past. New rules for correcting errors

The procedure for correcting errors in accounting and reporting documentation is regulated by PBU 22/2010. PBU norms divide errors into two groups:

• category of significant errors;
• area of ​​insignificant errors.

The criterion of materiality is the ability to influence the decisions of users of financial statements. If one mistake or a combination of several inaccuracies led to the subjectivity of economic decisions, then such inaccuracies in accounting are considered significant. The threshold of materiality of the enterprise in absolute and percentage terms is set independently, reflecting the indicators adopted as a basis in the accounting policy.

Correction of errors in accounting and reporting: basic rules

To make corrections to the primary documentation and accounting registers, the following techniques are used:

1. Manual correction - applied when making changes to paper documents by crossing out incorrect data with one line (so that the original text remains readable) and creating a correct entry next to it, approved by the signature of the responsible person with the date of the correction and the seal (clause 7 of article 9 of Law No. 402- Federal Law of December 6, 2011).
2. Reversal of amounts - used in case of incorrect reflection of the operation on the accounting accounts. The essence of the method is to repeat the incorrect posting in red ink, indicating the amount of the first entry. The amounts for red (reversed) correspondences in accounting will be deducted. As a result, the incorrect entry will be canceled, and you can create a new posting instead.
3. Correction of errors in accounting with the help of additional postings is applied in situations when all the records were formed correctly, but an error was made when reflecting the amount of the transaction. For the missing amount, another entry is created with the participation of the same accounts as in the original version.

If the amount was overstated when reflected in the posting, then the surplus is reversed by additional correspondence. At the same time, the accountant generates an explanatory note to indicate the reasons for the appearance of inaccuracies.

PBU binds the correction of errors in accounting to the period of their detection:

• mistakes made in the current period and detected before the end of the year can be corrected in the month of detection;
• minor errors can be corrected in the month of detection, even if the inaccuracy was identified after the end of the reporting period;
• if the mistakes of the last year were revealed before the approval of the statements, corrections are made in December of the reporting year;
• if an error is found last year after the submission of reports for this period, adjustments are made for the current year using transactions involving 84 accounts.

In the latter case, it is necessary to additionally conduct a retrospective recalculation of the values ​​of the reporting indicators. Its purpose is to show the data in the new reporting as it would look in the absence of errors and the results of its correction. If there are corrected significant errors, they are indicated in the explanations to the statements.

Ways to fix errors using examples

An error was found during the analysis of the approved and submitted reports of LLC "Buket" for the last year. The accountant did not reflect by entries the amounts spent on the rent for the premises in the amount of 640,000 thousand rubles. The materiality limit in the accounting policy is set at 45,000 rubles.

To correct the error in the current reporting period, an entry is made:

• D84 - K76 in the amount of 640,000 rubles.

This correspondence records the expense that was not reflected in the last year by mistake. Since the reporting has already been submitted and approved, it is necessary to draw up a clarifying income tax declaration.

Methods for correcting errors in accounting records before the end of the year can be seen in another example. On October 27, 2017, Buket LLC employees found out that in the 2nd quarter, the costs of the advertising campaign for a new product were reflected in the amount of 44,000 rubles (excluding VAT) instead of 39,000 rubles actually spent (excluding VAT).

The error is corrected in October 2017 by postings:

1. Д44 - К60 in the amount of 44,000 rubles (reversal) - cancellation of debt to the counterparty.
2. D90.2 - K44 in the amount of 44,000 rubles (reversal) - write-off of expenses for expenses for ordinary activities is canceled.
3. Д44 - К60 in the amount of 39,000 rubles - the debt to the counterparty in the correct amount is reflected again.
4. D90.2 - K44 in the amount of 39,000 rubles - the costs of the advertising campaign are charged to the expenses of ordinary activities.

Starting from the annual financial statements for 2010, the Regulation on accounting "Correction of errors in accounting and reporting" (PBU 22/2010), which was approved by order of the Ministry of Finance dated June 28, 2010, No. 63n, comes into force. PBU 22/2010 establishes the rules for correcting errors and the procedure for disclosing information about errors in the accounting and reporting of organizations that are legal entities (with the exception of credit organizations and budgetary institutions).

General Provisions

Error - this is an incorrect reflection (non-reflection) of the facts of economic activity in the accounting or financial statements of the organization (clause 2 of PBU 22/2010).

The error can be caused, in particular:

• misapplication of legislation;
• incorrect application of the accounting policy of the organization;
• inaccuracies in calculations;
• incorrect classification or assessment of the facts of economic activity;
• misuse of information available at the date of signing the financial statements;
• unscrupulous actions of officials of the organization.

All identified errors and their consequences are subject to mandatory correction (clause 4 of PBU 22/2010).

Errors can be significant and insignificant.

At the same time, inaccuracies or omissions in the reflection of the facts of economic activity revealed as a result of obtaining new information that were not available at the time of reflection (non-reflection) of such facts (clause 2 of PBU 22/2010) are not errors.

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Corrections in cash and bank documents are not allowed. The rest of the primary accounting documents can be corrected only by agreement with the participants in business operations, which must be confirmed by the signatures of the same persons who signed the documents, indicating the date of the amendments (clause 5 of article 9 of Federal Law No. 129-FZ "On accounting").

According to clauses 4.2 and 4.3 of the "Regulations on documents and workflow in accounting" (approved by the USSR Ministry of Finance on July 29, 1983, No. 105) errors in primary documents are corrected as follows: the incorrect text or amounts are crossed out and the corrected text or amounts are written above the crossed out ... Strikethrough is performed with one stroke so that the corrected can be read. Correction of an error in the original document must be indicated by the inscription "corrected".

Rules for correcting minor errors

The order in which errors are corrected depends on when they were discovered (see Table 1).

Rules for correcting significant errors

General rules

The error is recognized as significant if it, individually or in combination with other errors for the same reporting period, can affect the economic decisions of users made on the basis of financial statements compiled for this reporting period (paragraph 3 of PBU 22/2010).

The organization determines the materiality of the error on its own, proceeding from both the size and the nature of the relevant articles of the financial statements (clause 3 of PBU 22/2010). Therefore, we advise you to prescribe the materiality criteria in the accounting policy of the enterprise.

Correcting significant errors also depends on when they were discovered.

It is worth recalling here that organizations are required to submit financial statements to the tax authorities at their location (subparagraph 5 of paragraph 1 of article 23 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation). According to the annual financial statements, this must be done within 90 days after the end of the year. At the same time, the submitted annual financial statements must be approved in accordance with the procedure established by the constituent documents of the organization (clause 2 of article 15 of the Federal Law of November 21, 1996, No. 129-FZ "On accounting"). For example, the annual report of a joint-stock company is subject to preliminary approval by the board of directors (supervisory board) of the company, and in the absence thereof, by the person acting as the sole executive body of the company. This must be done no later than 30 days before the date of the annual general meeting of shareholders (clause 4 of article 88 of the Federal Law of December 26, 1995, No. 208-FZ "On Joint Stock Companies").

Errors identified before the approval of the annual financial statements

In Table 2, we have provided the Procedure for correcting material errors identified before the approval of the annual financial statements.

As you can see, all errors of the previous reporting year, revealed even before the approval of the annual financial statements, are corrected with entries for December of the reporting year.

Errors identified after the approval of the annual financial statements

Errors of the previous reporting year, identified after the approval of the annual financial statements, are corrected as follows (clause 9 of PBU 22/2010):

1. entries on the relevant accounting accounts in the current reporting period. In this case, the corresponding account is account 84 "Retained earnings (uncovered loss)";
2. by recalculating the comparative indicators of the financial statements for the reporting periods reflected in the statements for the current reporting year. The exceptions are cases when it is impossible to establish a connection between this error and a specific period, or it is impossible to determine the impact of this error on a cumulative basis in relation to all previous reporting periods.

In this case, the approved financial statements for the previous reporting periods are not subject to revision, replacement and re-submission to the users of the statements (clause 10 of PBU 22/2010).

The recalculation of the comparative indicators of the financial statements is carried out by correcting the indicators of the financial statements, as if an error in the previous reporting period had never been made. We are talking here about the so-called retrospective recalculation. The specified recalculation is carried out in relation to comparative indicators, starting from the previous reporting period presented in the financial statements for the current reporting year in which the corresponding error was made.

Now let's see what to do if a material error was made before the beginning of the earliest of the previous reporting periods presented in the financial statements for the current reporting year. In this case, the opening balances on the corresponding items of assets, liabilities and capital at the beginning of the earliest of the presented reporting periods are subject to adjustment (clause 11 of PBU 22/2010).

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At present, organizations have the right to disclose data for more than two years in the financial statements for each numerical indicator (clause 10 of PBU 4/99, approved by order of the Ministry of Finance dated 06.07.1999, No. 43n). True, in the main, companies in their reports reflect information for only two years - the reporting one and the one preceding the reporting one.

Meanwhile, starting with the annual reporting for 2011, the balance sheet will have to indicate data not only for the reporting period and the previous year, but also for the year preceding the previous one (order of the Ministry of Finance dated 02.07.2010 No. 66n "On the forms of financial statements of organizations ").

If it is impossible to determine the impact of a material error on one or more of the previous reporting periods presented in the financial statements, then the opening balance for the corresponding items of assets, liabilities and capital should be adjusted at the beginning of the earliest of the periods for which recalculation is possible (clause 12 of PBU 22/2010).

In some cases, it is impossible to determine the impact of a material error on the previous reporting period. We are talking here about situations when complex or numerous calculations are required, during the performance of which it is not possible to select information indicating the circumstances that existed at the date of the error, or it is necessary to use information obtained after the date of approval of the financial statements for such a previous reporting period (p. . 13 PBU 22/2010).

We fill out an explanatory note

The explanatory note to the annual financial statements reflects the following information regarding material errors of the previous reporting periods, corrected in the reporting period (clause 15 of PBU 22/2010):

• the nature of the error;
• the amount of the adjustment for each item of the financial statements - for each previous reporting period to the extent that it is practically feasible;
• adjustments for basic and diluted earnings (loss) per share (if the entity is required to disclose earnings per share);
• the amount of the adjustment to the opening balance of the earliest reporting period presented.

If it is impossible to determine the impact of a material error on one or more previous reporting periods presented in the financial statements, then the explanatory note to the annual statements discloses the reasons for this. In this case, a description of the method for reflecting the correction of a material error in the financial statements should be provided and the period from which the corrections were made (clause 16 of PBU 22/2010) should be indicated.

There is a very good saying: "He who does nothing is not mistaken." And an accountant performs a very large amount of work and often makes decisions in non-standard situations. Therefore, there may be errors in accounting. You don't need to be afraid of them, but you need to be able to correct them correctly. How to correct accounting errors will depend on the situation. Let's learn!

The main normative act that defines and classifies errors, and also regulates the rules for correcting errors in accounting ─ PBU 22/2010 "Correction of errors in accounting and reporting."

1. What are accounting errors

2. A significant and insignificant error in accounting

3. Correction of errors in accounting documents

4. Ways to correct accounting errors

5. Drawing up additional transactions

6. Reversal entries

7. How to fix errors 1C: Accounting

8. Rulesbug fixes in accounting

So, let's go in order.

1. What are accounting errors

An error is considered to be an incorrect reflection of business transactions in accounting and / or reporting as a result (clause 3 of PBU 22/2010):

• Incorrect application of legislation. This often happens in cases where laws or regulations are passed, and how to work on them is not clear. After clarifications appear, many accountants have to make changes to accounting and reporting.
• Incorrect application of accounting policies. In order to avoid such errors, the accounting policy must be drawn up very carefully and everything that is written in it must not have a double interpretation.
• Inaccuracies in calculations.
• Incorrect classification or estimates of the facts of economic activity. For example, an organization has purchased expensive technical equipment. If you look at the cost, then the tooling can be attributed to the main tool, and if in terms of service life, then to the materials. From how the asset will be capitalized, the formation of the cost and profit further depends. Therefore, it is important to correctly classify any, especially non-standard, business transactions.
• Misuse of information, which was at the date of signing the statements.
• Fraud officials.

An example for the last two points. The materials were brought to the organization at the end of December. But the documents remained with the executive officer, he did not bring them to the accounting department. If there are no documents, then the materials were accepted for safekeeping and put on balance. After the holidays, they forgot about the documents, the parish was not reflected in the annual reporting.

Even before the signing of the reports, they remembered about the materials, found the documents, but decided not to make changes to the accounting and reporting. In fact, it turns out the following: there were documents and information in the organization, but they were not reflected in the accounting. As a result: the balance sheet asset lacks the amount on the "Inventories" line, and in the liability - on the "Accounts payable" line. At the same time, the unbalance is overestimated.

Errors are not considered those cases when business transactions were not reflected in the accounting due to the fact that the organization at the time of signing the statements did not have information about them.

2. A material and insignificant error in accounting

Accounting error is considered essential if it affects the economic performance of the company. For example, mismanagement of prices in invoicing resulted in underreported revenue. The magnitude of the error was 100,000 rubles. For a small company, this amount can be 30% of the "revenue" indicator, and for an organization with huge turnovers - 0.1%. Therefore, materiality is usually considered not in absolute terms, but in relative terms ─ shares or percentages.

Until 2010, materiality in the amount of 5% was determined by Order of the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated July 22, 2003 No. 67n. This order was canceled in September 2010.

Since 2010, in accordance with clause 3 of PBU 22/2010, determine the materiality of mistakes the company must independently... The materiality level may differ from item to item. All this should be spelled out in the accounting policy.

3. Correction of errors in accounting documents

The Federal Law "On Accounting" dated 06.12.2011 No. 402-FZ in clause 7 of article 9 determines that the correction of the primary document is confirmed by the signatures of those persons who drew up this document, with the decryption and the date of the correction.

In practice, it looks like this: the person responsible for correcting the document crosses out the incorrect information with a thin line. Then next to him, with a blue or black pen, he writes the correct information, signs, puts the date. The number of participants who endorse the revision of the document depends on the situation.

Let's consider two cases of correcting errors in accounting documents using one example: a storekeeper releases stationery from the warehouse on demand-invoice.

Option 1. The storekeeper counted out and gave another worker 25 ballpoint pens. In the invoice claim, in column 8 "Issued" made an entry "25". The one who received the pens counted them and it turned out that he was given not 25, but 23 pens. In this case, you need to cross out "25", write "23". Both the storekeeper and the employee who received the stationery sign their signatures. Be sure to put the date.

In this situation, there are two participants who must confirm the number in the document, therefore, there must be two signatures.

Option 2. The storekeeper filled in column 9 "Price", calculated the cost of the issued pens and made a mistake in the calculations. In this case, he can correct his mistake himself if he finds it. For certification, only the signature of the storekeeper will be enough.

The accountant can also check the calculations and find an error in the invoice requirement, to whom the storekeeper will bring the documents. Then the accountant must make the corrections and sign.

You cannot make changes to cash and bank documents.

Correction of errors in accounting documents that are transferred from one organization to another, for example, in a consignment note (TORG-12) or in an act of work performed, are made signed by the responsible persons of both organizations.

After the primary documents for the sale of goods (works, services) have been corrected, you need to change the invoice. And here the general rules do not work. It is necessary to be guided by the Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation of December 26, 2011 No. 1137. This normative act provides for two options for making changes: correcting the issued invoice or drawing up a corrective document according to the approved form.

4. Ways to correct accounting errors

After changing the documents, the amount by which you previously made the accounting entry may increase or decrease. Therefore, there are such ways to correct errors in accounting:

• additional wiring─ to increase the amount of an already reflected business transaction
• "Red storno"─ to reduce it. The name "Red Storno" is associated with the fact that at the time of paper magazines-orders, the amount that needed to be spent in reduction was written in red. This meant that in the calculations it must be subtracted, not added.

For example Let's take a look at how to use both of these adjustments.

Company A in January 2018 checked 10 pieces of equipment from company B. The cost of the service for January was calculated based on the service cost of 10,000 rubles per unit. Company A and Company B signed a certificate of completion for the amount of 118,000 rubles, including VAT ─ 18,000 rubles. The cost of the service is 80,000 rubles.

The accountant of company A made the entries in the accounting:

Company B's accountant reflected the purchase of the service:

In February 2018, it turned out that when calculating the cost of the service in January, the wrong price was used, it should be:

a) 12,000 rubles per unit (for example, for additional wiring)

b) 9,000 rubles per unit (for example, for "red storno")

In case of erroneous use of the price, it is necessary to correct the initial act for January. The wrong price and value are crossed out in it, the correct numbers are signed on top. After that, the authorized persons of both companies sign, their signatures are certified with seals. Based on the act, the accountant of company A must issue an invoice with corrections.

5. Drawing up additional transactions

Option with a price of 12,000 rubles. The cost of the service without VAT is 120,000 rubles, VAT ─ 21,600 rubles, a total of 141,600 rubles. The difference with the January documents was 23,600 rubles, of which VAT was 3,600 rubles.

Accounting for company A

Accounting for company B

6. Reversal entries

Option with a price of 9,000 rubles. The cost of the service without VAT is 90,000 rubles, VAT ─ 16,200 rubles, in total ─ 106,200 rubles. The difference is 11,800 rubles, of which VAT is 1,800 rubles.

Accounting for company A

Accounting for company B

7. How to fix errors 1C: Accounting

As for working in a program, for example, 1C: Accounting, the methods of correcting errors in accounting here will look a little different than in theory.

The essence of the difference is that the transactions for the operation, which need to be corrected, are first completely reversed, after which a new document is posted for the full amount, and not only for the amount of corrections.

It looks like this (using the example of company A in February):

• option with an increase in cost

As a result, it turns out that the debt of company B increased by 23,600 rubles (141600-118,000), the amount of VAT charged increased by 3600 rubles.

• cost reduction option

As a result of the operations performed, the debt of company B decreased by 11,800 rubles, and VAT payable ─ by 1,800 rubles.

Correcting errors in accounting gives the same result, both in theory and in programs.

8. Rules for correcting errors in accounting

Any errors should be corrected in the accounting. Substantial without fail. And what about the insignificant? You need to be careful with them - over time, in total, they may exceed the level of materiality and the reporting will become unreliable.

The period for correcting errors depends on when they were identified (clause 6-9 of PBU 22/2010):

• The easiest way to fix the errors that you found during the reporting year or before signing the statements the head. In the first case, the error must be corrected in the month when it was identified, and in the second, in December of the reporting year.
• A correction by December should also be carried out when significant errors in accounting were discovered after the statements were signed by the head, but have not yet been submitted for approval to the shareholders or members of the LLC. Or already presented but not approved at the AGM.
• Errors that became known after reporting approval corrected by the year following the reporting year. For example, in August 2018, 2017 bugs were discovered. The adjustments need to be made in August 2018. To correct significant errors of the previous year, you must follow the rules established by clause 9 of PBU 22/2010.

An insignificant mistake in accounting, which was found after the signing of the statements, is corrected in the month of the current year in which it was found. For postings in this case, you need to use account 91 "Other income and expenses". Usually this account has a sub-account, which is called ─ "Profit (loss) of previous years, identified in the reporting year."

What mistakes have you encountered in your work and what helps you find them? What is the materiality level established in your accounting policy? Have you had to “jump on the last car” and fix the reporting before the approval?

We are waiting for your comments. And of course, ask questions.

We study ways to correct errors in accounting and documents

Olga Nakhabina, expert of the journal "Accountant-Doka"

At the end of the year, the accountant traditionally asks questions, is everything in order in the documents, have errors crept in in accounting and reporting, what criterion should they be attributed to and how to fix it? Rereading PBU 22/2010 again is very boring and incomprehensible. There is not always enough time to search for all kinds of comments. But having at hand a compact cheat sheet on this issue is just a godsend for an accountant. This is what will be discussed in our article.

Classifying errors

According to clause 2 of PBU 22/2010 "Correction of errors in accounting and reporting" (hereinafter PBU 22/2010), an error is an incorrect reflection (non-reflection) of the facts of economic activity in the accounting and (or) financial statements of an organization.

To begin with, we present the classification of errors in accordance with PBU 22/2010. We allowed ourselves to expand this list a little without changing the essence of the question (Fig. 1):

Figure 1 - Classification of errors in accounting and reporting

Now let us briefly dwell on the characteristics of each group of errors. By the nature of the commission, errors can be divided into deliberate and unintentional.

Unintentional errors may be due to:

• Incorrect application of the accounting policies of the organization. For example, the accounting policy of the organization for the disposal of goods established a method of assessment "at average cost". The FIFO assessment method was used erroneously;
• Inaccuracies in calculations. For example, when calculating the cost of production for the volume of output, it is erroneously taken not 1000 kg, but 100 kg;
• Incorrect classification or assessment of the facts of economic activity. For example, incomplete determination of costs in the formation of the initial cost of an item of fixed assets.
• Incorrect use of information available at the date of signing the financial statements. For example, untimely transfer to the accounting department of documents received at the company's warehouse;
• Incorrect application of the legislation of the Russian Federation on accounting and (or) regulatory legal acts on accounting. For example, errors caused by non-compliance with the norms of PBU 6/01: incorrect inclusion of fixed assets in a group of inventories.

Intentional mistakes allowed in cases of dishonest actions of officials of the organization. These include forgeries, falsification of documents, veiling of accounting data. For example, deliberate falsification of documents for the release of materials into production, carried out in order to conceal the fact of theft.

In turn, unintentional and deliberate mistakes make up a group errors in content, which include:

• Errors in documenting operations - reflection of the operation in the absence of primary documents or, conversely, the presence of falsified documents for operations that were not performed.
• Errors in the reporting period, when a business transaction carried out in one reporting period is reflected in accounting and reporting in the next period. Most often, they arise due to the late receipt of accompanying documents from counterparties - invoices, invoices, etc.;
• Errors in correspondence of accounts, expressed in the preparation of incorrect entries that distort the economic essence of the transactions performed.
• Valuation errors associated with violation of the established rules for determining the initial and actual cost of accounting items, depreciation, etc.
• Errors in the presentation of information in the reporting. For example, the “collapsed” balance of settlement accounts is 60.62.76.71.

Specific errors arise when using incorrectly configured accounting computer programs, as well as due to computer malfunctions. For example, data entered into a computer may be lost due to computer viruses, sudden power outages, etc.

Are not errors omissions and inaccuracies in accounting and reporting, if they were revealed as a result of obtaining new information that was not available to the organization at the time of reflection (non-reflection) of such facts of economic activity (clause 2 of PBU 22/2010).

By the level of materiality, PBU 22/2010 divided errors into essential and insignificant.

The error is admitted essential if it alone or in combination with other errors for the same one can affect the economic decisions of users, taken by them on the basis of the accounting statements compiled for this reporting period. The organization determines the materiality of the error independently, based on both the size and the nature of the corresponding article (articles) of the financial statements (clause 3 of PBU 22/2010). Materiality criteria should be enshrined in the accounting policy of the organization.

If the error does not meet the materiality criteria established by the organization, then it can be recognized insignificant.

By the period of occurrence, significant and insignificant errors can be classified as reporting year errors and errors of the previous reporting year.

But according to the error detection period, the classification is a little more complicated. Here it is necessary to take into account both the materiality, and the period of occurrence, and the procedure for approving the annual financial statements.

Reporting year errors identified and corrected in two cases: before the end of the reporting year, i.e. before December 31, and after the end of the reporting year, but before the date of signing the statements.

Errors of the previous reporting year classified according to the following types and periods of detection:

• Insignificant error revealed after the date of signing the financial statements;
• A material error revealed after the date of signing the financial statements, but before the date of submission of such statements, i.e. until March 31 of the year following the reporting year;
• A material error identified after the submission of the financial statements. Such a period for JSC is the period from March 31 to June 30 of the year following the reporting year. For LLC - from March 31 to April 30 of the year following the reporting year;
• A material error identified after the approval of the financial statements. For JSC, this period will be the period after June 30 of the year following the reporting year. For LLC - after April 30 of the year following the reporting year.
• A material mistake was made before the beginning of the earliest of the previous reporting periods presented in the financial statements for the current reporting year.

This should be understood as follows. The current reporting year is 2011. In the balance sheet, the earliest date is December 31, 2009. This means that it will be necessary to consider significant mistakes made before 2009. If the current reporting year is 2012, the earliest date will be the period before 2010.

How to find errors?

You can, of course, turn on your intuition and act by the "scientific poke" method. But, as practice shows, the most effective method for identifying errors in accounting is an inventory of the organization's property. With its help, it is easiest to identify errors in the reporting year, shortages, theft, as well as errors associated with documenting operations.

The second most popular method is the method of mutual reconciliation of settlements with counterparties. Every self-respecting accountant conducts reconciliation with debtors and creditors at least once a quarter, or even monthly. This method is good for detecting missing documents, errors in them, writing off overdue debts.

When compiling a revolving checkerboard, you can find "non-standard" transactions, or an error in the correspondence of accounts. "Chessboard" allows you to trace all transactions on the debit of this account with the credits of other accounts and vice versa.

When preparing financial statements, it is useful to apply the method of arithmetic and logical control. In the reporting, there are certain "control points", the values ​​of which in the correctly drawn up financial statements must coincide. Reconciliation with them allows you to independently determine errors without relying on program 1 "C".

Error correction algorithm

In what sequence should an accountant act if an error has already been found? We offer a short scheme of actions in this "emergency" situation (Fig. 2):

Figure 2 - Algorithm for correcting errors in accounting and reporting

We draw up an accounting statement

2) By retrospective recalculation of financial statements

Now let's look at various error correction situations with a general example.

Example 2

Small business accountant LLC Orion discovered double depreciation on production equipment. The amount of 20,000 rubles was written off by mistake. Should have reflected 10,000 rubles.

Situation 1

The error was committed in November 2011, discovered in December 2011 Regardless of the materiality of the error, corrective entries are made at the time of its detection (clause 5 of PBU 22/2010).

Order of the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation of June 28, 2010 No. 63 n "On approval of the accounting regulation" Correction of errors in accounting and reporting "(PBU 22/2010)" (as amended on November 8, 2010 No. 144 n)