In the process of financial and economic activity, an economic entity may develop various types of debts to counterparties.

Dear readers! The article talks about typical ways to resolve legal issues, but each case is individual. If you want to know how solve exactly your problem- contact a consultant:

APPLICATIONS AND CALLS ARE ACCEPTED 24/7 and 7 days a week.

It's fast and FOR FREE!

Basically, the division is made into accounts payable and receivable. The latter, in turn, is divided into subspecies, the main features of which we will talk about later.

What it is

Accounts receivable is a collection of financial assets that are owed to one enterprise by other legal entities or citizens.

There are usually two parties involved in the process:

Accounts receivable are part of the company’s property that is temporarily taken out of circulation. Almost no legal entity in the Russian Federation exists without debts from other entities.

Accounts receivable are formed as a result of the conclusion of contractual relations between counterparties, and these are not always in written form.

No matter how strange it may sound, accounts receivable are to some small extent beneficial for both sides of the process:

What are the types

Accounts receivable are usually divided into two broad types:

• normal;
• expired.

Example of normal debt:

1. Goods were shipped, services were provided, or work was performed for the buyer/consumer of services, ownership transferred to the latter, but the time for making payment for the work/services provided had not yet arrived.
2. The supplier received an advance payment for the delivery of goods, performance of work or provision of services.

Overdue debts are debts for work, services and goods that were not paid within the period stipulated by agreement of the parties.

Overdue, in turn, is classified into:

• doubtful;
• hopeless.

The concept of doubtful debts is regulated by the Tax Code of the Russian Federation. According to the provisions of this article, doubtful debts are any debts that arose in connection with deliveries made, services provided or goods sold, while the counterparty did not make payment within the terms specified by agreement of the parties and did not provide repayment using one of the means of security - a surety, a bank guarantee , collateral.

Doubtful debts are subject to transfer to bad debts on the following grounds:

• the statute of limitations has passed - in general, 3 years;
• the debtor's obligation was terminated due to the impossibility of its fulfillment;
• the debtor company was liquidated;
• a state or municipal body has issued a resolution recognizing the debt as bad.

By timing

Reflecting the type of receivable is important for the financial and accounting reporting of an enterprise.

Therefore, the debts of counterparties are also divided according to their expected repayment periods:

• short-term;
• long-term.

Often, companies to which others have outstanding debts provide deferred payments. And depending on the period for which such deferments are given, it is customary to divide receivables also by maturity.

Short-term receivables are understood as obligations of counterparties, the repayment of which is expected within 1 year after the reporting date.

Long-term debts are obligations for which payments are expected more than 1 year after the reporting date.

Short-term receivables dominate over long-term receivables when considered as a share of the total debt.

To encourage counterparties to make timely payments, companies often resort to various discounts, for example:

• 10 percent discount for goods when making an advance payment;
• progressive scheme (for example, when paying in the first 15 days, a 5 percent discount is provided, from the 16th to the 30th day no discount is given at all, and after 1 month even a fine is charged in the amount specified in the agreement of the parties).

In addition to dividing by maturity, the debt of counterparties is classified according to the type of the latter.

Thus, debts can arise from the following counterparties:

• customers and buyers;
• budget and extra-budgetary funds;
• persons to whom finances are issued for reporting;
• employees who received loans from the company;
• employees who have outstanding debts for material damage caused;
• banks and other financial institutions that are in arrears in paying interest on deposit accounts.

Depending on the type of counterparties, receivables are also divided into the following forms:

• a commercial;
• administrative and economic.

A complete diagram of the types of receivables depending on counterparties can be seen in the figure below.

Commercial debt is directly related to the main activity of the lender. Its components:

• prepayments and advances to suppliers;
• deferment of payment for shipped products;
• overpayments for commercial purchases.

Non-commercial (or administrative-economic) receivables are understood as debt that is directly related to the financial costs of ensuring the operation of the company.

The above forms of receivables, in turn, are divided into two types, depending on the reasons for their occurrence:

• documentary;
• monetary

The first type is characterized by the fact that expenses are not covered by primary accounting documentation. The consequence is distortion of reporting - both accounting and tax, as well as excessive payment of taxes to the budget.

Cash receivable appears as a result of non-receipt of funds from counterparties and is a form of temporary diversion of working capital. The consequences are lost profits, illiquidity of an asset subsequently received from the counterparty.

Problems

Receivables are not always a positive phenomenon for the economy of a single enterprise. When assessing the financial and economic results of a company’s activities, special attention should be paid to the type of asset to which the receivable belongs.

The following situation often occurs. The company's profit and loss statement talks about high profitability, that is, the company's success in the economic market.

At the same time, receivables have a large share of current assets, and financial resources in the organization’s accounts are small or non-existent.

If financial resources are not invested in further production growth, then this is a negative factor for the enterprise as a whole.

This means that there are simply no funds to pay off debts to other counterparties, as well as to pay employees, pay taxes and fees.

The cases presented above occur due to a confluence of various circumstances. These include both external and internal factors.

External factors:

• the state of the state’s economy as a whole;
• inflation rate;
• quotes of major world currencies;
• other global economic factors.

Internal factors:

• lack of knowledge of how to properly manage the debt of counterparties;
• concluding transactions on unfavorable terms for the lender;
• lack of leverage over the debtor;
• non-use of modern methods of stimulating debtors to make timely payments (installment plans, discounting, etc.);
• illiterate implementation of pricing policy in a single company;
• other.

A classic example of the negative impact of an internal factor is when a company provides counterparties with long periods to repay debt.

Annotation.

To carry out a comprehensive assessment and management of receivables, its classification is of great importance. In modern literature, there are various approaches to this problem, based mainly on the requirements of accounting legislation, as well as the established practice of analyzing receivables. However, such classifications are not fully sufficient to ensure effective debt management. The article presents additional classification characteristics of receivables, which make it possible to improve the information basis of the analysis, as well as the ability to control and make informed management decisions on receivables management.

Key words: accounts receivable, classification characteristics, classification of accounts receivable.

Accounts receivable are an objective consequence of settlement relationships in which the time of payment and the moment of transfer of ownership of the object of the contract do not coincide. Accounts receivable is a component of current assets, determined as of a specific date, characterizing the right of an enterprise to receive funds from counterparties for business transactions as a result of past events.

To conduct a comprehensive assessment of accounts receivable, its classification is necessary.

By duration, long-term debt is distinguished, the repayment period of which exceeds 12 months from the reporting date, and short-term debt with a repayment period of less than 12 months. In terms of management, such a classification, firstly, makes it possible to identify the main sources of financing receivables, and, secondly, to determine the priority tasks of managing the risk of non-repayment.

From the point of view of timely fulfillment of obligations under the contract, accounts receivable can be divided into urgent; expired (claimed and unclaimed); delayed. This classification mainly serves the purpose of control over settlements.

Grouping debt from the point of view of the composition of debtors makes it possible to classify the debts of debtors according to the sources of their formation, types of obligations, nature of the debt, and relationship to the creditor. As V. Ivashkevich notes, the specifics of the receivables management policy are determined precisely by the economic content of receivables.

Classification of receivables by degree of collateral (unsecured, secured by collateral, surety, bank guarantee) is necessary to analyze receivables from the point of view of the risk of non-payment. At the same time, according to O.V. Rur, the criteria for assessing the level of risk may be the liquidity and value of the collateral provided, the financial condition of the guarantor or guarantor.

According to the possibility of collection, receivables are divided into reliable, doubtful and hopeless. Classification of receivables according to the possibility of their collection is necessary from the point of view of considering the impact of receivables on the financial result of the enterprise.

Based on the results of the study, Table 1 presents the classification of receivables on various grounds.

Table 1 Classification of receivables

Classification feature	Type of accounts receivable
Duration	Long-term – maturity exceeds 12 months from the reporting date	Explanations to the balance sheet and income statement
	Short-term – maturity less than 12 months from the reporting date
Timely repayment of obligations	Urgent (not overdue)	Explanations to the balance sheet and income statement. Enterprise accounting system – accounting certificates
	Overdue (claimed and unclaimed)
	Deferred	Enterprise accounting system - accounting certificates
By composition of debtors	Debt of buyers and customers	Explanations to the balance sheet and income statement. Accounting registers for accounts 60 “Settlements with suppliers and contractors”, 62 “Settlements with buyers and customers”, 76 “Settlements with various debtors and creditors”, 71 “Settlements with accountable persons”, 79 “Intra-economic calculations”, etc.
	Bills receivable
	Debt of subsidiaries and dependent companies
	Debt of participants (founders) for contributions to the authorized capital
	Advances issued
	Debt of other debtors
Degree of provision	Secured (including collateral, surety, bank guarantee, etc.)	Enterprise accounting system – contracts, accounting certificates.

	Unsecured
Possibility of collection	Reliable	Information from accounting and legal services - letters, claims, lawsuits, etc.
	Doubtful
	Hopeless
Feasibility of education	Justified	Analytical calculations of the correspondence between the volume of required financing and the size of receivables
	Unjustified
Degree of planning	Planned (foreseen)	Budgets, financial plans
	Unplanned (arising as a result of various unforeseen situations)
Possibility of control	Controlled	Subjective information from employees of the enterprise’s financial services
	Uncontrollable
Liquidity level	Highly liquid
	Average degree of liquidity
	Illiquid

The classification presented in Table 1 is typical and reflects the requirements of accounting legislation, as well as the established practice of analyzing receivables. Thus, it is typical to divide receivables according to the composition of debtors within the accounts allocated by the Chart of Accounts for accounting financial and economic activities of organizations. This classification identifies in the accounts receivable the debt of buyers and customers, which for most enterprises has the largest share in its composition. In this regard, in our opinion, it is advisable to divide accounts receivable into external and internal, that is, based on the nature of its occurrence. External accounts payable mainly represent various forms of commercial credit provided to an enterprise in the form of deferred payment for goods (work, services) supplied to it by its counterparties. Taking into account existing business practice, the following main types of commercial loans can be distinguished: a loan with deferred payment under the terms of an agreement, a loan with debt registration by a bill of exchange, a loan on an open account, a loan in the form of consignment.

In turn, as part of external debt, it is advisable to classify it by counterparty, which will make it possible to carry out a detailed analysis of receivables, and, therefore, to realistically assess its impact on the financial condition of the enterprise. In this case, it seems possible to use an approach based on Pareto principles, which consist in the fact that a relatively small number of causes are responsible for the majority of possible results. In its classic form, this is the 20 to 80 rule. In our opinion, it is advisable to distinguish three groups of buyers and customers using the ABC analysis approach: the most important buyers and customers for the enterprise (20%), which account for 80% of all receivables (group A); buyers and customers of average importance, which account for about 15% of receivables (group B) and buyers and customers of no importance to the enterprise (group C), which account for 5% of all receivables. This grouping will make it possible to develop specific debt management measures for each group, as well as identify the significance and prospects of working with a particular buyer and customer.

Note that the ratio 80:20 is conditional and generalized. In actual practice of a particular enterprise, the ratio may have a different form.

Thus, the proposed additional classification characteristics of receivables are presented in Table 2.

Table 2 Additional classification characteristics of receivables

Classification sign	Type of accounts receivable	Source of accounts receivable information
Nature of occurrence		Accounting registers
	Internal
The importance of the debtor for	The most important external debtors (group A), 20% of debtors, accounting for 80	Analytical accounting data and results of economic calculations

The presented additional classification characteristics of receivables will improve the information basis of the analysis, as well as the ability to control it and make informed management decisions on debt management.

Bibliography

1. Order of the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation dated October 31, 2000 No. 94n (as amended on November 8, 2010) “On approval of the Chart of Accounts for accounting financial and economic activities of organizations and Instructions for its application.”

2. Ivashkevich V. Management accounting. – M.: Master, Infra-M, 2011.

3. Kovalev V.V. Fundamentals of the theory of financial management. Educational and practical manual. – M.: Prospekt, 2014.

4. Petrov A.M. Historical stages of formation of methodology and practice of accounting of settlements with debtors and creditors [Electronic resource]. Access mode: http://www.m-economy.ru/art.php?nArtId=1295.

5. Rura O.V. Problematic aspects of classification of receivables. - Sevastopol: SevNTU, 2012.

6. Tikhonova E.P. Accounts receivable and accounts payable. – M.: Accountant Hotline, 2008.

Practical lesson No. 14-15

Topic: Analysis of receivables and payables.

Target: learn to calculate turnover ratios of receivables and payables; be able to analyze the level and quality of debt; Based on the data, be able to formulate conclusions to reduce debt levels.

Accounts receivable analysis

In the competitive environment typical of market economies, enterprises are forced to provide commercial credit to their customers, resulting in the formation of receivables. Accounts receivable from the point of view of civil law, it is a property right, i.e. the right to receive a certain amount of money from the debtor.

Accounts receivable is a complex item that includes calculations:

a) with buyers and customers;

b) on advances issued;

c) with the personnel of the enterprise;

d) with other debtors.

Accounts receivable are divided into:

— current – the maturity date of which has not yet arrived;

— overdue - the maturity date of which has come;

— real to receive – debt secured by collateral, bank guarantee, surety;

— dubious - debt that is not repaid within the terms established by the agreement and is not secured by appropriate guarantees;

— hopeless (unrealistic to receive) – debt for which the 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 the liquidation of an organization.

Accounts receivable management involves:

• organization of accounting and analysis of accounts receivable for the previous and reporting periods;
• formation of the enterprise's credit policy;
• formation of a procedure for collection of receivables and planning of cash receipts from debtors based on collection ratios;
• development of a system for monitoring the status of accounts receivable;
• development of measures aimed at improving the efficiency of accounts receivable management.

Accounts receivable analysis includes the following main steps:

1. Assessment of the level of receivables of the enterprise and analysis of its dynamics. At this stage of the analysis, the level of the enterprise's receivables and its dynamics in previous periods, as well as structural dynamics are assessed based on determining the coefficient of diversion of working capital into accounts receivable. The share of accounts receivable in the total volume of current assets (CA) is determined by the formula:

Accounts receivable (line 230+240) balance sheet asset

Ddz = current assets (line 290) balance sheet asset *100.

2. Analysis of the composition and structure of accounts receivable. The composition of accounts receivable is analyzed in terms of the timing of its occurrence, groups of buyers and customers; types of receivables by degree of reliability; overdue debt; according to other criteria.

Composition and structure of receivables

Types of accounts receivable

At the beginning of the period

Conclusion: as can be seen from the table, accounts receivable increased during the analyzed period by 28,999 thousand rubles. or by 15.3%. The largest share in the total amount of accounts receivable is occupied by the debt of buyers and customers, and during the period under review it increased by 69.34% and amounted to 185,631 thousand rubles. At the same time, there was an increase in the amount of advances issued by 2,601 thousand rubles. or by 36.05%, other debtors by 492 thousand rubles. or by 2.18%, with a simultaneous decrease in the share of the latter in the total amount of receivables from 11.93% to 10.57%.

Overdue accounts receivable in the analyzed period increased by 49 thousand rubles. or by 2.28%, with a simultaneous decrease in its share in the total volume of debtors from 1.13 to 1%.

During the period under review, there was a decrease in the share of receivables in the total volume of current assets of the enterprise by 8.9 percentage points, which indicates an increase in the mobility of the enterprise’s property structure.

Example of accounts receivable analysis

Accounts receivable, as a rule, make up about a third, or maybe more, of the company's current assets.

According to V.V. Kovalev, accounts receivable as an immobilization of own working capital should be minimized, but this does not happen for many reasons, including due to competition.

But before we begin to analyze receivables, let us define what the concept of “receivables” itself includes. Debitum translated from Latin means debt, obligation. This term was first mentioned in the papyri of Zeno, who in 256 BC. reformed the accounting system in Greece.

Currently, the use of the definition of accounts receivable in various fields of activity has led to the fact that the interpretation of the term can be divided into legal, accounting and economic.

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, provide a service, contribute to a joint activity, pay money, etc. or refrain from a certain action, and the creditor has the right to demand that the debtor fulfill his obligation

Blank I.A. Asset Management

Accounts receivable is the amount of debt in favor of an enterprise, represented by financial obligations of legal entities and individuals

Kovalev V.V. Introduction to Financial Management

Accounts receivable is the debt of legal entities and individuals to a given business entity

Rumyantseva A.Yu. Enterprise accounts receivable management

Accounts receivable is a special form of lending to legal entities and individuals, supported or not supported by the legislative framework

Bocharov V.V. Management of cash flow of enterprises and corporations

Accounts receivable is a complex item, including settlements: with buyers and customers; on bills receivable; with subsidiaries and dependent companies; with participants (founders) regarding contributions to the authorized capital; on advances issued; with other debtors

Pyatov M.L. Managing organizational commitments

Accounts receivable are obligations to the enterprise of third parties reflected in settlement accounts - buyers, employees, borrowers, budget

Financial and credit encyclopedic dictionary edited by prof. A.G. Gryaznova

Accounts receivable are accounts receivable in connection with supplies on trade credit

Efimova O.V. Melnik M.V. Financial Statement Analysis

Accounts receivable is an investment and a way to expand sales on credit in order to increase sales volume and equity

Bezrukikh P.S. Accounting

Accounts receivable are the property claims included in the assets of an organization against other legal entities and individuals who are its debtors.

Accounts receivable analysis can be carried out in the following sequence:

• analysis of absolute and relative indicators of the condition, structure and movement of receivables;
• analysis of the status of accounts receivable by period of formation;
• calculation of turnover indicators. the share of receivables in the total volume of current assets, assessing the relationship between the growth rate of receivables and the rate of sales revenue;
• analysis of the ratio of receivables and payables.

Read also: Removal of seizure of property by bailiffs

To assess the composition, structure and dynamics of the company’s receivables, we will draw up a table that includes information on the composition, structure and dynamics of receivables (Table 1).

From the data in Table 1 it is clear that the analyzed company does not have long-term receivables; all receivables are short-term.

Table 1. Analysis of the composition, structure and dynamics of receivables

The data in Table 1 shows that accounts receivable in 2014. decreased compared to 2013. by 0.4% and amounted to 234,087 thousand rubles. which is 974 thousand rubles. less than in 2013 The decrease in the total amount of accounts receivable was largely due to a decrease in the debt of buyers and customers by RUB 1,262 thousand.

In 2015, there was an increase in accounts receivable compared to 2014. - by 38.7% or by 90,496 thousand rubles. The greatest influence on the growth of accounts receivable was the increase in debts of buyers and customers - 83,261 thousand rubles and the increase in accounts receivable for taxes and fees - 5,976 thousand rubles.

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 2013, the share of this total debt was 99.8%, in 2014 - 99.7%, at the end of 2015 - 97.5%). The proportion of other components is insignificant.

Therefore, it is necessary to pay special attention to accounts receivable resulting from settlements with buyers and customers. To do this, you should study the composition, structure and dynamics of debt of buyers and customers (Table 2).

Table 2. Analysis of the composition, structure and dynamics of receivables from buyers and customers

Settlements with buyers and customers, including:

Other buyers and customers

In the company's debt structure, 4 counterparties have debt of more than 10% of the total debt: Company A, B, C, D. Debt of other buyers have a smaller share in the total debt and are combined in the column “Other buyers and customers”.

The largest share in the total debt of buyers and customers is the debt of Company A, the share at the end of 2015 was 41.6%. The debt of the specified company, compared to 2014. increased by 60,148 thousand rubles. which largely ensured the growth of accounts receivable under the item “buyers and customers”.

For a more in-depth analysis, we will compile a summary table in which receivables are classified according to the period of formation (Table 3). 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 3. Analysis of receivables from customers by period of formation for 2015.

including by terms of education, thousand rubles.

The data in Table 3 shows that the bulk of accounts receivable is debt in the range of up to 60 days, including the share of debt with a period of up to 30 days of 35.0%; from 31 to 60 days - 34.4%.

The debt of company B deserves closer attention; 44.3% of its debt is overdue. You should also pay attention to the overdue debt in the line “Other buyers and customers” in the amount of 41,098 thousand rubles (17,141 + 18,529 + 5,429), because the presence of debt with a period of more than 30 days is not provided for by the terms of the agreements.

Let us note that a debt in the amount of 12,317 thousand rubles or 3.9% of the total amount of debt may be considered problematic, since this debt is not stipulated by the terms of the contracts (the company does not provide deferred payments for more than 180 days), which indicates a violation buyers of payment discipline and inattention on the part of the company to this situation.

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 4).

Table 4. Analysis of accounts receivable turnover

Accounts receivable amount

Average accounts receivable

Number of days in period

Revenue for the period

Accounts receivable turnover ratio

Duration of receivables turnover, ext.

Average one-day revenue, obdn

Release (attraction) of funds, ΔAdd * Obdn

The duration of receivables turnover in the analyzed periods decreased, which indicates a decrease in the repayment period of receivables and can be assessed positively, since it leads to the release of funds from circulation.

So, in 2013 the duration of the receivables turnover was 253 days, i.e. debt was repaid on average 1.42 times over a period of 360 days, in 2014. The duration of turnover decreased by 56 days and amounted to 197 days in 2015. The duration of receivables turnover also decreased (by 8 days) and amounted to 189 days.

Let's compare the growth rate of revenue with the growth rate of accounts receivable. An increase in accounts receivable is justified if it is accompanied by a corresponding increase in revenue. Thus, the growth rate of accounts receivable in 2015 compared to 2014 was 138.7% (Table 1) and outstripped the growth rate of revenue, which for the same period amounted to 124.5%. The opposite situation developed in 2014; compared to 2013, the growth rate of revenue (129.3%) was higher than the growth rate of accounts receivable - 99.6%.

Relative cash savings due to acceleration of accounts receivable turnover in 2014. amounted to 66,619.78 thousand rubles. (-56.04 * 1,188.82), in 2015 - 12,638.58 thousand rubles. (-8.54 * 1,479.72)

Let's consider the ratio of receivables and payables (Table 5).

Table 5. Analysis of receivables and payables

1. Short-term accounts receivable, total, thousand rubles.

2. Short-term accounts payable, 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 1.0, i.e. accounts receivable cover accounts payable. 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.

However, for 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.

Composition and structure of receivables

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

Read also: Krymvoda check debt on personal account

If there is no moment in the contract for the transfer of ownership, this moment is considered to have occurred at the time of shipment of the goods by the seller, since, in accordance with Art. 459 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation “unless otherwise provided by the purchase and sale agreement, the risk of accidental loss or accidental damage to the goods passes to the buyer from the moment when, in accordance with the law or the contract, the seller is considered to have fulfilled his obligation to transfer the goods to the buyer.”

Therefore, accounts receivable are generally reflected in accounting:

after completing documents for shipment of goods;

after signing the act of completion of work (services).

In Section II 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 No.

Note that today practically no business entity exists without accounts receivable, since its formation and existence is explained by simple objective reasons:

- for the debtor organization - this is the opportunity to use additional, and free, working capital;

- for the creditor organization - this is an expansion of the sales market for goods, works, and services.

The formation of receivables is caused by the existence of contractual relations between counterparties when the moment of transfer of ownership of goods (work, services) and their payment do not coincide in time.

The funds that make up the organization's receivables are diverted from participation in economic turnover, which, of course, is not a plus for the financial condition of the organization. An increase in accounts receivable can lead to the financial collapse of a business entity, therefore the accounting service of the organization must organize proper control over the state of accounts receivable, which will ensure timely collection of funds constituting accounts receivable.

A condition for ensuring the financial stability of an organization is the excess of the amount of accounts receivable over the amount of accounts payable.

Accounts receivable represent the property claims of an organization to legal entities and individuals who are its debtors.

Accounts receivable can be considered in three senses: firstly, as a means of repaying accounts payable, secondly, as part of the products sold to customers but not yet paid for and, thirdly, as one of the elements of current assets financed from own or borrowed funds.

The company's working capital consists of the following components:

– expenses of future periods.

Therefore, accounts receivable are part of the working capital of an organization.

Features of the accounts receivable structure

Debt obligations are an important component of the activities of any company. Moreover, legal entities can be both debtors and creditors.

If the organization is obliged by other citizens or legal entities, it is customary to talk about the occurrence of receivables. What it includes, the structure of formation and its composition - we will consider these and other questions further.

What it is

Managing your own business involves the need to solve problems of varying degrees of complexity. Organizations often encounter unscrupulous payers.

The service was provided or the goods were delivered, but the corresponding payment was not received. This is how receivables arise.

Receivables are included in the basic concept of “obligation”, the essence of which is disclosed in the Civil Code of the Russian Federation. Based on Art. 307 Citizens Code, under an obligation, one person, called the debtor (debtor), is obliged to perform any action or refrain from performing an action in favor of another person - the creditor.

The action may be the obligation to pay for goods received, services provided, or work performed.

For accounting purposes, debt must be classified into groups and types. General classification of receivables:

• according to the sources of its formation;
• by type of obligation;
• by the nature of the debt;
• in relation to the creditor.

What does it include?

Accounts receivable includes all debt obligations that other counterparties have to the company. Moreover, it is not necessary that the debt is commodity debt. Often, there are overpayments of taxes, fees, and excessive payments to health and social insurance funds.

In addition, loans issued to employees or advances are also included in accounts receivable and must be reflected in the appropriate accounts as a debit balance.

What does the structure, table look like?

The receivables structure has a fairly wide ramification. A general view of the structure can be seen in the figure below. We will talk in more detail about each classification separately.

ANALYSIS OF RECEIVABLES AND ACCOUNTS PAYABLE ON THE EXAMPLE OF JSC "SSC RIAR"

Makarova Ekaterina Igorevna

3rd year student, Department of Economics, Ulyanovsk State Technical University

Shiryaeva Natalya Viktorovna

scientific supervisor, Ph.D. econ. Sciences, Associate Professor Ulyanovsk State Technical University, Ulyanovsk

The relevance of the chosen topic is justified by the fact that the dynamics of constant changes in the amount of receivables and payables, their composition and structure in the balance sheet, and quality, as well as the influence of the intensity of their decrease or increase, have a significant and intense impact on the turnover of capital invested in current assets, and , also on the financial condition of the enterprise. It would be considered ideal that the receivables in terms of maturity and amount would be more comparable with similar indicators of accounts payable - this is an ideal condition for the course of the enterprise's credit process.

In world practice, when analyzing the activities of an enterprise, essential and significant points about debt have been identified, about which the explanatory note to the balance sheet should disclose the completeness and objectivity of this information. There are situations when the amount of accumulated and repaid debt does not allow an enterprise to conduct a sufficiently detailed analysis of its activities, and the amount of overdue not only receivables, but also accounts payable does not allow it to assess its condition.

As a real asset, accounts receivable plays a crucial role in the field of business activity.

Signs of accounts receivable:

· source of free funds - for the debtor;

· a significant increase in the distribution of works and services towards the market, as well as an increase in the distribution area of ​​products.

In modern practice, there is a tendency that when assessing the receivables of an enterprise, its value reaches 30% of the asset balance sheet of the organization, there is a significant - important impact on the formation of the final performance indicators of the organization, possibly on shares, individual assets, i.e. on the market organization price.

Accounts payable are funds of a third party that are in temporary use by the company. The relative increase is twofold. On the one hand, this is a favorable trend, because accounts payable can also be called an additional and significant source of financing for the enterprise. On the other hand, an increase in the amount of accounts payable due to the risk of bankruptcy.

An actual unfavorable situation is most often indicated by losses (overdue accounts payable), while with a small margin of safety, overdue accounts receivable are not so bad. Currently, one can judge the significance of “sick” articles, which consistently “tell” about the different financial condition of the company.

According to the nature of formation, accounts receivable are divided into normal and unjustified Van Horn J.K., Fundamentals of financial management. Per. from English - M.: “Finance and Statistics”, 1999. -

p. 275. The normal debt of an enterprise includes that which is due to the progress of the enterprise’s production program, as well as the current forms of payment. Unjustified receivables are considered to be those that arose as a result of violations of accounting and financial discipline, existing deficiencies in accounting, weakening of control over the supply of material assets, the occurrence of shortages and thefts.

Also, as criteria for classifying receivables, we can propose the type, term, fact of payment due, by business entity.

In modern economic practice, accounts receivable are classified by type : for goods, services, works for which the payment deadline has not arrived and is not paid on time; on bills received; for settlements with the budget and with subsidiaries and dependent enterprises; on advances issued; for settlements with personnel; founders for contributions to the authorized capital; settlements with other debtors.

Among the listed types, the largest volume of receivables of an enterprise falls on the debt of buyers for shipped products Kovalev V.V., Introduction to financial management. M: FiS, 2000. - p. 386 (first 3 types).

Figure No. 1. Scheme - types of receivables

In the total amount of accounts receivable, settlements with customers may account for 80-90%.

Also, accounts receivable can be classified according to deadlines. Often times are divided as follows:

a) 0-30 days;

b) 31-60 days;

c) 61-90 days;

d) 91-120 days;

e) over 120 days.

Upon maturity of payment:

a) Overdue accounts receivable are the debts of any third parties for obligations, the deadlines for which at the time of drawing up the balance sheet have come and were violated by the debtors.

In its composition, two types of receivables can be distinguished: receivables, the chances of repayment of which, despite missing the payment deadline, are preserved, and receivables, the collection of which is unrealistic for any factual reasons.

The impossibility of collecting overdue debts may be due to the expiration of the statute of limitations for forced collection of the debt, or the insolvency of the debtor. Such receivables are classified as bad, transferred to doubtful debts and savings are made for the total amount. The reality and unreality of debt repayment is assessed by the creditor organization itself, taking into account specific circumstances.

b) Accounts receivable, the payment period of which has not arrived - debts of third parties for obligations, due dates, which have not occurred at the time of leaving the balance sheet. Such debts can be collected if the debtor properly fulfills his obligations, therefore, this debt is recoverable.

By balance sheet items accounts receivable are divided into the following types:

a) debts of buyers and customers;

b) debts of subsidiaries and related enterprises;

c) debts of associated enterprises;

d) other debtors;

e) unpaid shares of capital;

f) short-term loans to shareholders or co-founders and management of the enterprise;

g) deferred expenses;

h) accumulated income.

By degree of liquidity accounts receivable are subdivided by Balabanov I.T., Fundamentals of Financial Management, textbook, M: FiS, 2000.- p. 263 into:

a) current, this is a receivable that has not yet become due for payment;

b) restructured, this is a receivable for which agreements (agreements) on restructuring have been signed and are in force (including settlement agreements approved by the court), describing the procedure, form and timing of debt repayment;

c) claim, this is a receivable that is collected during enforcement proceedings, as well as being in the process of judicial review or in the work of legal services (from the moment the claim for violation of the payment deadline is filed);

d) moratorium - these are receivables from consumers in respect of whom bankruptcy proceedings have been initiated;

e) “dead”, this is a receivable that is documented as unrealistic for collection in order.

According to Glossary.ru:

“Accounts receivable is the amount of debts due to an enterprise from legal entities or individuals as a result of economic relations with them. Debts usually arise from sales on credit.".

In accounting, accounts receivable usually mean property rights, which are one of the objects of civil rights.

According to Article 128 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation (hereinafter referred to as the Civil Code of the Russian Federation):

“Objects of civil rights include things, including money and securities, other property, including property rights; works and services; information; results of intellectual activity, including exclusive rights to them (intellectual property); intangible benefits."

Consequently, the right to receive receivables is a property right, and itself is part of the organization’s property.

Note that today practically no business entity exists without accounts receivable, since its formation and existence is explained by simple objective reasons:

For the debtor organization, this is the opportunity to use additional, and free, working capital;

For the creditor organization, this is an expansion of the sales market for goods, works, and services.

The formation of receivables is caused by the existence of contractual relations between counterparties when the moment of transfer of ownership of goods (work, services) and their payment do not coincide in time.

The funds that make up the organization's receivables are diverted from participation in economic turnover, which, of course, is not a plus for the financial condition of the organization. An increase in accounts receivable can lead to the financial collapse of a business entity, therefore the accounting service of the organization must organize proper control over the state of accounts receivable, which will ensure timely collection of funds constituting accounts receivable.

A condition for ensuring the financial stability of an organization is the excess of the amount of accounts receivable over the amount of accounts payable.

Accounts receivable are the property claims of an organization to legal entities and individuals who are its debtors.

Accounts receivable can be considered in three senses: firstly, as a means of repaying accounts payable, secondly, as part of the products sold to customers but not yet paid for and, thirdly, as one of the elements of current assets financed from own or borrowed funds.

The company's working capital consists of the following components:

· Money;

· accounts receivable;

· inventories;

· work in progress;

· deferred expenses.

Therefore, accounts receivable are part of the organization's working capital.

As we have already noted, accounts receivable may arise as a result of failure to fulfill contractual obligations, overpaid taxes, collected fees, penalties, issued sums of money.

Accounts receivable can be divided into normal and overdue accounts receivable.

Debt for shipped goods, works, services, the payment period for which has not yet arrived, but ownership has already transferred to the buyer; or an advance payment is transferred to the supplier (contractor, performer) for the supply of goods (performance of work, provision of services) - this is a normal receivable.

Debt for goods, works, services not paid within the period established by the contract constitutes overdue receivables.

Overdue receivables, in turn, may be doubtful and hopeless.

“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;

bankruptcy of the debtor;

· expiration of the limitation period without confirmation of the debt on the part of the debtor;

· availability of funds in accounts in a “problem” bank. There are two options here:

Ø firstly, if after the arbitration court makes a 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 as financial results;

Ø secondly, if instead of liquidating a bank, its restructuring is envisaged, then the organization can create and wait for the bank to restore solvency;

· impossibility for a bailiff to collect 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, bills, and use barter.

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

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 distortion of balance sheet data and ensure the financial stability of the organization, accounts receivable 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 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 dated July 29, 1998 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 FAS) of the Volga-Vyatka District dated March 9, 2006 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 dated July 29, 1998 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 the Federal Law of November 21, 1996 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 liabilities, approved by Order of the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation dated June 13, 1995 No. 49 “On approval of guidelines for the inventory of property and financial liabilities” (hereinafter referred to as the Guidelines).

In accordance with clause 1.2. Methodical instructions:

“The organization’s property means fixed assets, intangible assets, financial investments, inventories, finished products, goods, other inventories, cash and other financial assets, and financial liabilities - 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, TIN of the debtor organization;

Amount of debt;

The basis on which the receivables were formed;

Date of debt formation;

Primary documents confirming the occurrence of debt, 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 dated September 22, 2005, dated September 15, 2005 No. KA-A40/8894-05, dated February 16, 2004 No. KA-A40/469-04, dated March 18, 2003 No. KA-A40 /1128-03, dated August 7, 2000 No. KA-A41/3289-00, Resolutions of the Federal Antimonopoly Service of the Ural District dated May 4, 2005 No. Ф09-1748/05-С7 and dated August 1, 2005 No. Ф09-3190/05-С2 , Resolutions of the Federal Antimonopoly Service of the Volga-Vyatka District dated September 15, 2004 No. A31-673/19, dated July 3, 2003 No. A28-2208/03-102/23, Resolutions of the Federal Antimonopoly Service of the Central District dated October 12, 2004 No. A09-6738/04 -13DSP and Resolution of the Federal Antimonopoly Service of the North Caucasus District dated June 22, 2005 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 dated November 10, 2004 No. A82-2756/2004-14, according to which receivables for goods may be included in the reserve for doubtful debts , not paid on time, 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 dated May 18, 2004 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 dated November 10, 2004 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, 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).

For more information on issues related to the write-off of receivables, you can read the books by the authors of BKR-INTERCOM-AUDIT JSC “Writing off receivables and payables”, “Litigation of receivables. Legal regulation. Practice. Documentation".