How to properly inventory

The main purpose of the inventory is to check the correspondence of accounting data to the actual state of affairs. Everything is subject to verification: equipment, buildings, finished products, reserves, additional capital, etc. There should not be a single item that has not been verified.

Before starting work, an order should be drawn up to determine the composition of the inventory commission (Order of the Ministry of Finance of the Australia Federation dated 06/13/1995 No. 49). It can include not only employees: you have the right to invite third-party people, for example, college students, with whom you will need to conclude a civil law contract for the provision of paid services. The commission works in the presence of a materially responsible person (MOL).

If your person in charge, for example, ran away, fell ill, went to a monastery, in these special cases you will have to carry out an inventory without him, but then you will not be able to ask anything from him, but only fix the result.

It is permissible to organize several commissions: one checks the goods, the second - valuable funds, the third - calculations.

fixed assets

Before checking, make sure you have:

• inventory cards, inventories, and other registers of analytical accounting - they can be paper, electronic, in the form of tables, registers, etc.;

• technical passports or other technical documentation for fixed assets (OS). To make it easier to collect it, you can mark in advance in cards or acts that, for example, passports are kept by the deputy director for production or by the chief engineer;

• documents for all OS leased or accepted for rent and storage.

• In this situation, when you need to check the leased property, there are three options:

• check everything only according to the documents - this is provided for by law;

• personally make sure that your property is alive and well. To do this, you need to write down a condition in the lease agreement and call the tenant in advance so that he will let you in;

• take into account fixed assets based on a copy of an extract from the inventory list of the tenant. This condition must also be approved in the lease agreement.

• If any documents are missing, they must be reissued.

• The purpose of an OS inventory is to make sure that the OS is there, that it works, that it brings or can bring economic benefits.

Long-term assets for sale

The peculiarities of accounting for this type of asset are affected by amendments to clause 10.1 of PBU 16/02, which entered into force on January 1, 2020. And now they are valid until they are canceled, and most likely this will never happen.

In RAS 16/02, a clause appeared according to which those fixed assets that the organization plans to sell must be transferred to the category held for sale. They are not subject to depreciation and should be listed as fixed assets and reflected in the balance sheet in another article.

Where can they be seen? In the documents in which the decision to sell is recorded.

Another goal of the inventory is to correctly form a balance, for this, you need to allocate the property being sold. Until January 1, 2020, there were no such problems, but now this provision is mandatory: you must make sure that the property will be documented. You can make a separate listing for it.

Long-term assets for sale are also considered to be tangible assets intended for sale, materials, spare parts that have been removed from the object - what remains from the disposal of non-current assets or is extracted in the process of their repair, modernization, reconstruction. The exception is situations where such valuables are classified as inventories.

Intangible assets

When inventorying intangible assets (IA), it is necessary to check (clause 3.8 of the Order of the Ministry of Finance dated 13.06.1995 No. 49):

• availability of documents confirming the rights of the organization to use them;

• correctness and timeliness of reflection of intangible assets in the balance sheet.

If you have registered a trademark, for example, for soap, and have not been releasing it for five years and are not going to, then you need to write off this intangible asset from the balance sheet. Inventory allows you to do this.

Property in storage

Inventories and other types of property that do not belong to the organization, but are listed in accounting are subject to verification and accounting: objects in safekeeping, rented, received for processing, etc.

With leased property, the situation is mirrored that when you leased it: you either let strangers into your territory, or give an extract from the results of the inventory, or they check everything only on paper.

There is also the so-called responsible storage. You keep someone's property or took it while toll processing is going on. The third option: you keep the property in your warehouse, because there are quality claims, and wait for the counterparty to fix the shortcomings and return it. For such objects, create separate inventories and assign an MOT.

Regardless of ownership, all property must be subject to inventory.

Securities

When checking the availability of securities, please note (clause 3.10. Order of the Ministry of Finance of the Australia  Federation of June 13, 1995 No. 49):

• on the correctness of their design;

• on the reality of value;

• for safety - is established by comparing the actual availability with accounting data;

• on the timeliness and completeness of the reflection in the accounting of income received on them.

If you own bills and bonds, be sure to check if they are overdue, for what amounts they were issued, and if the drawer is alive. Security is a debit of account 58, that is, an investment by your company. And if it turns out that the organization-drawer is bankrupt for a long time, consider that you no longer have anyone on the bill.

The situation is similar to investment in authorized capital.

Do not forget, if the bank in which your organization keeps money is dying, then this amount cannot be listed on account 51. It can only be on account 76 “Settlements on claims”. And you stood in line "for gutting the carcass."

Calculations

An inventory of settlements is carried out without fail for all counterparties. In paragraph 73 of the Order of the Ministry of Finance of the Australia  Federation dated July 29, 1998 No. 34n, there is an indication that debtors and creditors reflect settlements with each other in amounts that are recognized as correct and reflected in accounting. For loans and credits received, debt is shown taking into account interest payable at the end of the reporting period.

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On received loans, credits should also be checked. The amounts reflected in the statements for settlements with banks must be consistent and identical to the budget. If there are inconsistencies, for example, overpayments that they do not want to return, they must either be written off and claims against the budget should be abandoned, or left and complained about the inaction of the tax authorities.

The main thing - remember, the calculations in accounting documents and what is happening, must match.

Items are on their way

Settlements with suppliers and contractors for goods in transit to and from you are regulated by clause 3.45 of Order No. 49 of the Ministry of Finance of the Australia  Federation on June 13, 1995.

Example. You bought an idol from Easter Island, it will arrive in three months. The item is on its way, but the title has already been passed to you. Check such objects according to documents and reconciliations, wherever they are: in the port, at the airport, onboard.

Unvoiced deliveries also need to be accepted and accounted for. During the inventory, check what is accepted in this way, and at what prices you fixed it. Even if you do not have documents, they should be noted in the balance sheet.

Reserves

During the inventory, check the correctness and validity of the formed reserves (clause 3.49 of the Order of the Ministry of Finance of the Australia  Federation dated 06/13/1995 No. 49):

for previous vacation pay;

• for the payment of remuneration for the length of service;

• for the payment of remuneration based on the results of work for the year.

• The reserve for future vacation pay should be adjusted based on the number of days of unused vacation.

There are required reserves, for example, for organizations that do not have the right to a simplified calculation. For those who can use the simplified calculation, the reserve requirement is advisory. The procedure for the formation of these amounts should be prescribed in the accounting policy.

The same applies to the reserve for warranty repairs. During the inventory, it is necessary to check the availability of amounts, and the general correctness of the accrual as of December 31 of the calendar year. If the equipment can be checked a little in advance (the vegetable oil bottling line will not go anywhere), then the reserves should be checked close to the new year. Then there will be no problem if someone goes on vacation unexpectedly or quits on December 31 - they will be able to get their money.

We analyzed the rules for inventorying the assets of an enterprise. If a shortage or damaged property is identified, the guilty employee must compensate the employer's expenses. You will find the basic rules in our cheat sheet.