Drawing up an act of reconciliation of mutual settlements. Primary documents: act of reconciliation of mutual settlements
According to the Regulation on accounting and financial reporting in the Russian Federation, the preparation of annual accounting (financial) statements in the Russian Federation must be preceded by an inventory of all assets and liabilities.
Note that accounts receivable belong to the property of the organization, and accounts payable to financial liabilities.
An inventory of settlements with suppliers, buyers, various debtors and creditors consists in checking the validity of the amounts of receivables and payables on the balance sheet.
At the same time, reconciliation of settlements by counterparties allows to reliably assess the correctness of the reflection of the amounts of debt.
Why do you need an act of reconciliation of settlements with counterparties
Timely and correctly drawn up act of reconciliation of settlements with counterparties allows you to eliminate errors in accounting and tax accounting.If the debt reflected in the reconciliation act matches the data of the organization and the data of the counterparty, this means that all business transactions with the specified counterparty are reflected in the accounting correctly and in a timely manner and operations for the shipment of goods, the provision of services, the performance of work, the receipt and transfer of cash funds are not missed or "doubled".
Thus, the reconciliation act allows not only to identify errors in accounting, but also to avoid disagreements with counterparties.
In addition, if the debtor of the organization signs the document, then he agrees with the state of settlements and expresses his readiness to pay off his debt.
The act of reconciliation of settlements with counterparties also serves as the basis for writing off bad debts after the expiration of their limitation period.
The act of reconciliation of settlements with counterparties can be used when applying to the court in order to collect debt from the counterparty for the goods supplied or services rendered.
For what period is it necessary to reconcile settlements with counterparties
Before conducting a reconciliation, you should establish the period for which data should be included in the document being compiled.When making an inventory of settlements with buyers and customers, with suppliers and contractors, as well as with other debtors and creditors, the organization should reconcile mutual settlements with its counterparties as of December 31 of the reporting year, which are drawn up by acts of reconciliation of mutual settlements.
Procedure for reconciliation of settlements with counterparties
The act of reconciliation of settlements between counterparties is drawn up on the basis of the data of the two parties that take part in the reconciliation.The organization that initiated the reconciliation informs the other company about the need for reconciliation and drawing up an act.
After that, the first organization identifies the amount of debt from its data and reports this to the second organization.
If the second organization agrees with the amount of debt, then the first organization draws up an act, prints it in two copies, signs it with its head and sends it to the second company for signature.
If the second organization has objections to the amount owed, then it is necessary to proceed as follows:
- The accountant of the first organization fills out only his part of the act and sends the document by e-mail or fax to the accountant of the second organization.
- The accountant of the second company enters his data, and thus discrepancies are revealed.
- The party, which has identified erroneous data in the accounting, makes the necessary changes in the accounting.
- After that, the first organization forms a new, already corrected, statement of reconciliation of calculations, including the data of both parties to the agreement. The act is drawn up in duplicate and no longer contains discrepancies.
- The reconciliation act is signed by the heads of both organizations and stamped.
Reconciliation statement form
The reconciliation statement reflects business transactions between two counterparties for a certain period, and displays the amount of debt.The legislation does not provide for a unified form of this document.
Therefore, the organization develops the form of the act of reconciliation of mutual settlements independently.
In this case, the form should be approved as an attachment to the accounting policy.
Note that the reconciliation act is not a primary accounting document confirming the completion of a business transaction, since it does not affect the financial condition of the parties.
Therefore, reflect in the act all the details set for primary documents in paragraph 2 of Art. 9 of the Federal Law of 06.12.2011 N 402-FZ "On Accounting" is optional.
- name of the document - act of reconciliation of calculations (indicating the names of organizations);
- details of the agreement concluded between the parties;
- date and place of preparation of the document;
- document Number;
- the period for which the reconciliation was carried out;
- the amount owed by one of the counterparties (indicate which one) at the beginning of the period for which the reconciliation is carried out;
- the amount of business transactions between counterparties (each party enters its own data);
- dates of business transactions between counterparties (each party enters its own credentials);
- details of documents confirming the performance of business transactions between counterparties (each party enters its own credentials) Such documents are invoices, acts of acceptance and transfer of the results of work performed / services rendered, payment orders, cash orders, etc .;
- the amount of debt of one of the counterparties (it is indicated which one) at the end of the period under review;
- the presence of discrepancies in the credentials of the parties;
- signatures and seals of the parties.
In the left part of the table, as a rule, the facts of the economic activities of the organization - the originator of the document are reflected.
It includes four columns.
The first column indicates the ordinal number of the record, in the second column - a summary of the business transaction, in the third and fourth columns - its monetary expression by debit or credit.
The right side of the table is blank; the data is recorded there by the counterparty when he reconciles.
Thus, in the act, records are made in chronological order about all the operations carried out by the organization with the participation of a particular counterparty for a certain period.
After that, the turnovers on debit and credit are calculated and the total amount of debt (final balance) for a certain date is determined.
If there are no problems and errors, then the amounts received after filling in the first and second tabs will look mirrored in the table.
For the reconciliation act to become lawful, it must be signed by both parties by authorized persons.
The reconciliation act can be signed by authorized persons by the sole executive body of the organization (for example, the general director, financial director, etc.) or by a representative acting on the basis of a power of attorney issued by such a body.
“Trust but verify” is a key principle in dealing with debtors and creditors. The accuracy of accounting is achieved through periodic revisions of accounting records.
The most widespread technique for this in domestic accounting practice is the exchange of acts of reconciliation of mutual settlements.
What is it for
The reconciliation statement is an accounting document that reflects:
- movement of products (works, services) and cash between two contractors for a certain period;
- the presence or absence of debt of one party to the other on a certain date.
Act - this is not the primary document, because it does not confirm the fact of payment of funds to another person, and its use does not in any way change the financial situation of the parties. In fact, this is a technical document, the use of which in most cases is a voluntary initiative of the accountant.
- long-term cooperation with the availability of regular supplies of goods or services;
- concluding several contracts with one partner or drafting additional agreements to existing contracts;
- deferred payment by the supplier;
- transfer by the buyer of a large amount of an advance payment (advance) in the conditions of regular deliveries;
- very high cost of goods;
- the subject of the contract is a wide range of products.
It is also compiled during the annual or situational inventory of calculations. In this situation, it is important to understand that the reflection in the accounting of debts to debtors and creditors occurs in an amount that is recognized by the company itself as correct on the basis of contracts, orders of managers and primary documents confirming the movement of goods and money.
It is not required to send reconciliation statements to all your debtors and creditors to make sure that the amounts are the same. Moreover, on their basis it will not be possible to make any accounting entries, including adjusting the amount of debt.
An exception is made only for settlements with the budget and banks, which need to be confirmed (clause 74 of the Accounting Regulations).
If for managerial purposes it is extremely important to oblige your partner to exchange such acts, this procedure, its frequency and penalties for non-compliance must be prescribed in the contract.
The role of the document in the litigation
It is important to remember that in the event of litigation regarding the fulfillment of the terms of the contract or the collection of debt, the reconciliation act can be beneficial. But the domestic judicial practice contains a different attitude to its presence with the injured party:
- The signed act only reports on the status of settlements, but does not confirm the fact that one of the participants in the process recognizes the debt. Also, it is not a ground for interrupting the limitation period (Resolution on case No. A65-7955 / 2009 of the FAS of the Volga District of 12/25/2009 and Resolution in case No. A29-2498 / 2012 of the FAS of the Volgo-Vyatka District of 12/14/2012).
- It can serve as circumstantial evidence that one party recognizes a debt to the other (signed act) or evidence of refusal to recognize a debt (unsigned act) (Resolution in case No. A57-1313 / 2013 of the FAS of the Volga District of 02.12.2013).
As you can see, each economic dispute will always have its own individual solution. Still, it is better to try to sign a reconciliation act with your partner in case business relations with him suddenly go into a dead corner. And it will never be superfluous to remind the debtor of his debt.
The procedure for drawing up a document, who signs it
Act of reconciliation in duplicate is drawn up by any party to the agreement... The document must be signed by an authorized person who can be:
- individual entrepreneur;
- a leader (company president, general director or director) acting on the basis of the Articles of Association;
- another employee acting on the basis of a power of attorney.
Most often, the signature of the chief accountant is also required, since he is endowed with the second signature on financial documents.
The presence of the signature of only the chief accountant is permissible in the order of internal control of the completeness of calculations, but in the event of a dispute such a document will not have legal force.
The signatures of authorized persons must be sealed with the seal of the enterprise.
The document reflects the actual state of settlements, based on accounting data, and displays the amount of debt as of the end date of the specified period. After that, both copies are sent by mail or accompanied by an authorized representative to the counterparty.
The other party must verify the information provided with their own accounting records. In case of recognition of the correctness of the calculations, the second copy with the signature of the head, chief accountant and the seal is returned to the person who drew up the act.
If, as a result of reconciliation, discrepancies were found, then they are indicated in the same document or in a separate register of calculations, which is attached to the act. Refusal to sign the document is a legal right of the partner (if this is not a mandatory condition of the contract). But sometimes this can mean that the debtor refuses to acknowledge his debt.
Optimal timing of reconciliation
The period for clarifying mutual settlements is determined by the need for accounting or management. Although the act is drawn up for a certain period, the debt in favor of one of the parties is indicated on a certain date (often on the first and last number of the reconciliation period).
Reconciliation is easiest to do:
- for the reporting year (from 01.01 to 31.12);
- for a certain calendar period, at the end of which the accountant reports to the owners of the enterprise (usually a quarter);
- for the period of validity of a specific contract.
You can watch the document formation in the 1C: Enterprise program in the video:
Filling process
The legislation of the Russian Federation does not provide for a single obligatory (unified) form of the act. Therefore, the company can draw up this document in any form (letter of the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated 18.02.2005 No. 07-05-04 / 2).
Traditionally, the following details are filled in:
- title of the document;
- full names of the parties;
- date of drawing up and signing of the act;
- calendar period for clarifying calculations;
- details of the agreement under which the reconciliation is carried out;
- dates and numbers of primary documents that confirm the calculations;
- the amount of business transactions;
- the sum of the total turnover for the period;
- the final amount of the debt in favor of one of the parties;
- signatures and information about representatives of counterparties (position, full name);
- imprints of seals.
The document reconciliation act draws up the procedure for comparing settlements between two business partners. The article describes how to correctly draw up and execute an act of reconciliation of documents.
From the article you will learn:
Legally, the reconciliation act (hereinafter referred to as the AC) does not belong to the category primarydocumentation. It is used as additional evidence in case of need to prove the fact of debt of one of the business partners. Another purpose of the AU is to extend the statute of limitations. This is due to the fact that the day of signing the AU is the starting point for this period.
It is obvious that the seeming non-binding and low legal status of this document are caused by a lack of understanding of its capabilities as a legal instrument of influencing an unscrupulous business partner. However, in order for the speaker to really become such a tool, special attention must be paid to its competent compilation and design. This will be discussed below.
Reconciliation report: legal status
At any stage of the business relationship, it may be necessary to carry out a mutual settlement procedure.
Mutual settlements are carried out in the event that one of the partners pays for services, works or goods supplied by another participant in a business transaction.
Waybills, checks and other documents that belong to the category of primary ones, act as confirmation of the fact of a business transaction. These papers serve as the basis for maintaining accounting... Even a minor error in the calculations can significantly affect the correctness of the entire accounting.
Over time, discrepancies and inconsistencies in the accounting records of business partners result in unreported payments and arrears.
Early detection of incorrect entries and possible discrepancies is the main task and function of the reconciliation act. In practice, the procedure itself is not difficult. The reconciliation technology in general comes down to the fact that the accounting conducted by one party is compared with the accounting conducted by the other party. If discrepancies or incorrect entries are found, an act is drawn up, and all the primary documents of the parties are subject to additional analysis.
What is a reconciliation act
The reconciliation statement is a document representing the financial transactions of two partner organizations, made in a specific period of time. Ideally, all data collected in the financial statements of one party should be fully correlated with data collected by the other party. If the slightest discrepancies are identified, a reconciliation report is drawn up.
The unified form of this act is not regulated by the current legislative standards. Enterprises independently develop the form of this business paper and approve it with local regulatory documents.
AU is signed by both parties if they confirm the fact of agreement with the discovered debt. We have already said above that the limitation period is determined using the date of signature of the reconciliation act. We'll take a closer look at this issue below.
In general, when conducting any business transaction, a document is drawn up that belongs to the category of primary ones. From this moment, the limitation period is calculated. However, there is also a special case, which includes the case of drawing up a reconciliation report. This document interrupts the limitation period and begins a new countdown of this period - from the moment of signing the AU.
The presence of mandatory AU elements - details of partners, date and period of reconciliation, a list of transactions and settlements - ensures the legal force of this paper.
As a tool for resolving disputes, the reconciliation act can be successfully used only if it contains all the necessary details (this will not cancel the provision that the form of the act itself remains free).
These required details include:
- the name of the business paper;
- name of the party (legal name of the company and its details);
- a link to the primary documentation, which is the source for the calculations and confirms the fact of carrying out economic activities;
- estimated amounts;
- balance-total;
- date of preparation;
- signatures of persons responsible for settlements on each side;
- impressions of the seals of each partner company.
Also, the partners themselves set the scale of reconciliation. It can be carried out on the scale of one product name, on the scale of one delivery or one contract. As part of the annual inventory, as a rule, a reconciliation procedure is also carried out. Any discrepancy between the entries in the accounting documents of the parties becomes the reason for the registration of the AU. This is due to the purpose of avoiding the identification of debt or shortage after the liquidation or bankruptcy of one of the parties.
Useful article:How to properly draw up a reconciliation act, a sample of filling in the office work can be found .
Filling out the document reconciliation act
The form of drawing up and the procedure for issuing the AU are free for each enterprise. The initiator of the audit instructs the accounting department to draw up act... Next, the document must be completed, and two copies of it must be sent to the opponent.
In turn, the opponent checks his data with the figures provided by the partner. If there really is a discrepancy, and the opponent recognizes this fact, then both copies of the document are signed by him and sealed by the firm seal. The company initiating the dispute receives the signed and certified copies back.
Invoices are the source to which all data from the AS must correspond. Matching of all settlement data is mandatory. Otherwise, the discrepancies must be recorded in the final part of the speaker.
If we are talking about the internal document flow of partner organizations, then the signature of the chief accountants of both parties is enough. In the case of litigation and litigation, such a signature will not be enough, and it must be confirmed by the signature of the head of the company.
A sample document of reconciliation of documents is presented below:
How to check the reconciliation statement
If you want to check the correctness of the AU, we recommend that you pay attention to a number of elements, the presence of which is mandatory:
- Title;
- Compilation dates;
- Full name of firms, parties to the dispute;
- Information about officials;
- Information about the employees responsible for drafting and certifying the paper;
- Data distributed by contracts for the main part of the plant.
Templates of primary documentation should be taken as a sample when drawing up an act. This is especially true for the rules for registration of details.
Each company can develop its own form of act, but many years of experience of different companies have confirmed the effectiveness and advantage of the following material composition:
- The introductory part (preamble) contains the required details;
- The main part contains data for the selected reconciliation period (for example, a chronological list of reconciled documents). In some cases, it is necessary to indicate the name of the operation performed - delivery or purchase of goods, transfer of funds, sale or write-off of values, etc.
Cover letter for the reconciliation act
As a rule, a cover letter is attached to the reconciliation act. It usually contains a list of applications.
The text of the letter usually consists of two parts:
- Statement of the fact of transfer (sending) of the act:
Sending you ...., Sending you .., Passing to you ... etc. - Purpose of the letter:
For acquaintance; For agreement; For signature; Request for a timely response to the act.This can be a confirmation of familiarization, approval and return of a signed copy of the act. The following words and phrases are appropriate here:
"We ask you to sign, seal and send to our address one copy of the reconciliation act ..."
At the end, there is a list of documents attached to the letter: reconciliation act, primary documentation, orders, instructions, etc.
Reconciliation statement of mutual settlements - a document reflecting the state of mutual settlements between companies during a certain time period. The purpose of using the reconciliation act is to determine whether there is a debt or to assess the correctness of accounting for mutual settlements of organizations.
Any of the counterparties has the right to initiate the drawing up of the reconciliation act. The reason for this may be to check whether the mutual settlements were correctly drawn up, and whether his partner has any debt. The act reflects all operations carried out for a certain period of time. The period of consideration is indicated by the initiator.
After the act is signed, it must be sent to another counterparty, who must verify all the necessary data with the data that he has. If there are no errors, the party signs the document and a corresponding seal is put.
If there are discrepancies, they must be indicated separately at the end of the act itself. If the initiating party reveals any debt, an act of offsetting mutual claims can be drawn up, in which both parties will have the opportunity to bilaterally repay the debt.
Reconciliation statement of mutual settlements: filling out
The reconciliation act has a free filling form (based on the letter of the Ministry of Finance dated 18.02.2005 No. 07-05-04 / 2). In the act, it is necessary to indicate the required period for which all the information was compiled, as well as the names of those counterparties between which it is established. It is necessary to indicate the date of its preparation, as well as assign an individual number.
All accounting data are given in the table (in the attached files). This data can also include data on transactions related to payment for goods and their delivery. In order to confirm the accuracy of all the information used, it is necessary to attach the appropriate document to each invoice associated with the amount in the roll-up act, which can include a check, invoice, etc.
All indicated amounts reflected on the debit and credit accounts are also indicated by the date of all transactions performed. As a result, the total turnover associated with debit and credit is considered, after which the ending balance is determined.
To indicate the debt, at the end of the table it is necessary to write: “According to the data“ Enter the name of the required organization ”to“ indicate the required date here ”the debt in favor of“ indicate the second organization here ”is“ the amount is indicated ”. If there is no debt, you must enter 0.00 rubles.
In the absence of debt, chief accountants can sign this act. If there is a debt, as well as the refusal of one or another organization to pay the debt for some reason, you can file an appeal with the court. In this case, you must have a certified signature of the manager and a seal.
Download the act of reconciliation of mutual settlements. Sample, blank
Video lesson "Act of reconciliation of mutual settlements in 1C Accounting"
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