Changes to the Regulation on Documentary Support of Accounting Records

By the Order of the Ministry of Finance of Ukraine dated December 28, 2022 No. 467, changes to the Regulation on Documentary Support of Accounting Records were approved. Below is a brief overview of the main amendments.

1. New terminology has been introduced, namely:

– primary documents are the documents created in paper or electronic form that contain information about business transactions.

The previous definition of the concept of “primary documents”, valid before the changes were made, was formulated as follows: these are the documents created in written or electronic form, which contain information about business transactions, including orders and permits of the administration (owner) for their conduct;

– accounting registers are the information carriers compiled in paper or electronic form, intended for chronological, systematic or combined accumulation, grouping and summarization of information from primary documents accepted for accounting. Accounting registers can be in the form of information, orders, books, journals, etc.

The previous definition was as follows: accounting registers are media of a special format (paper, electronic) in the form of information, orders, books, magazines, etc., intended for chronological, systematic or combined accumulation, grouping and generalization of information from primary documents accepted for accounting.

It is determined that other terms in this Regulation are used in the meanings defined by the Law of Ukraine “On Accounting and Financial Reporting in Ukraine”, national regulations (standards) of accounting, national regulations (standards) of accounting in the public sector and international standards of financial reporting.

2. Mandatory translation of documents into Ukrainian

The changes stipulate that all primary documents, accounting registers, and other reports must be drawn up in Ukrainian. Documents that are the basis for entries in accounting and written in a foreign language must have an orderly authentic translation into Ukrainian.

Previously, the use of another language was allowed in accordance with the procedure specified by the Law of Ukraine “On the Principles of State Language Policy”, now this option has been canceled.

3. Changes about Primary Documents in Electronic Form

Primary documents created automatically in electronic form by the information and communication system software are used in accounting, provided that there is an imposed electronic signature or seal in compliance with the requirements of the legislation on electronic documents and electronic document management.

In the case of compiling and storing primary documents and accounting registers using electronic means of information processing, the enterprise is obliged to make copies of them on paper media at its own expense at the request of other participants in economic transactions, as well as law enforcement authorities and relevant authorities within the limits of their powers provided for by the legislation.

Copies of primary documents and accounting registers may be withdrawn from the enterprise only by decision of the relevant authorities, adopted within the scope of their powers provided for by law. It is mandatory to compile a register of documents to be removed in the manner established by law.

Seizure of the originals of such documents and registers is prohibited, except in cases provided for by criminal procedural legislation.

4. It was determined that the seal can be an additional requisite of the primary document

Depending on the nature of the transaction and data processing technology, additional details may be included in the primary documents: a seal, identification code of the enterprise, document number, basis for carrying out operations, data on the document certifying the identity of the recipient, etc.

5. Regarding the method of making entries in primary documents

Entries in primary documents, accounting registers created in paper form should be made only in dark ink, ballpoint pen paste.

Entries in primary documents created in electronic form are made with the help of electronic means of information processing and other means that would ensure the preservation of these records during the established period of document storage and prevent the introduction of unauthorized and imperceptible corrections.

6. Regarding the correction of errors in primary documents and accounting registers, the following rules are established:

– in the text and digital data of primary documents, accounting registers and reporting, cleaning and unconditioned corrections are not allowed;

– errors in primary documents and accounting registers compiled in paper form are corrected by the method of “red-ink entry” or additional accounting transactions, or by the proofreading method;

– correction of errors in primary documents and accounting registers made in paper form using the “red-ink entry” method is carried out by making an incorrect entry (correspondence of accounts or amounts) in red ink, ballpoint pen paste, etc., which means negative numbers that are calculated as a result. At the same time, a second entry indicating the correct correspondence of the accounts or the amount is made under the entry in red ink, ballpoint pen paste, etc. of a dark color;

– correction of errors in primary documents and accounting registers made in paper form, using the proofreading method, is carried out by crossing out incorrect text or numbers and writing the correct text or numbers over the crossed out ones. Crossing out is carried out with a single line so that it is possible to read the corrected text;

– correction of errors in accounting registers made in paper form, using the method of additional accounting transactions, is carried out by entering additional correspondence of accounts for the amount that is the difference between the correct and reflected in these registers;

– errors in the accounting registers for the past reporting period are corrected by the reversal method. This method involves drawing up an accounting note, in which the error (amount, correspondence of accounts) is entered with red ink, ballpoint pen paste, etc., or with a “minus” sign, and the correction (amount, correspondence of accounts) is entered with ink, ballpoint pen paste, etc. of a dark color. By entering these data into the accounting register in the month in which the error was detected, the incorrect entry is eliminated and the correct amount and correspondence of the accounting accounts are displayed. The note must indicate the reason for the error, references to the documents and accounting registers in which the error was made, and be signed by the employee who drew up the note and, after its verification, by the chief accountant;

– the correction of an error in the primary documents and accounting registers made in paper form must be conditioned by the inscription “corrected” and confirmed by the signatures of the persons who signed this document, indicating the date of correction;

– corrections are not allowed in the documents used for cash and bank transactions and transactions with securities;

– errors in primary documents and accounting registers compiled in electronic form are corrected by means of cancellation or additional accounting transactions.

Correcting errors in primary documents and accounting registers made in electronic form by the reverse method involves making a reverse entry for the amount of the error and simultaneously specifying the correct amount;

– in primary documents and accounting registers made in electronic form, during the correction of errors, the information that is being corrected must be saved and contain information about the date of correction, positions and surnames of persons, personal signature or other data that make it possible to identify persons who compiled the corrected electronic document

– corrections are made to primary documents and accounting registers in the reporting period in which errors are detected.

This Order enters into force from the day of its official publication. According to media reports, this normative act was published on March 9 in the “Official Gazette of Ukraine”.