It is recommended to set up management accounting. Formulation of management accounting: step by step. Options for organizing management accounting

Staging management accounting- a complex task that is often solved within the framework of the reorganization of the entire company. All problems associated with the formulation of management accounting can be summarized as follows:

  • · Difficulty in determining the qualifications and selection of specialists, whose responsibilities include the setting and maintenance of management accounting;
  • Lack of understanding by the management and employees of the enterprise of this area of ​​work
  • Lagging behind in other areas of work: too great a difference between accounting and tax accounting, lack of a clear structure of the enterprise;
  • · Lack of ideology at the enterprise, which would ensure the work of the team as a whole, the relationship of mutual assistance, mutual respect and awareness of responsibility for the information provided;
  • The complexity in the technical support of the functioning of the management accounting system: the lack of the necessary computer technology, software etc.

Responsibility for solving all these problems rests with the management of the enterprise, which should show interest in creating a full-fledged management accounting system and show initiative in solving related organizational, psychological and technical problems.

One of the problems is the lack of understanding of the essence of management accounting in the company. However, the main goal of management accounting is to orient the management process towards achieving the strategic and tactical goals of the enterprise, and for this reason, the management accounting system should include a system for collecting information on competitors, customers, product quality, and information on the effectiveness of the company's organizational structure, incentive methods etc. The management accounting system should cover all services of the enterprise and the entire range of data on its activities.

The management accounting system provides managers with information on the following groups:

  • Information for internal current reporting in order to plan and control production costs and assess labor productivity as individual workers, and each division of the enterprise;
  • · Information for internal current reporting on the profitability of manufactured products, its consumers, distribution channels, etc., for making decisions on the allocation of resources and, in some cases, for determining pricing policy;
  • · Information for external reporting obtained in the process of financial analysis for the benefit of investors, government and other external consumers.

The reliability of the information of the management accounting system depends on many factors: whether the goals of the enterprise and the strategies for achieving them were correctly identified and taken into account when developing the management accounting system; whether the centers of financial responsibility were chosen correctly; Does the technology of business processes correspond to the objectives of the company and the planned management accounting system; whether the overhead allocation system has been correctly selected; how horizontal links are established and the system of responsibility for collecting information and budgeting is distributed;

When introducing a management accounting system, an enterprise will face many other problems in addition to the listed problems.

However, the results obtained from the implementation of the management accounting system will surpass all expectations, since a properly set management accounting will provide the information necessary for setting priorities in the activities of the enterprise and planning its future activities, provide a basis for assessing the prospects of opening opportunities and provide mechanisms for monitoring the implementation of the adopted solutions. Management accounting is established on the basis of the US GAAP standard.

When setting up accounting at an enterprise, first of all, a budgeting system is created. Rybakova O.V. Management accounting and management planning. - M .: Finance and statistics. - 2005.

The next stage is the setting of management accounting and regulation of control and analysis (chart of accounts, reporting forms, analysis schemes, regulation of the procedure for collecting and consolidating accounting data).

An ideal situation if data for management and financial accounting are entered into one program

Consider two main options for organizing management accounting.

The first option is one database: all accounting documents are sent to the accounting department and accounting and management entries are generated for each primary document (or, after the formation of management entries by an accountant-analyst, to financial accounting for the formation of official accounting entries). The advantage of this option is that it most closely matches the basic principles of accounting and allows you to more fully reflect the activities of the enterprise. The disadvantage is the creation of an integrated accounting system.

The second option is two databases: the information is entered into the management database after being reflected in the accounting database, financial accounting works as usual, providing its database to the accountant - analyst, for subsequent transformation with consolidated data.

It should be noted that each enterprise can set a management accounting system based only on its goals and vision of development prospects. The use of the management accounting system contributes to the improvement of the entire management process of the organization, creates real opportunities for its optimization.

An increasing number of heads of Ukrainian enterprises understand the need for accounting, different from accounting, since the latter focuses exclusively on external consumers of information - first of all, on the tax authorities, while not reflecting the real state of the company at all.

To provide complete and accurate information necessary for the adoption of literate management decisions and management planning by internal users, there is management accounting.

What is management accounting

Until now, Russian and Ukrainian leaders do not have a clear understanding of this type of accounting, and this is perhaps one of the main problems in the process of setting up a management accounting system.

For seven years of practice in the formulation of management accounting at Russian enterprises, we have come across various interpretations of this concept.

Situations often arose when it turned out that the leaders who came to us "for the formulation of management accounting" understood by this questions completely irrelevant to the subject. Once the CEO of a small, prosperous company uttered the following sacramental phrase: “And for myself it is very easy for me to learn to separate: everything that is not accounting means management”.

Accounting system "as it is"

Even more often, a situation arises when management accounting is understood as accounting for "black cash", the data of "black accounting".

In this case, indeed, the financial statements give a distorted view of the real state of the company and it is required to introduce another accounting system, in which everything is taken into account "as it really is."

In practice, this often comes down to Excel spreadsheets, which are usually compiled and maintained on their own. CFO... And very often in such cases, management believes that the enterprise has a management accounting system that meets the objectives of management and answers the questions posed by management.

The main danger here is the inconsistency of accounting, accounting for not all factors affecting the indicators of management accounting and, as a result, distortion of management information and illiterate management.

Study in a Western manner

Such misconceptions are explained, first of all, by the fact that the issues related to this type of accounting in Russia and Ukraine are still poorly covered, a striking example of this is the absence of a specialized journal on management accounting.

In the West, they read the Harvard issue of "Management Accounting Review" (management accounting is a term in the West that corresponds to the classical understanding of management accounting), while in our countries you can still find only a few thematic articles and headings. The state does not regulate such issues, but when developing principles and rules accounting was taken as a basis " typical enterprise", hence the inflexibility and inability to take into account the specifics of the business and environmental changes.

Today we already have a classic approach to management accounting, which was widespread in the West 40-60 years ago.

The classical understanding of management accounting is reduced mainly to numbers and various numerical indicators that take into account the specifics of the enterprise.

World practice

Of course, there is a worldwide practice of setting and maintaining management accounting. His general indicators, as well as many management accounting principles are reflected in International Standards Financial reporting(IFRS).

Nevertheless, in recent years in the West there has been a noticeable departure from the classical approach towards qualitative indicators and the concept of management accounting is expanding: competitive environment, customer relationship system (CRM), a system of business processes within an enterprise, etc. This is already another higher level, for most Russian enterprises this is tomorrow.

We are interested in

In Russia and Ukraine, there is management accounting, and in the past few years, there has been a clear interest in this topic, this can even be seen from the dynamics of sales software products for the automation of management accounting and budgeting. Who really deals with the issues of setting and maintaining management accounting at domestic enterprises and in what cases does the question of its formulation arise?

Again, based on our experience, we can confidently say that in most cases accounting has nothing to do with management accounting.

The organization and maintenance of management accounting in an enterprise is usually carried out either by the financial director (director of economics), or by a specialist specially engaged for this, and functions can also be hidden or explicitly distributed among employees of the financial department (economic department, financial planning department, etc.).

The initiator of the process of setting up management accounting (like many other innovations) is usually a young specialist who has recently joined the company with a "fresh" economic education. This can be a vice president, CFO, director of economics, rarely a commercial director.

The owners took the lead

Recently, more and more often, the owners of the company become the initiators of the setting of management accounting: they no longer only need financial statements and need more reliable information about the state of the company.

The decision to set up management accounting is usually made at the level of the financial director (the person responsible for the financial condition of the company), or at the level general director or a shareholders' meeting.

Directly during the setting up of the accounting system, a lot of difficulties also arise.

In addition to the problems with understanding and interpretation outlined above, most of the problems lie just on the border of management accounting - accounting. It is very difficult to properly organize the interaction between both types of accounting, since they have the same object, and the goals are different.

Why do we need two accounts?

Why do we need some kind of parallel methodology, if one - accounting - is already functioning? Here you need to understand that accounting and management are focused on different users: if the first is maintained and regulated by the state, then the second is entirely designed to satisfy the needs of enterprise managers. Having different target audiences, the two "hypostases" of accounting are based on completely different principles and methodologies.

Speaking about accounting, we understand that its main task is to provide information in the format that is most convenient for external users.

Enterprise managers are faced with completely different tasks, namely: to make informed management decisions from day to day. Management accounting serves these purposes.

Management accounting methodology

With the users defined, let's think about the methodological framework.

Such a science as the economics of an enterprise offers many ways of describing and, most importantly for our topic, recording the results of an enterprise's activities, but for some reason only a narrow circle of those is nicer to the Russian competent authorities regulating accounting. For example, if, in practice, the cost of fixed assets can be written off in more than five ways, depending on how exactly this or that machine or software product is used, then in the recommendations for the formation of the Regulation on accounting policy and RAS 6, in fact, you can choose only one method that can be applied to a group of fixed assets for the entire period useful use objects included in the group. It is clear that such a one-size-fits-all combing of all enterprises and all fixed assets does not correspond to the needs of a particular business.

Benefits of management accounting

The main advantage of management accounting is its flexibility and versatility.

Let us note once again that the state, when developing accounting rules, was not too concerned with the problem of adapting accounting principles to the specific needs of specific enterprises, but took a kind of "medium-sized enterprise" and shifted the accounting principles that could potentially work on it to everyone else. Hence, for example, wages as a government-recommended base for allocating indirect costs, regardless of whether there is some connection between this item and all indirect costs or not.

Real life example

In contrast to this approach, we will give an example of setting up management accounting in a project for setting up and automating budget management for the Megapolis Trading House in Zaporozhye (Ukraine).

The team of Intalev consultants and the customer's employees faced the question: how to split transportation costs between two such different products as alcohol and tobacco? A whole tangle of problems arose due to the fact that the boxes with cognac and vodka are heavy objects, the packages of cigarettes are bulky, and the trucks that transported them together had limitations in both volume and weight. Accordingly, with each loading, complex combinations of both were created, and at the end of the month there was no way to determine how much transport actually consumed this or that product.

Various distribution options were tried, but they showed either alcohol or tobacco as unprofitable, although the leaders of each of the directions claimed that they were profitable.

The way out of the situation was found in a school-like way. What connects two parameters such as weight and volume? That's right, density.

The densities of the alcohol and tobacco crates were recalculated, and thus transportation costs were posted. We emphasize that the importance of the proposed solution is not in the fact that an objective basis for the separation was found (such, as a rule, cannot be found at all, therefore, the costs are also indirect), but the base, the calculation errors for which were minimal and compensated for each other in a month: none of the products subsidized the other.

This flexibility approach is only possible with individual accounting settings.

Management accounting principles

The fundamental point of management accounting is its efficiency: there are types of businesses in which it is necessary to analyze the balance sheet daily, and the accounting report at the end of the quarter is already useless.

Techniques and software are already able to provide such efficiency, but this leads to a conclusion that is not yet obvious for many managers: it is necessary to show even greater discipline in management accounting than in accounting. For example, management primary documents may have a number of specific fields (center of financial responsibility, budget line, limit, etc.), failure to fill out or untimely filling of which will negate all efforts to build an accounting system, since the numbers entered in this way into the system cannot neither correctly consolidate (without losing important analytical features), nor compare with the plan.

Managers of enterprises, when deciding the issue of management accounting, often rush to two extremes. The first is that management accounting is not given due attention at all - its whole formulation consists in a strong-willed decision: "We will conduct the same as accounting." As a result, a system is born in which planned management data can only be compared with an accounting fact.

The second extreme is the over-complication and detailing of accounting structures. This gives rise to huge and difficult to read lists of articles containing simultaneously data on areas of activity, goods, regions, counterparties, and in the worst cases - such heterogeneous indicators as income, receipts, debts and investments next to each other. In fact, they want to see “everything at once and about everything” in one document.

Pareto rule

I would like to emphasize two points. First, the costs of the development and subsequent operation of the accounting system should not exceed the effects of it. The famous Pareto Rule (also known as the "20 to 80 Rule") states that 20% of accounting items provide 80% of useful information. Therefore, the main task of the developer of the accounting system is not to put everything that is possible into it, but to describe, first of all, the key indicators.

Looking at the reports of the largest Western corporations that have long passed the stage of "general detailing", we see no more than a couple of dozen items of costs or income, while in Russia or Ukraine, and a couple of hundred is not the limit.

The technical side of the issue

Enterprise managers, realizing the need for internal accounting, inevitably face the question: how does this very accounting technically look?

Having rejected accounting as a source of information for the needs of management, we thereby rejected its proposed registers and calculation algorithms. This means that it is necessary to develop your own structure and accounting logic.

The existing management accounting techniques can be divided into two large subgroups: accounting by budget items and accounting by accounts. The first accounting option involves the reflection of business transactions for all items that logically relate to them. For example, the sales of an enterprise are, as a rule, a "three-faced" entity: they are expressed in the movement of goods (shipment from the warehouse), cash flow (receipt of proceeds from the buyer to the current account) and the generation of income (and this is without taking into account the accrual of expenses, corresponding to the income received).

Thus, such an operation will be reflected in the articles of at least three budgets, and the main thing here is "not to forget anything."

The approach based on management accounts is less subjective - each transaction, similar to an accounting one, goes through a debit and credit of interconnected accounts, causing symmetric changes in the entire accounting system.

The main advantage of line-by-line accounting is simplicity and clarity for managers who are far from accounting concepts, and the account-based approach is guaranteed correctness when reflecting transactions and, ultimately, when balancing.

These two systems do not deny each other, and, moreover, account accounting includes item-by-item accounting as an integral part.

With this implementation, the management accounts have the "Budget line" analytics as one of their properties, through which the entered data are reflected not only by the account, but also by the item. For example, the account "Sales" is linked to the item "Income from product sales" from the budget of income for the main activity, and then the turnovers on this account simultaneously form the result of the corresponding budget.

Such seeming complexity in practice has already been well worked out methodically and is supported by software.

Automation of management accounting

At the moment, there is an active interest of specialists in standard software and consulting solutions for planning, management accounting and, in general, enterprise management.

When setting budgeting, specialists set themselves the following important tasks:

  • drawing up a payment calendar and defining payment priorities;
  • definition financial results and management of financial responsibility centers;
  • planning of cash flow and movement of goods and materials;
  • planning the company's income and expenses;
  • construction and assessment of internal indicators of liquidity and profitability of the company and individual businesses;
  • support of the collective planning process, workflow.
For example, the capabilities of the program "Intalev: Budget Management for 1C: Enterprise 7.7" allow:
  • Build a coherent and complete system of budgets (sales, purchases, direct and indirect costs, cash flow, debt, company balance).
  • Receive managerial cash flow budget, income and expense budget, balance sheet budget.
  • Build a system financial indicators companies according to planned and actual data.
  • Carry out financial analysis and analysis of the implementation of plans. Conduct plan-factor control.
  • Optimize the management of boiled stocks and minimize direct costs of commodity logistics.
  • Automate budgeting both according to plan and ex post. Minimize data entry from different services: commercial departments, planning and financial departments, accounting.
  • Create and monitor the execution of the payment calendar.
  • Automate document flow among program users.
  • Receive analytical reports in various aspects necessary to support the management process using the built-in reporting and charting capabilities.
Large trade and manufacturing enterprises and holdings that unite under one management company heterogeneous types of business, systems are needed that are designed to automate management accounting, budgeting, control and analysis in all sections economic activity.

Users of this level have the following tasks financial management:

  • Budgeting;
  • Management Accounting;
  • The financial analysis;
  • Support for the collective planning process, workflow.
When setting the task, the developers came to the conclusion that the module being created should become not only the center for the consolidation of planned and reporting information, but also the center for receiving all management reporting on budgets in a form convenient for making management decisions.

Thus, the software product serves to support the financial management process. Its main task is to maximally assist managers in making financial decisions, freeing up their time from routine operations and processing large amounts of data, providing reporting information in a form convenient for making decisions.

According to its functional characteristics in the field of budgeting, the program allows you to develop all types of budgets at the enterprise: cash flow budget, income and expense budget and balance budget; finished product production budget, budget production costs, budgets for the procurement of raw materials and materials, etc. In addition, the program can automatically draw up budgets according to selected criteria, maintain a payment calendar, a mechanism is implemented operational control over the implementation of budgets.

From the point of view of management accounting, the program provides all types of management reporting, incl. cash flow statement, income statement, balance sheet. Accounting in the program can be conducted both in accordance with national (Russian, UK GAAP, US GAAP, etc.) and international (IAS) and user standards, while providing flexible and instant communication with primary documents and accounting entries.

In accordance with the most modern theories financial management program contains all necessary tools for financial analysis: analysis of planned and actual data, opportunities for factor and index analysis, the use of statistical methods for data analysis, break-even analysis, tree compilation (ROI) for financial analysis. The use of the latest developments in the field of analysis allows you to receive dynamic reports in a user-friendly form.

What is management accounting and how does it differ from financial accounting? What are the principles of management accounting? What are the features different methods organization of management accounting at the enterprise?

Hello, regular readers of the HeterBober business magazine and everyone who first looked at our resource! The expert is with you - Anna Medvedeva.

Everything related to finance and reporting is always difficult and responsible. Today we will deal with the topic management accounting, and also let's see how it fundamentally differs from financial accounting.

At the end of the article, I have prepared for you an overview of companies that will help you establish management accounting at a professional level.

1. What is management accounting

The primary task of management accounting- outline this for guidance a real picture of the state of the enterprise, help allocate reserves and improve efficiency.

The purpose of management accounting- to provide the management of the company and specialists of departments with the planned indicators, actual figures and forecast information regarding the activities of the enterprise.

As far as this data is correct, it will become effective and reasonable management decisions.

Let's give a definition to the concept.

This is a technique for preparing and evaluating information about the work of an organization. She shows the results economic activity enterprise and is used for management purposes.

What are the principles of management accounting:

  • isolation- both the enterprise as a whole and its departments are considered independently of others;
  • continuity- information for accounting should be received regularly, and not randomly;
  • fullness- the information should be as complete as possible;
  • timeliness- data must be provided at the time of need;
  • comparability- identical parameters for different time intervals should be formed according to the same principles;
  • intelligibility- the data should be drawn up in a form that is understandable for the addressee;
  • periodicity- external and internal reporting must be compiled within the prescribed time frame;
  • profitability- the costs of operating the accounting system should be recouped by the benefits of its use.

For the implemented management accounting to justify itself, three conditions are necessary: ​​good specialists, active management participation and the allocation of dedicated resources.

What does it look like? In small companies, management accounting is set of spreadsheets ... With large amounts of information, it is advisable to choose special software product.

Closely related to management accounting budget of income and expenses and cash flow budget ().

2. What are the methods of management accounting - 7 basic methods

Since by law there are no clear requirements to the conduct of management accounting, it is allowed to vary and choose methods and methods that are convenient for a particular institution.

The task of management accounting is cost estimation and cost control. We have identified the most common approaches to organizing this process.

Method 1. Determination of the break-even point

This term, also called critical point, the volume of products and their sales is indicated, at which the organization begins to make a profit from the sale of its goods. That is, incomes begin to cover expenses.

The break-even point is indicated in units of production or in financial terms.

Method 2. Budgeting

The definition speaks for itself. This method of management accounting helps to allocate resources of the enterprise as efficiently as possible through careful planning and subsequent monitoring and analysis of deviations from the plan.

Budgeting helps you save money and interact smoothly

It is based on the use of data on the economy of the enterprise. Therefore, the most important function of the budget management program is to facilitate objective analysis and decision making.

Method 3. Process calculation of costs

So-called process method relevant for serial production of the same type of product or when the production process cannot be interrupted for economic or safety reasons.

In the process calculation, the ratio of costs to products released for a specific period is compiled.

Method 4. Design calculation of costs

It is used in cases when a product is manufactured on a special order.

In each project or batch of released products, the cost is calculated:

  • for materials;
  • payment to employees;
  • other expenses.

This method is also called custom-made.

Method 5. Conversion cost calculation

Alternating method needed in mass production. Here the defining process is the sequential transfer of raw materials to the final product.

Groups of production processes form redistribution... Each such redistribution either produces an intermediate product ( semifinished), or completes the entire process and delivers the final product.

Method 6. Standard calculation of costs

This method represents the accounting for deviations of the real cost from the planned one. The calculation of the standard cost is carried out for each type of product.

At the end of the period, deviations are taken into account:

  • negative - excessive consumption of raw materials;
  • positive - rational consumption of materials.

A separate item is the accounting of conditional deviations. They appear due to discrepancies in the preparation of estimates, therefore, they can be both negative and positive.

Method 7. Direct costing

In fact, this is cost control. the main goal direct costing- divide them into constants and variables.

To make it easier to discern the essence of these concepts, let's draw up a table.

Fixed and variable costs:

The most essential feature of direct costing is the ability to see relationships between production volumes, costs and profits.

3. How is the setting of management accounting - 5 main stages

Now we will write in detail, how to organize management accounting.

For clarity, I have compiled a step-by-step algorithm of actions.

Stage 1. Determination of the main consumers of management accounting data

The main customers and recipients of management accounting information are company executives and members of the board of directors, managers of different levels as they make major business decisions.

If it is necessary to explain the essence of the problem or any plan of action to the decision-makers, then The best way - prepare a presentation to present information in a clear and structured way.

Stage 2. Formation of the list of required reporting

Next, it is necessary to form and agree with all interested parties a list of documents - that is, directly reports that are to be drawn up. For each report, it is determined in what time frame and with what frequency it will be submitted - a clear and detailed description is made.

Step 3. Prepare a sketch of the methodology

The compilation of the management accounting system is carried out by specialists, delving into all the subtleties activities of the company. Otherwise, there is a risk that the management reporting system will not justify its implementation goals and will not bring the desired results.

What needs to be done at this stage:

  • define reporting blocks and areas of accounting;
  • to develop documents for interim reports and calculation methods;
  • determine methods of entering into the system and processing information;
  • ensure effective data control;
  • distribute responsibilities between specialists who perform data preparation;
  • prepare a test version of the methodology and make trial calculations;
  • assess the feasibility of the developed draft methodology.

Then the prepared model is approved by the company management.

Stage 4. Implementation of management accounting methodology

If all the previous activities were successful, the management accounting system is put into action.

The implementation of the management accounting project will reveal the shortcomings made in the preparation of the methodology. Perhaps this will turn out to be a heterogeneous approach of different departments to data processing, or the inconsistency of information overlapping in different reports, or imperfect software, etc.

There may be other overlaps in the interaction of units.

Example

At the enterprise "ChelyabinskStroyMotage" there were problems with the reliability of information about the sale of goods.

During the inspection, it turned out that the accounting department untimely entered information into the database about the funds received. Because of this, the closing of the balance sheet for the institution was delayed.

Stage 5. Organization of control over the implementation of the management accounting system

An essential part of control is to assess how much cost effective the selected management accounting system. But first you need to make sure that all the performers are trained, the goals are clear, and there are no errors in the methodology.

In continuation of the topic, we offer some practical advice from an expert.

4. Professional assistance in setting up management accounting - an overview of the TOP-3 companies for the provision of services

Below I present a list of companies that are professionally engaged in the organization of management accounting in different organizations.

It is worth contacting them for help if there is an understanding of the need to bring the enterprise management process to a fundamentally new level.

Financial management service offers financial and management accounting for small business... Full automation of the functions of accounting for income and expenses, financial planning and control of all money will help you take your business to a new level of development.

The program does not need to be installed, you can work with the service immediately by going to the main page. The site is designed for maximum convenience - by entering data into the system, you will visually see the results and plans and fully control your business.

Working with the service will significantly save the money that you used to spend on correcting the shortcomings of the financial service.

2) GBCS

This consulting company developed a unique management accounting business model for various institutions. Thanks to it, you will maximize the productivity of management decisions in your company.

The management accounting system, created by highly qualified GBCS specialists, will give you the opportunity to have a real view of the assets and collect information regarding the financial situation of the enterprise.

In addition to the management accounting project, you will be additionally provided with other services: preparation of profit and loss statements, cash flow statements and management balance sheet. The relevance of the solutions offered by GBCS is the undoubted advantage of this consulting company.

The firm has the largest regional network- 49 cities in Russia, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, UAE and Canada. It offers modern accounting and management software and creates opportunities for successful development business of any industry and scale.

BitFinance will assist you in treasury and contract management, financial reporting and IFRS reporting.

18 years of experience and professional assistance in achieving results - the most strengths the BitFinance company, which allowed it to complete more than 2500 successful projects.

5. What is the difference between management accounting and financial accounting - 5 main differences

In this section, I will talk about the difference between management and financial types accounting.

Difference 1. Management accounting is not required for an enterprise

Financial statements limited by clear legal requirements. It is drawn up and submitted to the appropriate authorities, and regardless of whether the management of the enterprise considers it appropriate.

Compiled at the discretion of the administration of the company. This is usually done when the usefulness of the data available in the report justifies the costs of their preparation, processing and execution of the report itself.

Difference 2. Degree of information openness

Financial statements are more open information for a number of companies. For example, the federal law prescribes the publication of accounting information for public companies so that all interested parties can familiarize themselves with them.

Management accounting information, on the other hand, completely closed and for third parties, and even within the company, not everyone has access to it.

Difference 3. Financial accounting should be as accurate as possible

Financial reporting is serious business. The well-being of the entire company depends on the information contained in financial reports. Therefore for financial accounting specifics, accuracy are required and vagueness is unacceptable.

Sometimes, for quick management decisions (if the situation so requires), it is necessary that data be provided quickly, and there is no time for their complete collection, detailing and reconciliation. Therefore, in management accounting errors allowed in numbers.

When it comes to speed of decision making, even approximate data is quite enough, since minor deviations still do not change the solution itself.

Difference 4. Frequency and timing of reporting

For delivery financial statements there are mandatory deadlines. Usually this monthly, quarterly or annual reporting periods... Deviation from the deadline threatens with penalties.

Ilya Borisovsky, Grigory Sukhov

In the conditions of the dynamic development of the market of any company, a simple and logical system for obtaining management information is required for prompt business decision-making. Unfortunately, Russian accounting cannot satisfy all the internal needs of a business for such information, and the very rules for maintaining management accounting in companies are often not written or even defined.

It becomes obvious that it is necessary to develop a SYSTEM (methodology) of management accounting, i.e. an ordered set of interrelated rules and algorithms that ensure the timely collection of reliable and adequate information for making management decisions.

Each CFO has his own recipe for solving this problem, and the specifics of the company play a leading role here: what works great in one enterprise may not work for another. On the one hand, there are no uniform standards for management accounting; in each industry and each company, its principles and structure are individual. On the other hand, management accounting is focused on the information needs of the company, and such needs can be analyzed and streamlined. And despite significant substantive differences in the methodology of accounting for enterprises from various industries, it is possible to identify the optimal sequence of stages of setting up accounting, which is universal for all companies and allows you to develop a management accounting methodology that meets the goals of the company.

It is advisable to carry out work on the formulation of management accounting within the framework of a separate project of the company, using procedures project management... Third-party specialists are often involved in the implementation of such a project (or its individual stages) (including consultants for automating accounting processes, if the company plans to support it in a new information system). Let us consider in more detail each stage of such work, the main tasks and risks of the project for building management accounting.

Stage 1. Statement of the problem, start of work

At the beginning of work, of course, it is necessary to determine what the main tasks in the company should be solved by management accounting.

Basic actions

1.1. Identification of key data consumers. The accounting methodology should be clearly focused on the information needs of the company. Excessive reporting, which is used by few people and prepared for a long time, has no place in the management environment. Therefore, it is necessary to immediately determine the circle of persons - users of information. Moreover, these should not be ordinary specialists, but top managers and leading methodologists who make the main business decisions, and the generated reporting should adequately reflect the state of affairs in the company. It is advisable to conduct a kick-off presentation in which to outline the purpose of the project, expected results, project plan (timing and main activities). Project participants must understand what will be done and why they need it personally. Also at this stage, it is desirable to estimate the possible payback period of the project and be sure to include this estimate in the presentation. The shareholders (management) of the company must understand that such projects are aimed at increasing efficiency in making managerial decisions, at achieving greater "transparency" of the company, and, consequently, at increasing its value.

1.2. Formation of a list of required reports. It is necessary to agree with all responsible persons on the composition of the reports that they need, including a description of the required indicators and analytics. For each of the reports, it is also necessary to determine the timing of the formation (by what date and with what frequency the report should be drawn up). As a result, all the required reports must have a clear description - in fact, this is the setting of the task for the implementation of the management accounting process. The main risks of the first stage:

    concentration of efforts on secondary reports that will make life easier for performers, but turn out to be too detailed for top managers - the risk of not achieving goals and increasing the cost of the project;

    insufficient support for the project from the management - the risks of a situation when, having played enough, the management will leave everything as it is.

Stage 2. Definition of the accounting concept. Project planning

Basic actions

2.1. Determination of the basic concepts and structure of future accounting. First of all, it is necessary to select and approve the basic accounting concepts, which, in fact, determine the requirements for the management accounting system. The concepts should contain answers to the fundamental questions of accounting:

    Will accounting be built in accordance with IFRS or not?

    Will management accounting be conducted in parallel with accounting?

    Who exercises control over the preparation of management accounting data, over the systematic "closing" of the period?

    In which automated system reporting preparation will be implemented?

The choice of an automation system can play a significant role as many systems impose an initial constraint on the accounting methodology. In some systems, deeply developed accounting mechanisms are laid, in others - the possibilities for implementing processes are very flexible, but there are certain restrictions on the number of analysts and the amount of data, etc.

2.2. Dividing the accounting implementation project into stages and prioritizing. It is necessary to plan further work and highlight the main stages (specific actions in the project). Moreover, you need to immediately determine what is a priority and urgent for the company, and what can wait.

2.3. Defining the boundaries of the project. It is important to immediately define the scope of work in the project. It is difficult and risky to carry out multiple tasks at the same time, so it makes sense to prioritize areas.

2.4. Clarification of the work plan. It is necessary to clarify the desired time frame for each stage. The main point of these works is to estimate the maximum allowable stage duration, otherwise it will be very difficult to control the work and manage the project budget.

The main risks of the second stage.

    Inadequate choice of priorities. To mitigate this risk, it is best to go “top-down”, starting with simple basic reports to more complex and detailed ones.

    Incorrect assessment of the timing, as a result of which the registration process will become infinitely long. It is best to target the end date and start planning from that date back.

Stage 3. Analysis of the state "as is"

The main task this stage- determination of the individual characteristics of the company's work and the specifics of accounting due to these features; identification of the difficulties that will be faced during the implementation of the system. This stage allows you to identify the weaknesses of the formed work plan for the project and determine the main risks of the project. The emphasis should be placed on checking the correctness of the allocation of the main directions of management accounting, carried out at the previous stages, and on identifying the available resources for accounting.

Basic actions

3.1. Study of the peculiarities and "pitfalls" of the current accounting. It is necessary to determine what nuances and difficulties (from the point of view of accounting) exist in the company, what problems the company's specialists have already encountered when preparing reports, how these problems were solved. Special attention it is necessary to pay attention to the structure of income and expenses, to identify the items with the highest specific weight.

3.2. Clarification of the work plan for the project. After studying the features of accounting, the work plan for the project should be adjusted. The duration of each stage should be estimated. Do not forget that innovation involves not only the development, but also the implementation of procedures, which also requires significant efforts.

Step 4. Prepare a sketch of the methodology and accounting model"how to"

After analyzing all the available features, the actual management accounting model of the company is drawn up. At this stage, it is necessary to clothe the basic accounting scheme and the previously developed concepts, into a coherent form of methodology, prescribe the relationships between reporting forms, think over the lists and codifiers of accounting items, the relationship between them. The main risk of the third stage is the construction of a system that, in practice, will not meet the assigned accounting tasks. Therefore, it is necessary to involve the company's specialists in the work, who understand the specifics of its business.

Basic actions

4.1. Preparation of a model for the formation of output reporting forms. It is necessary to assess the fundamental relationship of all elements of the required reporting, set the main reporting blocks and accounting areas, and determine the depth of the required analysis.

4.2. Development of interim reporting forms and methods for calculating the required indicators. The main task is to think over a detailed calculation procedure, to determine all the data required for calculations, calculation methodologies.

4.3. Elaboration of the input scheme for information system and storage of primary data. Development of accounting details: charts of accounts, analysts, the formation of a single list of business transactions indicating the required data, necessary calculations, etc.

4.4. Development of data control measures, methods of systematic provision of accounting reliability. A check is made to ensure the "transparency" of data in the underlying accounting model. The model should provide the possibility of simple and reliable control of the system data: the data should be obtained, if necessary, quickly and clearly, analysts should be convenient both for entering information and for monitoring it by the financial service. It is also necessary to provide for the possibility of future expansion of the model, taking into account changes in the number and composition of analysts, deeper detailing of data, the use of more complex algorithms for allocating costs, etc.

4.5. Development of a draft information preparation procedures It is necessary to describe the functional distribution of responsibilities of employees performing data preparation, the timing and procedure for data entry, fundamentally design the information flow scheme, and check its realism.

4.6. Checking and assembling the draft methodology The composition of the management accounting methodology, checking the connectivity and completeness of the resulting model is carried out.

4.7. Preparation of a test version of the methodology, trial calculations. The main purpose of these works is to check the correctness of the calculations, the consistency of the obtained methodology; assess whether the developed model of the methodology is clear enough.

The main risks of the fourth stage.

    Excessive workload of the model, an attempt to do "everything at once". It is necessary to take into account both the technical capabilities for the implementation of the accounting methodology, and the real time and strength of the performers in relation to the value of the information received.

    Technical errors in methodology.

Step 5. Discussion of the draft methodology

After the preparation and verification of the methodology, it is necessary to present the obtained version to the specialists and discuss with them the adequacy of the accounting system. First of all, we are talking about managers and performers who will have to directly enter data and process information. The main task of this stage is to identify weaknesses methodology, verification of solutions to problematic issues for reliability.

The main risks of the fifth stage.

    Perhaps the resistance of the performers associated with conservatism and inertia of thinking. You need to understand that this is a natural reaction and convince people of the need and benefits new system accounting.

    For the period of introduction of changes, it is necessary to foresee in advance the means to soften the transition to the new model. It can be a bonus for a temporary increase in load, active joint work and others. At the same time, persistence in making changes should be shown, otherwise the innovation may be sabotaged.

Step 6. Coordination and approval of the methodology

The developed methodology must be formalized in the form of a document and approved by the company. This is usually accompanied by a presentation of the developed model to the management. Obviously, in this case, in contrast to the discussion with managers and performers, the presentation contains much less detail and is more focused on describing the ultimate achievements.

Stage 7. Development of regulations and documented procedures

The draft procedures, which were developed at the stage of preparing the methodology, must be clarified, formalized in the form of separate regulations, indicate the specific names of the performers, terms and responsibilities.

Stage 8. Implementation

At successful implementation At all previous stages of work, both the company's management and the project participants will understand what specific changes need to be implemented in order to launch the procedures for collecting data and generating reports using the new methodology. At this stage, the main difficulties may arise when introducing changes in the accounting system.

Conclusion

Full-fledged management accounting is formed in the company for years. Continuous improvement is an integral feature of the management accounting system. Therefore, the accounting methodology should be flexible, that is, provide for the ability to quickly adjust accounting for various changes (for example, for the creation of new legal entities or the transfer of departments from one legal entity to another). We hope that the recommendations given by us will be useful and will allow in some cases not to “reinvent the wheel”, but to take advantage of the experience of already implemented projects.

There can be as many performance indicators as the head needs, but for clarity, they usually use from 7 to 30, depending on the variety of activities and the size of the enterprise. Any indicators (requiring constant attention of the manager or the most costly) are included: the energy saving program, personnel costs, unit costs of production, labor protection program, financial and economic reporting according to the selected management accounting methods.

Convenience, clarity and reliability of management accounting is no longer in doubt. It is clear that this system helps the manager to effectively manage the enterprise, highlighting key points and without getting hung up on secondary processes. But given that teaching aids There is very little on this topic, and enterprises that successfully use the management accounting system are not going to share their best practices, a manager who wants to have a management accounting system at his enterprise has several options for implementing this idea.

The manager must independently decide which of the methods to apply to him:

  1. Hire a company specializing in the implementation of a management accounting system at an enterprise. The advantages of this path are the work of professionals who minimize the number of possible mistakes and deviations, a view from the outside, the optimal timing of implementation. Disadvantages - the company will work with certain software that is not always suitable for the needs of a particular company; a situation may arise when the “nails” of the system will be gold or, conversely, wooden (that is, the program may be too complicated and cumbersome for a small enterprise or too simple and not able to take into account all the nuances in the case of a large branched company); the enterprise will have to fork out, since the services of such firms are usually expensive.
  2. Try to do everything yourself. Advantages - the resulting management accounting system will take into account all the features of the enterprise as much as possible, the software will be simple, understandable and convenient for employees involved in management accounting, the result will be exactly what its manager wants to see (even though the green button on the screen). Disadvantages - everything that contributes to the introduction of a new product (incorrect operation or software failures, inconsistency in the actions of employees, high complexity of implementation).

If the manager decided to go the first way, he does not need to read this article. It is just for those who decided to save money (but not nerves) and try to independently implement a management accounting system. So, let's begin.

Step 1: interaction of accounting and management accounting

The first step is to analyze how the interaction of accounting and planning and economic accounting takes place until the introduction of the management accounting system:

  • identify all unaccounted for data, both from one side and the other. Pay attention to whether the situation on the market and from competitors is being studied and how this data is embedded in the planned economic analysis (such things are not embedded in accounting in any way);
  • study what accounting data are subject to adjustment in the economic planning analysis (for example, the cost of works and services, inflationary processes, etc.);
  • to study the effect of the timing of the reflection of financial statements in case of deviation from the actual timing on the reliability of information and the possibility of adjusting accounting data in past accounting periods, as well as how this adjustment is made;
  • to study the process of summarizing accounting data in business plans and analytical reporting for all types of economic activities.

The results of the joint creativity of accounting, planners and financiers must be combined, systematized and analyzed, having identified significant shortcomings and preliminary results of analytical work.

Step 2: choosing a technique

The second step in the formation of a management accounting system is the choice of a management accounting methodology that is most suitable for a particular enterprise, or the organization of something of its own, which is a symbiosis of existing methods. Existing management accounting systems successfully operating at the international level:

  • ABC (Activity- Based Costing) - calculation of the cost by type of activity. The distribution of management costs is carried out by determining the costs of the enterprise for all types of resources required to create a specific type of product. The most revealing thing about this model is that it takes into account the resources supplied from additional or indirect sources, such as, for example, the qualifications of personnel or the quality of raw materials. Continuous maintenance of such records is enough laborious process, therefore, it can be organized periodically, from time to time, tracking long-term dynamics;
  • Lifecycle costing- calculation based on life cycle... The cost of a product or service produced should also take into account the cost of development, design, production, sale on the market, after-sales service, withdrawal from the market and disposal, that is, all stages of the product life cycle. The main goal of this technique is optimal cost management at any stage of the product life cycle;
  • Target costing- pricing by goals. Prioritizing goals for optimizing the cost of a product or service while taking into account the target indicators on which the most favorable price-quality ratio depends, such as the characteristics of reliability and operation, the level of services, etc. In the management accounting system, this technique is presented only in the form of a ready-made set of target indicators, and the calculations of these indicators are performed by the structures of the enterprise responsible for a particular sector of activity;
  • Bsc (Balanced Scorecard) - balanced scorecard. This management accounting system is based on the management of key business processes, subdivided into four large sectors ( financial system, sales market (customer base), domestic directions production activities(so-called mini-business processes), management labor resources(training, development, social benefits, wages)). Each sector leads a responsible this direction activities of an employee or a group of employees, based on the goals and objectives of the enterprise, in the form of target values ​​of the estimated indicators, expressed in quantitative or qualitative terms. Currently, the technique Bscallows you to use the management accounting system as an assessment of interaction as internal processes the enterprise, and the external conditions of the existence of the enterprise itself. It is a symbiosis of other management accounting methods, which are more limited in use, and the most progressive system.

Depending on the complexity and versatility of a particular enterprise, each manager chooses which of the management accounting methods to use, which methodology will help him most effectively manage production, having in service the necessary amount of planned, actual and forecast information in all areas of activity.

The use of estimated indicators allows you to orient the entire team of the enterprise to achieve the set strategic objectives. For this, both quantitative indicators (financial, cost and natural) and qualitative (terms, validity, quality) can be used. A variant of the techniqueBscis the techniqueKPI (KeyPerformanceIndicators- key performance indicators). They are also called key performance indicators. It is this version of the management accounting system that will be considered in more detail.

Step 3: cost accounting method

Having chosen a management accounting system suitable for the tasks of the enterprise, having analyzed the accounting systems existing at the enterprise (accounting, tax and planning and economic), before creating a provision on the accounting policy of the enterprise and developing a working chart of accounts, it is necessary to choose the most convenient cost accounting method for the goals and objectives of the enterprise ... Existing species cost accounting are divided into three large groups - according to accounting objects, according to the completeness of the inclusion of costs in the cost of production and according to the interpretation of costs for the needs of management accounting. Let's consider these methods in more detail.

Cost accounting by accounting objects allows you to distribute the costs of manufacturing products by types of resources used, cost centers, items of costing of products, types of products and periods.

Depending on the complexity of the tasks and the versatility of the enterprise, the most convenient cost accounting method or a set of methods can be used. A combination of different methods is used when it is necessary to achieve the diverse tasks facing the enterprise, and to obtain the most complete and objective picture of all business processes.

Step 4: working chart of accounts

Having chosen a method or system of cost accounting methods, you can proceed to create a working chart of accounts.

In order for the management accounting system to smoothly and painlessly integrate into the existing accounting system, it is necessary to create synthetic accounting classifiers and codifiers, including the coding of both accounting and the implemented management accounting. Cost accounts are grouped and broken down according to the analytical indicators required for the selected accounting method. To avoid confusion, the basis for creating synthetic accounts should be the existing coding of accounting or accounts according to IFRS ( tax accounting). When creating a working chart of accounts, all accounting transactions for business transactions are brought to one or more standard samples... The received numbers of the chart of accounts will consist of the CFD code (finance), personal number this account and sub-account corresponding to the account in accounting.

Each account in management accounting will receive this form: 100101-111203-53. What does it mean? 100101 is the CFD code for this account (active), 111203 is the management account code and 53 is the subaccount or the actual account number of the chart of accounts of the accounting department. How is the management account code 111203 generated? The first digit 1 - an asset (2, respectively, a liability), the second digit 1 - current assets (2 - non-current assets), the third 1 - cash (2 - short-term financial investments, 3 - settlements with debtors and further down the list), 2 - funds on bank accounts (1 - cash desk), 03 - transfers in transit (01 - current accounts, 02 - foreign currency accounts). Each such account in management accounting can be generalized at any level of detail by zeroing the digits in the code of a higher order, except for the first. That is, account 100,000 is the assets of the enterprise for a certain period. Having created a working chart of accounts, you can proceed to the development of the necessary documentation for the operability of the management accounting system.

Since management accounting is needed by the enterprise itself and there are no restrictions on its development, then the creation normative documents and instructions are the work of responsible employees of the enterprise. What documents are needed for the management accounting system to work? Let's list them:

  • working chart of accounts, unified classifiers and codifiers of management accounting and instructions for use;
  • forms of reporting documents for management accounting;
  • an order on the appointment of responsible employees for the formation and maintenance of management accounting registers and targeted programs according to the directions of the enterprise.

All documents must be interconnected, and the dominant document is the Regulation on accounting policy.

Step 5: automation

It is necessary to study the market of software products and choose a program that allows you to implement management accounting at the enterprise. The best way- when the program supports all types of accounting (management, accounting, tax, financial).

Step 6: personnel issue

In parallel with all the work on the creation of management accounting, it is necessary to resolve the personnel issue - who will deal with management accounting. There are several options for who will be involved in organizing and maintaining management accounting:

  • financial and economic service;
  • a unified information and analytical center for management accounting;
  • mini-centers for management accounting within each sector by areas of economic activity with operational subordination to the central analytical unit;
  • separation functional responsibilities and areas of responsibility related to management accounting by objects (or purposes) of accounting.

The more complex the structure of the enterprise and the more areas of activity, the sooner the manager will come to the conclusion that it is impossible to do without the creation of a separate analytical center. The best option would be to implement and fill out targeted programs in areas of activity with the transfer of information to the analytical center for further processing.

It will be enough for a small enterprise if the planning and economic service takes over the management accounting functions. The main thing is that the management accounting team is competent enough, has access to all available management accounting information and is well versed in the methodology. After choosing the structure that will deal with management accounting, it is necessary to make appropriate changes to organizational structure enterprises, regulations on structural divisions dealing with management accounting and job descriptions workers. Appropriate staff motivation plays an important role in the rapid implementation of the management accounting system. After the system is fully ready, it is necessary to test it and train all employees involved in management accounting how to use it.

The last step: management reporting

And, finally, the result of the creation of a management accounting system should be a small table or diagram, which will reflect the main directions of the enterprise and their state in comparison with the planned and forecast data. The view of this top of management accounting can be very diverse - it all depends on the desire of the head and his idea of ​​the convenience of seeing indicators.

For management accounting to be effectively used at the enterprise, it is necessary to distinguish different levels of management (Fig. 1).

Rice. 1. Management levels

For successful work of the entire management accounting system, it is necessary to break down one or more strategic goals into key business processes, and those, in turn, into functions and tasks. Of the functions and tasks, you need to select no more than 20% that are most important for the work of the business process, and integrate the business processes or directions of the enterprise into the strategy, taking into account the shares of influence or points. In this case, each business process will be represented by more or less points or more or less segment size (or in some other form at the request of the manager). Each business process can be deployed into the main tasks and functions included in it in order to assess the situation at the enterprise both as a whole and in detail. This table can be called whatever you like (for example, "Fulfillment of a production contract"). The table will work if doing target value for all business processes included in the strategy will lead to the achievement of the strategic goal. Let us assume that there is one strategic goal, then the sum of points or percentages (whatever you like) for the target level of all business processes will be equal to 100.

Next, we will designate the minimum and maximum values ​​(levels of criticality), at which business processes will lead to the implementation of the strategic goal to one degree or another. For deviations to the criticality levels, the final scores for the execution of a specific business process will decrease or increase. The methods of such a change are very diverse, and the applied methodology is most suitable for this business process. The company's strategy will become clear to every employee in this form, and the responsibility centers responsible for business processes will be able to independently plan their work to achieve the highest possible level in their line of business within the acceptable cost limits.

Consider an approximate scheme for applying a management accounting system based on the methodology KPI as the final version of management accounting - a table with key performance indicators (see table). Since the example is taken from an oil production enterprise, the performance indicators will correspond to the main strategic objective - oil production.

Key performance indicators

Key performance indicator

KPI (minimum indicator)

KPI (target indicator)

KPI (maximum indicator)

Forecast or fact

Deviation from the minimum

Deviation from the goal

Deviation from maximum

Current progress status

Points

Actual performance (points)

Total at risk

 

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