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PROVISIONS OF THE LAW ON ACCOUNTING DOCUMENTS
Accounting documents are not only important documents but also a foundation in the accounting system of an organization. This matter raises the necessity and importance of compliance with the provisions of legislation regarding the creation, storage and use of accounting documents. Compliance helps ensure the accuracy and transparency of the recording process, financial statements are also the basis for verification and later inspection. These regulations not only affect the use of documents but also stipulate the form, storage period and processing process when there is an inspection request from the competent authority. In the following, Siglaw would like to introduce regulations related to accounting documents and the importance of complying with these regulations in building and maintaining a reliable accounting system.
What are accounting documents?
Notion
Pursuant to Clause 3 Article 3, Accounting Law 2015, accounting records are papers and information bearing objects reflecting arising and completed economic and financial operations, as a basis for recording accounting books.
Meaning of accounting documents
Accounting records are evidence to prove the legality and reasonableness of economic transactions arising in the institutional unit
It is the legal basis for all economic data and information and the basis for accounting books.
Accounting records serve as the legal foundation for verifying compliance with policies and regulations, managing economic assets at institutional units, assessing the preservation and utilization of assets, and detecting, preventing, and addressing instances of embezzlement and wastage of unit and state assets.
Accounting documents are evidence for accounting examination, evidence for settling litigation, economic disputes, economic examination, auditing in the unit.
Content of accounting documents
According to Article 16 of the 2015 Accounting Law, accounting documents must contain the following principal contents:
- Name and number of accounting documents: the name of the document usually reflects the content of the economic transaction stated in the document, the number reflects the chronological order of the arising operation. This factor is the basis for classifying documents according to the economic content of the business and synthesizing data of documents of the same type easily.
- Day, month and year of making accounting documents: this factor is the basis for detailing economic transactions over time, helping to record, compare and check data in chronological order and is the basis for document management and economic and financial inspection.
- Name and address of the agency, organization, unit or individual making accounting documents: this factor serves as the basis for determining material responsibility for economic operations and for detailing or classifying economic transactions according to related objects, and at the same time serves as the basis for determining, collation and inspection of economic operations.
- Name and address of the agency, organization, unit or individual receiving accounting documents: this factor is also the basis for determining the responsibilities of the parties involved in economic operations.
- Contents of arising economic and financial operations: this factor has the effect of explaining more clearly the economic transaction, helping to check the reasonableness and legality of that operation and helping to calculate accounting
- Quantity, unit price and amount of economic and financial transactions stated in numbers; The total amount of accounting documents used to collect and spend money is recorded in numbers and letters: This factor is the basis of accounting records, economic inspection, and also the basis for distinguishing accounting documents from other documents used in inspection, administrative.
- Signature, surname and name of the person making, reviewing and persons related to accounting documents: this element is to ensure legality and attach material responsibility. Every economic operation that occurs is usually associated with the exchange of material responsibilities between one person and another, between one department and another. Therefore, the document must contain at least two letters of related people and parts. Documents showing each relationship between economic legal entities must necessarily be signed by the competent manager of the entity.
- And other contents suitable for each type of document
Classification of accounting documents
- Classification of documents by purpose
According to this classification, the document system can be classified into: order documents, compliance documents, accounting procedure death certificates, joint documents.
- Order documents: are documents bearing the decision of the management entity such as: money payment order, order to export supplies,… A denomination document denotes an economic operation to be performed but has not yet proved the results of that operation. Therefore, this type of document itself is not enough grounds for bookkeeping, it is often attached to the compliance document to ensure the legality of the document.
- Compliance documents: are documents indicating completed economic operations such as warehouse receipts, warehouse receipts,…
- Accounting procedure documents: are documents that summarize related economic transactions according to specific accounting objects to facilitate the recording and reconciliation of documents such as cash book and expenditure documents,… These types of documents are only intermediate documents, they themselves do not have legal significance in inspection and inspection, so they must have the initial documents attached to meet the legal basis and therefore be used for bookkeeping.
- Combined documents: are documents that combine many uses on one document such as, invoices warehouse receipts,… The purpose of using this type of document is to reduce the number of documents used in accounting.
Meaning: This classification helps us determine the scope of use of documents in accounting work, which is the basis for the reasonable use of documents in accordance with the use of each type.
- Classification of documents by location of issuing
According to this classification, accounting records are divided into 2 types:
- Internal documents: are documents prepared by the internal department of the enterprise such as export slips, import slips, receipts ,…
- External documents: are documents reflecting economic and financial operations related to the unit and made from external units such as purchase invoices, debt notices of banks,…
This classification serves as a basis for accountants to determine the focus of document inspection, thereby providing appropriate measures for the inspection of each type of document. Often, external documents may dishonestly reflect arising economic transactions, so strict inspection is required.
- Classification of documents by economic content
This is a classification based on the economic content of the business reflected on the documents to arrange the documents into categories. According to this classification, accounting records are divided into the following types:
- Labor and salary documents: timesheet, salary payment sheet
- Monetary documents: receipts, checks,…
- Inventory documents: warehouse receipts, warehouse release slips …
- Sales documents: sales invoices, VAT invoices …
- Fixed asset documents: minutes of delivery and receipt of fixed assets, minutes of liquidation, spreadsheets and depreciation distribution…
- Classify documents according to the level of generalization, the data reflected on the document;
According to this classification, accounting records are divided into the following types:
- Original documents: are documents that directly reflect on the spot arising economic transactions such as receipts, payment slips, entry slips, export slips,…
- General documents: are documents used to synthesize data from original documents according to each economic transaction to facilitate bookkeeping.
Legal provisions on accounting documents and the order of transfer of accounting documents
Step 1: Prepare or receive documents
In the process of preparing and receiving accounting documents, the following legal provisions should be noted:
Firstly, Economic and financial operations arising in connection with the operation of the enterprise must prepare accounting documents. Accounting documents are only prepared 1 time for each economic and financial operation. The contents of economic and financial operations on accounting records must not be abbreviated, erased or corrected; When writing, you must use a pen and ink, numbers and letters must be written continuously, without interruptions, and blanks must be crossed out. Documents are erased or corrected with no payment and bookkeeping value. When writing wrong accounting documents, they must be canceled by crossing out the wrong word.
Secondly, accounting documents must be prepared in sufficient numbers related to regulations. In case many accounting documents must be prepared for an economic or financial transaction, the contents of the links must be the same. In special cases, many links must be made but cannot be written once, all documents can be written twice, but must ensure consistency of content and legality for all accounting documents.
Third, accounting documents must have enough signatures according to the titles specified on the documents to be valid. Particularly, electronic documents must have electronic signatures in accordance with the law. The signature on the accounting document must be signed with non-fading ink. Accounting documents must not be signed in red ink or stamped with a pre-engraved signature. The signature on a person’s accounting documents must be uniform. The person who prepares, approves and others who sign the accounting documents are responsible for the content of the accounting documents. Enterprises that do not have the title of chief accountant must appoint someone in charge of accounting to deal with customers and banks,… The chief accountant’s signature is replaced by the signature of the person in charge of accounting for that entity. The person in charge of accounting must strictly perform the responsibilities and rights prescribed for the chief accountant.
The signature on the accounting records must be signed by a competent person or an authorized person and stamped on the magnetic slash must match the valid seal and signature form registered at the bank. The accountant’s signature on the document must be the same as the signature registered with the chief accountant. The chief accountant or authorized person must not sign the “excess authorization” of the head of the enterprise. Enterprises must open a sample register of signatures of treasurers and accountants,… A delegate may not redelegate to another person. It is strictly forbidden for a person competent or authorized to sign documents to sign accounting documents when the contents of the documents have not been recorded or fully recorded according to the responsibility of the signer. The decentralization of signing on accounting documents shall be prescribed by the legal representative of the enterprise in accordance with the law, management requirements, ensuring strict control and asset safety.
Fourth, accounting documents for expenditure must be signed by the person competent to approve the expenditure and the chief accountant or authorized person before implementation. Signatures on accounting documents used to spend money must be signed in succession.
Step 2: Check and complete documents
Pursuant to Clause 3, Article 86 of Circular 133/2016/TT-BTC, when checking accounting documents, the contents to be noted include: checking the clarity, truthfulness and completeness of the indicators and elements recorded on accounting documents; check the legality of legal economic and financial operations, elements recorded on accounting documents, compare accounting documents with other relevant documents; Check the accuracy of data and information on accounting documents.
When checking accounting documents, if detecting violations of policies, regimes and regulations on economic and financial management of the State, they must refuse to do so, and immediately notify the enterprise manager for timely knowledge and handling according to current laws.
In addition, the form of compulsory accounting documents shall be printed and issued by the Ministry of Finance or an entity authorized by the Ministry of Finance. The unit authorized to print and issue accounting documents is required to print in accordance with the prescribed form, the right quantity allowed for each type of document and must comply with regulations on print management of the Ministry of Finance. For the form of guided accounting documents, enterprises can buy ready-made or design printed samples themselves, but must ensure the main contents of the documents in accordance with the provisions of the Accounting Law.
The above are the legal provisions on accounting documents. If you have any questions about the law on accounting documents, please contact Siglaw for detailed, accurate and professional advice.
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