In what cases does this raise questions?
If there is a position of chief accountant in the staffing table and such an employee works in the organization. When the document contains two visas and the manager’s signature is on both positions, inspection agencies and partner companies have questions. Such documents include invoices and delivery notes.
If counterparties ask to redo the papers, then regulatory authorities in most cases will require evidence of the legality of such actions. To deduct VAT, you must send to the Federal Tax Service the original invoice signed by the chief accountant (clause 6 of Article 169 of the Tax Code, letter of the Ministry of Finance No. 03-07-09/42854 dated 08/27/2014). To confirm the right of one signature of the director for the accountant, it is necessary to submit a special order. Otherwise, you will have to go to court and prove that you are right.
If a managerial person performs the functions of a chief accountant, then a deduction on an invoice signed by the same person will be accepted (resolution of the Federal Antimonopoly Service of the North Caucasus District No. F08-6533/2008 in case No. A53-2656/2008-C5-14 dated 10.29. 2008, resolution of the Federal Antimonopoly Service of the North Caucasus District in case No. A53-17547/2008-C5-23 dated 06/03/2009).
How to obtain credentials
If, when transferring powers and taking office, the manager assumed not only his immediate responsibilities, but also accounting, he has the right to endorse all categories of documents independently. A separate power of attorney or order is not required for this.
In the same way, the right of an individual entrepreneur to sign for the chief accountant is established: if his commercial activities do not provide for the presence of a chief accountant, the financial documentation is signed by the entrepreneur or his authorized representative (clause 3 of Article 7 402-FZ of December 6, 2011).
If the organization has a chief accountant, and the director needs to endorse the settlement registers instead of him, draw up an order for the transfer of signing rights. In the official order, indicate:
- basic details - number and date;
- list of documentation for approval (accounting, financial, tax);
- grounds for transfer of rights;
- references to standards;
- Full name and signature of the employee to whom the authority is transferred (in this case, the manager).
Sign the order with the manager and affix the organization’s seal.
What needs to be completed so that the director can sign documents for the chief accountant?
Transfer of signature rights to the general director from the chief accountant is a phenomenon that often arises in modern business conditions.
This situation is typical for small businesses when the director combines his powers with the functions of the chief accountant. If the director, upon taking office, indicated in the order that he takes over the accounting, it is not necessary to issue orders or powers of attorney specifically for the right to sign for the chief accountant, since:
- the ability of the general director to act without a power of attorney on behalf of the company is enshrined in law (Article 69 of the Law “On Joint Stock Companies” dated December 26, 1995 No. 208-FZ, paragraph 3 of Article 40 of the Law “On Limited Liability Companies” dated February 8, 1998 No. 14 -FZ);
- Section 3 of Art. allows certain categories of businessmen to combine directorial functions with those of the “chief accountant”. 7 of the Law “On Accounting” dated December 6, 2011 No. 402-FZ.
It is necessary to issue an order or power of attorney for the right to sign any documents, if the exact opposite situation arises - the chief accountant signs for the director (in his absence due to illness, vacation, business trip, etc.).
The articles posted on our website will tell you how to draw up an order or power of attorney to grant the right to sign documents:
- “Order on the right to sign primary documents - sample”;
- “Sample power of attorney for the right to sign invoices”.
How to fill out documents signed by the manager and chief accountant
The legislation states that the report is completed after being signed by the immediate manager of the enterprise (Article 13 402-FZ, Resolution of the Arbitration Court of the Far Eastern District No. F03-6116/2018 in case No. A73-8993/2018 dated 02/05/2019).
In such reporting as the balance sheet and its simplified forms, reports on financial results, changes in capital, flow of funds, a visa of the chief accountant is no longer required (Order of the Ministry of Finance No. 57n dated 04/06/2015). If the inspection agency insists on signing by two employees, refer to this standard.
The authority to approve documentation is determined in the constituent documents. Record in them all questions regarding the signing of accounting and tax documentation.
Is the accountant responsible for the signature?
Elena Malyarenko
As you know, financial statements are signed by the director of the company and the chief accountant. If the latter does not agree with the data in the documents, it is his right to refuse to sign the documents. Should I use it or not? Let's consider both options.
The “signature” field is empty.
The chief accountant is the second person in the company after the manager. His name appears next to the director's signature on all financial documents. He controls and certifies the correctness of the data submitted to the inspection. Before signing the paper, he will double-check the information contained in it several times. It's no secret that one mistake can lead to legal proceedings. In the Criminal Code alone, more than 30 articles provide for punishment for economic crimes in the form of imprisonment and fines. In addition, there are also administrative measures.
The manager is primarily responsible before the law, but the accountant walks side by side with him. If inspectors find the reporting data unreliable, then both will be put in the dock. For example, when the director organizes the work of the organization according to a shadow scheme, and the chief accountant knows about this and carries out accounting and tax accounting operations related to illegal funds.
There is always a choice whether to sign documents or not. You can not let yourself down under the article, but try to come to an agreement with the director. If no arguments help
and you can’t do without conflict; most likely, you need to quit and look for another job. Of course, it is preferable to leave of your own free will. In the worst case, the director can spoil the work book and give a calculation “according to the article”. For example, for “an unjustified decision that resulted in damage to property” (clause 9 of article 81 of the Labor Code). Such a record can be protested in court, where the director will have to prove that the accountant’s decision was truly unreasonable. It will be quite difficult for a manager to do this.
With the stroke of a pen, bring to justice
As practice shows, many enterprising leaders ended up in the dock, dragging their “right hand” with them. Therefore, it is better to know in advance what a signature may entail on documents that do not have a real business transaction behind them (for example, payment documents for payment for non-existent goods). Let's consider several elements of crimes that are enshrined in Chapter 22 of the Criminal Code:
- Article 171 “Illegal entrepreneurship”, maximum penalty up to 5 years in prison;
- Article 176 “Illegal receipt of a loan”, maximum punishment up to 5 years in prison;
- Article 199 “Evasion of taxes and (or) fees from an organization”, maximum penalty up to 6 years in prison;
- Article 199.2 “Concealment of funds or property of an organization or individual entrepreneur, at the expense of which taxes and (or) fees should be collected”, maximum penalty of up to 5 years in prison.
The most common crimes are under Articles 199 and 199.2 of the Criminal Code, notes MCA Knyazev and Partners lawyer Dmitry Cherepkov:
“They establish liability for violations in the tax area. The law does not define an accountant of an organization as a subject of a crime. There is also no separate corpus delicti for the offense he commits. The legislation does not establish that in all cases the accountant is held accountable for the illegal activities of the company on an equal basis with the manager. But lately they have been attracted together.
When the right hand knows what the left hand is doing
Liability arises if the intent of the accused is proven. It is difficult to substantiate the guilt of an accountant, since this requires convincing the court that the chief accountant is interested in tax evasion. According to the decision of the Constitutional Court of May 27, 2003 No. 9-P, the provision of Article 199 provides for criminal liability only for what was committed intentionally and aimed directly at tax evasion.
Dmitry Cherepkov notes that the job responsibilities of an accountant do not include selecting counterparties and negotiating with them. It also does not determine the main directions and conditions of the company’s financial and economic activities. The chief accountant maintains accounting and tax records, compiles and submits reports to the inspectorate on the basis of the documents that are submitted to him by other divisions and officials of the company. In relation to the accountant, there is a presumption of reliability of the “primary”, the lawyer explains:
— Timely and high-quality execution of documents, transfer to departments for reflection within the established deadlines, as well as the reliability of the data contained in them are ensured by the persons who compiled and signed them (Clause 4 of Article 9 of the Law of November 21, 1996 No. 129-FZ “On Accounting accounting"). This means that the accountant will be held liable if it is proven to the court that he deliberately signed documents containing false data, and compiled and signed reports with errors. There is no criminal liability for unintentional distortion of accounting and reporting. Therefore, an accountant is often acquitted due to the absence of corpus delicti in his actions. He was actually not involved in the act.
From the point of view of criminal law, an accountant may not sign documents, explains Solnechnogorsk assistant city prosecutor, 2nd class lawyer Yuri Krasnozhenov:
- For example, if this goes beyond the powers granted to him or if the manager gives obviously illegal orders or instructions to the accountant. If he signed financial documents under physical or mental pressure or executed an order or instruction, then no punishment will be applied to him (Articles 40 and 42 of the Criminal Code).
Most often, an accountant is charged under paragraph “a” of Part 2 of Article 199 of the Criminal Code (tax evasion as part of a group of persons by prior conspiracy, that is, together with the director). At the same time, the case materials do not contain evidence of the chief accountant’s guilt; investigators appeal only to his official duties to keep records.
Such an accusation is completely unfounded, says Dmitry Cherepkov:
“This is the dishonesty of a number of law enforcement officers, the desire to improve their performance indicators. Part 2 of Article 199 of the Criminal Code regulates serious crimes; in contrast to Part 1, it is used if only one director is involved in the case, and is regarded as a crime of medium gravity. I would advise accountants to be more pedantic in the performance of their duties and keep records strictly guided by the basic principle - “Every business transaction must be confirmed by properly executed documents.”
Life situation
Assistant Solnechnogorsk city prosecutor, 2nd class lawyer Yuri Krasnozhenov revealed to Moscow Accountant the details of a recently examined criminal case. The director and chief accountant of a company providing taxi services appeared in court.
The chief accountant was accused of tax evasion (Article 199 of the Criminal Code) with direct intent, citing the fact that she is the person responsible for formulating the accounting policy of the enterprise and maintaining accounting records. As it turned out, the accountant entered into a criminal conspiracy with the director and reflected in the documents only 15 percent of the total revenue. That is, the amount that the drivers, under the terms of the employment agreement, handed over to the company’s cash desk. The accountant did not indicate the remaining 85 percent of the drivers' revenue in the company's reporting. To hide the income received, the organization rewrote the order books (reduced the number of taxi calls). As a result of entering deliberately distorted data on the company’s income into the accounting documents, the chief accountant hid 1,389,155 rubles from the state.
The court came to the conclusion that the chief accountant did not know and should not have known the procedure for generating the enterprise’s income established by the director. That is, the woman had reason to believe that all the money handed over by taxi drivers to the organization’s cash desk is the real revenue of the transport company. As a result, the accountant was completely acquitted.
Amount of punishment
As a rule, the criminal liability of an accountant depends on the consequences resulting from one or another of his actions, explains the assistant prosecutor.
— For example, the absence of a signature on any statement or other document can only lead to a delay in payment of wages or other results of a “non-criminal” nature. At the same time, an accountant’s signature on a financial document can result in criminal consequences, ranging from document falsification (Articles 187 and 327 of the Criminal Code) to fraud, misappropriation or embezzlement (Articles 159 and 160 of the Criminal Code). For example, paragraph 3 of Article 159 provides for liability for fraud committed by a person using his official position.
The actions of an accountant can lead to criminal liability for both him and the head of the organization. For example, entering false information about property, concealing or falsifying accounting and other accounting documents (Articles 195 and 199 of the Criminal Code).
Analyzing the penalties for crimes of accountants, it should be noted that they vary in severity and depend on the circumstances of the violation of the law. In particular, correctional or compulsory labor, a fine, imprisonment, a ban on holding certain positions or engaging in certain activities may be imposed. The latter is directly related to the accounting profession and is sometimes the most appropriate and fair punishment.
