The Town Planning Code of the Russian Federation has been amended concerning the activities of self-regulating organizations (SRO) in the fields of construction, engineering surveys and architectural-and-construction design, as well as members of these SROs.

Amendments to the Town Planning Code were adopted by the Federal Law No. 447-FZ dated 30.12.2021.

The changes came into force on January 1, 2022.

• Members of SRO are able to return assets contributed to the compensation fund if SRO is excluded from the State Register of Self-Regulating Organizations.
• Construction companies are now free to transfer contributions to newly created SROs in regions where previously there were no SROs. There are 11 such regions in Russia.
• National self-regulating associations should return assets from the compensation fund to those companies that were excluded from SRO as a result of the 2017 reform.

The provisions of the Law No. 447-FZ come into force on September 1, 2022:

• On the mandatory independent assessment of qualifications for specialists involved in the organization of works in the field of construction, engineering surveys and architectural-and-construction design. Information about these organizations should be entered in the National Register of Specialists.
• On the launch of the Unified Register of Members of Self-Regulating Organizations and their obligations. The Register will create conditions for simplifying procedures set by public procurement and monitoring the execution of public contracts by SROs.

Users of the Information and Analytical system Globas have the opportunity to get all available information, including history data, about all self-regulating organizations and their members using the tool "Filters + SRO".

Amount of assets on balance sheet is equal to amount of liabilities, debit is equal to credit. This is the basic principle of accounting, therefore any transaction must be registered twice: as income and as expense. In order for one transaction to be reflected simultaneously in debit and in credit accounts, the double-entry bookkeeping is used.

This method provides general balance sheet, correlation of accounts and controllability and reflects the basic principles of accounting: continuity, completeness and timeliness.

• Continuity – accounting throughout the entire period of the organization's activity.
• Completeness – registration of all economic life events without omissions.
• Timeliness – reflection of transactions in accounts at the time of their commission or immediately after.

Application

Debit account and credit account on which the transactions are reflected have their own encodings. In order to decode them, a Chart of accounts (COA) is made - a scheme for registering and grouping assets, liabilities, financial and economic transactions.

In cases when accounts register any property belonging to enterprises, they are called asset accounts. These are accounts used to reflect fixed assets, materials, cash, goods, finished products, expenses, etc.

Liability accounts reflect sources of companies' funds. These accounts include authorized, reserve and additional capital, as well as loans.

In addition, asset-liability accounts are used, which then are divided into:

• accounts that include credit balance and debit balance simultaneously. These are accounts where payments to suppliers, customers, personnel, budget, etc. are reflected;
• accounts that include either asset balance or liability balance. First of all, these include accounts of financial results.

The current Chart of accounts and instructions for its application are approved by the Order of the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation No. 94n dated 31.10.2000.

All types of companies with some exceptions are obliged to apply COA.

Exceptions

Double-entry bookkeeping does not apply to off-balance sheet accounts, where property that does not belong to the organization or assets and liabilities that are not accounted for on the balance sheet are reflected. In this case, the account reflects only registration or de-registration.

Micro-enterprises and non-forprofit organizations that have the right to use simplified accounting methods and submit simplified financial statements, as well as sole entrepreneurs who do not use COA, can refuse to use the double entry bookkeeping.

Specialized Charts have been developed for credit institutions and budget institutions that reflect the specifics of their activities.