Accounting for risk management of IT enterprises

Abstract

The purpose of the study is to substantiate the place of accounting in risk management of IT enterprises, reflecting the features of accounting support of this process. The article examines the issues of risk management for IT enterprises and identifies the place of accounting in this process. The role of the IT company’s accounting staff in risk management in the day-to-day responsibilities is reflected. In particular, the paper provides information on current and future risks and opportunities associated with key decisions. The system of risk indicators of IT projects is substantiated. The system includes the assessment of indicators in the context of four groups: 1) staff (staff turnover ratio; staff training costs in the reporting period); 2) system (coefficient of overhead costs and the ratio of overhead costs to the cost of sales; the coefficient of non-fulfillment of orders; the dynamics of the number of claims (negative feedback) from customers on implemented IT projects); 3) project (number of days of deviations of the IT project according to the plan; percentage of detected errors in the total number of operations); 4) the external environment (tax burden). The methods of risk management are systematized with the definition of possibilities of application of accounting tools. The main focus is paid to redundancy as an accounting method of reducing the degree of risk. The proposals are given concerning the types of reserves to cover costs for IT companies, which became the basis for the organization of accounting within account 47 «Provision for future expenses and payments»: opening of analytical account 474.1 «Reserves of organizational security» and sub-account 479 «Provisions for expenses, related to the implementation of the IT project» (if necessary, with details 479.1 «Reserves for fines»; 479.2 «Reserves for lawsuits», 479.3 «Provision of software support obligations» (for product IT companies)).

Keywords

• it enterprise
• it project
• risk
• accounting
• redundancy
• risk indicators