Risks in the System of Accounting and Financial Statements

Abstract

The article is concerned with studying the risks that are formed in the accounting and financial reporting system, their grouping and characterization for effective management and improvement of enterprise performance. Risk management standards clearly indicate the responsibility of management in assessing risks, managing and reporting them. The transformation of user approaches and needs to complete and reliable information about the risks of enterprises, in particular to the preparation of integrated reporting, indicates that the process of improving both the management and the reporting systems is underway. Accounting simultaneously acts as a function of risk management through the creation of reserves and provisions, a means of displaying risks and decisions about them through disclosure of information in the reporting, and is also a source of risk formation. The literature highlights the latter aspect the least. On the basis of the carried out research, the following groups of risks arising in the accounting and reporting system are determined: risks in the field of application of international (or national) accounting and reporting standards; absence (inefficiency) of management accounting, tax planning, internal control, independent audit; risks of errors and fraud; risks of adverse changes in legislation. For each group, the enterprise will be able to choose the most effective response measures through distribution (by creating reserves, insurance, diversification, outsourcing, developing accounting policies and job descriptions) and reducing risks (through investing in staff education: trainings, seminars, courses and motivation, updating accounting software, compiling and reporting, substantiating professional judgment, improving the internal control system, regulating management accounting, integrated reporting, system solutions). Thus, in order to increase the efficiency of risk management, of practical value should be taking into account the risks of accounting and reporting systems, if we consider them as a source of risks, and not only as an instrument for administration or information disclosure.

Keywords

• risks
• risk management
• accounting
• financial statements