Subject. The article provides a rationale for reporting obligations and liabilities in accounting records as economic phenomena of entity's business operations and items of financial reporting. Objectives. We explain how the substance of obligations and liabilities is defined in accounting, implying that the economic phenomena should be recognized in financial statements more completely. The study is to unveil the substance of obligations and liabilities so as to harmonize the regulatory and positive economy in the accounting process. We determine their purpose as part of accounts when they are aggregated into the balance sheet. Methods. We determined promising lines of the accounting theory and practice by analyzing the institutional economics, Conceptual Framework for the Financial Reporting, Integrated Reporting Concept that amplified the scope of accounting, since they recognize economic phenomena of business operations, such as obligations and liabilities. Results. Contractual obligations should be considered as a consequence of obligations that an entity has due to part events. The substance of the contractual obligations depend on the economic resource to be transferred in the future. Contractual obligations should be entered into accounting records and measured as of the signing date of the contract. The economic substance of the contractual obligations significantly differs from the accounting view of accounts receivable and payable. Conclusions and Relevance. We believe it is necessary and possible to develop the accounting practice by introducing new economic phenomena, such as obligations and liabilities. They help change the retrospective format of the information as new items get added.
Pyatov M.L., Smirnova I.A. Kontseptual'nye osnovy mezhdunarodnykh standartov finansovoi otchetnosti [The Conceptual Framework for International Financial Reporting Standards]. Moscow, 1C-Pablishing Publ., 2008, 199 p.
Sokolov Ya.V. Osnovy teorii bukhgalterskogo ucheta [Principles of the accounting theory]. Moscow, Finansy i Statistika Publ., 2000, 473 p.
Jung C.G. Symbols of Transformation. Collected Works. Vol. 5. New York, Princeton University Press, 1956.
Plotnikov V.S., Plotnikova O.V. Uchet finansovykh instrumentov kak faktor obespecheniya dostovernosti informatsii o funktsionirovanii kompanii na rynke: monografiya [Accounting for financial instruments as a factor of the reliability of corporate performance in the market: a monograph]. Moscow, Finansy i Kredit Publ., 2013, 251 p.
Ma R., Miller M.C. Conceptualising the Liability. Accounting and Business Research, 1978, vol. 8, iss. 32, pp. 258–265. URL: Link
Sprouse R.T., Moonitz M. A Tentative Statement of Broad Accounting Principles for Business Enterprises. New York, AICPA, 1962, pp. 6–27.
Baetge J. Balansovedenie [Bilanzen]. Moscow, Bukhgalterskii uchet Publ., 2000, 454 p.
Needles B.E., Anderson H., Caldwell J.C. Printsipy bukhgalterskogo ucheta [Principles of Accounting]. Moscow, Finansy i Statistika Publ., 1997, 496 p.
Plotnikov V.S., Plotnikova O.V. [Concept of positive accounting obligations]. Mezhdunarodnyi bukhgalterskii uchet = International Accounting, 2013, vol. 16, iss. 23, pp. 9–17. URL: Link (In Russ.)
Plotnikov V.S., Plotnikova O.V. [Concept of constructive obligation as an element of the project concept of integrated international reporting]. Mezhdunarodnyi bukhgalterskii uchet = International Accounting, 2013, vol. 16, iss. 47, pp. 2–11. URL: Link (In Russ.)
Plotnikov V.S., Plotnikova O.V. [The concept of itemized accounting for contractual obligations]. Bukhgalterskii uchet = Accounting, 2013, no. 9, pp. 122–125. URL: Link (In Russ.)
Furubotn E., Richter R. Instituty i ekonomicheskaya teoriya: Dostizheniya novoi institutsional'noi ekonomicheskoi teorii [Institutions and Economic Theory: The Contribution of the Institutional Economics]. St. Petersburg, Saint-Petersburg State University Publ., 2005, 701 p.
Hendriksen E.S., Van Breda M.F. Teoriya bukhgalterskogo ucheta [Accounting Theory]. Moscow, Finansy i Statistika Publ., 1997, 574 p.
Henderson S., Peirson C.G. Financial Accounting Theory: Its Nature and Development. Melbourne, Longman Cheshire, 1983.
Williamson O.E. Ekonomicheskie instituty kapitalizma: Firmy, rynki, otnoshencheskaya kontraktatsiya [The Economic Institutions of Capitalism: Firms, Markets, Relational Contracting]. St. Petersburg, Lenizdat, CEV Press Publ., 1996, 702 p.
In Memoriam: Yaroslav Vyacheslavovich Sokolov (1938–2010) [In Memoriam: Yaroslav Sokolov (1938–2010)]. St. Petersburg, Nestor-Istoriya Publ., 2010, 508 p.
Plotnikov V.S., Plotnikova O.V. Ob"edinenie biznesa i konsolidirovannaya finansovaya otchetnost': monografiya [Business combination and consolidated financial reporting: a monograph]. Moscow, INFRA-M Publ., 2018, 278 p.
