Deferred Expenses: Problematic Aspects and Prospects for the Convergence of Accounting in the Public and Private Sectors of the Economy

Abstract

Currently, in both the private and public sectors of the economy, one of the debatable objects of accounting, along with deferred income, are deferred expenses. The article analyzes the requirements of regulatory legal acts and the viewpoints of various economists regarding the accounting object of deferred expenses, as well as the grounds for their occurrence. The authors’ opinions regarding deferred expenses are opposed diametrically. Some authors believe that deferred expenses should not exist in national accounting practice, others consider their use acceptable in a number of cases. As a result, of the study, it was concluded that in connection with the entry into force of new federal accounting standards, the list of cases for reflecting deferred expenses in the private sector of the economy has significantly narrowed. At the same time, in the public sector organizations there are much more grounds for qualifying objects as deferred expenses. As a result, of the study, differences were revealed in the emergence and formation of accounting information when reflecting certain types of expenses — for non-exclusive rights to software, expenses for paying vacation pay, expenses for voluntary medical insurance. At the same time, in the private sector, only expenses for licensed software are recognized as deferred expenses and only until the entry into force of FSBU 14/2022 «Intangible Assets». It is recommended to develop a unified methodological approach to accounting for deferred expenses both in commercial and public sector organizations.