Certification of accountants: new orders. Certification of accountants - how is it carried out Frequently asked questions on certification of accountants

From July 1, employers are required to apply professional standards in terms of those requirements for the qualifications of employees that are established in the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, other regulatory legal acts.

Many people are concerned about the question: do all accountants from July 1, 2016 really have to meet the requirements? We hasten to reassure employees and employers.

The first do not need to apply to certification centers in order to urgently improve their skills and receive a certificate. The second should not rush to train employees in accordance with the requirements of the professional standard or look for a replacement for them.

The changes do not apply to all accountants.

Are professional standards required for all accountants?

Occupational standards are mandatory for application in terms of those requirements for the qualifications of employees that are established in the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, other federal laws, other regulatory legal acts (part 1 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation).

Requirements for accountants of most LLCs and non-public joint-stock companies not installed. So, the professional standard can not be applied to them.

The Accounting Law provides for requirements exclusively for chief accountants and persons entrusted with accounting in certain economic entities. These include OJSC (except credit organizations), insurance organizations, non-state pension funds, joint-stock investment funds, management companies of mutual investment funds, other economic entities whose securities are admitted to circulation on organized trading (with the exception of credit organizations), management bodies of state extra-budgetary funds, state territorial extra-budgetary funds.

For such accountants, the professional standard is mandatory in terms of the requirements listed in other special federal laws (for example, in the Federal Law of February 7, 2011 N 7-FZ "On Clearing, Clearing Activities and the Central Counterparty").

If the employer does not apply the mandatory professional standards, he faces a fine of 30 thousand to 50 thousand rubles. ()

Are qualification requirements changing?

Although the professional standard becomes mandatory from July 1, 2016, qualification requirements to the experience and education of the chief accountant and another person who is entrusted with accounting, are already applied.

These requirements are expressed as follows: the employee must have higher education and work experience related to accounting, preparation of accounting (financial) statements or audit activities, at least three years out of the last five calendar years. If there is no higher education in the field of accounting and auditing, such experience must be at least five years out of the last seven calendar years.

In many ways, the provisions of the professional standard and the Law on Accounting duplicate each other, in particular, the requirements for work experience coincide.

Will I have to undergo training in connection with the introduction of a professional standard?

For chief accountants, the professional standard provides for a requirement to undergo an advanced training program and professional retraining. However, it can be omitted, since it is not established by the Accounting Law. Other accountants do not need additional training either.

Do I need to prepare for a GIT check after the introduction of a professional standard?

The entry into force of the professional standard is not a basis for verification. The requirements for unscheduled and scheduled inspections of the organization remained the same.

Will the introduction of the professional standard lead to layoffs?

An employee who does not meet the requirements of the document cannot be fired, since there is no special rule in the Labor Code of the Russian Federation. The Ministry of Labor takes a similar position.

How to apply the professional standard on a voluntary basis?

The employer has the right, taking into account the norms of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, to use the professional standard on a voluntary basis in order to establish requirements for the qualifications of employees.

The Ministry of Labor explained: an employer can apply a professional standard to determine the names of positions (professions, specialties), labor functions of employees, requirements for their education and work experience.

The professional standard can be useful not only when compiling, for example, job description. The employer has the right to approve this document as mandatory in the organization.

I have been working as a Chief Accountant for 14 years, I have a specialized secondary education (financial college, accountant). Do I need to pass a professional standard and get a document.

Answer

Firstly, the qualification requirements must comply with the standards if the employee is entitled to compensation and benefits (part 2 of article 57 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation).

Secondly, standards are mandatory for those professions for which the law defines the requirements for knowledge, skills, education and work experience (Article 195.3 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation as amended on 01.07.16).

The law on accounting contains requirements for chief accountants of insurance companies, banks, public joint-stock companies, etc. (part 4 of article 7 federal law dated 06.12.11 No. 402-FZ).

Other companies may accept the chief accountant and not according to the standard.

At the same time, the company has the right to name the position of an accounting employee differently than in the diploma. In the diplomas that universities issued until September 2013, they wrote not an accountant, but an economist with a degree in Accounting, Analysis and Audit. Now they write - master or bachelor in the direction of "Economics". The generalized name of the qualification "economics" is also suitable for working as an accountant.

The company may not revise job descriptions if professional standards are not required. Similar conclusions are given in the letter of the Ministry of Labor of Russia dated 04.04.16 No. 14-0/10/13-2253. But if the requirements are mandatory, then redo the documents.

At the same time, even if the standards are not mandatory, they can be used in the development of job descriptions, the selection of subordinates and certification. For example, a list of functions from the standard will help avoid duplication of responsibilities.

At the same time, the employer is not obliged to train employees so that their qualifications meet the standards. Companies can decide for themselves how to proceed. If the standard is not mandatory for the chief accountant or other employee, you can ignore the education requirements. Then there is no need to study.

If the employer decides that secondary or higher education is necessary to perform the work, then he himself determines who pays for the training (Article 196 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation). For example, you can compensate an employee for part of the expenses or pay them in full. Also, the employer can prescribe in internal documents the condition that employees are trained at their own expense.

AT Labor Code there is no such reason for dismissal if the accountant does not meet the professional standard, even if professional standards are required in the company. But you can test. If it shows an insufficient level of qualification of the employee, then the employer has the right to transfer you to another position. An employee can be fired if the transfer is not possible. For example, there are no vacancies in the company or the employee himself refused another position (part 3 of article 81 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation).

Controllers have the right to fine a company if it is required to hire workers that meet the standard, but violates the requirements. The fine ranges from 50 to 100 thousand rubles (part 3 of article 5.27 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation). For example, this applies to banks, insurance companies. And if there is no obligation, there will be no penalty.

What are the requirements for accountants in the professional standard

Education	Experience in accounting	Responsibilities
CHIEF ACCOUNTING
Higher economic or higher non-core and additional professional education(retraining in the field accounting at least 250 hours)	At least three years out of the last five calendar years	There are five categories for the chief accountant with different functions: preparation of financial statements, tax accounting, organization internal control, drafting consolidated reporting, the financial analysis. You can combine functions from different categories in the job description
Secondary professional economic or secondary professional non-core and additional professional education (retraining in accounting for at least 250 hours)	At least five years out of the last seven calendar years
ACCOUNTANT
Secondary professional economic	Not required	Ordinary accountants have three categories: 1st - draws up and accepts primary documents, 2nd - registers documents in registers, 3rd - calculates the results. In practice, any accountant, as a rule, performs all functions at once. They can be listed in the job description.
Secondary professional non-core and additional professional education (retraining in the field of accounting for at least 250 hours)	At least three years

Training and certification of professional accountants and auditors is the main link in the staffing of accounting reform in organizations. In accordance with the Accounting Reform Program, international standards financial reporting, the organization of a system for retraining and attestation of professional accountants was entrusted Institute of Professional Accountants and Auditors of Russia(I P B), established in 1997.

The system of postgraduate education for professional accountants developed by the IPA of Russia is based on international principles. When it was created, the provisions set out in the Recommendations of the International Federation of Accountants on International Education, as well as the Recommendations International program training for professional accountants, developed by the intergovernmental working group of experts on IFRS, which operates under the auspices of the United Nations.

Along with the actual certification of professional accountants, the IPA of Russia carries out continuous and constant monitoring of the level (quality) of training of professional accountants. To maintain the competence of a professional accountant at the proper level, the IPA of Russia provided for the need for annual 40-hour retraining (advanced training) in accordance with special programs on topical issues of accounting, economic analysis, audit, financial management, taxation and legal regulation economic activity, professional ethics, etc. The primary purpose of professional development for professional accountants is to provide assurance to the public that professional accountants have the specialized knowledge and skills necessary to provide the services they are committed to providing. The system of advanced training should help the accountant to apply new methods, understand economic processes and evaluate their impact on their clients or employers and own work", as well as to fulfill the existing duties and requirements.

The procedure for training, retraining and attestation of professional accountants is determined by the Regulations on the attestation of associate members of the Institute of Professional Accountants and Auditors of Russia applying for a qualification certificate of a professional accountant, approved by the decision of the Presidential Council of the IPA of Russia dated December 19, 2007, protocol No. 12/-07.

In accordance with this Regulation, it is envisaged to obtain qualification certificates of a professional accountant in the following areas:

1. Professional accountant commercial organization but the following specializations:

• Chief accountant, accountant-expert (consultant)
• Financial director (manager), financial expert (consultant)
• Director of Management Accounting
• Internal Auditor
• Tax accountant - tax expert consultant

2. Professional accountant under IFRS

3. Professional accountant budget institution.

To qualify as a professional accountant, an applicant must:

• have a higher education with at least three years of work experience in the positions of chief accountant, head of the financial and economic service and their deputies or leadership positions requiring knowledge of accounting, as well as consultants, methodologists and university professors in accounting;
• have incomplete higher education or secondary vocational education in economics with at least five years of work experience in the positions of chief accountant, head of the financial and economic service and their deputies or in managerial positions requiring knowledge of accounting, as well as consultants, methodologists and university teachers in accounting accounting;
• undergo training in ISP programs and receive the appropriate certificate.

Education and training of professional accountants are carried out according to programs developed depending on the level of basic education and practical work experience:

• having higher education - in the amount of at least 240 hours (280 hours - for IFRS);
• those with incomplete higher education or secondary vocational education in economics - in the amount of at least 500 hours (520 hours for IFRS).

The ISP of Russia provides for full-time, part-time and part-time forms of education.

Face-to-face training is conducted in Educational and Methodological Centers (TMC) accredited at the ISP of Russia. To date, about 400 teaching and learning centers have been accredited, including the leading universities of the Russian Federation, where accountants and financiers are trained.

Part-time education is carried out at the UMC using a set of educational and methodological literature and a computer textbook of the ISP of Russia (at the same time, full-time education should be at least 120 hours).

Correspondence training is carried out by accountants independently using a set of educational and methodological literature and a computer textbook of the ISP of Russia.

Applicants must pass two exams to obtain the Professional Accountant Qualification Certificate:

1. first exam:

• in full-time and part-time forms of education - a written-oral exam;
• for part-time education - distance exam;

2. second exam:

• with any form of training - testing.

For applicants for the certificate of a professional accountant of a commercial organization, the certification exam consists of four parts (for IFRS - five parts):

• accounting, accounting, auditing fundamentals, professional values ​​and ethics;
• financial management and management accounting;
• taxation;
• legal regulation of economic activity;
• IFRS.

For applicants for the certificate of a professional accountant of a budgetary institution, the certification exam consists of four parts:

• budget accounting and financial (budget) reporting, financial control and audit, professional values ​​and ethics;
• taxation;
• legal regulation of the activities of budgetary institutions;
• budget legislation and organization of treasury execution of budgets.

The written-oral exam is organized by the UMC, which conducted the training of accountants, in agreement with the IPA of Russia.

Accountants who have completed distance learning programs for the training and certification of professional accountants are allowed to take the remote exam.

The distance exam is conducted in the form of electronic testing on the website of the ISP of Russia.

At the end of testing, the result of the exam is automatically summed up in accordance with the criteria established by the Regulations on Assessment, and a protocol of the results of the first exam is formed. Applicants who, following the results of the first stage of testing, have received a result that meets the criteria established by the Regulations on Evaluation, proceed to the second stage of testing. Testing is organized by the ITB of Russia at the place of permanent registration of applicants, regardless of the territory in which they were trained. The exam is held in the electronic testing system on the website of the Institute of Biosecurity of Russia. At the end of testing, the final grade of the first and second exams is automatically summed up in accordance with the criteria established by the Regulations on assessment, and a preliminary protocol of exam results is formed. After the IPA of Russia makes a decision on the correctness of the applicants' own answers, the final protocol of the exam results is formed, which is approved by the Commission for Attestation and Control of the Membership and professional ethics IPB of Russia.

An applicant who has successfully passed the examinations in accordance with the criteria established by the Evaluation Regulations may receive a qualification certificate of a professional accountant in specializations. An applicant who has not passed the exams can:

• or retake the relevant parts of the first and second examinations within two years from the date of entry into the membership of the BSI. After two years, an associate member who has not passed the examinations may apply for a professional accountant's qualification certificate after re-training in professional accountant training and certification programs and passing the qualification examinations;
• or get a qualification certificate of an accountant-practitioner.

During the year, no more than two retakes of any of the exams are allowed, subject to the obligations of a member of the ISP of Russia. If the applicant does not agree with the results of the examination, he has the right to appeal the results of the qualifying examinations with the obligatory observance of the established appeal procedure.

Certification of professional accountants involves not only their one-time retraining, but also the constant maintenance of a professional level. A professional accountant must annually improve their qualifications in the amount of 40 hours. The annual retraining of certified professional accountants provides not only for the learning process itself at the teaching and learning centers accredited by the IPA of Russia, but also for continuous methodological and organizational work, which should be carried out by both the IPA of Russia and the territorial institutes of professional accountants. In accordance with the Regulation on the professional development of professional accountants, the forms of advanced training can be not only listening to a special course, but also participating in specialized seminars, internships and publishing monographs, textbooks, and articles.

Still, amazing news recently appeared on the net ... The State Duma announced a competition for teaching its deputies the spelling of the Russian language, as well as business etiquette. For all its comedy, it becomes sad. Why, one wonders, is it the "people's representatives" who need an educational program? It is not surprising - the literary Russian language is considered one of the most difficult to learn, and what can we say about the bureaucratic lexicon that overflows our regulatory documents? Perhaps it's time for deputies to finally learn how to write correctly and express their thoughts in a more accessible way.

But jokes are jokes, and users of our service "" day by day have to deal with regulatory framework, trying to figure out what "they wrote" there. If you can’t understand what is written the first time, you definitely shouldn’t get upset. It is better to go to refresher courses or qualifications. In the professional standard for an accountant, approved back in 2014, the ability to read, understand and state the "normative" is the main requirement. While the State Duma will be studying their native language, we recommend our colleagues to take care of their professional status, and we will tell you how to do this in 2017 in our article.

Supply and demand are different

Particular interest in professional standards manifested itself in 2016, when in business circles styles actively exaggerate the rumor that their application extends not only to the public sector, but also to the commercial sector as well. Ultimately, the Legislator reassured especially zealous citizens and stated that until 2018, accountants employed in private companies can “live in peace” and attestation for compliance professional standard will be on a voluntary basis. When all this was realized, the interest in certification decreased significantly. People reasoned quite simply: while they are hiring without a certificate, why go somewhere and confirm something? Not expecting such an attitude to what is happening (and accountants are mostly executive people), many companies that help in passing the appropriate testing “sank”, because the demand for their services was limited only to “state employees”. In general, this was the end of the matter - companies are waiting for clients, and they (clients) are in no hurry.

You can find more information about professional standards as such and whether an employer should be guided by them in ours.

Who is an "accountant" according to the authors of the professional standard?

The regulation on the certification of accountants states that a specialist has every right to strive to have a certificate of an ordinary or chief accountant, taking into account what specific qualification claims the applicant meets. In order to prove compliance with the position held, an ordinary accountant must have a secondary education in the profession (or only study it, being at least in the third year educational institution). It is allowed to have only a secondary general (but not lower) education, supported by the passage of courses in control and accounting. It is mandatory to have a three-year work experience in a position that is somehow related to accounting (it is not entirely clear to students how to be). In theory, it may happen that an accountant, having enough experience behind him practical work, "forgotten" the theoretical part at the certification, in view of which the exam will be considered failed. From the point of view of our officials, the delay until 2018 should become a kind of “buffer”, using which the accountant can fully prepare for the deadline. About half a year is left before the actual entry into force of the changes (maybe more, because not all of our laws take effect immediately after they are adopted), so we can recommend our colleagues to use this time to good use and pass the necessary certification in advance.

How is the process going?

As it was mentioned above, there is no excitement in this service market yet, which allows the accountant to freely contact any organization accredited by the ISP of Russia and take part in this process. This will require:

Decide on the company that will conduct the testing (here it is advisable to compare price offers, as well as read the reviews of colleagues who have already received a certificate in this particular organization);

Prepare the necessary list of documents (the list is standard. Additionally, the company may request a TIN, SNILS and, necessarily, a document on education or accounting courses. For the chief accountant, a “crust” of a state university will be mandatory);

Discuss with the representative of this company the date and time of the certification (in some companies they can still offer an analogue of preparatory courses for passing the test - here it is up to you to decide whether you need them or not);

When everything is discussed, it is necessary to take time off from work (due to the fact that certification takes place in two stages, they can be “split” into several days. The first stage is passing a written and oral exam. The second is testing on the basis of the ISP of Russia)

Ask the company for a rough questionnaire that will be used for testing (will help with preparation).

Test questions for attestation of accountants were compiled and approved by the Institute of Safety of the Russian Federation, all of them correspond to the goals of checking the professional suitability, level of knowledge and experience of the person being certified. Moreover, the questions change regularly, which is associated with changes in legislation and normative documents. In 2017Certification lasts two hours without a break in electronic format on the website of the ISP. During the test it is forbidden to be present to strangers. During the passage, the accountant gives options for his answers, which will subsequently be considered by the IPB commission. Based on the test, the final protocol of the certification results is issued. If the test is passed successfully, then the employee receives a certificate of an accountant or chief accountant one month after the results are announced. If the certified person does not agree with the decision taken on testing by the ITB, within 30 days he can appeal to the organization with an appeal to review the test results.

Directly with the attestation program, its goals and objectives can be found on the website of the ISP of Russia.

Why is it better to pass certification this year?

As they say, "prepare the sleigh in the summer, and the cart in the winter." Applicable to our topic, this folk wisdom very relevant. At the moment, you are unlikely to encounter queues for obtaining a certificate, especially since the cost of passing the training, in theory, can be compensated at the expense of the company in which you work. Moreover, having a certificate of passing the test in your hands, your professional status should change for the better. If you have noticed, then largest companies countries (for example, in Gazprom, Sberbank, X 5 Retail Group), the requirements for candidates for open vacancies (including accountants) are quite serious. One of them, among other things, is that the applicant has certificates of compliance with the standards of the profession (especially international ones). Confirmation of qualifications according to the professional standard is a purely Russian testing format, but over time, you can be sure of this, it will be quite difficult to find a job without it. "Freebie", sorry for the lexicon, is gradually disappearing from the labor market. Employers for the same money that was paid a few years ago began to demand from workers not only more output, but also more skills. If you do not want to remain unclaimed in a year or two, it makes sense to immediately take up your qualifications. Fortunately, as it was said above, in 2017, more precisely in its middle, the most optimal time to do this. Moreover, having a certificate of compliance with the professional standard in hand, it is possible to get a job at a more high paying job and it doesn't have to be any "federal giant". The value of the certificate today comes down to the fact that few people have it now. It's "exclusive" for now, if you will, and then it'll be an obligation. Feel the difference.

If after reading our article you do not have a desire to immediately contact the testing center, then we ask you to at least read more information about this in other sources, find out on the forums reviews about how colleagues managed to pass testing and how it is already now for them it came in handy at work. Believe me, there are really amazing and interesting stories. Of course, someone may not need a certificate, however, is it worth looking so far ahead? Probably not, because in our country everything changes with enviable constancy. In any case, no one has canceled such a thing as advanced training. How many stories can be heard in our business environment that an accountant can and wants to apply for the position of chief, but for some reason he is denied this. It seems that there is a higher profile education and work experience allows, but it still doesn’t work out. Probably, this is the ideal case when you need to go and improve your skills, and then show your certificate at the interview. It certainly could come in handy.

We wish you success!

Today, in many job postings for an accountant, you can find a requirement for a certificate of a professional accountant. Since 2017, this “wish” of the employer has become more and more common, since the requirements for an accountant are fixed by a special professional standard and a potential employee must meet all the standards set forth in this document.

What is a certificate for?

Labor function accountant, the required level of his knowledge and skills, as well as professional experience fixed in the professional standard, approved. Order of the Ministry of Labor of Russia dated December 22, 2014 N 1061n. Although this standard was put into effect several years ago, its importance has increased with the adoption of the Law of 07/03/2016 N 238-FZ, which consolidated the principles of independent assessment of the qualifications of specialists.

According to paragraph 3 of part 1 of Art. 81 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, the employer has the right to terminate labor Relations with an employee whose insufficient qualification is confirmed by the results of certification. The employer can send the employee for certification or independent evaluation his qualifications.

Since the accountant does essential functions at the enterprise (keeping records, making settlements with employees and partners, etc.), increased requirements are imposed on the level of his professionalism. Non-compliance with the above professional standard threatens that the applicant will not be able to get a job, and a working accountant with an unsatisfactory result of certification may lose his job.

The fact that an accountant has a certificate indicates his proper professional training and compliance with the level of his knowledge necessary requirements standard.

Professional accountant certificate: how to get

The right to issue certificates is vested in vocational training centers that have received a license to provide educational services and accreditation by the Institute of Professional Accountants (IPA). These centers, and first of all, the Institute of Security, carry out both attestation and training in the direction of "accounting", and upon successful completion of the tests, they guarantee the compliance of the certified person with the norms of the professional standard. Here, the accountant can confirm and extend the validity of his certificate.

You might think that a professional accountancy certificate is mandatory from 2017, but the new legislation does not contain such provisions. Law of December 6, 2011 N 402-FZ, which regulates accounting, also does not oblige an accountant to have certification. An employee can undergo training and certification either of his own free will at his own expense, or at the direction of the employer with reimbursement by the latter of the relevant costs. The presence of a certificate gives an advantage to an accountant in the labor market and allows a potential employer to hire a truly professional accountant.

The professional standard provides for two levels of accountant qualification:

• Level 5 - "accountant";
• Level 6 - "Chief Accountant".

Consequently, an accountant can be issued one of two types of certificates - an accountant's certificate or a chief accountant's certificate.

Based on the requirements of the standard, not everyone can get a certificate. To do this, it must meet certain characteristics:

Conclusion

Despite the fact that the legislator has not made it mandatory for accountants to obtain a certificate, certification of accountants has become more important since 2017. Persons who have passed certification on their own initiative are in strong competition with those who have not yet done so. By confirming their professional level based on the results of certification, existing employees can protect themselves from dismissal due to inconsistency with their position, and the employer is always sure that the accountant certified in accordance with all the rules working for him performs his work professionally and efficiently.