A study of the influence of professional judgment and creativity on the composition of financial reporting

The development of the accounting and reporting system in Russia at different historical stages mostly corresponded to the requirements of the time and the state of the economy. At some times, the balance sheet compiled in our country was a role model for other countries, at others, we needed foreign experience to draw up relevant and adequate reporting. Despite the differences between Russian (federal) accounting standards and international financial reporting standards, it should be noted that common approaches are used in the formation of most financial reporting indicators. In this regard, the purpose of this article is to study the circumstances that influenced the process of evolution of the balance sheet as the main source of information about the financial and economic activities of the organization, consisting of several stages, as a result of which the main form of reporting was modified and changed into the desire to meet the requirements placed on it by various users. Therefore, the main goal of the study was to study the most important changes in approaches to accounting and reporting in terms of the emergence of new types of assets, the transformation of evaluation criteria for property and liabilities. In this regard, the accountant is required not only to follow the requirements of regulations, but to apply professional judgment and a creative approach in each specific case, especially in terms of generating reporting that must be reliable, transparent and meet the requirements of various user groups. In this article, the author made an attempt to critically evaluate the evolutionary transformations of the main reporting document — the balance sheet and some of the advantages and disadvantages of professional judgment and creative approach used in its preparation; attention was paid to the consequences of unreliable reflection of indicators in financial statements on the business reputation of the company and its further development.