Evaluation of receivables: methods, features of the procedure, examples

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-01-17 18:37

In the process of carrying out business activities, accounts receivable (RD) arise. This may be the amount of funds for the supply or the value of goods that the lender plans to receive at the agreed time. DZ is accounted for in the balance sheet at actual cost and includes settlements: with buyers/customers; on bills; with subsidiaries; with the founders on contributions to the capital; by advances. At the same time, the nominal value of the indicator in the BU is the upper limit of the cost. Since debt is repaid slowly and cash depreciates over time, the real market value is often lower.

When and why is analysis done?

Valuation of receivables is a procedure for determining the market value of the DZ on a certain date. It is carried out taking into account the timing of its occurrence, repayment and legal grounds. DZ, like any other asset of the enterprise, has a certainprice. At its core, it is a bill or promissory note that is in circulation on the market. The need for assessment of receivables arises when conducting a financial analysis of the company's activities, assignment of rights of claim, judicial/out-of-court proceedings. The same need may arise when the DZ reaches 30% of the volume of real assets. In this case, it begins to significantly affect the further economic activity of the company.

In international practice, the timely repayment of debt is the key to profitable activities. If the debt is not repaid within the regulated time frame, then the debtor's business reputation deteriorates. This principle provides for high liquidity of S/Es, which is reflected in high liquidity ratios. That is, the amount of debt depends on solvency - the higher the liquidity, the faster the company repays its debts.

Types of debts

Analysis of receivables provides for their ranking. Depending on which category it falls into, one or another method of evaluation is applied. There are several criteria:

• Reason for education: justified or not. The second category includes debts that were formed due to incorrectly executed documents.
• Term of formation: short-term (payments expected within 12 months) and long-term.
• Debt outstanding on time is considered overdue. It provides for a three-year limitation period (Article 196 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation). During thistime the debt can be collected or sold. Then it is subject to write-off.
• According to the possibility of repayment, DZ is divided into doubtful and hopeless. The first includes the debt that arose as a result of the sale of goods, if it is not repaid within the period established by the contract. The debt of previous years can be repaid after the write-off.

Verification algorithm

At the first stage, the object is analyzed as a whole. General indicators are being examined to identify possible conflicts of interest. A list of indicators is compiled, according to which the assessment of receivables will be carried out. Information about the state of the market is collected, financial statements are studied. Based on the data obtained, the market value of the company is determined. At the final stage, the results of the assessment are agreed with the founders and a report is prepared.

What counts?

In the process of assessing receivables, it is very important to take into account their specifics. This is an asset, not a commodity. Its implementation is carried out only by the assignment of the rights to claim the debt. Therefore, when assessing, it is important to determine the amount of debt, the terms of formation and repayment, as well as to analyze the rights to debt: the availability of contracts, payment documents, reconciliation acts.

The financial position of the company is closely related to the legal aspects. If the debtor is at the stage of bankruptcy, then the repayment of the debt is carried out first to the creditors of the first priority, and then to the second and third. And the organization does not always have enough funds to meetthe needs of all creditors. Therefore, the appraiser, having information that the debtor is at the bankruptcy stage, must determine the amount of the bankruptcy estate, the possibility of its repayment and the order of creditors. In practice, the auditor does not always have all the information about the financial condition of the enterprise. Therefore, in the report, he should describe in detail the conditions for the inspection.

Calculation methods

In practice, such methods of estimating receivables are used: costly, profitable, comparative. Although today most of the transactions take place as part of an auction, there is not enough information in public sources to make an assessment, so a comparative approach is not used. The cost approach provides for an assessment at the book value, but in this way it is impossible to determine the real value of the object. Therefore, in practice, the income approach with discounting the amount of repayable debts is most often used:

PV=C / (1 + R)^n where:

• PV – present value;
• С – future value;
• R–discount rate (lending rate + risk-free rate);
• n – maturity date.

Data without risk and discount rates are available on the CBR website.

How to determine the market value?

The algorithm is:

1. Determine the total amount of debt under the contract, taking into account fines and pen alties.
2. Determine sources and maturities.
3. Calculate the amount of expenses needed fordebt recovery.
4. Net income discounted to the valuation date.

When is the assessment done? Such a need arises in two cases: when evaluating the business as a whole and the rights of claim as a separate asset. In the first case, the debt is considered as part of the assets of the enterprise, since the assessment of only the DZ does not take into account all the trends in the operation of the enterprise. The analysis of receivables consists in ranking them according to criteria and evaluating each group based on its turnover and the state of the company. If DZ is evaluated as an independent asset, then the legal aspects of its occurrence are analyzed in detail, and the market value is determined by the income method.

Accounting with customers in accounting

To account for receivables in the balance sheet, accounts are used: 1210 (80) “Short-term receivables (buyers and customers)”. Account 1280 records interest-bearing and interest-free bills received and expenses secured by them. All advances received are reflected in account 1610. After the shipment of goods, the account is debited from 3310 “Short-term debt to suppliers.”

In the process of activity, the enterprise incurs expenses of future periods, that is, it pays for services that will be used for several months. So, the accounting department writes out periodicals, buys insurance policies, pays rent and utility bills for several months in advance. Accounting for receivables is reflected in the debit of account 1620. As services are received, expenses are written off to the credit of accounts 7110 “Expenses forsales”, 7210 “Administrative costs” and the corresponding accounts of section 8 “Production accounting accounts”.

In the process of activity, an enterprise can provide loans to other organizations, lease fixed assets. Where are these receivables accounted for? On account 1270. The amounts received are written off to the credit of account 6110. Also, the enterprise can provide loans to the employee and issue amounts under the report. Where are these receivables accounted for? On account 1250. The received amounts are debited to the corresponding accounts.

Wiring

Debts on settlements with employees have their own nuances. So, a person may not return unspent money on time or make expenses that were not agreed in advance. How are accounts receivable accounted for in this case? Postings:

• DT1250 KT1010 - money issued from the cash register.
• DT1310 KT1250 - materials purchased.
• DT7210 KT1250 - travel expenses are written off as administrative expenses.
• DT2413 KT1250 - buying cars.
• DT1250 KT1280 (2180) - written off as compensation for material damage.
• DT3350 KT1250 - withholding the amount of damage from wages.

Doubtful accounts

No matter how good the system for monitoring the solvency of buyers is, the company will find buyers who have not paid their debts on time. Such debt can be recognized as doubtful to be received if there are no guarantees for it. In this case, a percentage reserve must be created.on the cost or terms of payment. The creation of a reserve is carried out by posting KT1290 DT7440. Amounts written off are reflected in DT1290 in КТ1210, КТ1280. The amount of the unused reserve is adjusted by posting: DT7440, KT1290.

Bad debt

According to Art. 266 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, debts to the enterprise are recognized as bad debts for which:

• the statute of limitations expired;
• obligation terminated due to impossibility to fulfill it;
• there is an act on the liquidation of the organization.

Accounting for accounts receivable is carried out on account 63 until it is written off, that is, within three years (Article 196 of the Civil Code).

Debt of past years

The statute of limitations may be interrupted, for example, if the customer files a lawsuit to challenge the amount owed. If this nuance was not taken into account when writing off the debt, then during the next audit, the Federal Tax Service will identify this error and charge a fine for unreasonably understating tax liabilities. The company will have to recover accounts receivable. Postings are as follows:

Option 1:

• CT007 - recognition of decommissioned remote sensing.
• DT62 KT91.1 - debt restored.
• DT50 KT62 - DZ decommissioned.

Option 2:

• DT76 KT91.1 - recognition in “Other income” of the amount written off.
• CT007 - debt recovery.

The first scheme is used for reasonable, and the second for erroneous write-offs. Recovery of receivables from previous years may causeaccounting errors. Therefore, after recovery, other income in accounting records and non-operating income in NU should be recalculated. In case of deviations, changes should be made to the reporting documents.

Example of Accounts Receivable Valuation

The line "DZ" of the company reflects assets in the amount of 445,000 rubles. The information is taken from the balance sheet as of 12/31/16 and the balance sheet for account 63. The table below shows an analysis of accounts receivable.

Debtor	Amount, thousand rubles.	Return date	Cause of occurrence	Debt nature
Company A	400	30.09.16	Operating room	Expired
Company B	21	05.04.16	Operating room	Current
Company “B”	24	31.10.13	Operating room	Hopeless
TOTAL	445	-	-	-

The market value of bad debts is reset to zero. Overdue debts are discounted at the weighted average interest rate as of the date of valuation, presented on the CBR statistics website. The average turnover of money is 391 days(the period from the moment the debt was formed to the date of the balance sheet). This period corresponds to a discount rate of 12.86%.

The calculation of the risk premium is shown in the table below.

Risk	Award, %	Justification for calculations
Quality leadership	0-5%	The organization is run by more than one person. At the same time, there is no management reserve.
Company size	1%	The enterprise is not a monopolist
Sources of funding	2%	Inflated leverage
Diversification of goods	0%	Wide range of products
Customer diversification	0, 5%	There are many consumers, a small share of revenue per customer
Profitability	2%	Unstable income levels
Other risks	0, 5%	Risks associated with changing suppliers
TOTAL	6, 25%	-

Accordingly, the discount rate is 12.86% + 6.25%=19.11%

The table below showsassessment of the effectiveness of receivables management.

Indicator	Current debt	Delinquent Debts	Bad debt
DZ, thousand rubles.	21	400	24
Discount rate, %	12, 86	19, 11	-
Turnover period, years	1, 087	1, 087	-
Discount	0, 8768	0, 8269	-
Current cost of remote control, thousand rubles	18 413	330 760	0
Market Value	349 173	-	-

This is how accounts receivable are valued in accounting.