ELECTRONIC DOCUMENT HANDLING IN THE PROCESS OF CONDUCTING ACCOUNTING IN MODERN CONDITIONS

Abstract

In modern conditions, digitalization is one of the key factors of economic growth. Taking into account the experience of previous years (the coronavirus pandemic, the beginning of military operations in Ukraine), it can be seen that during a crisis, business entities must quickly adapt to work challenges and adjust their work model to today's requirements. Many business entities prepare financial statements in electronic form, but this is rarely the case for formation of primary accounting documents. The main purpose of the primary document is to confirm the implementation of a certain business transaction at the enterprise. Therefore, the availability of the primary accounting document is a mandatory and important component of the document flow as a whole. In turn, an electronic document should be understood as a document in which information is recorded in an electronic format. However, it should be noted that the requirements for the electronic primary document remain the same as for the paper one, with the preservation of all the necessary details. That is why this article considers the essence of electronic document flow in the accounting process. It researches the main legislative and regulatory acts that ensure the organization of electronic document circulation, in particular primary accounting documents in Ukraine, and their essence. The article defines the main grounds on which the electronic primary document is considered valid and provisions regarding the order of their preservation, requirements of names of the files in which they are saved. It gives opportunities provided by an electronic document management system in modern conditions. The article considers advantages (much higher speed of information dissemination, reduction of paper circulation, cost savings, protection of documents from unauthorized access, etc.) and disadvantages (the need for a high level of protection against unauthorized access to electronic accounting documents, significant cost for the formation of resource support for the operation of electronic document circulation, a high probability of loss of electronic accounting documents in case of spread of viruses, etc.) of the electronic document management system in the accounting process.