The paper continues the series of authors’ publications on the problem of developing the concept of business audit in sustainable development and ESG transformation. The object of the study is the modern international and Russian practice of verifying public ESG reporting by leading companies. The study’s task is to develop a methodology to confirm its reliability as the area for developing business audit in these conditions. As a result of the study, the authors have identified a trend for the auditors of the world’s leading countries to express an opinion on the reliability of ESG reporting with the provision of reasonable assurance to interested users, in contrast to Russian practice, in which thereare currently no such precedents. There have been determined directions for improving the procedure for confirming the reliability of public (including non-financial) reporting and delimited by the horizon of their practical implementation. The authors substantiated the necessity of introducing a requirement for a mandatory audit of non-financial information in corporate reporting. Also, they gave a comparative description of the two tracks of the practical implementation in the application of this requirement: the introduction of a mandatory rule for the predominant expression of reasonable assurance when auditors perform assignments to confirm the reliability of all types of non-financial reporting; extending the requirements of auditing standards, requiring auditors to express reasonable assurance on all corporate reporting. The authors have developed proposals to correct certain aspects of the existing methodology for the audit of financial statements in relation to the process of verification of non-financial information in corporate reporting. The results got will expand audit practice in the implementation’s context of the concept of sustainable development and implementing ESG principles. The study may interest national regulators, professional communities, as well as investors and financial market participants.

The paper contains the results of a study of problematic aspects and potential effects associated with the use of hedge accounting by non- financial institutions. The relevance of the study is because hedge accounting allows to ensure that income and expenses for the object and hedging instrument match but its use is the choice of the organization. Therefore, the works’s aim is to conduct a comprehensive study of the effects and problems associated with the use of hedge accounting and develop recommendations for assessing the need for usage in non-financial organizations. The author identified the following tasks for this goal achievement: studying the practice of applying hedge accounting by Russian companies; analysis of potential effects from the use of this toolkit; consideration of problematic aspects related to the application of hedge accounting; method development for determining the need for its use in non-fi institutions. The theoretical and methodological basis of the study are the provisions of IFRS and US GAAP in terms of accounting for derivatives and hedging, fair value assessment and disclosure, literature on their practical application, as well as reporting by Russian companies compiled in conformity with IFRS. In the work’s course, the author revealed that only half of the hedger companies from the considered sample apply hedge accounting. For understanding motives of organizations to use this toolkit or abandon it, the author identified the potential positive effects associated with it and problematic aspects. Also, they proposed a methodology for determining the need for its use, which would be useful for consulting companies when they provide services in risk hedging.

The key factor in the development of a modern bank is the modernization of its information and analytical system, based on the application of modern technologies for working with information. In fundamental changes in ways and forms in providing banking services, traditional approaches to information generating no longer meet modern requirements, which causes the search for new ways to organize data and using them. Digitalization innovations change the quality of service in commercial banks, expanding the range of services and increasing their comfort. In the meantime, they are associated with the emergence of additional risks in banking that should be identified and eliminated. This determines the need for the development and improvement of electronic technologies and analysis of the processes of the information generating and analytical support (IAS) for activities, considering the specifics of modern information requirements; generating data that meets the needs of various categories of users, as well as providing a reliable assessment of the financial condition of the bank and protecting it from risks. The paper’s aim is to substantiate the methodological aspects of the application of electronic technologies to improve the efficiency of the accounting and analytical support of the bank. Being a part of the study, the tasks would have to identify the problems of digitalization in the processes of generating information in accounting and reporting. The author considered substantiation of the direction of development of banking information systems, as well as methodological approaches to the implementation and use of information technologies in the bank. Using logical methods of cognition, system analysis and synthesis, modeling, the author substantiates the need to revise the methods of accounting and analytical support, the processes of their measurement, as well as identification for decision-making and risk reduction. The research proposed the methodological provisions on the use of electronic technologies which would improve the work efficiency in generating the information for management and control and also, reduce information risks in the bank.

The research carried the potential analysis for using digital tools to verify the due diligence of a counterparty out at the stage of pre-contractual interaction with the organization, which allows for reduced possible financial, legal, reputational and tax risks. When using specialized platforms and online services, it can reduce the expected time spent on such an assessment by preparing a comprehensive report that reflects the fundamental aspects of the activities of a potential business partner. The digital products presented on the market are able to provide a detailed analysis of the financial position of the audited economic entity, its legal status, business reputation and affiliation with other legal entities. The information obtained allows us to determine the vector of further cooperation. The aim of the work is to consider the possibility and prospects for the use of digital tools during the procedure of contractual due diligence, carried out by specialized organizations; the authors identified the primary advantages of using these technologies, which are to reduce the time spent on collecting and analyzing information about the counterparty and providing expanded access to various databases. The study used methods of synthesis, comparative and logical analysis. The practical significance of the research is because experts have been conducting the contractual due diligence procedure when deciding on the possibility of using a particular online service in their work can use the presented results of the comparative characteristics of the considered digital tools.

The research considers the development of the principles of separate accounting and analysis of the interest and exchange rate components of the fair value of a set of financial instruments under the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). The aim of the work is to consider a practical situation with a deferred payment for financial instruments received under an agreement, while the participants of the scheme hedged economic transactions using derivative financial instruments. Here, from the standpoint of accounting and analytics, the mechanism of separation of interest and exchange rate elements, which directly affect the fair value of the forward contract, is of significant importance. It also related this to the requirements of IFRS standards. The research has developed a procedure for separate accounting of these financial components. In particular, it has worked out an algorithm for accounting and mathematical evaluation of exchange rate differences when hedging cash flows of debt instruments with currency forwards. The methodological base of the research includes dynamic situational analysis, system analysis, models of financial mathematics, analytical procedures of the modern theory of financial accounting. The theoretical and practical significance of the research lies in the development of scientific and applied tools based on accounting and process models and evaluation algorithms. The accounting can use the developed procedures, analytical and audit services of banks and corporations in preparing and analyzing financial statements under IFRS.

Providing tax deductions admits the population to feel the actual financial participation of the state in their lives. The paper defines the concept of tax deduction, revealing it from the point of view of legal optimization of the taxation of individuals. The research singled out conditions for granting standard, social, investment, property, professional tax deductions and it considered viable options for a taxpayer’s application to the tax authorities for the right to use them. The purpose of the study is to substantiate and develop practical recommendations for increasing the amount of tax deductions, considering dynamic changes in the minimum wage. The authors defined the following tasks to achieve it: study and generalize the views of Russian scientists on the problems of providing tax deductions in modern economic conditions; identify and argue the socio-economic problems of tax deductions and suggest ways to solve them; develop approaches to improve the mechanism for increasing the size of tax deductions in order to fulfill the functions assigned to them, namely, the impact on improving welfare and providing tangible state social guarantees to the population. In the work’s course, the authors used abstract-logical, computational-analytical, monographic and experimental methods. Also, the methodological and theoretical basis were the work of domestic scientists on research, regulatory legal and legislative acts of the Russian Federation regulating the functioning of the tax system; official publications, as well as materials of scientific and practical conferences. The results obtained will make it possible to determine the ways of more detailed improvement of the mechanism for granting tax deductions, working out the procedure for their administration and the conditions for their provision to the population of the country. The aim of this is to establish more reasonable amounts of these deductions and implement the principle of uniform taxation of citizens of the Russian Federation.

The purpose of the study is to consider the directions of state policy in ensuring a balanced industrial growth of the Arctic zone, and to analyze the system of criteria designed to assess the level of the region development. The latter is a set of indicators — tools for managing and coordinating economic activities. They are used to comparing the results of implementing programs to build the potential of the Arctic and planned values, and should quantitatively and qualitatively reflect the results of solving the primary tasks. The authors compared the tasks in the documents defining the strategic development of the region and the existing criteria for their implementation. They proved these criteria are imperfect and do not cover the entire spectrum of economic development categories. Since it is assumed that the Arctic zone will become a driver for the development of several manufacturing industries, the authors proposed to introduce additional indicators characterizing the contribution of industry to the development of the region’s economy. The research methodology is based on the ways of empirical research, synthesis of theoretical and practical material.