Comparative Analysis of Assets Information Disclosure in the Balance Sheet of Public and Private Sector Enterprises

The balance sheet is one of the most important sources of information about the property and finances of an organization for users. At the same time, its content varies depending on the organization’s affiliation with a particular sector of the economy. The purpose of the study is to conduct a comparative analysis of the concept and criteria for recognizing assets, as well as the features of disclosing information about assets in the balance sheet of organizations in the public and non-public sectors of the economy. The study examined, summarized, and systematized regulatory legal acts on accounting in the public and non-public sectors of the economy. As a result of the study, it was found that the composition of assets is generally identical, but the presentation of information in the balance sheets differs. It has also been established that federal standards contain different approaches to the classification of fixed assets, which leads to an ambiguous understanding of their groups and types. Also, depending on the conditions for obtaining and using certain types of assets, some features and differences in their accounting and disclosure of information about them in reporting have been identified. Such assets include investment real estate, land plots and environmental management facilities, biological assets and other objects of flora and fauna. Also, a discrepancy in the terminology in the assessment of fixed assets and intangible assets used to disclose information in the balance sheets of organizations in the public and non-public sectors of the economy was revealed, that makes it difficult for users to understand the reporting information. It is proposed to consolidate in regulatory documents a unified terminology when classifying and presenting reporting information in the sectors of the economy under consideration.