Polityka rachunkowości polskich fundacji w świetle badań empirycznych
Accounting practice of Polish foundations in the light of empirical research

Summary/Abstract: Foundations, similarly to other accounting entities, are obliged to develop own, individual accounting systems, subject to the true and fair view concept. In the process of organisation of the system, the management of the foundation (board of directors) is obliged to approve in writing the relevant documentation, the type of which is defined in art. 10 of the Accounting Act. This article points out the necessity for foundations to have accountancy policies and their description approved in writing. It also presents the results of a survey related to the completeness of documentation of accounting principles (policies) adopted by Polish foundations and the degree of difficulty in its preparation. The analysis revealed that 80% of foundations have problems with the development of such documentation. No clear relation to any characteristics of the foundation (e.g. age, size, type of activity) can be pointed out here. Omissions in the documentation of accounting policies have been found in 60% of foundations and, in most cases, they refer to data protection systems (44% of foundations) and data processing descriptions (42% of foundations). The most alarming, however, is the lack of adopted methods of assets and liabilities valuation (29% of foundations) and lack of the company’s chart of accounts (18% of foundations). The survey carried out and the analysis of inspection reports of the Supreme Chamber of Control reveal that irregularities in defining, documenting and analyzing the accounting policies have existed in foundations for many years. Therefore, many doubts arise with regard to the condition of accountancy in foundations, as well as to the transparency and reliability of their financial statements.

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