Nowadays, the use of opportunities offered by information technology is an
important area of development for businesses. Well-defined business decisions
in this area, resulting in the modernisation of activities, have a positive
effect not only on operation but also on the commercial value of the company.
It is no coincidence that highly favourable tender opportunities are available
in this area.
IT developments, however, also raise accounting and settlement issues that
do not necessarily lead to disadvantages under tax laws if they are lawfully
resolved.
Based on experience, software development companies routinely offer
so-called integrated corporate governance systems, the actual implementation of
which, however, may vary for each company. It is, therefore, essential to
accurately define the scope and time frame of expected performance in the
contract concluded with the developer company.
A distinction should be made, namely, between purchasing a ready software
or only its usage / licence fee until the end of the so-called operating
period. The customer may choose a unique software / the development of software
for a complete—or partial—corporate governance system, where the expected
result must be precisely defined in a contract for services.
Usually, all elements of developing corporate governance systems are
considered to form one unit. Developments commonly consist of corporate CRM
(Customer Relationship Management), human resources and payroll, sales,
procurement, logistics, workflow control, accounting–finance, electronic
document management, and knowledge management, etc.
When accounting, differences resulting from the customer company’s hardware
capacity should be considered. It is possible, namely, that only some of the
modules can be installed on the company’s computers, while others require
rented cloud-based storage—possibly provided by the developer firm. Accounting
of such rental, however, is not identical to that of a licence lease.
Pursuant to Section 25(1) of the Accounting Act, non-material assets
(pecuniary rights, except for pecuniary rights related to real property;
intellectual property; goodwill), advances for intangible assets, and the value
adjustment of intangible assets must be stated in the balance sheet among
intangible assets.
Section 25(6) stipulates that rights
not related to real property should be stated among intangible assets as
pecuniary rights. These include, in particular, lease rights, usage rights,
asset management rights, intellectual property licences, licences, concessions,
game rights, and other rights not related to real property.
Based on the above, it is, therefore, essential to individually assess the
accounting of such developments and to set out all related circumstances in the
underlying contract.
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