Historical and economic essence of liabilities for accounting and taxation purposes

Abstract

The article delves into the concept of «obligations» from a historical perspective. An exploration of the essence of obligations spans from the times of the Roman Empire and the Middle Ages to contemporary interpretations. In order to account for obligations, a list of relevant accounts was compiled, which has also evolved and is presented in the article. Simultaneously, the significance of the development of this concept for accounting and taxation purposes was revealed. The essence of obligations is unveiled from both legal and economic standpoints. Rooted in the origins of legal direction since Roman law, it is understood that an obligation establishes a specific legal connection between its participants, resulting in certain rights and duties. However, it's noted that most scholars who researched the concept concluded that it is grounded in economic relations, intermediating them, and is by no means a technique for organizing economic production activities. In essence, obligations represent legal relations through which one party (debtor) must act in favor of another party (creditor) in certain actions (transferring property, performing work, paying money, etc.), or conversely refrain from specific actions, while the creditor has the right to demand the debtor's fulfillment of their obligation. The framework of regulatory documents defining the recognition and accounting of obligations is identified. The interconnection of subjects, objects, and the content of the concept of «obligation» is substantiated, suggesting that obligations are demands placed on a company's assets by its creditors, essentially an unregulated indebtedness of the enterprise. Furthermore, it's established that obligations in a modern context are characterized by specific economic resources, specificity, maturity dates for this indebtedness, compensation for resource usage, and specific sanctions for breaching previously agreed contractual obligations concerning terms or amounts of debt repayment. The position of enterprise obligations in the structure of company liabilities complies with national accounting standards.