Plano geral de contabilidade: críticas e propostas para a revisao

Abstract

Accounting is a system of information and evaluation aimed at providing the shareholders, workers, unions, banks, the State, suppliers, clients and the general public with statements and economic and financial analysis of the entity. The diversity of criteria, principles, foundations, rules and models used for the preparation and disclosure of the financial statements, as well as the conflicting nature of the interests of its users, point towards accounting standardisation, of which the general accounting plan is a part. The general accounting plan aims at preserving the interests of the users of the financial statements by fixing the principles, valuation criteria, grounds, rules and models of their disclosure, their qualitative requirements and minimum content. In Mozambique, the implementation of the general accounting plan was a concern of the party-government structures from the first years of national independence. In fact, the economic and social directives of the IXI Congress of FRELIMO, held in 1977, stated the following on this matter: "Finance should support the economic ministries in implementing a national accounting plan, to be concluded by 1980" (FRELIMO 1978:88). By the time of its IV Congress in 1983, the plan had not been implemented, so the economic and social directives of this Congress defined " . . . we should accelerate the approval of the general business accounting plan and boost its obligatory application in the different sectors of the national economy, defining the priorities and concentrating our efforts on them" (Frelimo 1984:60). It was only in 1984, by decree No. 13 of 14 December, that the general accounting plan (PGC) was approved, "obligatorily applicable to all economic units with the exception of those carrying out banking or insurance activities" (Council of Ministers 1984:1). Within the framework of the general reorganisation of enterprises and the creation of instruments for the planned direction of the economy, accounting standardisation was very important for - the standardisation of the documents by means of which the state economic planning bodies would convey to enterprises the specific tasks they were to perform, the objectives to be achieved and the resources to be allocated to them. By means of these standardised documents, the economic units would communicate to the planning bodies the degree of compliance with the plans; - the standardization of valuation criteria and accounting principles that would allow the determination of the results of the fiscal year for a fair taxation of the private sector. Therefore, the PGC was mainly conceived to serve as an instrument of state management and control over the economy, defining general accounting "as the information system designed to exercise the legal and control role" (Mozambique, Council of Ministers 1984:6). In view of the profound transformations that have been taking place since 1987 in the economic, political, social and institutional-legal environment, the purpose of financial statements can no longer be seen only from the legal and control point of view: workers, shareholders, suppliers, clients, investors and the general public also make use of financial statements to: - "define Objectives; - evaluate the various decision alternatives - take the most rational decision; © implement the decision taken - evaluate the results and review the objectives" (Imdieke and Smith 1987: 5). Smith 1987: 5). The market economy, whose foundations we are committed to building, means responsibility and opportunity. Opportunity to ensure sustained and steady growth . . . ; responsibility . . . as current or potential investors need to have the best possible conditions to assess the trend of the enterprise (IBRACON 1994:32). Importance and Timeliness of the Topic The introduction of the General Accounting Plan (PGC) put an end to the anarchy that existed in the establishment of valuation principles and criteria, terminology and models of documents of accountability. However, about 10 years after its implementation, its revision is necessary due to the following factors - the changes taking place in the macroeconomic environment, within the framework of the market economy, with the private sector increasingly assuming a dynamic role, impose new management challenges to economic agents; - the fiscalist character of the PGC translates into solutions giving priority to the treatment of business phenomena from a fiscal point of view, which in many cases hinders the management of companies.