REGULATORY AND LEGAL FRAMEWORK FOR ENTERPRISE ACCOUNTING POLICY: MODERN ARCHITECTURE AND DIRECTIONS OF TRANSFORMATION

Abstract

The article examines the regulatory and legal framework governing the formation and implementation of enterprise accounting policy as a multilevel regulatory system integrating legislative requirements, national and international financial reporting standards, methodological guidance, and internal corporate regulations. The regulatory environment of accounting policy is conceptualized not merely as a collection of separate legal acts but as an integrated regulatory architecture whose components differ in their legal force, scope of application, degree of mandatory compliance, and impact on professional judgement in accounting practice.

The key levels of regulatory and legal support for enterprise accounting policy in Ukraine are systematized, and the functional relationships between them are identified. Particular attention is paid to the role of an enterprise’s internal administrative document on accounting policy, which serves as an instrument for translating regulatory requirements and permissible accounting alternatives into specific methods, principles, and procedures adapted to the organizational, technological, and economic characteristics of a particular business entity.

The study establishes that the current transformation of the regulatory framework for accounting policy is driven by European integration processes, the increasing application of international financial reporting standards, the digitalization of accounting procedures, the automation of financial information processing, and growing requirements for the transparency, comparability, and reliability of financial reporting. The major challenges of the existing regulatory model are identified, including the complexity and fragmentation of the regulatory framework, inconsistencies in accounting terminology, the need for further alignment of national regulations with international approaches, and the insufficient adaptation of internal accounting regulations to the digital business environment.

Conceptual directions for transforming the regulatory and legal architecture of enterprise accounting policy are proposed, with an emphasis on regulatory coherence, adaptability, digital compatibility, and further harmonization with European accounting and corporate reporting practices. It is substantiated that, under contemporary economic conditions, accounting policy is evolving beyond its traditional role as a technical instrument for organizing accounting processes and increasingly functions as an internal regulatory mechanism that ensures the interaction between statutory requirements, professional judgement, management information needs, and the specific characteristics of an enterprise’s activities.