From “Regulatory Guillotine” to “Reporting Guillotine”

Abstract

Submitting statistical, tax, accounting, and other reports to state authorities is an essential component of the administrative costs of Russian business. The article analyzes Russian and foreign approaches to evaluating the level of reporting burden and its optimization algorithms. The study shows that the «opportunity cost» approach related to the potential costs of not reporting information in determining the level of reporting burden is incorrect. Based on an analysis of the limitations of the standard cost model, the authors propose to consider the advantages (the use of reporting data) in the optimization of reporting. The article presents suggestions for implementing the «reporting guillotine» based on the development of unified methodological approaches to evaluating the reporting burden, a complete accounting of reporting forms and indicators, as well as the amendment of the regulatory legal framework. According to the «reporting guillotine,» we could implement a transition to automated data exchange concerning the information, the collection and processing of which is not considered redundant. Organizing such an automated exchange via modern digital technologies, including the Internet of Things (IoT), allows businesses to minimize the administrative costs of providing information to government agencies.