Current hospital accounting system problems and suggestions for improvement

Abstract: China's current <<hospital accounting system>>, enacted in 1998 and was implemented in January 1999. Since the promulgation of the current hospital accounting system since the implementation of the standard hospital financial management, improve the quality of the hospital's accounting has played a good effect, but with the rapid social and Economic development, the current hospital accounting system during operation gradually revealed some shortcomings and limitations in the fixed assets, bad debts, receivables medical article, and inventory management costs and other subjects accounting, there are a lot of the hospital occurred in the business do not conform to the actual Economic situation, contrary to the accounting of authenticity, timeliness, the principle of prudence, resulting in distortion of accounting information, financial statements did not accurately reflect the financial position of the hospital immediately, to decision makers bring a lot of misjudgment, not applicable to scientific decision-making requirements, and should be improved as soon as possible.

Keywords: hospital accounting system problems in scientific decision-making

First, the current problems in the hospital accounting system

(A) in fixed assets accounting
Fixed assets are total assets of the hospital is an important component of the proper accounting of the asset class or not directly related to the hospital the entire accounting information true, accurate and fair. <<Hospital financial system>> 第三十一条 provides: Fixed assets according to the book value of the repair options to extract a certain percentage of funds for major fixed assets, updating and repair. This requirement there are several drawbacks:
1 does not accurately reflect the true value of fixed assets
Hospital non-depreciation of fixed assets, the hospital fixed assets on the balance sheet items reflect only the amount of the original value of fixed assets does not reflect the actual loss during use, resulting in book value of fixed assets and the actual value of a serious departure from, the use of fixed assets conditions and can not reflect the real value is not conducive to report the user to understand the real situation of fixed assets, especially in face of major Economic decision-making hospitals and third-party assessment of the assets of the hospital, the report from the relationship between the people can not report the overall condition of the assets of the hospital have a comprehensive understanding.

(2) inflated the net asset
According to the current accounting system provides the hospital, the hospital by extracting the purchase fund to make the repair fixed the amount of capital assets, net assets as a special fund in the general fund account in the revised purchase accounting, the net assets in the form of gradually settling into the hospital, while fixed assets The amount remains the same, so that makes the same amount of fixed capital assets, while the corresponding net assets in the project to do two repeat reflected inflated the hospital's net assets.

3. Is not conducive to fixed assets update
The purpose of depreciation of fixed assets is the cost of fixed assets, the allocation and use of its loss of value of the compensation has been and now there is no clear division in the ratio of the premise, requiring repair can also be used to purchase fixed assets fund major repairs, invisible will erode the renovation of fixed assets fund.

4. Is not conducive to daily management
As the non-depreciation of fixed assets, net of its original value and the actual differences and proportional use of time, so in the event of retirement, damage, shortage, etc., the hospital will not know the asset's actual losses, not conducive to fixed assets daily management.

5 in the balance sheet in fixed assets from acquisition to retirement for a long period of time, no adjustment to its value, and when the assets out of the hospital due to various reasons, the original value of fixed assets for Shique reduce processing time, hospital assets will decrease too fast.

(B) to extract accounting for bad debts
"Due care under" accounts receivable accounts are the main contents of various medical payments, including arrears discharged patients, with "patients discharged from arrears", "Medicare patients arrears" medical payments and other receivables, while the "discharge patients arrears "can be roughly divided into two parts: the patient's malicious arrears and to take more social responsibility Hospital, patient medical expenses relief, bad debt rate of close to 100%;" Medicare patients arrears ", with the increased number of patients with social pooling increasing, even if the implementation of the hospital Health care system is very standard will be deducted. our current hospital accounting system allowed for bad debts extraction rate is 5%, far below the actual incidence of causing a large number of bad debts, bad debts written off not long hanging on the books, the authenticity of the accounting system in violation of the principle, the principle of time and the principle of prudence, the hospital's liquidity indicators, solvency distortion, affecting the hospital operator's decision-making.

(C) the lack of authenticity of the valuation of assets
1 As the "due care under" account contains a lot "of patients discharged from arrears," the number, and some can not be recovered, a serious book assets less deviated from the actual assets, although the hospital accounting system can be provision for bad debts, but the total mention of bad debts is far lower than possible bad debts, bad debts according to the proportion of national unity extract (5% of the balance of receivables), and subject to bad debt losses have occurred only after approval of the financial sector write-off, resulting in a lot of bad, bad hanging in the account on the long term, impede the flow of funds, leading to serious cash flow shortage.

2. "Inventory, drugs, equipment" and the book reflects the account when the purchase price of the goods. Over time, advances in technology, especially electronic equipment quickly decline in value of fixed assets has long been used in the annual depreciation some have been scrapped or near retirement, but the reporting of the financial sector write-off and subject to approval procedures for complex claims, the assets are always increasing, and the actual assets do not match; as a serious backlog of inventory, poor liquidity, its book value has been low in the market, the current accounting system does not allow hospitals to adjust the carrying value of the balance sheet continues to reflect the cost value, rather than reflecting the net realizable value, resulting in accounts and reality and if learning enterprise accounting system, assets can be at the end of recoverable amount and the carrying amount of the difference between the provision for impairment, can reflect on the balance sheet fixed assets, drugs, materials and other property more accurately reflect the unit's condition.

(D) Management cost accounting
The existing accounting system of the hospital cost accounting is not accurate enough, unreasonable management cost-sharing. Administrative expenses included a wider scope, in addition to the hospital management of costs, including medical, pharmacy, management and other departments supporting departments interest costs and borrowing costs. administrative costs directly affect the size of the cost of medical services, pharmaceutical products cost of sales and preparation costs, and ultimately affect the balance of payments surplus and net assets and the current hospital accounting system simply will manage Health care costs are based on the proportion of staff costs and drug costs for sharing, can not accurately reflect the cost of medical care and drug costs.

(E) the accounting for intangible assets
The balance sheet at the hospital is not set up a "intangible assets" subject and now the leadership in each hospital through advertising, software and hardware investment and other means to strengthen the hospital to establish the brand as a brand is its hospital-specific intangible assets of a hospital hardware investment as time goes by, the fierce market competition and depreciation, but its intangible assets will grow in value as the hospital's balance sheet reflected in intangible assets is particularly necessary. Links to free download http : / / www.hi138.com Second, to improve the existing hospital financial accounting system proposal

2.1 Fixed assets accounting for the proposal
Recommended the establishment of "accumulated depreciation" of accounts, whether from the authenticity of the accounting statements of assets or asset management perspective, I propose to abolish the "Fixed Fund" account, an additional accumulated depreciation account in the balance sheet as fixed assets, allowance for the project , the hospital's financial statements give a true reflection of its assets, net assets and the balance of the situation.

2.2 pairs of bad debts extraction proposals
Extract a limited amount of bad debts to reflect the hospital's long-term in a variety of bad debt on the balance sheet, but can not be recovered for some large amount of bad debt, does not affect the current balance in the premise, to be written off directly from the expenditure.

2.3 pairs of asset valuation proposal
Hospital, the hospital's balance sheet reflects a certain point in time the financial position of the static statements draw GAAP accounting requirements, in the accounting period, conduct a comprehensive inspection of the assets, the asset may reasonably be expected to losses incurred on the possible provision for impairment losses, so that, through financial statements to understand the real situation of hospital assets, the competent government departments of the hospital oversight and implementation of effective regulation; hospital administrators operating conditions according to the hospital to develop in line with the actual development of the hospital planning; creditors can decide whether to provide loans to hospitals, supply of goods; social intermediary organizations can also be based on actual asset condition and provide advice for all types of reporting users.

2.4 pairs of cost-sharing approach of the management
I suggest, reflects the additional medical expenses and indirect costs related to pharmaceutical expenditure of the transitional subjects, imputation is used to directly enter medical costs but not medical expenses, medical expenses of the various indirect costs, then the proportion of persons at the end of Health care costs and drug cost sharing; additional "finance charges" subject to the original in the "management fees" charged to the loan account interest payments and "other income" in accounting for the unity of interest income imputation "finance charges" a subjects in accounting.

2.5 pairs of intangible assets of the proposal
In the hospital added to the balance sheet, "intangible assets" subject to the full assets to reflect the hospital, so that the accounting information to better meet the medical needs of the market. Hospitals involved in a wide range of intangible assets, such as medical services, ideas and management methods, medical research projects and results, the image of hospitals and medical reputation, brand and reputation hospitals, etc. Currently, hospitals in the management of tangible assets and more emphasis on the growth of competing hospitals in a variety of configurations to improve and increase physical investment, while investment in the development of intangible assets and accounting management is not enough attention, loss of intangible assets is common, while a period of time for hospitals to provide certain special rights or help hospitals achieve higher social and Economic benefits of the intangible assets is a scarce Economic resources, the hospital average amortization period should be included in the cost of medical services provided outside.


References:
[1] Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Health, <<the hospital financial system >>,<< hospital accounting system>> China Financial and Economic Publishing House, 1998.

[2] Zheng Daxi, the current hospital accounting system problems and ideas for reform [M]. Soft Science of Health, 2005.

[3] Yang Jianhua, the hospital accounting system reform of [M]. China Health Management, 2005,4. Links to free download http://www.hi138.com