Agricultural land as an accounting item: a historical analysis and contemporary issues
Importance Land is one of the most ancient accounting items, being classified into various categories. Agricultural land is one of the most difficult items to account for, since people use it to work and focus their work on it. Such agricultural land requires evaluating the efficiency of its use, and comprehensive analytical accounting. Objectives The research analyzes the accounting of agricultural land from historical perspectives, focusing on the way land was accounted for in various historical periods, identifying challenging issues of the land accounting theory and practice, systematizing views of different scientists on the classification of land as an accounting item, recognizing it in synthetic and analytical accounts. Methods The research relies upon various authors' proceedings on the history, theory, practice of accounting. We applied such methods as a comparative analysis, systematization, induction, deduction. Results We figured out challenging issues of agricultural land accounting, systematized scientists and practitioners' opinions on the way land should be recognized in accounting, recognition of land in a separate synthetic account, and analytical accounting of land. We suggest introducing a separate accounting item, i.e. agricultural land, to the classification of accounting items by composition, purpose and economic substance, and carry them in a separate synthetic account. Conclusions and Relevance Whereas agricultural land is concurrently a means and subject of labor, it should be recognized as a separate item of real estate within non-current assets in a separate synthetic account, and include massive analytical accounting data needed to analyze its use and productivity. The findings may be applicable to the theory, history of accounting, and financial statements.