The public disclosure principle of financial statements in XIX-century statutory regulations of Russia
Subject The article addresses the genesis and development of the public disclosure principle of financial statements in laws and regulations of the second half of the 19 <sup>th</sup> century in Russia. Objectives The research aims to consider historical aspects of the statutory regulation of financial statements, examine the reasons that influenced the content of the laws and regulations, identify trends in forming the procedure for financial statement presentation, and provide the background of the public disclosure principle of financial statements. Methods The study rests on scientific methods of research, i.e. analysis, synthesis, generalization, abstraction, historical and logical methods, and the systems and chronological analyses. Results The paper reveals and systematizes conditions for public reporting development, points out the milestones in the development of statutory regulation of public reporting, and formulates basic stages of the evolution of the public disclosure principle in Russia. Conclusions In the middle of the 19 <sup>th</sup> century, the need for public financial statements was enshrined in bylaws of joint stock companies. This anticipated the practice of statutory regulation at the national level. The Regulation on State Tax on Trade, which was enacted in 1898, gave effect to the public disclosure principle of financial statements at the legislative level.