CC BY
4
UDC 657
Tsoy A.S.
Student of International Accounting and Audit Faculty
Federal state educational Budgetary institution of higher education "Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation "
Russia, Moscow
Science director: Mislavskaya N.A, Doctor of Economics Associate Professor, Professor of Accounting, Analysis and Audit Department Federal state educational Budgetary institution of higher education "Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation "
Russia, Moscow
FEATURES OF ELECTRONIC CORRESPONDENCE ETIQUETTE IN PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITY OF ACCOUNTANT
Annotation. This article is devoted to the sphere of business communication in the professional activity of the accountant. As a rule, there is a set of both mandatory and non-binding regulations and rules, which in general should be called business etiquette. On these rules it is necessary to pay special attention by sending business emails.
Key words: business correspondence, electronic correspondence, etiquette, business etiquette, activity of an accountant.
For the last several decades, e-mail has become one of the most popular means of business communication. Of course, personal meetings have not been canceled yet, but correspondence with customers via e-mail has greatly simplified the conduct of business and the performance of official duties. Today it will be difficult to find a person who does not use e-mail in his work, but especially it concerns the employees of the accounting service.
Ability to properly conduct business correspondence plays a particularly important role in the economic success of the company. It helps to establish strong relationships with customers, improve relations between departments, and increase the company's financial performance. Correctness of communication in the letter and its content gives the interviewee a certain portrait of the person who addresses him, since, of course, business correspondence has a close connection with the psychological factors of communication. Competently built communication with the client can become a pledge of signing a multimillion-dollar contract.
The relevance of this topic lies in the fact that the Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants - members of NP "IPB of Russia", although it affects the main ethical aspects of the accountant's work, does not contain recommendations for compliance with the etiquette of business correspondence.
Why do we need to follow the ethics of business correspondence? Firstly, to be sure that your letter will not be deleted. For example, due to the absence of the
subject of the letter or its incorrect wording, the recipient can take your letter for spam and delete it. Secondly, to clearly and clearly express their thoughts. Everyone faced with the fact that, after reading the letter, absolutely could not catch his goal. Thirdly, not to be known as ignoramus. Everyone is familiar with the option of sending a letter as a "read report". Our observations show that it irritates most people. And of course, the need to comply with business ethics is necessary in order for electronic correspondence to bring results. The purpose of any working correspondence is a signed contract, a solution to the problem, obtaining the necessary information. If the goals of correspondence are not met, its effectiveness is zero.
An important factor in a properly composed letter is an accurately marked topic. Its absence is a bad tone. It is even permissible to delete such a letter. The fate of a letter very often depends on the topic, especially if the sender's address is not familiar to the recipient. Correctly compiled, capacious and informative, it facilitates the work with electronic correspondence, as the letter can be quickly identified and found among others.
It must be remembered that the subject of writing is the "red thread" of the meaning of the entire message. In case you understand that the main idea of the dialogue will change, change the topic, and better create a new letter and begin the discussion. Otherwise, changing the purpose of the letter without changing its subject can lead to confusion.
The algorithm for a correctly composed letter can be presented in the following form:
1 - "cap" in the corporate style;
2 - greeting;
3 - content, purpose of treatment;
4 - parting;
5 - personal signature with contact details;
6 - a link to the company's website;
7 - logo, (if necessary).
Always start the correspondence with a greeting. Unfortunately, some users neglect it, mistakenly believing that a greeting in an e-mail cannot be written, since these are "remnants of the past", that it does not carry any information in itself. This is completely wrong. The greeting carries in itself the information about the upbringing of the person who composes the letter. So that you are not considered rude and ill-bred - follow the rules of etiquette of e-mail.
As a greeting, use the following formulations:
• "Good afternoon, dear Lidia Ivanovna!" - this greeting is suitable for addressing an interlocutor who is older than you by age;
• "Maria, good morning," - in our opinion, it is appropriate to use it when communicating with colleagues or people of the same age, but do not forget about applying to "You", since the appeal to "You" contradicts the rules business ethics.
In international companies, as a rule, there are no such strict rules, and most often regardless of age and position, all refer to each other by name. In our
opinion, this approach positively affects the working atmosphere.
When communicating with foreign colleagues, the following welcome phrases are more often used:
• "Dear Maria," - it is appropriate for everyone;
• "Hi Daniel", "Hello Adrian" - these greetings are allowed when communicating with people you already know for a long time.
Do not forget about such phrases as "Hope this email finds you well" or "I hope you're having a great weekend", they will also help build a fruitful communication.
Since reading from the screen of the monitor is much more difficult than reading a paper medium, it is very important to properly structure the e-mail. It is necessary to break long and complex in structure sentences into several short ones. Try to divide the text into logical paragraphs, separating them from each other indented or empty line.
E-mail, in contrast to the usual, is designed for rapid transmission of information, so try not to send long emails. If you need to send important information containing a large volume, it is better to compose a short accompanying text in an e-mail, and the information itself should be formalized in the form of an attachment.
Specificity of accounting professional activity is based on accurate knowledge, regulatory framework, established standards. Therefore, it is always necessary to indicate the documents you rely on and on the basis of which you ask the client for this or that information, so as not to put yourself in an awkward position.
Electronic signature is an important attribute of business communication, its presence in messages is a rule of good taste. Marketers and advertising specialists are well aware that what is written at the end of the text automatically "clings", attracts and retains attention more strongly, so the signature is unobtrusive business advertising.
Companies usually develop a common regulation and an example of a signature for an e-mail, which creates a positive image for the company in front of customers and partners. Here, compliance with standards is an indicator of how closely management takes into account important details and subtleties.
Always use a signature - it will help your respondent to uniquely identify you. And be sure to include in it several possible ways of communicating with you. Usually it's phone numbers, e-mail address.
Example of an electronic signature:
Regards,
Alexander Martynov,
Senior Specialist
Financial control, OOO "Omega"
Moscow 114231, Green 4 pp. 5 Tel: 8 (495) 456 32 88
Mob. Tel .: 8 (985) 349 32 33
E-mail: a.martynov@omega.com
If a person is waiting for a letter, then in the "From" column he will search for the name that he was introduced to when they met, or the e-mail address specified in the business card. Therefore, when creating mail, avoid aliases and non-existent names (pirojenka@mail.ru, selena-moor@bk.ru). It is recommended that you use your real first and last name (vladislav.sviridov@gmail.com, m.gorlova@inbox.com). Electronic addresses containing various aliases are not taken lightly, the recipient of the letter can doubt the professionalism of a person whose email address, for example, kotik2000@yahoo.com. With work addresses in this plan is much easier, because they are always created according to certain standards, for example: "name", "surname" @ company domain.
E-mail is a link to other people. According to the rules of etiquette, e-mails must be answered, and the response time should not exceed three days. In our opinion, in the conditions of carrying out the labor activity of the accountant, two days are more than enough for an answer. If you need more time to prepare the answer, be sure to report this, explaining the reason for the delay and indicating the time frame when you can provide the necessary information.
According to the rules of e-mail etiquette, the "notice of receipt / reading" mark is a sign of disrespect and mistrust of the interlocutor and can cause a negative attitude. Therefore, if you are worried, if the letter has reached the addressee, it is better to call him back after a while. It is also not forbidden to add a request for notification at the end of the message after receiving the letter.
Having prepared the letter, be sure to check it for spelling and punctuation, estimate how brief and laconically it was possible to convey your idea.
It is desirable to add recipients manually, in order to avoid cases of sending letters to those people, it is fraught with reprimands until dismissal.
Avoid red letters, multiple exclamation marks and a capital font. This can cause irritation or other undesirable reaction in the recipient of the letter. If you want to express positive emotions, it's better to write: "Thank you very much for the operative work and good result!" Or "Very grateful, you helped me out!". The message "BIG THANKS !!!" can be mistaken for sarcasm.
Be very careful when sending confidential information. Analyze whether you can forward this data. Remember that e-mail when transferring can be intercepted and used for personal gain.
The sphere of economics, and in particular accounting services, is inextricably linked with the information component. And in spite of the fact that nowadays there is an opportunity to carry out labor activity "without departing from the computer", without applying the rules of the ethics of electronic business communication, the effectiveness of achieving the goals is reduced.
Our recommendations can be used not only in the context of the professional activities of accountants and auditors, but also for other economic specialties. We also hope that the relevant section will be introduced into the domestic code of ethics for professional accountants and auditors.
References:
1. Code of professional ethics of members of NP "IPB of Russia" Electronic resource. Access from the site http://base.garant.ru/71779848/
2. Business correspondence in English: phrases and advice. Electronic resource. Access from the site https: //habrahabr.ru/companv/netologvru/blog/340358/
3. Etiquette - the etiquette of e-almost and the rules of writing an e-mail. Electronic resource. Access from the site https://www.klerk.ru/boss/articles/107872/
4. E-mail etiquette, or the rules of writing an email. Electronic resource. Access from the site https://zarya64.ru/obshchestvo/aktualno/685-etiket-elektronnoi-
pochtv-ili-pravila-napisaniya-elektronnogo-pisma
5. Email etiquette. Electronic resource. Access from http://www.emailreplies.com/
6. E-mail etiquette or the rules of writing an email. Electronic resource. Access from the site http: //www.koryazhma.ru/articles/etiket/netiquette mail .asp
7. Mislavskaya N.A. International Financial Reporting Standards: Problems and Contradictions: A Monograph / NA. Mislavsky. - Moscow: Rusays, 2015. - 202s.
8. Mislavskaya N.A. Psychological Aspects in the Professional Activity of the Accountant // Auditor. 2016. № 8.
9. Mislavskaya N.A. Specificity of the professional deformation of the accountant's personality // Auditor. 2017. No. 4.
10. Polenova S.N. Regulation of accounting: spatio-temporal analysis: monograph / S.N. Polenov. - Moscow: Rusays, 2015. - 180 p.
