Jornal do Comércio - Accounting - 07/07/2004

The internet reproduces the organization of the real society with greater relevance to the illicit aspects due to the lack of control. Informality in real Brazil already reaches 39,8% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), according to a study produced by McKinsey consultancy at the request of the Brazilian Institute of Ethics in Competition (Etco). But it can be much larger within the limits of the computer monitor, according to an estimate of scholars. It is not surprising that the global network does not yet generate many jobs for accounting professionals.

Electronic crimes still enjoy impunity. Proof of the lack of specific legislation and penalties are the two Americans recently accused of stealing e-mail addresses and spreading spam that could be sentenced to five years in prison and a $ 250 fine. For the crime of conspiracy. Today the election for the Brazilian internet management committee takes place. The representative of the accounting class, Nivaldo Cleto, says that, if elected, he wants to help moralize the use of the internet in the country.

The internet reproduces the organization of real society with greater relevance to illicit aspects due to the lack of control. Thus, informality, which in real Brazil already reaches 39,8% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), according to a study produced by McKinsey consultancy at the request of the Brazilian Institute of Ethics in Competition (Etco), may be much greater within the limits of the monitor of your computer, scholars estimate. It is not surprising that the global network does not yet generate many professional accounting jobs.

? Problems in the real world are transferred to the virtual world ?, summarizes the director of technology at Pulso, Carlos Sangiorgio, specializing in web security. ? In the real world there are stores that sell without invoice and without guarantee. When this changes to the virtual model, the problem is amplified because these people feel protected. Allied to this is the impunity that electronic crimes enjoy ?, he says.

As evidence of the lack of specific legislation and penalties, he points out, two Americans recently accused of stealing e-mail addresses and spreading spam can be sentenced to five years in prison and a $ 250 fine, but for the crime of conspiracy. .

According to the internet security specialist, there is already enough technology to promote control of virtual commerce operations, but the cost is high. ? Someone is going to have to pay and the government is by nature a great lever of new technologies, including demanding the implementation of them in practice ?, he says. He recalls that legally established companies have a cost at least twice that of informal ones that operate without invoices and with delivery through the Post Office, considering the hypothesis that the goods are actually supplied. Sangiorgio points out that the price can be very tempting in the case of electronic equipment, but the buyer will have little guarantee in case of defect. ? There are still spams that promise products at half the price ?, he warns.

The Colombo chain, headquartered in Rio Grande do Sul and 354 stores in the State, Santa Catarina, Paraná, São Paulo and Minas Gerais, decided to enter the virtual market precisely in order to offer this differential to the web's clientele: the offer of products on the internet with the guarantee of a solid company involved in the process.
Like all major stores on the internet, Colombo applies the same controls over physical and virtual sales, as explained by the general financial manager, Ricardo Müller. ? The accounting of the sale through the virtual store is no different from that carried out in the real store, only the means of access is different ?, he explains, adding that the main objective is to offer convenience to customers through the possibility of purchasing over the phone or via the internet. previously chosen products. ? In view of our capillarity, the customer has many options to go to our store ?, he justifies.

For the Director of Technology of the National Federation of Accounting Service Companies, Advisory, Expertise, Information and Research (Fenacon), Nivaldo Cleto, who is competing for a vacancy for CGIbr, the Internet Steering Committee in Brazil as a representative of the business sector of users, accounting professionals can collaborate in the implementation of more appropriate controls also in the virtual universe. ? We are the professionals who most use the services offered by the web in Brazil, mainly electronic government services ?, he says.

For him, it is necessary to end the fear of opening e-mails and using Internet services because of spam and viruses, but with simplicity. ? If we count the internet, there will be a standard of procedure that will make life easier for users, not only of the accountant class, but of civil society as a whole. Can we not overburden the use of these services ?, he concludes.

Portal that has been on the air for a year and a half offers three thousand pages

The accounting and tax bookkeeping of an internet portal does not differ, in terms of procedure, from that required for a conventional company. Especially because, in order to keep up-to-date information that justifies charging a banner rental on a website, real work is needed. I mean, taxes and charges that have nothing virtual.

This is what the accountant Paulo Schnorr, who among other clients provides services for the Sulmix Portal, which provides clipping of newspapers from the Vale do Sinos and Metropolitana region, provides other information and texts by columnists from different areas. ? What is different is that I was invited to write a column on accounting and I also advertise on the portal. Have I had any contacts because of that ?, he says.

For him, there is not an abundance of jobs in the network for accountants, but there are other opportunities for profit. "It certainly has everything to do, even as a source of information," he points out. ? My office is not virtual, but we have to adapt to the new times ?, jokes the professional who has worked in São Leopoldo for 25 years.

Access to information on the Sulmix Portal (www.sulmix.com.br) it's free. Soares & Fernandes' revenue, which manages the service, results from the rental of advertising spaces. Since 2003, the company has opted for the Simplified System of Payment of Taxes and Federal Contributions (Simples) with an additional 50% of the rate provided for companies in the service sector. The sales tax is still subject to the Service Tax (ISS). This without considering labor charges.
The portal is maintained by three employees, has been online for a year and a half and has about 3 pages. According to the director, João Soares, the number of page views per day reaches 20 thousand.
? We are a small company but we are in full development ?, he celebrates.

GGIbr election takes place today

The election for GGIbr, the Brazilian internet management committee, takes place today. Only approved entities can vote, according to the list available on the website www.cg.org.br. In the past few weeks, the representative of the accounting class, who, if elected, will be the only one among eleven members of the committee, announced his proposals among the voting entities.
? My main objective, being part of this group of managers is to moralize the use of the internet, to make programs that facilitate web access for the whole Brazilian society, to create simple, objective and practical programs for the transmission of information, collaborating mainly for the strengthening the idea of ​​knowledge and use from schools since basic education ?, defends Nivaldo Cleto, in a letter of intent sent to members of the electoral college.
Cleto is Director of Technology and Vice-President of the National Federation of Accounting, Advisory, Expertise, Information and Research Companies (Fenacon) for the Southeast Region and has been engaged in this subject for 12 years.

Provider is subject to ICMS taxation

Part of the revenue from the Tax on Circulation of Goods and Services (ICMS) in the government of Rio Grande do Sul comes from companies operating in the virtual world. The substitute director of the State Revenue, Júlio Cesar Grazziotin, says that internet service providers suffer taxation of 5%, as established in an agreement of the National Council of Farm Policy (Confaz).
? There is a confusion made by some companies in the sector ?, he highlights. Grazziotin recalls that the authorization is for the collection of ICMS on communication services and not telecommunication, as he understands part of the segment. ? There are already court decisions favorable to collection and the tendency is for taxation to be consolidated ?, he says.
Internet commerce operations, a priori, suffer normal taxation. ? What we have in this area is a greater difficulty of control ?, he acknowledges.

The Porto Alegre Data Processing Company (Procempa) complies with the system of accountability common to private companies since it is a mixed-capital company. ? The accounting of the internet provider is similar to corporate accounting ?, testifies the accounting supervisor, Claudio Luiz Ferreira de Melo.

Procempa maintains the provider Portoweb and Shopping Porto Alegre, an e-commerce enterprise. Portoweb was opened in 1996 and has more than 10 users, in addition to 140 local networks and 5 users in the Executive.

Melo explains that Procempa works primarily for the City Hall of the Capital, but also serves other customers. ? We are exempt from ISS, but only for services provided to the municipality.