
Why accountants now sit at the heart of solar decisions
Ukrainian offices are adding rooftop PV to stabilize energy costs, hedge grid risks, and decarbonize operations. Yet the business value only materializes when generation is measured, priced, and reflected correctly in ledgers and reports. That is why finance teams must be involved from day one of office building solar power plant design and build projects - from defining metering boundaries to setting capitalization rules and revenue policies. Done right, you get credible savings, cleaner EBITDA, and investor-grade audit trails. Done poorly, you get disputes with auditors, overstated returns, and opaque KPIs.
What to measure - and how to make numbers audit-ready
For accounting purposes, solar generation is not a single number. It is a data model with clear provenance. At minimum, you need:
The data backbone for reliable books
- Utility import and export meters - to quantify purchased energy and energy sold or credited under net billing.
- Inverter or SCADA readings - to evidence gross generation and performance ratios.
- Building submetering - to allocate self-consumed PV to cost centers such as shared areas, IT, and tenant floors.
- Price references - the contracted tariff for purchased electricity, the compensation rate for exported energy, and any wheeling or distribution fees.
Core data points finance should request monthly
- Interval PV generation kWh and self-consumption share.
- Grid import kWh and export kWh with timestamps.
- Effective purchase price per kWh and compensation rate per kWh.
- Availability hours, inverter downtime, and curtailment events.
- Maintenance spend and warranty claims tied to the period.
Keeping these elements allows the controller to defend savings, reconcile variances, and pass audits without excessive manual work.
Accounting policy choices that shape the P and L
Selecting policies early makes closing faster and safer.
Capitalization and useful life
Under IFRS, PV equipment typically qualifies as property, plant and equipment under IAS 16. Capitalize EPC and directly attributable costs, then depreciate over the expected useful life - often 15 to 25 years depending on modules and inverters. Track componentization: modules, inverters, mounting structures, and switchgear may have different lives and replacement cycles. Borrowing costs during construction can be capitalized under IAS 23. Repairs are expensed unless they extend useful life or increase capacity.
PPAs, leases, and service models
Not every office buys panels. Power purchase agreements create different profiles. If a contract conveys the right to control an identified asset, IFRS 16 may apply as a lease. If not, treat as a service contract, expensing payments as operating costs. For campus-scale arrangements, business campus solar PPA and financing setup frameworks often blend a fixed capacity charge with variable energy payments - split the accounting accordingly and disclose commitments.
Recognizing revenue versus reducing expense
When PV offsets on-site consumption, most offices present the benefit as reduced electricity expense. When excess generation is sold or credited, recognize other income under IFRS 15 based on enforceable rights and a reliable measure of consideration. Keep export settlements distinct from savings to avoid double counting.
Pricing, net billing, and volatility control
Net billing credits exported kWh at a compensation rate that may differ from the purchase tariff. That spread matters. Lock the rate source in your accounting memo and version control any tariff changes. If credits roll over across periods, recognize a contract asset or liability as appropriate and disclose the policy. If the office has time-of-use tariffs, allocate PV to periods to measure real avoided cost, not an average price that masks peak shaving value.
Cost allocation that management will believe
Operations want savings by floor and function. Finance wants a defensible basis. Both can win with transparent drivers.
Practical allocation drivers
- Submetered kWh by tenant or department for self-consumed PV.
- Allocated by peak kW contribution for demand-charge savings.
- Headcount or floor area only as a fallback where metering is missing.
Document your hierarchy of drivers in policy. If you change the basis midyear, disclose and restate comparatives for trend continuity.
Controls and evidence for auditors
Build light but effective controls around the data:
- Automated ingestion of meter and inverter data with hash checks.
- Exception flags for meter gaps longer than a defined threshold.
- Dual-approval for tariff tables and compensation rates.
- Monthly tie-out between SCADA generation, grid export, and on-site consumption.
These steps cut review time and reduce findings related to data integrity.
A numeric illustration for an office in Ukraine
Assume a Kyiv office with a 100 kW solar power station on the roof. The array generates 120,000 kWh per year. Self-consumption covers 85 percent of generation, displacing imported energy. The remaining 15 percent is exported under net billing.
- Self-consumption: 102,000 kWh
- Export: 18,000 kWh
- Purchase tariff: 6.0 UAH per kWh
- Compensation rate for export: 4.0 UAH per kWh
Annual avoided cost equals 102,000 kWh × 6.0 UAH = 612,000 UAH. Export income equals 18,000 kWh × 4.0 UAH = 72,000 UAH. If O and M costs 90,000 UAH and insurance 30,000 UAH, the gross operating benefit is 612,000 + 72,000 - 120,000 = 564,000 UAH before depreciation and financing. Depreciation and any interest expense will then shape the net impact on profit.
A monthly close checklist for the controller
- Reconcile SCADA gross generation with meter import and export.
- Update purchase and export price tables - check for midmonth changes.
- Book self-consumption savings using actual interval data, not estimates.
- Recognize export income based on the settlement report; accrue if pending.
- Capitalize qualifying project costs and track component replacements.
- Review maintenance tickets and warranties for capitalization versus expense.
- Refresh rolling 12-month performance and identify seasonal deviations.
ESG, assurance, and investor reporting
Investors now expect energy and emissions numbers to match the financial story. If the company reports under GHG Protocol, on-site PV typically lowers Scope 2 market-based emissions. Align energy data with ESG disclosures to avoid inconsistencies between sustainability pages and the financial review. Where feasible, secure limited assurance over energy KPIs - auditors will leverage the same controls that support your ledgers.
Implementation roadmap that keeps finance in control
Bringing accounting into the solar project is not a burden - it is a safeguard for returns.
Steps we recommend to Ukrainian offices
- Define metering and data retention in the EPC contract and SLAs with the integrator.
- Approve an accounting memo covering capitalization, depreciation lives, revenue recognition for exports, and presentation of savings.
- Select allocation drivers and configure them in ERP or BI tools.
- Automate data ingestion and build exception dashboards.
- Train facility and finance teams on monthly close tasks and year-end audit support.
Clarity in the first month saves countless hours in month twelve.
Bottom line
Solar is a financial asset as much as an energy asset. When finance leads on policy, data, and controls, PV becomes a credible lever for cost stability and resilience. With disciplined accounting, offices can show real savings, clean audit trails, and a decarbonization story that stands up to scrutiny.