Bureau of Joint Accounts BJA

a form of regular setoff of mutual claims of enterprises and organizations in the USSR, widely used and developed in the Gosbank (State Bank) system until 1954. The first BJA was organized in 1931; in 1941 there were 62, and in 1954 there were 700. In financial transactions conducted through BJA’s, all participants had to have accounts in the branch of the Gosbank where the setoff would take place. Hence, the principal conditions for effective organization of BJA transactions were correct selection of participants and of the place where payments would be completed—that is, of the Gosbank institution that maintained the accounts and carried out periodical setoffs among BJA participants. The bureaus determined who was the debtor and who was the creditor and issued appropriate instructions to the bank concerning necessary entries into the Gosbank accounts of BJA participants. If a participant was short of funds to pay a dept, the BJA could issue a shortterm loan. The BJA, which played a positive role in improving financial accounting, proved to be unsuitable under conditions of widespread development of intertown joint accounts and interindustrial financial ties. In 1970, BJA’s began to operate under the sole administration of building trusts.