The subject of the article is the peculiarities of interpretation of transactions related to financial investments in shares and shares of limited liability companies. The methodological basis of the study is analysis, synthesis, deduction, scientific abstraction and generalization of the results obtained. The study is based on an analysis of domestic federal accounting standards, international financial reporting standards, as well as economic literature on the topic. The article highlights terminological inconsistencies in relation to the name of assets reflecting financial investments in shares and shares of other organizations both within Russian standards and between Russian standards and IFRS. The author presents the relationship between the classifications of investments in shares and shares of other organizations with their presentation in the balance sheet and the way their value changes. A proposal has been made to introduce a classification for financial instruments based on a risk–based approach. The article analyzes regulatory documents in order to substantiate their inconsistency and inconsistency in relation to the classification of assets to improve the usefulness of reporting data provided to external users. The choice of a more objective classification of assets for external users to improve the usefulness of reporting information is justified.