ACCOUNTING AND INFORMATION SUPPORT OF ACTIVITIES OF ENTERPRISES PROVIDING TRANSPORT AND FORWARDING SERVICES

Abstract

At the present stage, there is a significant gap between the management needs for fast, detailed infor-mation and traditional approaches to accounting for freight forwarding operations. The problem lies in the lack of clearly regulated methodological principles for distinguishing between the freight forwarder's own costs and transit funds that pass through it to pay for third-party services. This leads to distortion of indicators, overestimation of cost prices and, as a result, obtaining unreliable data on the real profitability of individual orders. The article examines the specifics of providing freight forwarding services as intermediary operations within the system of existing business processes of business entities. The mediation process in supply chains between suppliers, manufacturers, distributors, and consumers is analyzed as an important element of the logistics process within the system of economic relations. The procedure for forming settlement transactions in the provision of freight forwarding services and their reflection in the accounting system is disclosed, which involves the author’s approach to separating settlements related to freight for-warding services from other liabilities of the enterprise through a clear distinction between “transit” funds and the freight forwarder’s remuneration. The system of costs associated with the provision of freight forwarding services is characterized with the aim of forming their actual cost by structural divisions and types of activities. A differentiation of costs into direct and indirect is proposed, which will subsequently be allocated according to the selected allocation base. This approach ensures that the management system is provided with reliable information on the cost of services rendered by responsibility centers and areas of customer orders. The peculiarities of accounting for service provision operations performed on behalf of the client or under commission arrangements and their impact on cost formation and revenue recognition are revealed. The methodology for forming revenues from the provision of freight forwarding ser-vices and their recognition in accounting is investigated. Directions for improving the accounting of revenues and op-erating results are proposed, which предусматривают the formation of analytical information by various service provision areas. Systematic improvement of accounting and analytical support for the management system of freight forwarding services is recommended, as it constitutes an important component of managerial decision-making.