Methodological aspects of forensic accounting expertise in the investigation of railway transport offences

Introduction. The article presents the result of the study of the main aspects of the methodology of appointment and production of forensic accounting expertise, which is the most important source of obtaining evidence in the investigation of economic crimes in the field of railway transport. The author studies the peculiarities characterising economic crime and influencing the application of special knowledge; focuses on sectoral economics and accounting procedures characterised by a strict sequence of accounting actions to reflect information in the process of registration and processing of accounting data for the formation of financial statements; determines the significance of the use of the institute of special knowledge in the detection of distortions and inconsistencies contained in financial documents for the calculation of the financial statements; and provides a detailed description of the accounting procedures in the course of the investigation. Materials and Methods. The foundation of the study is local normative acts of public authorities. The methodological basis of the study was the general scientific methods of analysis and synthesis, generalisation and comparison; additionally, the system-structural and functional approaches were used. The Results of the Study. The effectiveness of countering economic crime depends on many factors, in particular, on the active use by the investigator of the institute of special economic knowledge in the process of detection and investigation of offences of this category. At present, an important component of such counteraction is the fight against economic crime on the basis of accounting research data. Thus, among the main methods and tools of combating economic crime and prevention of its commission, forensic accounting expertise should occupy the most important place. Findings and Conclusions. The author concludes that successful forensic accounting expertise in the field of railway transport requires deep specialised knowledge of the specifics of accounting and economic activities of the industry.