Subject. The return on capital indicator as a tool for assessing the effectiveness of the use of fixed assets of an enterprise. Objectives. Identification and systematization of theoretical and methodological shortcomings of the return on investment indicator, limiting its application in financial analysis. A critical analysis of existing approaches to the calculation of capital returns and the formulation of areas for improving evaluation procedures. Methods. The research is based on historical and economic analysis, comparative analysis of modern methods, empirical modeling, as well as generalization of the results of domestic publications in recent years. Results. It is shown that an external reporting user is forced to rely primarily on the return on capital to assess the effectiveness of the use of fixed assets. Based on a review of modern publications, various approaches to modifying the indicator are presented: exclusion of the passive part of fixed assets, calculation by volume of output instead of revenue, adaptation to the regional level through gross regional product, as well as the inclusion of returns in rating and factor models. It is shown that, despite various modifications, the return on capital indicator has fundamental disadvantages: dependence on price and geopolitical conditions, the distorting effect of depreciation, substitution of the measurement of production efficiency by the measurement of turnover, the paradox of manual labor, as well as the low comparability of the indicator over time and between enterprises. Conclusions. Return on funds cannot serve as a reliable indicator of efficiency in the framework of external financial analysis. It is advisable to return to the theoretical legacy of the Soviet school of economics, where the emphasis was on production indicators (gross, marketable, net products, cost).
Keywords: fixed assets, return on capital, efficiency of use, revenue, depreciation
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