RR-13 RR-13-04-01 — Cost Accounting and Regulatory Costing
This process involves the cost accounting and regulatory costing for fuel surcharges and revenue per car calculations in a US Class I freight railroad.
🗺 BPMN Process Flow
Click diagram to zoom & pan • Scroll to zoom • Drag to pan • Download SVG
📋 Process Attributes
| Process ID | RR-13-04-01 |
|---|---|
| Domain Family | COMMERCIAL |
| L1 Domain | Finance, Revenue Accounting & Procurement |
| L2 Process Group | Cost Accounting and Regulatory Costing |
| Trigger | Monthly financial reporting cycle starts |
| Outcome | Accurate cost accounting and regulatory costing reports are generated, ensuring compliance with STB fuel surcharge calculation decisions and AAR Interchange Rules. |
| Systems | NetControl I-ETMS Fuel surcharge program ARC (Average Revenue per Car) TRAIN II CHARM PS Technology EHMS Interline Settlement System CHDX up.com customer portal SERTC |
| Regulatory Hooks | 49 CFR Part 232 GCOR 6.28 49 CFR Part 1180 AAR Interchange Rules (Rule 88 and related) |
📋 L4 Process Steps
| Step | Name | Role | System | Input | Output | KPI | Pain Point / Risk | Decision? | Exception? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1.1 | Data Collection | Revenue Accountant | NetControl | Monthly service design data | Collected data report | Data collection accuracy rate > 95% | Inconsistent data entry across different systems | N | N |
| 1.2 | Fuel Surcharge Calculation | Cost Analyst (regulatory costing) | Fuel surcharge program | Collected data report | Fuel surcharge calculation report | Fuel surcharge accuracy rate > 98% | Complexity in applying STB fuel surcharge rules | Y | Y |
| 1.3 | Revenue Per Car Calculation | Cost Analyst (regulatory costing) | ARC (Average Revenue per Car) | Collected data report | Revenue per car calculation report | Revenue per car accuracy rate > 97% | Handling of hazmat and intermodal revenue variations | Y | N |
| 1.4 | Regulatory Compliance Review | Revenue Accountant | I-ETMS | Fuel surcharge calculation report, Revenue per car calculation report | Compliance review report | Regulatory compliance rate > 99% | Keeping up with frequent regulatory changes | N | Y |
| 1.5 | Data Validation | Revenue Accountant | NetControl, I-ETMS | Collected data report, Fuel surcharge calculation report, Revenue per car calculation report | Validation report | Data validation accuracy rate > 95% | Cross-system data discrepancies | Y | N |
| 1.6 | Final Report Preparation | Revenue Accountant | TRAIN II, CHARM | Validation report | Final cost accounting and regulatory costing report | Report preparation time < 5 days | Meeting tight reporting deadlines | N | Y |
| 1.7 | Review by Plan Sponsor | Chairman, President and CEO | up.com customer portal | Final cost accounting and regulatory costing report | Approval or feedback | Plan sponsor approval rate > 98% | Handling of unexpected findings | Y | N |
| 1.8 | Update Regulatory Costing System | Cost Analyst (regulatory costing) | PS Technology, EHMS | Approval or feedback | Updated regulatory costing system | System update accuracy rate > 95% | Integration of new regulatory requirements | N | Y |
| 1.9 | Interline Settlement Review | Cost Analyst (regulatory costing) | Interline Settlement System, CHDX | Updated regulatory costing system | Interline settlement review report | Settlement accuracy rate > 97% | Handling of complex interline agreements | Y | N |
| 1.10 | Final Review and Submission | Revenue Accountant | up.com customer portal, SERTC | Interline settlement review report | Submitted final reports to regulatory bodies | Report submission accuracy rate > 98% | Meeting external reporting deadlines | N | Y |
| 1.11 | Post-Submission Review | Revenue Accountant | up.com customer portal, SERTC | Feedback from regulatory bodies | Action plan for any discrepancies | Discrepancy resolution rate > 95% | Addressing regulatory findings | Y | N |
| 1.12 | Continuous Improvement | Revenue Accountant, Cost Analyst (regulatory costing) | NetControl, I-ETMS | Action plan for any discrepancies | Updated processes and systems | Process improvement rate > 90% | Implementing changes across multiple systems | N | Y |
📊 KPIs & Risk Register
KPIs
Data collection accuracy rate > 95% Fuel surcharge accuracy rate > 98% Revenue per car accuracy rate > 97% Regulatory compliance rate > 99% Data validation accuracy rate > 95% Report preparation time < 5 days Plan sponsor approval rate > 98% System update accuracy rate > 95% Settlement accuracy rate > 97% Report submission accuracy rate > 98% Discrepancy resolution rate > 95% Process improvement rate > 90%
Key Risks
Inconsistent data entry across different systems Complexity in applying STB fuel surcharge rules Handling of hazmat and intermodal revenue variations Keeping up with frequent regulatory changes Cross-system data discrepancies Meeting tight reporting deadlines Handling of unexpected findings Integration of new regulatory requirements Handling of complex interline agreements Meeting external reporting deadlines Addressing regulatory findings Implementing changes across multiple systems
Swim Lanes
Revenue Accountant · 1.1, 1.2, 1.4, 1.5, 1.6, 1.7, 1.10, 1.11 Cost Analyst (regulatory costing) · 1.3, 1.8, 1.9, 1.12