Management of commercial risks in contractual activities of enterprises: legal mechanisms and economic instruments

Abstract

The article examines the peculiarities of commercial risk management in the contractual activities of enterprises under conditions of economic instability, martial law, changes in the regulatory environment, and increasing business risks. It has been established that contractual activity is one of the key elements of business entities’ functioning, while ineffective risk management may lead to significant financial losses, reduced liquidity, growth of accounts receivable, and commercial disputes.

The economic and legal nature of commercial risks arising during the conclusion and execution of business contracts is analyzed. The main types of commercial risks are investigated, including financial, logistics, currency, tax, force majeure, and legal risks. Considerable attention is paid to risks in transport and freight forwarding activities and logistics processes.

The article analyzes legal mechanisms for minimizing risks, including penalties, fines, bank guarantees, insurance, force majeure clauses, performance guarantees, and contractual control mechanisms. Economic instruments of risk management are separately studied, including internal control, reserving, audit, financial monitoring, counterparty assessment, and risk management systems.

The necessity of an integrated approach to commercial risk management through a combination of legal and economic mechanisms is substantiated. It is established that an effective contractual policy directly affects financial stability, economic security, and the efficiency of entrepreneurial activity. Directions for improving the commercial risk management system in contractual activities of enterprises are proposed. It is proved that effective risk management should be implemented on a continuous basis and should cover not only contractual activities, but also accounting systems, internal control, financial monitoring, and counterparty assessment. It is substantiated that the implementation of an integrated risk management system contributes to the stability of business activities, minimizes financial losses, and increases the level of economic security of enterprises under unstable market conditions.