We will be the financial strategy of a manufacturing organization. How to develop a financial strategy. Development and implementation of financial strategy

INTRODUCTION

A financial strategy is needed to achieve the company's goals. When developing it, various options are possible, but for any of them it will be necessary to determine the planning period, outline the main financial goals and ways to achieve them. Equally important is the control over the implementation of the strategy, which allows evaluating the effectiveness of the company's activities, identifying deviations from the planned result and adjusting the strategy for subsequent periods:

- management of current assets and accounts payable;

-management of borrowed funds;

- management of current costs, sales of products and profits;

The financial strategy is a master plan of action to provide the enterprise with funds and manage them.

The financial strategy of any enterprise includes the following elements:

-analysis and assessment of the financial and economic condition of the company;

-development of accounting and tax policies;

-main capital management and depreciation policy;

-dividend and investment policy;

-assessment of the company's achievements and its market value.

Financial strategy means a set of principles and rules that determine the company's financial flows, the boundaries of financial risks, as well as financial goals formulated in a certain set of indicators and rules for their formation.

The financial strategy is closely related to the company's development strategy.

Since the goal of any business is profit, any strategy should be aimed at financial success. Any actions and strategies used in the enterprise must lead to changes in the financial component, otherwise these actions do not make sense. Finance is a service function and the financial strategy will largely depend on the company's marketing strategy.

Usually, strategies begin to be developed when the external conditions for doing business change dramatically, or when the number of internal contradictions and inconsistencies in business processes leads to the realization of the need for qualitative changes. The development of a company's financial strategy includes several main stages. First of all, you need to determine the period of validity of the strategy, goals financial activities, formulate a financial policy and detail financial indicators by periods of strategy implementation.

The presence of a financial strategy has a positive effect on the performance of the enterprise ... Owners make it clear what they want, and managers - what they can. The number of financial conflicts is reduced, and the financial result is increased.

So, if a company has a financial strategy, it certainly becomes more manageable for management and transparent for owners, more flexible in responding to changes in the business environment and internal processes.

The concept of financial strategy, and its role in the development of the enterprise

When developing a financial strategy, it is necessary to take into account the dynamics of macroeconomic processes, trends in the development of domestic financial markets, and the possibilities for diversifying the activities of an enterprise.

financial strategy,main task which is to achieve full self-sufficiency and independence of the enterprise, is based on certain principles of organization and includes the following:

- current and long-term financial planning, which determines for the future all the receipts of the enterprise's funds and the main directions of their spending;

- centralization of financial resources, ensuring the flexibility of financial resources, their concentration in the main areas of production and economic activity;

- the formation of financial reserves that ensure the stable operation of the enterprise in the face of possible fluctuations in market conditions;

- unconditional fulfillment of financial obligations to partners;

- development of the accounting, financial and depreciation policy of the enterprise;

- organization and maintenance of financial accounting of the enterprise and business segments on the basis of existing standards;

- preparation of financial statements for the enterprise and business segments in accordance with applicable rules and regulations in compliance with the requirements of standards;

- financial analysis of the activity of the enterprise and its segments (priority economic and geographical segments, other segments in the composition of unallocated items);

- financial control of the enterprise and all its segments.

Covering all forms of financial activity of an enterprise, namely: optimization of fixed and working capital, formation and distribution of profits, cash settlements and investment policy, the financial strategy explores the objective economic laws of market relations, develops forms and methods of survival and development under new conditions.

The financial strategy includes the methods and practice of forming financial resources, their planning and ensuring the financial stability of the enterprise. The financial strategy provides for the definition of long-term goals of financial activity and the choice of the most effective ways to achieve them. The goals of the financial strategy should be subordinated to the general strategy of economic development and aimed at maximizing profits and the market value of the enterprise.

In the process of developing a financial strategy, special attention is paid to the production of competitive products, the mobilization of internal resources, the maximum reduction in the cost of production, the formation and distribution of profits, the efficient use of capital, etc.

Consideration of risk factors is of great importance for the formation of a financial strategy. The financial strategy is developed taking into account the risk of non-payments, inflationary fluctuations, and the financial market.

An economic development strategy is a set of main goals and the main means of achieving them. Strategic planning is a unified way of predicting future opportunities, helping to clarify the most appropriate course of action. An analysis of the current values ​​of the parameters and their forecast make it possible to formulate strategic focus - a priority area on which it is necessary to concentrate attention and resources. The scope of the enterprise's priorities should be limited, since the simultaneous implementation of several strategic goals is really impossible..

Taking into account the risk factors and the uncertainty of the development of the external environment, it is almost impossible to choose a single development strategy.

Of great importance is the complexity of developing a strategy, since each alternative provides for an analysis of all, without exception, issues of its financial, resource and organizational security, the definition and coordination of temporal and quantitative parameters. Allocation of resources to achieve only a specific goal guarantees the stability of the implementation of the strategy, although it limits the possibility of maneuvering.

financial strategy is general plan activities of the enterprise, covering the formation of finances and their planning to ensure the financial stability of the enterprise and includes the following:

- planning, accounting, analysis and control of the financial condition;

- optimization of fixed and working capital;

- distribution of profits.

The financial strategy of the enterprise provides:

- formation and effective use of financial resources;

- identification of the most effective areas of investment and concentration of financial resources in these areas;

- compliance of financial actions with the economic condition and material capabilities of the enterprise;

-determination of the main threat from competitors, the correct choice of directions of financial actions and maneuvering to achieve an advantage over competitors;

- Creation and preparation of strategic reserves;

- ranking and phased achievement of goals.

Tasks of the financial strategy:

-determination of ways of successful use of financial opportunities;

-determination of prospective financial relationships of the enterprise with third parties

-financial support for operating and investment activities;

- study of economic and financial opportunities of potential competitors, development and implementation of measures to ensure financial stability.

The formation and implementation of a financial strategy as the basis for financial planning of an enterprise is based on the use of tools:

- financial management - financial analysis, budgeting, financial control;

- financial services market - factoring, insurance, leasing.

Financial planning is the main form of realization of the main goals of the enterprise. Long-term planning is an important part of the financial strategy of an enterprise and includes the development and forecasting of its financial activities.

The development of a financial strategy is part of the overall strategy for economic development, which is why it must be consistent with its goals and directions. In turn, the financial strategy has a significant impact on the overall economic strategy of the enterprise, since the change in the situation at the macro level and in the financial market is the reason for adjusting not only the financial, but also the general development strategy of the enterprise.

Stages of developing a financial strategy

The development of the financial strategy of the enterprise is based on the principles of the new management system of strategic management. The main of these principles that ensure the preparation and adoption of strategic financial decisions in the process of developing the financial strategy of an enterprise include:

Consideration of the enterprise as an open socio-economic system capable of self-organization. This principle of strategic management lies in the fact that when developing a financial strategy, an enterprise is considered as a certain system, completely open for active interaction with environmental factors. In the process of such interaction, an enterprise has the property of acquiring an appropriate spatial, temporal or functional structure without specific external influence in a market-type economy, which is considered as its ability to self-organize. The openness of the enterprise as a socio-economic system and its ability to self-organize make it possible to provide a qualitatively different level of formation of its financial strategy.

Accounting for the basic strategies of the enterprise's operating activities. As part of the overall strategy for the economic development of the enterprise, which primarily ensures the development of operating activities, the financial strategy is subordinate to it. Therefore, it must be consistent with the strategic goals and directions of the enterprise's operating activities. The financial strategy is considered as one of the main factors in ensuring effective development enterprises in accordance with their chosen corporate strategy.

However, financial strategy itself has a significant impact on the formation of the strategic development of the operating activities of the enterprise. This is due to the fact that the main goals of the operational strategy - ensuring high rates of product sales, growth in operating profit and increasing the competitive position of the enterprise are associated with the development trends of the relevant product market (consumer or production factors). If the trends in the development of the commodity and financial markets (in those segments where the company operates) do not coincide, a situation may arise when the strategic goals for the development of the company's operating activities cannot be implemented due to financial constraints. In this case, the operating strategy of the enterprise is adjusted accordingly.

The whole variety of operating strategies, the implementation of which is designed to ensure the financial activities of the enterprise, can be reduced to the following basic types:

Limited (or concentrated) growth. This type of operating strategy is used by enterprises with a stable product range and production technologies that are not easily affected by technological change. The choice of such a strategy is possible in conditions of relatively weak fluctuations in the commodity market and a stable competitive position of the enterprise. The main types of this basic strategy are: the strategy of strengthening the competitive position; market expansion strategy; product improvement strategy. Accordingly, the financial strategy of the enterprise in these conditions is aimed primarily at the effective provision of reproduction processes and the growth of assets that ensure a limited increase in production and sales. Strategic changes in financial activities in this case are minimized.

Accelerated (integrated or differentiated) growth. This type of operating strategy is usually chosen by enterprises in the early stages of their development. life cycle, as well as in dynamically developing industries under the influence of technological progress. The main types of this basic strategy are: vertical integration strategy; reverse integration strategy; horizontal diversification strategy; conglomerate diversification strategy.

Reducing (or shrinking). This operating strategy is most often chosen by enterprises in the last stages of their life cycle, as well as in the stage of financial crisis. It is based on the principle of "cutting off the excess", which provides for a reduction in the volume and range of products, withdrawal from certain market segments, etc. The main types of this basic strategy are: structure reduction strategy; cost reduction strategy; "harvest" strategy; elimination strategy. The financial strategy of the enterprise in these conditions is designed to ensure effective disinvestment and high flexibility in the use of released capital in order to ensure further financial stabilization.

Combination (or combination). Such an operating strategy of an enterprise integrates the considered various types of private strategies of individual strategic business zones or strategic business units. This strategy is typical for the largest enterprises (organizations) with a wide industry and regional diversification of operations.

Primary focus on the entrepreneurial style of strategic financial management. The financial management of an enterprise in a strategic perspective is characterized by an incremental or entrepreneurial style.

The basis of the incremental style of strategic financial management is the setting of strategic goals based on the achieved level of financial activity with minimizing the alternativeness of strategic financial decisions. Fundamental changes in the directions and forms of financial activity are carried out only as a response to changes in the operating strategy of the enterprise. This style of strategic financial management is usually typical for enterprises that have reached the maturity stage of their life cycle.

The basis of the entrepreneurial style of strategic financial management is the active search for effective management decisions in all areas and forms of financial activity. This style of financial management is associated with a constant transformation of the directions, forms and methods of financial activities all the way to achieving the set strategic goals, taking into account changing environmental factors.

Identification of dominant areas of strategic financial development. This principle makes it possible to ensure the identification of priority areas of the financial activity of the enterprise, providing successful implementation its main objective function is to increase the market value of the enterprise in the long term.

Strategy for the formation of financial resources of the enterprise. The goals, objectives and main strategic decisions of this dominant financial strategy should be aimed at financial support for the implementation of the corporate strategy of the enterprise and, accordingly, subordinate to it.

The strategy of distribution of financial resources of the enterprise. The parameters of the strategic set of this dominant financial strategy should, on the one hand, be aimed at financial support for the implementation of individual functional strategies and strategies of economic units, and on the other hand, form the basis for the formation of directions for the investment activity of an enterprise in a strategic perspective.

Strategy for ensuring the financial security of the enterprise. The goals, objectives and most important strategic decisions of this dominant financial strategy should be aimed at the formation and support of the main parameters of the financial balance of the enterprise in the process of its strategic development.

Strategy for improving the quality of financial management of the enterprise. The parameters of the strategic set of this dominant financial strategy are developed by the financial services of the enterprise and are included as an independent block in the corporate and individual functional strategies of the enterprise.

Ensuring the flexibility of the financial strategy. The future development of the financial activity of the enterprise is always characterized by significant uncertainty. Therefore, it is practically impossible to keep the developed financial strategy of the enterprise unchanged at all stages of the process of its implementation. Strategic flexibility is the potential ability of an enterprise to quickly adjust or develop new strategic financial decisions in the face of changing external or internal conditions for the implementation of financial activities. It is achieved with such intra-organizational coordination of financial activities, in which financial resources can be easily transferred from one strategic business area or economic unit to another. The ability to timely maneuver financial resources is achieved if the enterprise has a sufficient amount of them in the form of insurance reserves and integrated management of these reserves. Moreover , an important role in ensuring the flexibility of the financial strategy is played by a sufficient level of liquidity of the assets and investments of the enterprise. To this end, an enterprise may sometimes knowingly support certain types of financial investment with low returns but high liquidity to provide the necessary strategic flexibility due to the ability to quickly reinvest capital.

6. Providing an alternative strategic financial choice. Strategic financial decisions should be based on an active search for alternative options for the directions, forms and methods of financial activities, the selection of the best of them, the construction of a general financial strategy on this basis and the formation of mechanisms for its effective implementation. Alternative is the most important distinguishing feature of the entire system of strategic enterprise management and is associated with all the main elements of the strategic financial set - financial goals, financial policy for certain aspects of financial activity, sources of financial resources, style and mentality of financial management, etc.

7. Ensuring continuous use of the results of technological progress in financial activities. When forming a financial strategy, it should be borne in mind that financial activity is the main mechanism for ensuring the introduction of technological innovations that ensure the growth of the enterprise's competitive position in the market. Therefore, the implementation of the general goals of the strategic development of an enterprise largely depends on how its financial strategy reflects the results of technological progress and is adapted to the rapid use of its new results.

8. Accounting for the level of financial risk in the process of making strategic financial decisions. Almost all major financial decisions taken in the process of forming a financial strategy, to one degree or another, change the level of financial risk. First of all, this is due to the choice of directions and forms of financial activity, the formation of financial resources, the introduction of new organizational structures for managing financial activities. The level of financial risk increases especially strongly during periods of interest rate fluctuations and inflation growth. Due to the different mentality of financial managers in relation to the level of acceptable financial risk (their risk preferences) at each enterprise in the process of developing a financial strategy this parameter must be set differentially.

9. Orientation to the professional apparatus of financial managers in the process of implementing the financial strategy. Whatever specialists are involved in the development of individual parameters of the financial strategy of the enterprise, its implementation should be provided by trained specialists - financial managers. These managers must be familiar with the basic principles of strategic management, the mechanism for managing certain aspects of financial activity, and master the methods of strategic financial controlling.

Providing the developed financial strategy of the enterprise with the appropriate organizational structure for managing financial activities and organizational culture. The most important condition for the effective implementation of the financial strategy is the corresponding changes organizational structure management and organizational culture. The envisaged strategic changes in this area should be an integral part of the parameters of the financial strategy that ensure its feasibility.

The development of the main elements of a strategic set in the field of financial activity of an enterprise is based on the results of a strategic financial analysis.

The final product of strategic financial analysis is a model of the strategic financial position of an enterprise, which comprehensively and comprehensively characterizes the prerequisites and opportunities for its financial development in the context of each of the strategic dominant areas of financial activity.

Strategic planning is implemented sequentially in stages:

Organization mission statement

Goal setting

Assessment and analysis of the external environment

Choice

strategies

Implementation of the strategy and subsequent evaluation of results

Analysis of strategic alternatives

Management review of the organization.

Organizational mission statement and goal setting. The mission of the organization is the main common goal, a clearly expressed reason for its existence.

The objectives of the enterprise must be specific and measurable. They are usually installed for long or short periods of time. A long-term goal has a planning horizon of five or more years. A short-term goal usually represents one of the plans to be completed within a year. Medium-term goals have a planning horizon of one to five years. Long-term goals are formulated first. Then medium and short-term goals are set, necessary to ensure long-term goals. Usually, the closer the planning horizon of the goal, the narrower the scope of the tasks set. For example, a long-term productivity goal might be: increase overall productivity by 25% in five years. Then the medium-term goal is to increase productivity by 10% in two years. The goal set must be achievable. Setting a goal that exceeds the capacity of the organization can be disastrous. If the goals are unattainable, the desire of employees to succeed will be blocked and their motivation will weaken - unattainable goals will disorganize the staff.

Assessment and analysis of the external environment is the process by which strategic planners evaluate factors external to the organization in order to identify opportunities and threats for the firm. Evaluate according to three parameters: 1) changes that affect different aspects of the current strategy. For example, rising fuel prices create problems for airlines, so they must continually assess fuel price developments; 2) factors that pose a threat to the current strategy of the firm. For example, if there are competitors, you need to control their activities. ; 3) factors that determine new opportunities to achieve the goals of the enterprise.

Threats and opportunities can generally be classified into seven areas: economics, politics, markets, technology, competition, international standing, and social behavior.

To achieve its goals, the company needs a financial strategy. When developing it, various options are possible, but for any of them it will be necessary to determine the planning period, outline the main financial goals and ways to achieve them. Equally important is the control over the implementation of the strategy, which makes it possible to evaluate the effectiveness of activities, identify deviations from the planned result and adjust the strategy for subsequent periods.

Financial strategy of the enterprise or any other organization is a master plan for providing the enterprise with cash and disposing of them. In our company, as in any enterprise, it includes the following elements:

• analysis and assessment of the financial and economic condition of the company;
• development accounting policy as well as tax policy;
• fixed capital management and depreciation policy;
• current asset management and accounts payable ;
• management of borrowed funds;
• management of current costs, sales of products and profits;
• dividend and investment policy;
• assessment of the company's achievements and its market value.

Expert opinion
Michael Pukemo,

For me, a financial development strategy means a set of principles and rules that determine cash flows companies, risk boundaries, as well as goals formulated in a certain set of indicators and the rules for their formation. This strategy is closely related to the company's development strategy 1 .

Personal experience
Alexander Papin,

The formation of the financial strategy of the company is impossible if there is no general strategy for the development of the company, which is always set "from above" - ​​by the owners, shareholders or the board of directors 2 . Even if the development strategy is not clothed in any detailed document, there is always a certain attitude. Shareholders voice their wishes in terms of market share, geographical distribution of business, level of profitability . Under this, the company's financial strategy is adjusted, in which the wishes of shareholders are reflected in certain figures and indicators. I note that the initial information usually comes from marketing departments (primarily revenue forecast), and the financial service is included in the calculations and contributes to the choice of the most appropriate business development model.

Often, a company does not have a developed and approved corporate strategy, so the financial director, as a rule, helps the manager and owners to formalize business development criteria and determine key indicators. Sometimes it is necessary to choose the most optimal of two or three options for the development of a holding.

Personal experience
Michael Pukemo, President of Alta Group (Moscow)

Since the goal of any business is profit, any strategy should be aimed at financial success. Any actions and strategies used in the enterprise must lead to changes in the monetary component, otherwise these actions do not make sense. I will give an example of the relationship between strategies in a trading company: the financial component of the corporate strategy involves an increase in revenue and profit by X times. To do this, the marketing component of the strategy assumes the expansion of the assortment portfolio. The financial indicators of revenue and profit are based on the actions and goals described in the marketing part of the corporate strategy.

Sergei Vorobyov, financial director of the company "Relief-center" (Ryazan)

Finance is a service function and the financial strategy matrix will largely depend on the company's marketing strategy. Therefore, the first step is to get an answer to the question of what will happen to the market in which we operate in 3 - 5 - 10 years (depending on the planning horizon), then decide on a marketing strategy - who we are, where we want to be and who we want to become. As a rule, when marketing analysis several development paths are identified.

For example, when analyzing the market, it was revealed that it is possible to sell one of three products - A, B or C. Investments in the production of each of the products are significant, the payback period exceeds three years. In the course of calculations, it turned out that the NPV indicator for product B is maximum, but if you choose product A, then in the event of a change in the market situation and a shift in demand towards product C, it will be possible to reconfigure the equipment in as soon as possible without investing heavily. And vice versa: if you launch product C, then when the market situation changes, you can go to product A.

Further, these options are offered to owners who choose the most suitable risk-return ratio for them: either the maximum value of the business at high risks, or less value at the least significant risks. In any case, it is necessary to invest in projects with a positive NPV.

The development of financial strategy in large companies is almost always delegated by shareholders to the board of directors. At the same time, the financial director plays the role of a consultant and coordinator of the entire process. In particular, he advises other top managers of the company when they develop their own functional strategies (production, marketing, personnel management strategies, etc.). The main task is to ensure that functional strategies meet the goal of increasing profits. Through the financial director, the initial coordination of the provisions of these strategies and the elimination of contradictions between them, for example, the resolution of the ever-existing dilemma between profitability and liquidity of the business, takes place. In addition, he is responsible for disclosing to the owners of information about problem areas in terms of finance.

However, it is highly undesirable that only the financial service is responsible for the process of developing a financial strategy. In this case, the company's business interests may be sacrificed for the goal of maximizing monetary results. For example, a CFO may insist on higher earnings per unit of output without considering the risk of losing market share, or suggest an additional issuance of shares instead of a bond issue as a less expensive option.

Personal experience
Vadim Karlinsky,

Usually, strategies begin to be developed when the external conditions for doing business change dramatically, or when the number of internal contradictions and inconsistencies in business processes leads to the realization of the need for qualitative changes.

In my practice, the main stimulus for the development of the financial strategy of an enterprise was often external factors. In the first case it was the crisis of August 1998, in the second it was the need to find one's place in the industry subject to restructuring. And only once it was caused by the understanding of the need for internal improvement of the business.

All managers of the financial block were involved in the development of our company's strategy. Initially, a SWOT analysis was carried out, on the basis of which, with a given vision of the overall development of the company, during discussions, brainstorming, a search was made for strategic alternatives. Then a specially created group of analysts, headed by the financial director, chose the best of the alternatives, which became the basis for further refinement of the strategy.

Alexey Purusov, Group CFO Ralf Ringer believes that a financial strategy is especially needed in two cases. First, to hedge risks. Second, to manage the costs of the enterprise. For more detailed tasks, see the video.

Stages of developing a financial strategy

First of all, it is necessary to determine the period of the strategy, the goals of financial activity, form a financial policy and detail financial indicators by periods of strategy implementation. Let's take a closer look at each of the stages.

Strategy period

Types of financial strategy are divided into general and operational. The first covers, for example, the interconnection of budgets of all levels, the principles of formation and use of the company's income, the need for resources and sources of their formation for the medium (long-term) period.

The operational strategy affects the day-to-day management of financial resources. It is developed within the framework of the general one, it details it for a specific period of time.

The period of validity of the general financial strategy of the enterprise should not exceed the period for which the general corporate development strategy is being developed. Depending on the predictability of the situation in the markets (financial and commodity), the duration of the general strategy can vary from three to five years. In a rapidly changing external environment, this period can be reduced to one calendar year.

The operational strategy is usually short-term, it is formed for a year, quarter, month, and, if necessary, for a shorter period.

Personal experience
Valery Temkin,

In our company, a financial strategy is developed for three years. The business is of a project nature (development and consulting in development), the duration of projects is 2-3 years. Each new project involves a new or updated strategy. Longer-term strategic plans are rendered useless by the ever-changing business environment.

Picture 1 Strategic financial goals of the company

Formation of strategic financial goals

The system of goals of the financial strategy can be represented as a "branch" of the tree of the company's general strategic objectives. Building such a branch may involve the following steps.

Step 1. The inclusion of a financial strategy in the overall strategy of the company in accordance with the ranking of the goals of the corporate strategy. For example, a company's strategic goal tree can be set to three levels (see Figure 1).

Step 2 Establishment of an integral financial goal, that is, the goal of the first level. In most cases, this goal is the market value of the company, which can be defined both in absolute terms (increase in market value by N c.u.) and in relative terms (increase in market value by N%).

Step 3 Definition of the basic goals of the financial strategy (2nd level). The integral goal of the first level is detailed into sub-goals, which will require specifying the tasks set and taking into account the peculiarities of the development of the enterprise. The first level goal can be achieved if the company has enough own resources, return on equity is high, the structure of assets and liabilities provides an acceptable level of risks in the implementation process economic activity etc.

Each of the goals outlined at this level should be formulated briefly and clearly, reflected in specific indicators - target strategic standards. For example, such target standards for certain aspects of the financial activity of an enterprise may be the share of the company's own working capital in the total amount of equity capital; return on equity ratio; the ratio of current and non-current assets; the minimum level of monetary assets that ensures the solvency of the enterprise; self-financing investment rate.

Step 4 Definition of actions to achieve financial goals (3rd level). At this stage, a list of specific actions is proposed, for example, to issue a bond loan in the amount of $N with the payment of P% for each bond period.

Personal experience
Alexander Papin, Vice President for Finance, Euroset (Moscow)

As an example, in our company, when developing a financial strategy, the marketing department first prepares a revenue forecast, that is, data on how much goods and services need to be sold in order to occupy the intended market share. Next, it is determined how much to open for this outlets what it will cost. Based on the forecast data, the financial service forms a budget of income and expenses, a cash flow budget, from which it becomes clear what resources will be required, whether there will be enough own funds to achieve the goals. If the strategy is aggressive enough, then, most likely, you will not be able to get by with your own profit; accordingly, you will need to determine what resources to attract and how to fill in possible gaps.

After all the information is summarized, you can understand whether the company is reaching a given level of profitability. If not, then certain measures are taken based on the proposals of the financial and analytical department - expenses are cut, the margin increases (the difference between revenue and cost), etc.

Financial indicators depend on the stage of business development

Igor Averchev,
Senior Project Manager, MAG Consulting LLC

The life cycle of any enterprise includes several stages (initial stage, period of rapid growth, period of maturity, decline), which must be taken into account when planning and evaluating financial results company activities.

Initial stage. At this stage of development, developing a product, building a company's organizational structure, or finding investors may be more important than the financial performance itself. Winning a place in the market with limited financial resources is the main task for young companies. Therefore, the most important financial indicators at the initial stage of enterprise development are income growth and operating cash flows.

period of rapid growth. At this stage, the company continues to track revenue growth, but in comparison with profitability and asset management (return on investment, residual income). As capital builds up, cash flow estimates become less important.

maturity period. At this stage of development, the main attention of the enterprise is aimed at increasing income from attracted assets and equity. Therefore, strict control over the underlying assets, related cash flows and profitability is necessary.

Decline period. At this stage, there is a significant decrease in income. Operations remain profitable, but net income as a percentage of revenue is declining. However, operating cash flows tend to accelerate as working capital shrinks. Therefore, the company's management must be very balanced approach to the possibility of investing.

The company may moderately invest in fixed assets and other assets, but the decrease in net assets 3 is already quite significant. ROI and residual income are relatively low. Returns on net assets raised decline as fast as net income declines relative to the base of net assets raised.

Expert opinion
Ekaterina Demyanova,

To predict the financial result of activities for a given perspective, it is used financial model- a document containing the calculation of holding performance indicators based on data on estimated costs and planned revenue. The initial data in it will be goals, forecasts, plans for the current activities and development of the company. If there are any regulations or restrictions in the industry (for example, the company operates in a market where quotas apply), then these should also be taken into account when modeling. The data being processed will be a sales, cost and investment forecast, and the output will be forecast budgets with specific target values. When the initial parameters are changed, the final financial indicators are also recalculated 4 .

Detailing of financial indicators

Planned indicators and a system of measures to achieve them are detailed for each period. For example, in order to implement a financial strategy, the board of directors can set a goal for 2007: to ensure a 10% increase in equity through a conservative dividend policy, to raise a bond loan at a rate of no more than LIBOR + 5%, to reduce the financial cycle for the period remaining until the end of the year , up to N days.

Figure 2 Division of strategy by directions

Development of financial policy

The financial goals set at the previous stage are grouped in certain areas, while forming the financial policy of the company (see Fig. 2). It can be multi-level. So, within the framework of the asset management policy, a policy for managing current and non-current assets can be developed. Management of current assets may include the principles of managing their individual types.

Personal experience
Vadim Karlinsky, project manager for opening a branch of Rosselkhozbank OJSC in the Perm Territory (Perm)

The development of a financial strategy usually involves several stages. First of all, we clarify financial structure companies, rethinking the arrangement of responsibility centers (for example, we transfer investment centers to profit centers upon completion of the investment part of projects). Then we analyze the factors that affect the value of the company, evaluate their significance (degree of influence) and outline an action plan to manage them.

In the future, “digitizing” the strategy, we determine, based on the analysis of the external environment, the values ​​​​of profitability indicators (capital, investments, assets, etc.) that must be adhered to, as well as their dynamics. Then we develop a policy in relation to debtors and creditors. In addition to the usual indicators for monitoring the status and ratio of debts, it also includes mechanisms for working with debtors, schemes for offsetting mutual claims, rules for granting discounts, principles for placing temporarily free funds, and more.

The next step is to forecast business performance based on comparison with industry best practice. After calculating the turnover of receivables and stocks, the need for working capital is determined and its profitability is calculated. On the basis of these calculations, plans for working with receivables and payables are adjusted, decisions are made on the sale of non-core and unprofitable assets. When developing an investment policy, investments are grouped into categories, for each of which payback periods and internal rate of return are set, investment needs, goals and directions of capital investments are predicted.

The last step is the development of an accounting policy for the purposes of accounting and tax accounting.

Control over the implementation of the financial strategy

Usually information for shareholders and the board of directors about the achievement of the company's strategic goals and possible scenarios further development prepares the financial service or the internal audit service. Both general and operational strategy are subject to control.

Expert opinion
Ekaterina Demyanova, Managing Director of Finance (CFO) at Intercomp Technologies LLC

To simplify the control of the implementation of the tasks set, you can draw up a general schedule for reporting on the holding from each business unit.

The graph can be a regular table along the vertical - a list of those responsible for reporting, along the horizontal - calendar days and periodic segments, and at the intersections - the names of the reports to be submitted. Unified report templates are best developed and distributed to those responsible in advance, along with detailed instructions by filling.

The assessment of the degree of achievement of the intended goals is preferably carried out in two ways. First, the level of achievement of the target indicator is determined (as a percentage of the planned value), and the target indicators are additionally ranked according to the degree of their achievement. This will immediately identify leaders and outsiders. The latter should become the "target audience" to find out the reasons for the failure.

For example, the board of directors considered several scenarios for implementing the strategy and approved the final indicators (see Table 1).

Table 1 Strategy targets

To assess their implementation, a table is formed based on the results of the reporting period, which determines the deviations of the actual indicators of the implementation of the strategy from the planned ones (see Table 2).

table 2 Evaluation of financial strategy

Figure 3 1 – borrowed capital, 2 – equity profitability, 3 – balance sheet growth

Personal experience
Valery Temkin, CFO Creswick Development LLC (Moscow)

The presence of a financial strategy and various methods of its use had a positive impact on the performance of our company. The owners made it clear what they want, and the managers what they can. The number of conflicts has decreased, the result has increased True, I would not argue that this is due only to the emergence of a strategy. Its development was only the first step in the restructuring of the company - now it is often called putting elementary order in the company. Here is the opposite statement, that without the development of a strategy, financial results would hardly have improved, perhaps true.

So, if a company has a financial strategy, it certainly becomes more manageable for management and transparent for owners, more flexible in responding to changes in the business environment and internal processes.

1 On the formation of a general strategy for the development of the company, see the articles "The role of the financial service in the formation of the company's strategy" , "Peculiarities of the development of a corporate strategy" . - Note. editions.
2 For information on how a CFO can figure out a business owner's goals, see CFO's First Steps in a New Company . - Note. editions.
3 Position on management accounting Enterprise Performance Measurement (SMA 4D) defines net assets raised as the sum of working capital, fixed assets, other assets, debt (long-term and current) and equity. That is, this is the entire amount of funds that the company has. Changes in their balance are caused only by the incoming or outgoing cash flows of the enterprise. - Note. author.
4 On the relationship between budget and company strategy, see the article “How to link budget to company strategy” . - Note. editions.

• ensuring financial stability;
• ensuring financial positioning from an optimal point of view;
• fulfillment of shareholders' tasks, etc.

Every CFO involved in his practice in the preparation and development of a strategic plan has experienced the iterative nature of the stages and events in which he and his subordinates have to take part. Procedurally, this issue is confusing due to the fact that the financial strategy (FS) as an object and means of strategic management is still in development and is waiting for its streamlining. In this article, we will attempt such an action with an emphasis on the historically established tools of financial strategic management.

Functions and tasks of the FS

Let's delimit the field of attention to medium and large businesses. It is proposed to consider the strategy as a document, a plan perspective development business, the execution of which should lead the company to significant success at a qualitatively new level in the future 3-5 years. A qualitatively new state implies a change in the place and role in the alignment of sectoral and regional forces. The structure of the strategic plan provides, as a rule, three large sections.

1. General target plans.
2. Strategic plans.
3. Strategy implementation programs.

In the above sections, there is a financial strategic aspect. The block of financial and cost goals determines a significant component of the general target plans. Financial strategy refers to the level of functional long-term planning strategies. Programs for the implementation of the financial strategy are divided into operational, financial and investment parts. In this regard, the concept of FS is often expanded to a financial and investment strategy.

The development of the financial strategy of the enterprise is the result of collegial sessional practice, and in addition, it is preceded by a serious stage of preparatory work before and control and corrective work after. The financial department is mainly involved in preparation and controlling. In this article, I do not aim to define the concept of financial strategy. There are many publications on this subject, including such recognized authorities of the post-Soviet space as I.A. Form. Let me just bring to the attention of readers two fundamental guidelines that shift the traditional scientific position on the FS in a slightly different direction.

1. Finance as a functional area of ​​management can be represented as a system for displaying real business processes and events with different degrees of focus and depth of study. This is a metaphorically different area of ​​reality, a kind of "mirror". It differs from the perception of front-office (sales) and back-office (manufacturers) procedurals dealing with a particular customer, product, technology, etc. Finance almost always lives in several forms: past, present, future; in dynamics and statics. A "mirror" can only be a satellite in relation to the tasks of a real business, you can look into it and control a machine called "business" depending on the quality of the picture and the target panel parameters.
2. Like any type of planning, the strategic process can only go from top to bottom in the interests of the owners, however, it has two parallel "threads": interconnected plans for real tasks and plans financial indicators. The former include plans for sales, supply, production, marketing, personnel, etc. The second ones are budget plans, financial ratios, indices, etc.

From the foregoing, it follows that the company's financial and investment strategy can hardly be attributed only to the type of functional strategies, searching for its place among the marketing strategy, production strategy, and personnel strategy. It is of a transversal nature. Moreover, the development of an enterprise's financial strategy solves the problems of modeling and making strategic financial decisions in the context of the company's safe development, as well as the resource provision of the corporate strategy. Hence, two main functions of the FS follow: modeling and providing.

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Who is responsible for financial strategy?

Business is created by owners (shareholders) to achieve their goals, therefore, they are the directors of the strategic planning task. And the strategist should be general manager company, and the strategy serves as the main contract with him. It is under its implementation that the CEO is hired. The development of an enterprise's financial strategy as a set of long-term goals and a plan to achieve them serves as a tool for transferring responsibility general manager. Within its framework, the leader makes fundamental decisions about finances, “gives the go-ahead” to ideology and determines the rules of the game in the financial sector.

To formalize these rules and turn them into working tools should already be the financial director responsible for the development of the FS or financial and investment strategy in a broader sense. Far from every commercial organization investment strategy is allocated in a separate document. Conclusion: the general director is responsible for the FS, and it is created and represented by the financial director or another top manager who performs the corresponding function.

In the previous section, we formulated a hypothesis about the parallelism of the financial and strategic subsystem of the strategic planning system. It should be noted that practice often confirms it, without canceling the dominance of the material part of the strategic plan in the form of a development strategy, corporate and competitive strategies. Below is a schematic representation of the option of integrating a FS into a hierarchy strategic plans company in its most complete form.

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Having made a series of strategic decisions in the financial sector, the CEO of the organization in the operational phase then moves to the level of treasury-type orders in the direct management of current financial events. The financial management system provides such orders with organizational and control support through the budget management system, again relying on strategic decisions. It should be noted that the vertical of the financial strategic contour in its structure is very similar to the composition of the types of financial decisions developed in financial management. In this regard, the SOFIA methodology developed by Ph.D. Mikhail Sorokin (Kyiv), in which all significant decisions in the financial sector are divided into five groups:

• strategic (S);
• operating rooms (O);
• finance (F);
• investment (I);
• analytical (A).

List of questions answered by SOFIA methodology solutions

Essentially, all of the questions presented are in line with the strategic objectives. Mikhail Sorokin clearly expresses his position on the priority of maximizing the wealth of the owners in the formation of the financial goals of the business. Therefore, the business development strategy from the point of view of finance serves, according to the scientist, to increase the value of the company. The most important for the successful creation of a FS Sorokin M. considers the spheres financial diagnostics, analytical solutions and synthesis. As a result, he created a concise and at the same time a complete classification model of the types of financial decisions that can form the basis for the development of almost any financial and investment strategy.

Principles and stages of FS formation

The principles of developing a financial strategy, formulated more than 10 years ago by I.A. Blank, are still relevant. They are presented below in tabular form. I will only allow myself a few comments on a few points.

The composition of the basic principles of the formation of FS according to Blank I.A.

1. I propose in the second principle to consider accounting not for the basic strategies of operational activity, but for real material goals that occupy a dominant place in corporate strategy.
2. The third principle is indeed very valuable in that among the two approaches to strategic management (incremental and entrepreneurial types), the latter should have an advantage. It is the entrepreneurial initiative that provides the intensity and new quality of the state of the business, in contrast to the conservative incremental, extensive approach to strategy.
3. In modern conditions, the tenth principle of the formation of a FS is becoming more and more important. The science of riskology is developing rapidly, especially in the face of the challenges faced by society and business. The role of assessment and risk management methodology is constantly growing. Many, especially large companies, separate financial security strategies from the depths of the FS into a separate document and zone for the implementation of specialized strategic controlling.
4. I would like to add one more principle, which has recently become the most relevant. The principle of innovation especially important for the investment section of the FS.

V last years it became more clear which algorithm should be used to form the FS, although there are still enough white spots. For example, the issue of updating and combining the FS with a number of financial policies: dividend, financial, investment, credit. I hope to pay attention to this topic in a separate article on the tasks of the financial director. I propose to divide the process of fulfilling its key task into the following stages of developing a financial strategy.

1. Identification of the financial study of the company. The stage is based on the concept of strategic development that is currently available or on the already created tangible component of the strategy, including the draft corporate strategy and business strategy.
2. Strategic analysis of the organization's competitive features based on a general SWOT analysis, localized SWOT, PEST, SNW analyzes in the financial sector. Identification of the key problem of financial condition and business dynamics.
3. Financial analysis of the company, assessment of internal and market value, use of other tools for developing financial decisions of the "S" type according to the SOFIA methodology. Preparation of an analytical note with the rationale for the proposed solutions.
4. Analysis of strategic initiatives, investment programs and projects, selection of projects that meet the SOFIA decision criteria. Establishment of volumes and sources of financing.
5. Clarification of the company's investment policy, if necessary.
6. The stage of risk management in relation to local investment projects and the company as a whole.
7. Clarification of the credit and dividend policies of the company.
8. The choice of techniques for attracting resources in the stock market, analysis financial companies and other intermediaries.
9. Development of a strategy for the operation of the enterprise in the debt market. System development corporate governance business. Recommendations for IPO in the securities markets.
10. Development or refinement of the financial policy of the company.
11. Stage of final modeling of financial strategies. Preparation of a presentation at the BSC, in which the final versions of the FS models are presented and justified.

Classification of types of financial strategies

Let us ask ourselves the question, what are the characteristics of a financial strategy? We have already noted that it is not possible to manage only the functional version of the strategy when characterizing the FS. It is more capacious integrated in all levels strategic process block of plans, dependent on the conclusions of the corporate strategy and at the same time influencing it. Business strategies, regional and other functional strategies are largely subject to correction based on the results of decisions made in the FS. In this regard, we highlight the main features of a financial strategy:

• expansion of the functional FS to the scale of the "mirror" strategic contour up (a panel of key indicators at the level of general goals) and the investment strategy down (the level of initiatives, programs and local projects);
• certainty of the course of financial and other policies of the relevant management function;
• a detailed tree of financial goals and objectives associated with the BSC class scorecard;
• a polyvariant model of the company's activity, adapting it to predictable changes in the external and internal environment in order to maintain key parameters on a safe and well-balanced course of dynamics;
• FS serve to select alternatives when making tactical decisions in the field of operational management, movement finance and investment.

Let's consider several reasons for choosing the types of financial strategies of an enterprise at the formation stage. The first iteration-foundation follows in the wake of the chosen corporate strategy, which, in turn, can be formulated from the standpoint of the direction of development or from the standpoint of a global strategic approach. From the point of view of the direction of development, strategies for growth, stabilization (limited growth) and withdrawal strategies are distinguished. For example, growth could be:

• intense or concentrated;
• integration;
• diversification.

Strategies of limited growth or stabilization are divided into types:

1. retention strategy.
2. Pause (deliberately stopping the increase in sales and production).
3. evolutionary progress.
4. "Cream skimming" (termination of current and prospective investments).

The classification from the standpoint of global strategies includes:

1. Innovation strategy.
2. focus strategy.

Financial Adjustment of Profit Capture and Retention Strategies

In essence, each of the above types is accompanied by certain strategic models of the FS. Consider, for example, the association of FC with typical limited-growth strategies such as skimming and retention (see table above). There are completely different approaches to the classification of FS species in the literature. The most integral position, in my opinion, is demonstrated in the proposal of T.A. Vladimirova, who singles out such an important factor for dividing FS into types as the scale of the company's financial goals.

Types of FS, classified by the scale factor of financial goals
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It is advisable to divide the types of financial strategies on the basis of another significant factor - the stage of the life cycle of the business itself. To illustrate the differences in the FS associated with the period of the life cycle, we localize the subject area to the level of the company's policy in the field of receivables management. We will also consider three options for the strategy: cost minimization, differentiation and rapid response, used at different stages of the organization's development.

Cost minimization strategy in working with remote control at the stages of the life cycle of the company
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Differentiation strategy in working with remote sensing at the stages of the life cycle of the company
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Rapid response strategy in working with remote sensing at the stages of the life cycle of the company
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Strategic decisions based on the EVA parameter

Financial strategies are formulated on the basis of the developed strategic decisions of the SOFIA system, and in them the key criterion is the intrinsic value of the business, which is subject to evaluation in the first place. What is the reason for this priority? The SOFIA component system allows you to find strategic solutions in two important areas.

1. Finance should ensure the sustainability of the business.
2. Finance should ensure the attractiveness of the business for owners.

The further we move away from the illusions of the 90s and 2000s, the more clearly we understand that not every business carries such an attractiveness. And if earlier the owners quite often could afford to put up with this, now this situation is already an unaffordable luxury. Suppose that the owners do not plan to sell their company, which means that their hand should regularly fall on the pulse of the EVA indicator (Economic Value added– economic value added). This indicator is the most important strategic criterion. In modern BSC systems, it is increasingly seen how this criterion occupies the top positions of corporate cards.

Relationship diagram between EVA and BSC

It is always good to remember that equity cannot be free. EVA is defined as the difference between net profit (management accounting) and the value of the company's own capital used to obtain it. The cost of capital is determined based on the minimum expected rate of return required to pay both shareholders and creditors. By accurately determining the cost of using equity, you can allocate it more efficiently and identify unprofitable business units that are financed by profitable ones.

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This strategic indicator combines the simplicity of calculation and the ability to determine the intrinsic value of the SBU and the company as a whole. The value of EVA should be consistently positive, which indicates that the financing of the business provides the profitability set by the owners. At the same time, being an indicator of the quality of managerial decisions, EVA carries the danger of double counting.

In addition to the EVA criterion, among tools in developing strategic decisions, an important place is also occupied by the assessment of the company's market value. To calculate it, a group of methods is used, among which the most common are income and expense methods, as well as the approach to calculating the market value by analogy. The latter method, due to the opacity of the Russian economy, has limited circulation. The income method is applied from the point of view of selling a business, but not from the point of view of buying it. In contrast, the expense method is most applicable to investors considering a company for the purpose of acquiring it. The income method, in turn, is divided into the capitalization method and the discounted cash flow method.

BCG Sustainability Model

The concept of sustainable growth models of the company was formed during the second half of the 20th century from the logical position that not every quality of development leads to business prosperity in the long term and even in the medium term. In the absence of a balanced approach, the risk zone can actively expand, which is fraught with certain threats. None of the factors (profit, assets, company value), apart from the growth of all other parameters, can be an exclusive criterion for the prospective development of a business. To harmonize the growth of the company, a lot of methods have been developed and successfully applied by now, while in terms of revenue and profit growth, the sustainable growth model (BCG company) is widely used.

Basic diagram of the BCG sustainable growth model

In the BCG methodology, sustainable development of a company is understood as growth in which, with an agreed operating and financial policies sales grow accordingly. Accordingly, a stable growth rate is considered such a rate of revenue increment, which is possible with the invariance of these policies. The financial strategy in this case involves a temporary refusal to issue equity capital. The source of equity growth is exclusively retained earnings. Finally, the most important limiting condition of the model is the relative equality of growth in sales, assets, debt, equity, and earnings.

BCG Sustainable Growth Model Condition Formula

An integrated model of sustainable development consists of a group of analytical blocks, including:

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The quality of sales growth is determined by its impact on value and profit growth in the short and long term, which can give a completely opposite picture depending on the scale and stage of the life cycle. Growth efficiency matrices in the first case make it possible to determine the role of growth in increasing the value of a business, and in the second case, from the standpoint of the ratio of short-term and long-term deposits, which is more in line with the needs of investors.

Building a matrix of financial strategies of the company

Financing of investment projects is one of the most important strategic tasks of business. However, it is far from always expedient and profitable to attract funds for investment, since the financial model becomes much more complicated, and the return on borrowing may not cover the associated costs. In this sense, of interest is another tool for making strategic decisions in the financial sector, which is called financial strategy matrices in practice.

The logic of their constructions is based on the ratio of the results of operating and financial activities, each of which, moving from plus to minus and vice versa, demonstrates a trend of success or deficit. In the first case, we are talking about operating profit - the result of economic activity (RHD), in the second case, we are talking about the result of Cash flow or financial activity (RFD). Also known as pure cash flow. RFD to some extent characterizes the policy of borrowing. The form of the matrix consists of nine quadrants, each of which corresponds to a certain result of financial and economic activity on a qualitative combination of RHD and RFD (see below).

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The result of financial and economic activity (RFKhD), also called the total net cash flow, is in the safe zone if its value is in the range from 0 to 10% of value added. Value added (VA) generated by business is understood as part of the cost of manufactured (planned for production) products minus the cost of energy, raw materials and services of third parties.

Formulas for calculating RHD and RFD for building a matrix of financial strategies

The financial strategy is determined by the quadrant in which the results of monitoring the current situation turned out. Quadrants 4, 5, 6 indicate some excess of the organization's working capital. On the contrary, 7, 8, 9 indicate their deficit, since they are associated with the active consumption of the company's liquid funds. As an illustration, consider two examples options FS for squares 1 and 2.

1. Quadrant 1. RCD and RFD are opposed to each other in sign, and are approximately equal in modulus. RFHD is near the zero mark. Conventionally, the company is in the zone of refusal from borrowed money, while the financial result has maximum values. Financial development is possible in the areas of implementation of investment projects at high (quadrant 2) and lower rates (quadrant 7). In addition, the company retains the ability to increase financial strength with a more active use of the effect financial leverage.
2. Quadrant 2. The state is characterized by a change of non-equilibrium states, we exclude here the stage of temporary loss of business activity. From this quadrant, the most likely scenarios for the implementation of projects with a transition to position 8 or 3 may be. In terms of borrowing policy, the company can move to quadrants: 7 (weakening of financial leverage and reducing the use of loans) and 5 (increasing the effect of financial leverage and increasing borrowing ).

The classic DuPont model in the service of the FS

The strategy in the financial sector, in its formulation, also requires a multivariate analysis of the return on assets. Since ancient times, this approach has not become obsolete, despite the genesis of values ​​for the vast majority of business owners. DuPont analysis, which has become traditional, is implemented in various forms, called two-factor, three-factor, seven-factor model, is nothing more than a detailed interpretation of the formula for return on equity or return on assets:

Development of the return on assets formula into a two-factor DuPont model

We see that by adding the ordinary fraction S / S to the ROS formula, we get a set of two separate financial indicators: return on sales and the asset turnover ratio that characterize the business activity of the company. The methodology allows for essential factor analysis, based on the obtained factors of the mathematical expression. Let's take an example. Let's say we predict that ROA will reach 15% over the next 3 years. And we, at least, must answer the question: due to what will this happen? After all, there can be a great many variations of even two parameters ROS and TAT, the extreme of which will be:

• 15% (ROA) = 15% (ROS) x 1% (TAT);
• 15% (ROA) = 1% (ROS) x 15% (TAT).

Being realists, we understand that miracles do not occur in business, any financial parameters have reasons, and they do not suddenly appear out of nowhere. If we actually see that during the analyzed period, ROA decreased from 20% to 8%, then this may occur as a result of a sharp decrease in sales profitability, or perhaps due to a drop in asset turnover. The ratio of factors is established in the analysis of the retrospective and in the formation of the forecast. The method allows developing the decomposition of parameters based on their "sweep" of typical financial criteria. Examples of such decompositions are given below.

Decomposition of the return on assets indicator to the second level of nesting

Decomposition of the return on equity indicator

For FS, DuPont's multifactorial model is good in that it allows you to identify accumulated multiple trends that are very difficult to track down with the naked eye in operational and tactical aspects. At the same time, it should be understood that for a higher quality of analysis, it is advisable to operate with a reliable management reporting long enough period: 5 or more years.

We are completing a review article on the formation of a company's financial system and the main tools for making strategic decisions in the financial sector. The development of an enterprise's financial strategy precedes the creation of a more local investment strategy. Some companies quite rightly combine these two strategies into one. Therefore, I believe that mastering the methodology of financial strategic planning is of lasting importance both for the business development director and for professional PMs who lead large business projects at the level of strategic business units.

Financial strategy - this is a master plan of action but to provide the enterprise with funds. It covers the issues of theory and practice of the formation of finance, their planning and provision, solves problems that ensure the financial stability of an enterprise in a market economy. The theory of financial strategy explores the objective patterns of market economic conditions, develops ways and forms of survival in new conditions, preparation and conduct of strategic financial transactions.

The financial strategy of the enterprise, covering all aspects of the enterprise, includes the optimization of fixed and working capital, capital management, profit distribution, cashless payments, tax management, securities policy. The listed components of the financial strategy determine the objects of the financial strategy. The objects of development and implementation of the financial strategy of the enterprise are income and receipts of funds, expenses and deductions of funds, relationships with the budget and extra-budgetary funds, credit relationships (Fig. 11.7).

Rice. 11.7.

Comprehensively considering the financial capabilities of the enterprise, objectively considering the nature of internal and external factors, the financial strategy ensures that the financial and economic capabilities of the enterprise correspond to the conditions prevailing in the product market. Without taking these factors into account in the financial strategy, the enterprise may go bankrupt.

Enterprises can develop a general financial strategy, an operational financial strategy and a strategy for achieving individual strategic objectives, or a strategy for achieving private strategic goals. The most holistic both in terms of the planning horizon (the period of time covered by planning), and in terms of the scale of the goals set in it, is general financial strategy enterprises. The general financial strategy consists of several operational financial strategies, but is not a simple sum of them. The general financial strategy determines the activities of the enterprise for a sufficiently long, but also quite predictable period of time, for example, for a year. It includes relationships with the budgets of all levels, the formation and use of the enterprise's income, the need for financial resources and the sources of their formation.

Operational financial strategy the enterprise specifies the general financial strategy for a shorter period of time and implements a certain part of the goals set in the general strategy. An operational financial strategy is developed for a quarter, a month and determines the strategy for the current maneuvering of financial resources. The operational financial strategy of the enterprise is aimed at controlling the spending of funds and mobilizing internal reserves, which is especially important in the current conditions of economic instability.

The operational financial strategy covers gross revenues and receipts (payments to customers for products sold, receipts from credit transactions, income from securities) and gross expenditures (payments to suppliers, wage, repayment of obligations to budgets of all levels and banks), which creates the opportunity to provide for all upcoming turnovers in the planning period in terms of cash receipts and expenditures, ensures the equality of expenditures and incomes or a slight excess of income over expenditures. The operational financial strategy is developed within the framework of the general financial strategy, detailing it for a specific period of time.

Strategy for the implementation of individual strategic tasks or the strategy for achieving private strategic goals has no restrictions on the period of time covered by planning, but is limited to solving one strategic task or private strategic goal. The strategy for achieving private goals is the skillful execution of financial transactions aimed at ensuring the implementation of the main strategic goal. It is "superimposed" on the general or operational financial strategy, without contradicting the goals set in them.

The main strategic goal of the financial strategy is to provide the enterprise with the necessary and sufficient financial resources.

The financial strategy of the enterprise in accordance with the main strategic goal provides:

• o formation of financial resources and centralized strategic management of them;
• o identifying decisive areas and focusing on their implementation of efforts, flexibility in the use of reserves by the financial management of the enterprise;
• o ranking and phased achievement of objectives;
• o compliance of financial actions with the economic condition and material capabilities of the enterprise;
• o an objective account of the financial and economic situation and the real financial position enterprises in a year, quarter, month;
• o creation and preparation of strategic reserves;
• o taking into account the economic and financial capabilities of the enterprise itself and its competitors;
• o identifying the main threat from competitors, mobilizing forces to eliminate it and skillfully choosing directions for financial actions;
• o maneuvering and fighting for the initiative to achieve a decisive advantage over competitors.

home strategic goal in accordance with the requirements of the market and the capabilities of the enterprise, it is carried out through the development and implementation of the financial strategy of the enterprise, where the tasks of forming finance are determined and distributed by performers and areas of work.

Tasks of the financial strategy:

• o study of the nature and patterns of formation of the finances of the enterprise, including in market conditions of management;
• o development of conditions for the preparation of possible options for the formation of financial resources of the enterprise and the actions of the financial management in the event of an unstable or crisis financial condition of the enterprise;
• o determination of financial relationships with suppliers and buyers, budgets of all levels, banks and other financial institutions;
• o identification of reserves and mobilization of enterprise resources for the most rational use of production capacities, fixed assets and working capital;
• o providing the enterprise with the financial resources necessary for production and economic activities;
• o ensuring the effective investment of temporarily free funds of the enterprise in order to obtain maximum profit;
• o determining ways to conduct a successful financial strategy and strategic use of financial opportunities, new types of products and comprehensive training of enterprise personnel for work, including in market conditions of management, their organizational structure and technical equipment;
• o study of the financial strategic views of potential competitors, their economic and financial capabilities, development and implementation of measures to ensure financial stability;
• o development of ways to prepare a way out of a crisis situation, methods of managing the personnel of an enterprise in an unstable or crisis financial condition and coordinating the efforts of the entire team to overcome it.

When developing a financial strategy, special attention is paid to the completeness of identifying cash income, mobilizing internal resources, minimizing the cost of production, proper distribution and use of profits, determining the need for working capital, rational use of enterprise capital. The financial strategy is developed taking into account the risk of non-payments, inflation surges and other force majeure (unforeseen) circumstances. It should correspond to production tasks and, if necessary, be adjusted and changed. Control over the execution of the financial strategy ensures the verification of revenues, their economical and rational use. Well-established financial control helps to identify internal reserves, increase the profitability of the economy, increasing cash savings.

An important part of the financial strategy is the development of internal standards, which determine, for example, the direction of profit distribution, limits on the values ​​of liquidity ratios, the limiting ratios of equity and borrowed capital, accounts payable and receivables, which are successfully used in the practice of Russian and foreign companies.

The success of an enterprise's financial strategy is guaranteed by balancing the theory and practice of financial strategy; if financial strategic goals correspond to real economic and financial opportunities through strict centralization of financial strategic management and the flexibility of its methods as the financial and economic situation changes.

Proposals for the formation of the financial strategy of the enterprise are developed on the basis of the conclusions obtained from the results of the financial analysis of the enterprise. Proposals are formed according to the objects and components of the general financial strategy in several versions with a mandatory quantitative assessment of proposals and an assessment of the impact of the proposal on the balance sheet items of the enterprise and the income statement. For each option for the formation of a financial strategy, a forecast balance sheet and a profit and loss statement are built, taking into account the qualitative and quantitative assessments of proposals included in the financial strategy.

Depending on the external conditions, the implementation of one or another variant of the general financial strategy, an operational financial strategy is developed quarterly (perhaps monthly), taking into account the financial indicators achieved in the previous quarter or month. If it is necessary for the enterprise to solve an urgent specific financial task, a strategy for achieving private goals is developed for a year, quarter or month.

In the financial strategy, the planning of the main characteristics of the financial condition of the enterprise - solvency, creditworthiness, the degree of probability of bankruptcy, as well as financial reporting indicators that determine the main characteristics of the financial condition of the enterprise, property, capital, resulting performance indicators - financial results. To obtain maximum effectiveness in the development of a financial strategy, a certain sequence of actions must be followed.

Sequence of development of financial strategy.

The development of the financial strategy of the enterprise (Fig. 11.8) begins with the preparatory period. During this period, financial analysis of the enterprise's activities, forecasting of the external economic environment, drawing up a promising program for the development of the enterprise, taking into account the expected income and expenditure, are carried out. financial resources. Based on the assessment based on the results of the financial analysis of the enterprise's activities for the previous planning period, the current financial situation in the enterprise, the expected changes in the external financial and economic environment, the prospects for the development of the enterprise, expected with a high degree of probability of income and expenditure of funds, the goal of financial planning is formulated - the strategic goal of the financial strategy enterprise, the main criterion for improving the financial condition of the enterprise for the planned period is selected, proposals are developed in several versions for the formation of the financial strategy of the enterprise, a qualitative and quantitative assessment of proposals is made, proposals are selected that meet the achievement of the main criterion for improving the financial condition of the enterprise.

Example. We will analyze the possibilities for improving the solvency of a conditional enterprise (according to the initial data of Table 11.6 and the analysis performed by graphical, tabular and coefficient methods, summarized in a synthetic assessment). According to the results of the analysis, it was found that the enterprise at the end of the period under review is in the degree of "insolvency".

Rice. 11.8.

Based on the results of the analysis of the solvency of the enterprise, we will begin planning measures to optimize its solvency. To implement the planning process, we will establish factor indicators that affect the resulting indicator, and identify the nature of the influence of factor indicators on solvency.

The factor indicators that determine the solvency of the enterprise are "Inventories" and "Value Added Tax on acquired values" broken down into the unsold part of the reserves and VAT and the sold part of the reserves and VAT (Zne ^ £, d), "Capital and reserves" (P3 ), "Long-term liabilities" (P4), "Loans and credits" (ZiK) - an article in sec. 5 "Current liabilities" of the balance sheet liabilities, "Non-current assets" (A,).

With a direct relationship, digging the value of the factor indicator improves the solvency of the enterprise, with an inverse relationship, the growth of the factor indicator worsens the solvency. Thus, the degree of solvency is directly dependent on the following factor indicators: "Capital and reserves", "Long-term liabilities", "Loans and credits" and inversely dependent on the indicators: "Non-current assets", "Inventories", "Value added tax by acquired values", non-sold part of "Reserves and VAT".

The task of financial planning is to balance factor indicators, taking into account the interests of production.

The purpose of the proposals for the formation of the financial strategy of a conditional enterprise is to increase the solvency of the enterprise. Proposals to improve the solvency of a conditional enterprise have been formed for the objects and components of the financial strategy with optimization options and an indication of the impact on balance sheet indicators (Table 11.10). The multivariance of the financial strategy is due to the unpredictability of the development of the real economic environment in the planned period and the desire of the enterprise to be ready for any probabilistic development of events. The "optimistic" variant assumes the most favorable behavior of the external economic environment for the enterprise, the "unchanged" variant - the external economic situation remains unchanged, the same as in the previous planning period, the "pessimistic" variant - unfavorable developments in the market for the enterprise. In page 5 of the table. 11.10 shows only TS indicators that act as factor indicators of the solvency of the enterprise. To assess the achievability of the main criterion for improvement, we denote the direction of change in the indicator - an increase ("+" sign), a decrease ("-" sign).

Table 11.10. Proposals for the formation of a financial strategy for a conditional enterprise to increase solvency

According to the options of the financial strategy of Table. 11.10 we will calculate indicators of solvency of the enterprise. The results of the calculation of solvency indicators for the options of the financial strategy are given in Table. 11.11. To calculate solvency indicators, line-by-line values ​​of the indicators in Table. 11.7 at the end of the period.

Table 11.11. Calculation results of variants of the financial strategy of a conditional enterprise to improve solvency

A quantitative assessment of the solvency of an enterprise when implementing a proposal to a financial strategy for all options indicates the possibility of withdrawing an enterprise from a financial crisis and insolvency. But at the same time, it must be taken into account that the implementation of financial strategy options depends on external conditions, in particular, on whether the enterprise will be able to sell its shares, receive a short-term or long-term loan. Under unfavorable external conditions, the implementation of proposals for the formation of a financial strategy according to the pessimistic option provides the company's reserves, using all normal sources of reserves formation, and an acceptable low solvency; according to the unchanged and optimistic options, reserves are provided by own and long-term borrowed sources - the enterprise goes into a normally stable financial condition and will have normal solvency. The goal of financial planning has been achieved - measures have been planned to increase the degree of solvency of the enterprise with a pessimistic, optimistic and unchanged behavior of the external environment.

Company financial strategy is a complex multi-factor oriented model of actions and measures necessary to achieve the set long-term goals in the general concept of development in the field of formation and use of the company's financial and resource potential.

Economic entity financial strategy is determined by the company's financial relations with economic entities and government agencies, interaction with them in the process of carrying out business relations in the field of finance.

The financial strategy is the basic strategy, since it provides (through financial instruments, financial management methods, etc.) the implementation of other basic strategies, namely, competitive, innovative. This requires a study of the relationship between the financial strategy and the above strategies. The tasks of reforming domestic business involve solving the interrelated problems of formulating a strategy and introducing a new high-quality level of financial management based on the achievement and implementation of competitive advantages.

The need to identify financial strategy within the common company due to:

Diversification of the activities of large companies in terms of their coverage of various markets, including financial ones;

The need to find sources of financing for strategic projects;

Having a single system for all companies ultimate goal when choosing strategic guidelines and evaluating them - maximizing the financial effect;

The development of international and national financial markets as a "field" for borrowing financial resources and profitable investment of capital, which is associated with the strengthening of the role of finance in the life of companies.

The strategic goal of the financial strategy is provided by a set of auxiliary financial tasks presented in specific programs. Taking into account the volatility of the conjuncture and trends in the development of financial markets, the high degree of innovativeness of financial instruments operated by companies, their significant dependence on the vectors of movement of macroeconomic and socio-political processes in the world community, it is necessary to formulate a number of directions for the formation of programs and projects for the implementation of the financial strategy.

Among them:

Identification of priority financial markets for companies and target market segments for work in the future; this implies that the company has a strong target development block, based on the processing of existing information bases data;

Analysis and justification of sustainable sources of financing;

Selection of financial institutions as acceptable partners and intermediaries that effectively cooperate with the company in the long term;

Development of a long-term investment program, consistent with the priority areas for the development of business types, due to the overall strategy of the company;

Creation of conditions for the future to maintain the progressive growth of the market value of the company and the rates of securities issued by it;

Formation and improvement of intra-company financial flows, transfer pricing mechanisms;

Development from the position of the strategy of the program of effective centralized financial management in combination with reasonable decentralization of other management functions;

Predictive calculations of financial indicators of economic security and sustainability of the company in the strategic planning of the company's activities.

A hypothetical model of a financial strategy may include the following interrelated blocks (Figure 1):

Targets and goals;

implementation levels;

External and internal factors of formation;

Tools and methods of implementation;

The effectiveness of the strategy.

Figure 1 - A hypothetical model for the formation of a financial strategy

The company achieves its strategic financial goals when financial relations correspond to its internal financial capabilities, and also allow it to remain receptive to external socio-economic requirements. Considering the concept and content of a financial strategy, it must be emphasized that it is formed mainly by the same conditions of the macro- and microenvironment, factors affecting the overall strategy of the company, and other components that were mentioned above.

An important block of the company's financial strategy model is the levels of its implementation. It is legitimate to consider two levels: corporate and business level (project level).

Differences in the implementation of the financial strategy of the company at these levels are determined by:

different strategic goals;

Scale of activities and market coverage;

Functions performed (with an appropriate degree of centralization or decentralization within the enterprise);

Environmental factors (tax regulation, antitrust laws, etc.).

The company's financial strategy model shows through the system of which tools (programs, projects, restructuring, globalization, diversification, etc.) and methods (modeling, planning, analysis, forecasting, etc.) it is implemented.

The use of tools and methods of financial strategy is situational in nature: specific factors, including socio-economic and political, determine the choice of one or another combination of them in various options. The study of the interaction of the financial strategy with the management of the company allows us to conclude that the financial strategy plays an important role.

Study of the methodology for the formation of financial strategy and theoretical foundations functioning of the company in market conditions involves taking into account integration trends, the importance of which is increasing. Integration in its various forms and manifestations has now become a powerful structure-forming market factor. The integration of banking and industrial capital is considered as a factor in the formation of a strategy Russian companies, directions of their reforming within the framework of restructuring.

The merger of companies based on the integration of banking and industrial capital is one of the key areas for the structural restructuring of the Russian economy, a tool for shaping the financial strategy of domestic companies. In modern conditions, it is legitimate to identify the concept financial capital large corporations, FIGs, TNCs.

When developing a company's financial strategy, it is effective to use the scenario method (a description of trends that are close to reality that may appear in the financial and economic sphere of the company's activities).

Scenarios make it possible to identify the main factors of the macro- and microenvironment that must be taken into account when developing an effective financial strategy for a large company.

The modeling of the financial strategy of an enterprise is carried out on the basis of the implementation of the following principles:

Consistent implementation of the adopted strategy for sustainable development of the enterprise;

Based on a modern theoretical model;

Accounting for the organizational structure of the enterprise and the proposed changes in it;

Variations in strategy formation.

The general scheme for the formation of a financial strategy includes the following steps:

Description of the company as an open system;

Development of strategic goals;

Development of strategy options;

Definition of selection criteria for options;

Specification of the selected financial strategy option;

Drawing up a financial strategy, its adoption and bringing to the executor;

Organization of control over the implementation of the strategy.

The development of a company's financial strategy model should be organically integrated into the preparation and implementation of the company's overall strategy.

In the system of developing a financial strategy, one of the key places is occupied by financial planning, implemented on the basis of production and sales planning, as well as control over spending. In recent years, in most companies, traditional forms of planning have been "drifting" in the direction of using its modern form - budgeting.

The financial plan of the company modern format its understanding) is the determination of the directions of a variety of products and goods that are in demand and ready for sale, the choice of financial sources and the distribution of financial resources, as well as monitoring the implementation of individual financial measures (payments, budgeting, remuneration of employees)