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Finance and Statistics - Ковалева А.М.

9. FINANCIAL ASPECT OF COMPOSING THE BUSINESS PLAN

9.1 CONCEPT OF BUSINESS PLAN, SCOPE OF ITS APPLICATION AND CONDITIONS OF DEVELOPMENT

In the previous chapters, problems of planning and distribution of profits, taxation, formation and use of working capital, investment policy, which characterize the main directions of financial and economic activities of enterprises were considered.

Summarizing the received materials, it is possible to proceed to the development on their basis of the BUSINESS PLAN OF THE ENTERPRISE .

Special literature, which discusses various methodological issues of compiling business plans , mainly translation. It details the development of a business plan for firms working under the laws of a developed market economy. Domestic enterprises have so far little experience in the market, and market relations are still far from their level in developed countries. The economic and social situation in which enterprises operate does not allow the direct use of foreign methodological developments in the preparation of business plans by Russian enterprises. It is necessary to adapt them to the real economic conditions of our country.

Therefore, the purpose of this section is to develop a methodology for drawing up a business plan for the enterprise that is adequate to the current economic conditions in Russia. The development of methodological issues in accordance with the objectives of this publication is limited to the financial aspect.

The business plan is a document of intra-firm planning that outlines all the main aspects of planning the company's production and commercial activities, analyzing the problems that it may face, as well as determining how to solve the financial and economic problems.

In the crisis economic conditions of the transition period, the business plan of the enterprise must first of all solve the problems of improving its financial condition. In this regard, consideration of the financial aspect of the business plan is most relevant.

Since the business plan is a document of intrafirm planning, when developing it at the enterprise, the question arises: to what extent can the accumulated experience of drawing up technoprograms used in practice be used in practice? It seems to us that such continuity is possible. In the economic conditions of the transition period, the business plan of the enterprise should be a plan for production, economic and financial activities, a kind of transformation of the annual technical and financial plan, its adaptation to market conditions. It is a mistake to contrast the business plan with the technical-technical plan as completely different documents. Of course, they are different by purpose, but the complete elimination of the interrelation between methodological issues and their development denies continuity in the need for planning. Ignored at the same time is the wealth of experience of workers in planning services of enterprises. This is unacceptable for the period of transition to the market, when the employees of enterprises still partially retain planning skills traditional for the planned economy, and new methods are still not well known.

Depending on the objectives, the need to develop business plans is revealed when solving financial and management tasks in various spheres of economic activity. The generalization of the still relatively small experience in drawing up a business plan by domestic enterprises and organizations allows us to single out the following areas of their application:

• Preparation of investment applications by existing and newly established enterprises for obtaining loans from commercial banks;
• Substantiation of proposals for the privatization of state and municipal property;
• Development of projects for the creation of private firms, without which the risk of ruin of new entrepreneurs is excessive;
• Choice of economically viable directions and ways to achieve positive financial results by enterprises and firms that are currently in new working conditions, selling products, and general insolvency of economic entities;
• Drawing up of projects of issue of securities (shares, bonds) of enterprises;
• Attraction of foreign investment for the development of the enterprise.

Multiple goals, different spheres of application and methods of drawing up business plans do not allow in one work to give methodological advice for all occasions. Therefore, in the following, we shall limit ourselves to developing a business plan for a large open joint-stock company whose main activity is industrial production. The status of the joint-stock company and the scale of economic activity make it possible to outline the problems outlined most fully.

The main tasks that a joint-stock company can solve with the help of a business plan are:

• Determination of the capacity and prospects for the development of the market for the sale of products for basic production;
• Estimating the possible costs of manufacturing and selling products and services;
• Commensurate costs with possible prices for profit forecasting;
• In the planning of financial and economic activities, possible errors and errors;
• Determination of the expediency of development of this production in the current economic conditions.

Legislation does not impose the obligation to develop a business plan. Foreign experience and still a small experience of domestic enterprises show that making life itself makes business plans. Here it is appropriate to draw an analogy with the procedure for drawing up payment calendars for short-term planning by Soviet enterprises, which made it possible to organize rationally the operative financial work by interrelating all sources of revenues with the expenses of the enterprise. Its compilation was also not compulsory, however, many enterprises of the payment calendar consisted constantly, which allowed them to anticipate periods with a difficult financial situation and take timely measures to find additional resources to eliminate temporary financial difficulties.

We are far from completely identifying the business plan with such a document of intra-company operational planning, as a payment calendar. Only planning methods are similar. The business plan solves the tasks not only of operational planning, but it can have strategic goals, as well as solve tasks on the external economic activity of an enterprise when establishing or expanding business contacts with suppliers and consumers of products. In this area of ​​business interests, a business plan can help solve the financing problem. When concluding bank contracts with an investment fund or another possible investor, the business plan allows them to convince them that the enterprise has promising opportunities for production development, that there is a consistent and real program for carrying out the entrepreneurial idea.

Business partners of the enterprise can, before establishing a contractual relationship with it, with the help of a business plan, be convinced of the chances of commercial success and ensuring an adequate level of profitability. Thus, it is possible to build economic relations with suppliers of raw materials, materials, fuel, equipment; With intermediaries in selling their own products; With firms with which it is supposed to carry out co-operation of scientific and technical, industrial, investment and other economic activities.

And one more question unusual for our business economic practice. Abroad it is accepted that the development of a business plan is carried out with the involvement of specialists, experts and consultants, but with the mandatory personal involvement of the head of the enterprise. Many foreign corporations or investment firms generally refuse to consider applications for investment if it becomes known that the business plan from the beginning to End was prepared by a consultant from outside, and the head of the enterprise was only signed. Of course, this does not mean that you should give up the services of consultants. On the contrary, their attraction is welcomed by investors.

The requirement of direct participation of the head of the enterprise in this work means checking his personal capabilities, readiness, responsibility and conviction in the rightness of his case. This is necessary for the successful implementation of the business plan.

In practice, for an enterprise to develop a business plan, it is useful for the manager to have an organizational plan. The main sections of such a plan can be:

• Express analysis and assessment of the current financial condition of the enterprise;
• Analysis of the impact on the economic activity of the enterprise external and internal factors;
• In the definition of goals and the formulation of quantitatively defined tasks for the planned period of economic activity of the enterprise;
• Program for the implementation of the organizational plan with an indication of the timing of implementation and responsible executors.

When compiling a business plan, statistical, accounting and other information is used. The business plan can be compiled for several years ahead, with its adjustment and revision as necessary.

The purpose of conducting an express analysis of the financial condition of an enterprise is to assess the structure of its balance sheet from the point of view of solvency. Based on the data of the rapid analysis, it is possible to assess the financial state comparable to the official requirements of the state, which is understandable for Russian joint-stock companies.

To conduct an express analysis of the financial condition of the enterprise, its annual accounts are used: Form No. 1 "Balance Sheet" and Form No. 2 "Profit and Loss Statement".

Analysis and evaluation of the structure of the balance of the enterprise are conducted on the basis of the indicators:

• Current liquidity ratio;
• Ratio of own funds.

The coefficient of current liquidity characterizes the overall provision of the enterprise with working capital for conducting economic activities. It is calculated as the ratio of the actual value of available working capital in the form of production stocks, finished goods, cash, receivables and other current assets to the company's most urgent obligations in the form of short-term bank loans, short-term loans and various types of accounts payable.

The coefficient of self-sufficiency characterizes the availability of own circulating assets from the enterprise, which are necessary for its financial stability. This ratio is defined as the ratio of the difference between the volumes of sources of own funds to the actual value of current assets available to the enterprise in the form of production stocks, work in progress, finished goods, cash, receivables, and other current assets.

Comparison of calculated values ​​of indicators with their positive value and actual data for other periods of economic activity makes it possible to assess not only the actual financial situation, but also the dynamics of indicators, to determine trends in the results of economic activity. And, therefore, to outline the priority measures and directions of work to improve the financial situation by using external and internal factors affecting production.

A great practical interest for business leaders is the drawing up of a program for the implementation of the organizational plan with the indication of the deadlines for executing the work and responsible executors and the output documents being prepared (see Appendix 1).

Such a program, in addition to the above-mentioned preparatory work, should provide for more detailed analysis of financial and economic activities in the areas identified by the rapid analysis, including:

• Analysis of the structure of the value of property 'enterprises and funds invested in it;
• Analysis of the company's solvency;
• Analysis of its financial stability;
• Assessment of possible prospects for the development of the enterprise.

The organizational plan for developing a business plan should be considered and approved by the board of the enterprise or by the board of directors of the joint-stock company. The questions of methodical support of the implementation of the business plan and control over the progress of its implementation are of interest to all shareholders and employees of the enterprise, since the successful decision determines the share price of the company and the level of dividends paid.

In the methodological instructions for the departments and services of the enterprise to compile the main sections of the business plan, it is usually envisaged to develop a program for the social protection of workers and shareholders. It is also recommended to have a schedule of control checks and periodic reports of the administration and other forms of informing shareholders and employees of the enterprise on the results of the work on drawing up and implementing the business plan.

Developers of business plans at enterprises should bear in mind that there is no generally accepted, uniform for all, regulated its form and structure. At the same time, with significant external differences in business plans, the methods of their development practically coincide. This makes it possible to use the most typical methods of drawing up a business plan to solve the problems of methodical support for developing a business plan. The following structure of the business plan is most suitable for working conditions of an open joint-stock company:

SUMMARY

Section I. Goods and services

Section II. Evaluation of the sale of goods

Section III. Information on possible competitors

Section IV. Marketing plan

Section V. Production plan

Section VI. Organization

Section VII. Legal plan

Section 'VIII. Assessment of forecasting and management of various risks

Section IX. Financial plan

The financial aspects of developing sections of the business plan will be discussed in the next section.