Lecture
Finances (fr. Finances - cash) in the Russian scientific and educational literature are defined as a set of economic relations arising in the process of formation, distribution and use of centralized and decentralized funds of funds [1] [2] . Usually we are talking about the trust funds of the state or economic entities (enterprises). The most important concept in the field of finance is the budget .
In the Western scientific and educational literature, general definitions of finance are usually not given, finances are interpreted quite widely. Usually it is specified what kind of finances we are talking about: public, corporate or personal finances. Public finance is a process and mechanism for the formation and use of public resources, the balance of income and expenditure, as well as appropriate control methods [3] . Subcorporate finance means “proper money management” [4] or “the art and science of money management” [5] . Thus, the terms “financial management”, “management finance”, “corporate finance” and “business finance” are practically equivalent and interchangeable [6] [7] . The theory of finance implies the theory of arbitration pricing, capital structure, portfolio theory, pricing theory of financial assets, options and other theories founded by G. Markowitz, W. Sharp, R. Merton, F. Modigliani, M. Miller, J. Tobin, A Black and others.
The term "finance" also means economics and discipline, which studies the corresponding sphere of economic relations.
The word finance is often used in everyday life to refer to money.
The term financing means the supply (security) of cash.
Traditionally, finance is divided into public finances (centralized, state and municipal finances) and private finances (decentralized). The latter include both corporate finance (organization finances) and household finances (personal and family finances).
The most significant feature of the distinction between public and private finances is that public finances and private sector finances have different goals (see [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15 ] ] [16] ). The main objective of the private sector is to make a profit, that is, the maximum possible increase in the exchange value of capital through reproduction and / or speculation. In turn, the goal of public finance is the distribution and redistribution of public goods consumed at the national and regional levels (for more information about the objective functions of finance, see [17] [18] [19] [20] [21] [22] [23] [ 24] [25] [26] ). In addition, expenditures are primary for public finances, since financing of clearly regulated tasks and functions of public education is made. For private finances, primary incomes, all activities are aimed at obtaining income, which is subsequently used at the discretion of the person.
Due to the significant difference between household finances and corporate finances, these categories are considered as separate, thus, they are generally classified into:
In corporate finance, in connection with the specifics and special role, finance of the financial services sector, first of all, the finances of credit organizations (banks) and the finances of insurance organizations, are singled out. Sometimes there is also the finances of non-profit organizations, as well as small business finance.
Finances (first of all, public ones) are studied within the framework of the scientific disciplines “Finance”, “Finance and Credit”, “Finance, Money Circulation and Credit”. These disciplines study money and socio-economic relations associated with the formation, distribution and use of material resources. Finance is an applied economic discipline.
Financial management (primarily corporate) is studied within the framework of the discipline of financial management, as well as “the finances of organizations (enterprises)”. Financial management of a bank is usually studied in the discipline of "Banking". Control over financial flows is studied in the framework of the discipline "Financial Control".
Methods and models of financial information analysis are studied in the framework of financial mathematics. Financial mathematics is the basis of financial management.
Modern interpretations of the term finance originate in cameralism - the German version of mercantilism - a science that deals with the problem of the formation and targeted use of the state treasury [27] [28] [29] [30] [31] . Under finance, the white-collar workers understood the management of revenues earmarked for the needs of the state [32] . The concepts of “cameral science” and “financial science” in Western literature were sometimes used as synonyms, but after the chamber colleges were established in the structure of the private economy, the police included the term “finances” to acquire an independent, narrower meaning: "... the branch of government activity, which has as its purpose the acquisition, preservation and proper use of the material values necessary for state power and consisting in the management of its own economy or in the care of state income and expenses. These cares of the government ... are the subject of so-called finance, financial management, government or state economy ” [33] (in pre-revolutionary Russia, the term was used in the same sense as in Germany (see [34] ).
In the English-language literature of the second half of the XIX - early XX centuries, the term "finance" was interpreted not so unequivocally as in German. In particular, the words of Webster (edition of 1886) stated that finance is “the revenue (revenue) of a ruler or a state; sometimes, the income of an individual " [35] . Thus, this definition reflects the point of view of a narrow circle of Western scientists of that time, according to which the sphere of finance was limited only to state revenues [36] [37] [38] and, moreover, indicates the use of the term “finance” not only in relation to the public sector economy, but also to the private. In the second half of the 19th century, in the context of finance, it is spoken not only about government revenues and expenditures, but also about speculation in securities, capital accumulation and the interest rate on loan capital, as important aspects of financial science (see, for example, [39] ). In the book of the English author G. King, The Theory of Finance, the public sector of the economy is not mentioned at all, but it concerns profit, actuarial calculations, simple and compound interest on loan capital [40] . In this respect, the definition of F. Cleveland’s finances is also indicative: “Finances are a branch of business that deals with the receipt and expenditure of funds necessary for equipping and managing an enterprise. ... What are funds? How to get them? How to manage them? Answers to these three questions cover the entire field of finance ” [41] . It is noteworthy that K. Marx in his “Capital” uses the term “finance” in the context of money capital, banks and stock exchanges [42] .
The transfer of the semantic content of the term "finance" from the public to the private sector of the economy occurred as a result of metonymy (according to the book of K. Plen "Introduction to Public Finance" [43] (1921)). As a result, used without specifying adjectives ("public" (public), "personal" (personal), "corporate" (corporate)), the term "finance" got a broader meaning than it originally had, and, besides the public sector, became cover issues of capital, profits, incomes and expenses of enterprises and individuals. In this regard, to eliminate the ambiguity of the adjective “financial” (financial), resulting from metonymy, K. Plen, and after him M. Hunter pointed out that in relation to public finance it is more correct to use the adjective “fiscal” (fiscal) while saying “fiscal year” rather than “fiscal year” [44] [45] .
The use of the term "finance" without specifying adjectives only in relation to the public sector of the economy was typical, above all, for the German scientific school. This interpretation of finance reflects the initial stage of development of Western financial science and has now lost its relevance. The other extreme is the use of the term “finance” (without specifying adjectives) only in the context of the private sector of the economy. This approach to the interpretation of the term is often found in modern academic and scientific Western literature (see, for example, [46] [47] [48] [49] [50] ). The dominant approach in modern Western literature has become the predominant use of the term “finance” with clarifying adjectives (public, personal, corporate) and a broad interpretation of the general term (without the above adjectives).
"Public finances" are associated with the activities of the state (or local government), which consists in obtaining and applying the funds necessary to perform proper functions [51] , with the process and mechanism for the formation and use of public resources, the balance of income and expenditure, and the corresponding administrative control [3 ] . Some authors [52] also emphasize that the subject of public finance lies on the border between economics and politics, and also notes that in modern societies, revenues and expenditures of state bodies consist almost exclusively of cash receipts.
The basis of public finance is the theory of the distribution of public goods. Its essence lies in the fact that there are some benefits (national defense, protection of public order, roads, etc.), the need for which cannot be satisfied and paid for individually by means of commodity-money exchange. As a consequence, the need for such collective benefits cannot be realized through the market mechanism. On this basis, the distribution of public goods takes on the state represented by central and local authorities through the budgets of the respective levels. “Government spending is part of the consumption of a society in which the state is a regulatory body” [53] . By means of fiscal and budgetary instruments, public goods are not only distributed, but also redistributed. In particular, redistribution can be made through a combination of high taxes on wealthy citizens and subsidies to low-income citizens. Thus, the concept of social justice and humanism is implemented through the redistribution of wealth between high-income and low-income groups of the population: “If we consider the moral duty of society as a whole to help the weak, helping the poor provides the common good” [54] .
Corporate finance is related to the acquisition and distribution of funds or resources of a corporation in order to maximize shareholder wealth [55] , with efficient and effective management of resources and cash flows to achieve the goals of this organization, which means “planning and controlling the provision of resources (where they come from ), the allocation of resources (where they are deployed), the final control over the resources (whether they are used effectively or not) ” [56] . Western authors identify two key concepts of corporate finance that are crucial in decision making - the relationship between risk and return and the concept of the time value of money. Some authors [57] define finance as risk assessment and management based on the assumption that, from a financial point of view, “a corporation is a collection of risky cash flows”.
A special place in world financial science is occupied by the theory of Soviet (socialist) finance, which is a modified version of the Western theory of public finance, adapted to the Soviet model of economy and the ideas of Marxism [58] .
First of all, it should be noted that K. Marx, in contrast to the theory of distribution of public goods through finance and personal benefits through market exchange, proposed a scheme for the distribution of benefits in a society based on collectivism, which provided for measuring the value not directly through money, but directly through working time ( more widely - through labor). “The individual working time of each individual producer is the part of the public working day delivered by him, his share in it. He receives a receipt from society that he has received such and such quantity of labor (minus his labor in favor of public funds), and according to this receipt he receives such quantity of consumer goods from the public stocks, for which the same amount of labor was spent ” [59 ] . Such a scheme for distributing benefits to receipts did not imply the existence of money, therefore many Soviet economists viewed the period of socialism as “the beginning of the transition to direct product exchange and withering away of money, credit, finance” [60] and proceeded from the fact that after the victory of socialism “finances will be buried “As a relic of capitalism” [61] . However, the practice of the first years of Soviet power showed that it was premature to refuse money as a measure of value. The communist ideology was forced to admit that the money would remain in the USSR as an instrument of the bourgeois economy, which, according to I. Stalin, "took the Soviet power in its hands and adapted it to the interests of socialism" [62] .
By the end of the second five-year plan (1938), the key distinctive feature of the Soviet economy was that the share of public ownership was 98.7% of all the country's production assets (the remaining 1.3% was in the personal property of collective farmers and handicraftsmen) [63] . That is, the whole economy actually had public status, and the state, in the name of society, fully assumed the distribution of wealth. The state budget of the USSR covered not only the expenses traditionally characteristic of the capitalist model of the economy (state administration, national defense, law enforcement, road construction, etc.), but also the bulk of the cost of expanded reproduction (production capital investment). The USSR state budget actually became a public investment fund managed by the state, through which resources were redistributed among various enterprises and branches of the public economy. Therefore, the Soviet interpretation of "finance" was based precisely on this character of the Soviet economy, the "Soviet" or "socialist" finances.
The beginning of the formation of scientific approaches to the interpretation of public finance, taking into account the realities of the socialist model of the economy, put the scientific discussion at a meeting held in 1944 by the Office of Educational Institutions of the USSR Ministry of Finance. The main outcomes of the discussion were: [64]
The discussion had a serious impact on the entire future course of development of the Soviet financial science. Under its influence over the next twenty-five years, three scientific concepts of Soviet finance were formed in the USSR: distribution, reproduction, and concept. A. Voznesensky (sometimes called the legal concept).
The author of this (the most common) Soviet concept of public finance isV. P. Dyachenko (Moscow school), who considered that “there is no reason to refuse to apply the concept of state finance to the socialist society” [65] . What was meant was the notion of finances, as distributive monetary relations related to the existence and functioning of the state [66] , which was envisaged by the Western theory of the distribution of public goods. Однако, под термином «распределение» стали подразумевать не только распределение общественных благ между сферой производства и сферой потребления, но и процесс дробления валовой денежной выручки на общественных производственных предприятиях (т. н. «первичное распределение») [58] . Таким образом, исходная концепция была адаптирована к условиям советской модели экономики путем скрытого терминологического указанного соглашения. Кроме того, ввиду полного обобществления производственного сектора, для обозначения различия между общественными фондами (в принятом западной наукой понимании этого словосочетания) и фондами частных предприятий, тоже ставших в СССР общественными, были введены понятия «централизованные фонды» и «децентрализованные фонды». Таким образом финансы (социалистического государства) определялись как «система денежных отношений, на основе которых через плановое распределение доходов и накоплений обеспечивается образование и использование централизованных и децентрализованных фондов денежных ресурсов государства в соответствии с его функциями и задачами» [67] .
Ещё больше подчёркивало различие социалистических финансов от капиталистических разделение финансов предприятий на производственную и распределительную составляющие. При этом в состав «финансов социалистического государства» вошло так называемое «первичное распределение» (валового дохода по различным фондам предприятия), а «производственная» составляющая — отношения, возникающие в процессе производства и реализации продукции и опосредствующие этот процесс, то есть денежная сторона отношений в процессе движения стоимости в производственной форме (основных фондов, сырья, комплектующих, готовой продукции) — была выделена в самостоятельную категорию «финансы отраслей народного хозяйства СССР» [68] .
Along with the generally recognized distribution (redistributive) function of public finance, Soviet financial theorists also identified a control function. The first function is common for state finances of any formation, but in a socialist economy the distribution function was not only about the redistribution of monetary resources, but also extended to the relations of the primary distribution of national income. The control function was defined as a specific function of Soviet finance [69] . При этом термин «перераспределение» в советской финансовой теории утратил свой первоначальный смысл (распределения от богатых к бедным) и трактовался как распределение того, что поступило в госбюджет после т. н. «первичного распределения» внутри производственных предприятий. Благодаря такому «перераспределению» в СССР могли существовать планово убыточные предприятия и даже целые отрасли, убытки которых покрывались через госбюджет за счёт прибыли других общественных предприятий и отраслей.
Автором данной концепции является А. М. Александров (ленинградская школа). Воспроизводственная концепция принципиально отличалась от распределительной тем, что денежные отношения внутри предприятий не делились на распределительную (т. н. «первичное распределение») и воспроизводственную (т. н. опосредствование) составляющие, а объединялись в одно целое под называнием « опосредствование производственного процесса » и полностью включались в предметную область, охватываемую понятием «финансы социализма». В результате такого подхода все денежные отношения, входящие в понятие «финансы социализма», представляли собой систему из двух типов отношений — « опосредственных » и «распределительных» (в подлинном смысле этого слова, изначально принятом в западной теории распределения общественных благ). При этом финансы, помимо контрольной и распределительной, наделялись функцией « опосредствования кругооборота производственных фондов ». «В этой функции финансы обслуживают не только фазы кругооборота «Д — Т» и «Т — Д», но и фазу движения фондов предприятий в их производственной форме» [70] .
Таким образом, финансы (социалистические) определяются как «система денежных отношений, опосредствующих кругооборот производственных фондов в народном хозяйстве на расширенной основе и обеспечивающих образование и использование различных фондов для удовлетворения разнообразных потребностей социалистического общества» [71] .
Многолетняя научная дискуссия между сторонниками распределительной и воспроизводственной концепций по существу сводилась к тому, в какой мере следует включать финансы советских предприятий и отраслей народного хозяйства в состав общественных финансов. При этом, обе концепции исключали из финансов социализма личные финансы и финансы непроизводственных предприятии и организаций, к которым относились все учреждения здравоохранения, образования, культуры и спорта. Таким образом, воспроизводственная концепция тоже не охватывала всю предметную область финансов.
Автором данной концепции является Эрнест Александрович Вознесенский (ленинградская школа). Он исходил из того, что, во-первых, финансовые отношения, в том числе налоги, суть стоимостные (денежные) и, во-вторых, лишь те денежные отношения являются финансовыми, которые регламентированы государством [72] . В основе такого подхода лежит одно из отличий общественных финансов от финансов частного сектора, принятых западными финансовыми теоретиками. К. Шоуп характеризует это отличие «степенью беспристрастности правил, по которым правительство распределяет свои услуги и ... бремя покрытия расходов». Беспристрастность предполагает, что правила установлены декретом и поддержаны санкциями, одинаково применимыми ко всем нарушителям. Семья же «распределяет среди своих членов товары, потребляемые в домохозяйстве по неофициальным и часто меняющимся критериям» [73]
Таким образом, в рамках данной концепции, финансы представляют собой «систему денежных отношений, имеющих императивную форму» [74] . Поскольку жесткой императивной регламентации в СССР подвергалась не только сфера распределения общественных благ, как это было в капиталистических странах, но и сфера производства вместе с непроизводственной, то, по версии Э. А. Вознесенского, система социалистических финансов охватывала почти всю предметную область. Исключение составляла только часть денежных отношений, относимых западной научной школой к понятию «личные финансы», поскольку последние не носят императивной формы, за исключением «уплаты налогов, страховых платежей, возврата ссуд и др.» [75] При этом закупки промтоваров и продовольствия (по сути — товарно-денежные отношения), проводимые бюджетными организациями, Э. А. Вознесенский причислял к финансам социалистического государства на том основании, что госзакупки также подвергались жёсткой регламентации.
В учебной литературе по финансам, издаваемой после распада СССР на постсоветском пространстве, главным образом, продолжают излагаться основные теоретические концепции советских (общественных) финансов. При этом дефиниции категории финансы, как правило, повторяют (без прилагательных «советские» и «социалистические») дефиниции из советских учебников. Исключением является концепция, разработанная С. П. Захарченковым, согласно которой финансы представляют собой целенаправленное движение меновой стоимости капитала в денежном измерении [76] .
Financial activity (activity) is the use of a number of techniques and procedures that individuals and organizations use to manage their finances. Especially important in this case is the difference between income and expenditure and the risk assessment of investments.
If revenues exceed expenses (that is, there is a surplus), then the difference can be lent at interest or invested in some business or in the purchase of property. This is the essence of financial activity - if there are free financial resources, then they should be put into action in order to generate additional income.
If expenses exceed revenues (that is, there is a deficit), then you need to fill in the missing financial resources. This can be done by obtaining a loan, or by issuing shares or bonds on the exchange. In the modern world, a borrower does not have to go and look for a lender himself - you can go to a bank or to the exchange, and the appropriate financial institution will find a lender for a certain commission. Or vice versa - for the lender will find a borrower. Actually, the whole essence of banking and stock exchange activity is to effectively connect those in need with those who have available funds.
As mentioned earlier, the bank serves as an intermediary between borrowers and lenders. In practice, it looks like this: the lender (depositor) comes in and puts his free money in a bank account (deposit) in order to receive interest from his deposit. Then the borrower comes to the bank to get a loan. The bank gives the depositor money on credit to the borrower at interest, and this percentage includes both income for the depositor and income for the bank itself, plus a certain percentage for insurance against the risk of non-return of the loan.
The exchange also serves the purpose of connecting creditors and borrowers, but, unlike a bank, it does not have its own “financial buffer”, that is, it cannot deposit money on the deposit until a borrower appears. The exchange can link the lender and the borrower only in real time. The bank can postpone the funds, that is, the lender (depositor) can come to the bank today, and the borrower (who wants to take the depositor’s money on credit) can appear only in a month.
In addition, the exchange trades deposits and loans in a mediated manner. A person who wants to take out a loan issues stocks or bonds to the exchange. The action represents the share of the owner in the company-borrower, and, therefore, simultaneously serves as a pledge on the loan. A bond is also a type of loan, but, unlike a stock, it does not give ownership of a borrowing company, although it may provide for a separate security deposit. On shares and bonds, interest can also be paid (dividends, coupon). If a dividend is not paid for the stock, then it is assumed that the share will rise in value, and the lender who bought the share will be able to receive the profit due to him only after the sale of the risen share.
Functions of finance in Russia differ depending on interpretations. The Moscow concept highlights the following finance functions:
as well as fiscal and incentive functions.
7. cumulative
According to the St. Petersburg concept, the following functions of finance are distinguished:
A general term for describing the services of companies whose activities are related to monetary or investment services.
Financial services include the following services:
The development of capitalism has reached the point that commodity production ... has already been undermined, and the main profits remain the "geniuses" of financial tricks. The socialization of production lies at the heart of these tricks and frauds, but the gigantic progress of mankind, which has been developed before this socialization, benefits the speculators.
The financial market is a market that primarily covers the capital market and the cash market, often represented by exchanges. It serves the trading of financial assets, manages financial risks and encourages investment. It is customary to divide into the following financial markets:
According to IMF estimates, the current value of financial products on the world market is three and a half times the value of the products of the real economy [77] .
Doing personal accounting, planning personal income and expenses (drawing up a financial plan) is not mandatory. But the use of such approaches allows more efficient use of available resources. Usually take into account a number of typical sources of income and cost directions.
The analysis reveals reserves (for example, unused assets) and considers options for their use or sale.
When planning for a long period, it is necessary to take into account the possibility of inflation.
The main task of corporate finance - financial support of the organization. It is also important to find the optimal balance between business profitability and financial risks. To meet the current financial needs of a business, short-term bank loans are usually taken. To ensure long-term needs, bonds or stocks without a fixed dividend are issued more often. Such strategic decisions about loans or issuance of shares ultimately determine the very structure of the organization’s capital.
Another important aspect of corporate finance is investment decisions, that is, decisions about investing available funds. After all, an investment is an investment of a free asset with the hope that it will increase in value over time. Investment management is the most important side of finance at any level, and the corporate level is no exception. Before deciding on an investment, the following factors should be analyzed:
Financial management in organizations is very similar to accounting. But accounting is engaged in the accounting of transactions already committed (and, therefore, taking into account the "historical" financial information). And financial management is looking to the future and is engaged in analyzing the effectiveness and planning of more upcoming financial transactions.
The definition of tax is presented in Art. 8 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation (a kind of "tax constitution"). According to the specified regulatory act, the tax is a compulsory, individually-gratuitous payment levied on organizations and individuals in the form of alienation of the funds belonging to them (economic management or operational management) of funds in order to ensure the activities of the state and (or) municipalities. This definition indicates the distinctive features of a tax from other types of payments to the budget: compulsory, individual gratuitousness, monetary nature (taxes of the current tax system can only have a monetary form, unlike the tax system, which was in force before the introduction of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation) and target orientation payment (for the activities of the state and (or) municipalities).
Fees - mandatory contributions levied on organizations and individuals, the payment of which is one of the conditions for the commission of legally significant actions in relation to payers of fees by state bodies, local authorities, other authorized bodies and officials, including the granting of certain rights or issuing permits (licenses) . The definition shows the difference between the tax and the tax category: in particular, the tax, unlike the tax, is not always obligatory, but only in the case when certain public authorities commit “legally significant actions” with respect to its payer, that is, there is a moment of “individual retribution. "
Taxes today are the most important and largest part of state revenues (the fiscal function of taxes). By manipulating tax rates, the state can influence the economy, activating one or another economic sector (or, say, a geographic region), or vice versa, holding back growth in a certain area (the regulatory function of the tax).
Taxes are direct and indirect. Direct tax is a tax levied by the state directly on the income or property of the taxpayer. Indirect tax - a tax on goods and services, established in the form of a premium to the price or tariff. Indirect taxes also act in the form of excise (including universal excise) and customs duties.
Here are the main taxes that ensure the income of the budgets of the budget system of the Russian Federation:
The modern tax system of Russia is built on the basis of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation and laws of subjects adopted in accordance with it, and regulatory acts of local self-government, as well as by-laws of various executive bodies. Control over the correctness, completeness and timeliness of tax payment is assigned to the Federal Tax Service, which is formed as part of the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation.
The tax system of the Russian Federation has three levels (federal, regional level of the subject and local). At the moment, the tax system in terms of the number of levels does not coincide with the budget system (in fact, since 2006, the 4th “unofficial” budget level has been introduced at the level of local budgets: budgets of municipal districts, budgets of urban districts, budgets of intracity municipalities of cities of federal importance Moscow and St. St. Petersburg). However, this seemingly contradiction does not cause any complaints, since all local taxes (as well as part of federal taxes and tax regimes) are divided between local levels in proportion to their statuses based on the provisions of the Budget Code of the Russian Federation.
Separately, you need to say about government bonds (they are also called "government bonds"). These securities are issued by the government of the country and distributed domestically and abroad. It is like a loan that the state itself takes for its own needs. Of course, the richer and more stable the state, the more willing it is to give out loans and buy its bonds. Therefore, the United States is the country with the largest national debt in the world. Many countries of the world (including Russia) keep their state treasury funds in the securities of the US government. The more effectively a state can dispose of borrowed money, the more profitable it is to take a loan. And vice versa, if the state cannot repay interest on a loan, then loans become a heavy burden for the state budget.
State revenues are distributed according to the following main expense items:
Among the forms of allocations allocate subsidies, subsidies and subventions.
Financial economics is a branch of economics that studies the relationship between financial quantities, such as: price, value added, share capital, etc. Financial economics especially concentrates on studying the effect of real economic indicators on financial performance. Here are the main areas of research:
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Finance
Terms: Finance