FORMATION AND USE OF FINANCIAL POTENTIAL OF INVESTMENT ACTIVITY OF SMALL ENTERPRISES

The purpose of the paper is to study the processes of formation and use of financial potential of investment activity of small enterprises. The subject of research is the patterns of formation of financial potential of investment activity of small enterprises. Methodology included structural and systems analysis, as well as the theory of optimal control. In addition, methods of economic and statistical analysis were used. The main results of the study include the definition of the essence and selection of types of the financial potential of investment activity of enterprises. It is found that the financial potential of investment activity of the enterprise is its ability to attract financial resources to ensure this activity. The available, aggregate, and long-term financial potentials of investment activity are defined and characterized. The possibility of distinguishing the general, effective and optimal varieties of this potential are also noted. It is shown that the aggregate financial potential of investment activity of the enterprise, in addition to the available potential, also includes the available reserve for the growth of the financial potential of investment activity due to the implementation of measures that do not require investment. It is proven that the financial potential of investment activity of small enterprises is at the intersection of two other types of their economic opportunities: investment potential and the potential of the flow of the financial resources to finance investment activity of enterprises. The generalized model of the course of processes of formation and use of the financial potential of investment activity of small enterprises is constructed and analyzed. A number of indicators for assessing the level of use of the financial potential of investment activity of small enterprises are proposed. In particular, these indicators include the share of the actual volume of realization of the available financial potential of investment activity of enterprises in the amount of the potential, the share of the available financial potential of investment activity of enterprises in the value of their investment potential, the share of the actual volume of realization of the available financial potential of investment activity of enterprises in the value of their investment potential. The third indicator is the product of the previous two. The level of investment activity and use of the available financial potential of investment activity of fifty Ukrainian small enterprises is studied. It is established that the largest share includes enterprises with a low and satisfactory level of investment activity. At the same time, the average level of realization of the available financial potential of investment activity of enterprises increases with the growth of investment activity. The practical significance of the results in the work of small enterprises will allow to identify and implement untapped opportunities for growth in the financial potential of investment activity of these enterprises. Also, these results make it possible to establish the level of actual realization of this potential and identify areas for increasing this level, which is especially relevant in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.