ENTERPRISE ASSETS: THEORETICAL DEFINITION AND ECONOMIC ESSENCE

Abstract

The relevance of the chosen topic of scientific research is determined by the fact that in modern conditions, the main factor that determines the possibility of an enterprise's economic activity is its assets, which embody both means and objects of work. The key to the successful functioning of any business entity is the formation of a sufficient amount of its assets and their effective use. The article examines the currently existing scientific approaches to the interpretation of the concept of "enterprise assets". At the legislative level, assets are interpreted as resources controlled by an enterprise as a result of past events, the use of which is expected to lead to economic benefits in the future. Academic economists consider assets as economic resources or property that are at the disposal of the enterprise and are used by it for the purpose of obtaining profit. The practice of interpretation of the essence of assets by foreign scientists is considered. It is noted that five concepts have been formed in the scientific space regarding the determination of the essential characteristics of assets. Each of them involves consideration of the asset as an object of ownership, an object of accounting, an object of management, an object of investment and the economic potential of the enterprise. The content of ten main characteristics of the company's assets as objects of management was determined and considered. Named and revealed the essence of five characteristics of assets that play an important role in their formation and use, namely: cost, productivity, profitability, turnover, depreciation. It is determined how the company's assets are formed according to different stages of its life cycle, namely: formation of a new company, expansion, reconstruction and modernization of an existing company and the formation of its new structural units. Further research will concern the classification of the company's assets.