Kh. Minsky, whose opinion the authors also share, was one of the first to point out that the FI was in the very nature of the market economic relations. In particular, it is noted in his papers [24], [25] that the modern capitalist economy endogenously generates a financial structure, which is subject to FI by its nature. His "hypothesis" is based on the theory of debt deflation (I. Fisher) [26] and the mechanism of the investor behavior in the context of uncertainty (J.M. Keynes) [27].
Close attention to FI as an object of scientific interest at the micro level arose following the research aimed at analyzing individual economic entities [28]. Research in this area gradually approached the realities of business practice, which primarily contributed to the accumulation of statistical data and the improvement of information storage and transmission systems. Economists (A. Cesa-Bianchi, A. Rebucci, P. Aghion, P. Bacchetta, A. Banerjee, P.A. Ivanov, G.R. Sakhapova) focused their research on the nature and causes of crisis situations in the activities of economic entities [29] — [31]. As such, the idea of FI as a condition caused solely by external factors, such as competition and the cyclical nature of economic development, has gradually given way to more complex explanations.
According to Yu.S. Kalinina, an enterprise as a business entity in a stable financial condition is described by a high level of solvency, an absolute or slight dependence on borrowed funds and their rational use, and great performance of core activities [32]. In other words, the financial sustainability of an enterprise is conditions (prevailing at a certain point in time) under which there is not only support for the already existing level of operation, but also the presence of conditions for the enterprise to reach a quantitatively and qualitatively new level (increase in production capacity, entry to new markets, new technological level, increased investment activity, etc.). FI of the enterprise, according to the scientist, is primarily manifested in the deterioration of the conditions of its operation.
According to P.V. Trunin, the phenomenon of enterprise FI can be divided into two stages by its nature. The first stage, most often hidden, is the fall in the marginal efficiency of capital, company's performance, profitability, and profit volumes. The second stage of FI is unprofitable production. This problem is solved by means of strategic management and is implemented through voluntary restructuring of the enterprise. At the same time, it is proposed to expand the concept of FI of an enterprise and combine actual enterprise FI and the crisis state (which the author understands as regular defaults, overdue loans to banks, overdue debts to suppliers, and budget defaults) into one group and consider the failure of an economic entity as the last crisis point of FI [33].
The purpose of the study is to analyze the features of managing the ES of a business entity in the context of FI.
Hypotheses of research is as follows: FI requires timely diagnosis of the financial condition of an enterprise and the nature and depth of financial problems, which must necessarily include a forecast of the possible bankruptcy, in order to ensure the ES of a business entity.
According to the results of the research, it can be concluded that the purpose set in the research has been compassed.
To compass the purpose, the online video survey of experts via Skype was used to determine the following main questions of the research:
— generalization of expert opinions on priority models for assessing the financial condition of a business entity;
— analysis of international practice in preventing bankruptcy of business entities.
Financial analysts from Kazakhstan (11 experts), the Russian Federation (9 experts), and the Federal Republic of Germany (5 experts) were involved in the expert survey — 25 experts in total.
During the expert survey, the experts were asked to indicate the most priority models for assessing the financial condition of a business entity, as well as to analyze international practice in preventing bankruptcy of business entities.
The experts believe that any economic conclusion should be supported by calculations. At the same time, the development of the crisis financial condition of a business entity under the negative impact of certain factors is predicted on the basis of developing special multifactor regression models and using the SWOT analysis and other fundamental analysis methods for this purpose. They also believe that forecasting takes into account the factors that have the most significant negative impact on financial development and bankruptcy and generate the greatest threat to the business entity in the future.
According to the results of the expert survey, the following econometric models are the most common in world practice for assessing the financial condition of the business entity and its aptitude for bankruptcy (Table I).
Table I. Models for assessing the financial condition of the business entity and its aptitude for bankruptcy
Let us consider the possibility of using some of these models to predict the bankruptcy of a business entity. Most experts believe that the Altman analytical model is most often used to predict the probability of bankruptcy. This method was developed in 1968 by the US economist E. Altman. The analysis is carried out by finding Z-score, which allows distinguishing business entities into potential bankrupts and nonbankrupts in the first approximation. G. Springate and R. Lis developed other options of the discriminant model. They largely duplicate the Altman model by the number of indicators taken into account but have completely different weights. In the opinion of German experts, the four-factor forecasting model of the British economists R. Taffler and G. Tishou proposed by them in 1977 is of interest. According to the Russian experts, some attempts to develop similar models were made by Russian scientists.
The Russian experts believe that the most common among them is the four-factor model of the bankruptcy risk prediction (R model) developed by the scientists of the Irkutsk State Academy of Economics, according to which the probability of an enterprise bankruptcy depends on the value of the integral coefficient R, as well as a model of predicting the company financial crisis depending on the value of the complex indicator R (R.S. Saifullin, G.G. Kadykov).
As such, according to the results of an expert survey on the possibilities of diagnosing the bankruptcy probability on the basis of econometric models, it has been established that their use significantly improves the quality of analysis. However, the experts from Kazakhstan argue that most of the models presented are designed for economic conditions that differ from those in Kazakhstan. This reduces the objectivity of the conclusions obtained on their basis to a certain extent.
Differences in the rate of inflation, in the fund-, energy-, labor-intensive production, and a different tax climate necessitate the adjustment of the models, as well as using them for forecasting.
According to the experts, the bankruptcy of business entities is inevitable in any national economic system as a reflection of the objective processes of structural adjustment of the economy as a whole. Loss of solvency by a business entity does not always mean termination of its activity and liquidation — it may be a temporary phenomenon that can be overcome by various means of preventing bankruptcy [34].