Financial Policy of Enterprises Under Martial Law

Abstract

The article presents a study on the formation of financial policy tools for enterprises during martial law. It generalises theoretical and methodological approaches to the essence of enterprises' financial policy and establishes that this topic remains scientifically underdeveloped amidst the current economic stagnation caused by Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine. The relevance of formulating statements on the essence and individual components of financial policy in terms of addressing the extraordinary challenges facing our country's economy is emphasized. Directions for the development of long-term and current financial policies of enterprises during the reformatting of the country's financial system under martial law are formulated to adequately respond to existing challenges and ensure stabilisation. The study utilised several methods: a systematic approach to researching financial policy tools of enterprises; economic-statistical analysis and generalisation (for collecting and processing information on key financial and economic indicators at both macro and micro levels); the graphical method; and theoretical generalisation (for substantiating the research results and forming conclusions and proposals). It is substantiated that determining tools and directions for the long-term financial policy of domestic enterprises is aligned with the formation of imbalances in the financial system and the comprehensive action of systemic risk, including the irreversibility of financial losses and the negative impact of external factors on enterprise operations. Therefore, the current financial policy aims to timely identify threats and unfavourable changes in the external environment, including assessing trends in the current state of the enterprise for the targeted formation, organisation, and use of finances in the short term. The article proposes defining the financial policy of enterprises during martial law as a system of measures aimed at mobilising financial resources (under exceptional conditions of scarcity), their targeted distribution, and use to ensure economic stabilisation, financial stability of enterprises, and the formation of tools for post-war business recovery in Ukraine. It is argued that extrapolating principles of a peacetime market economy to form a financial management system during martial law is impossible; thus, the current conditions for enterprise operations in Ukraine require situational, scenarioal, and adaptive approaches to financial management, ensuring the effectiveness of financial policy under the destructive impact of the full-scale war. It is concluded that for managing finances at the micro-level during martial law, a conservative policy is advisable.