Demshevska K.O., Bondarenko N.M., Mudrenko A.A.

Oles Honchar Dnipropetrovsk National University, Ukraine

THEORETICAL APPROACHES TO THE ESSENCE OF AN ENTERPRISE’S INCOME

In the modern business environment the main driving force of the market economy, the main motivation of an enterprise, regardless of management, is to obtain a maximum profit as the main source of competition, the dynamic development of production and to solve social and ecological problems of society. At first sight, a simple economic category is characterized by multi-aspect essential parties, as well as a variety of forms in which it appears. Therefore, at present there is no unambiguous interpretation of the nature of income and methods of its determination. Theoretical and methodological aspects of profitability assessment constantly attract the attention of researchers.

Theoretical approaches to define the nature of profit have been considered in the works of such scholars as M.D. Bilyk, I.A. Blanc, L.D. Buriak, F.F. Butynets, B.I. Valuev, I.V. Zyatkivskiy, O.R. Kvasovskiy, O.A. Orlov, A.M. Poddyerohin, G.G. Kireytsev, P.T. Sabluk, etc.

Among western economists the nature of profit is reflected in the works of F. Quesnay, A. Baba, W. Petty, Adam Smith, David Ricardo, Karl Marx, A. Marshall, J. Nikbahta, S. Ross, R. Holt and others.

Therefore, it is clear that the research of economic essence of profit dates back to the XVII century and continues till nowadays. Among a great number of economic theories, the theory of profit is said to be one of the most difficult, so the problem of its ground is one of the major problems of economics and business practices and all these factors determine its relevance.

Problem. The article aims to review different theoretical approaches to determining the nature of profit and summarize the existing definitions of this category at the current stage of the economic theory.

The results and grounds. Turning directly to the coverage of issues related to the formation of concepts, it should be noted that one of the main purposes of a profit definition as an economic category is as follows. Profit is the main goal of business, the main summarizing indicator of finance results of business performance of all kinds of enterprises, regardless of their legal form [1, p. 174]. In economic theory in different periods of development the category of profit was the subject of in-depth study in economics. Nowadays among researchers there is no consensus as for the nature of this category, especially the definition of "income" and its origin is widely discussed. In the current conditions it is not correct to give preference to one explanation of income, we should consider various aspects of the origin of profit, which do not rule out but mutually complement each other.

 On the basis of available scientific literature authors have summarized the key, concepts of economic profit entity. Research findings show that modern scholars often develop the theories of profit which were proposed by the economists of the XIX – early XX centuries, they just adapt them to new conditions [3, p. 82, 4, p. 1-2].

The problem of determining the nature of profit does not leave indifferent young researchers, graduate students. For example:

- O.B. Zhyhor, A. Petrukhin "Profits for individual industries should be determined as the difference between revenue and total cost of sales" [4. p. 4];

- L.M. Pazdernyk, O.I. Kopchunova "…profit is an economic category, a set of economic relations which reflect the result of effective cooperation of all inputs in the form of a surplus product and is a part of a company’s income remaining after covering costs incurred during business activity"[2, p.146];

- H.T. Dezhuharova "…profit is a part of income expressed in a monetary form of a particular functioning enterprise, which is conditioned by internal and external environment and the level of business, it acts as the difference between the total value of income and expenses of an organization and it is necessary for further development and satisfying the interests of the state, investors and employees" [5, p. 212].

Conclusions. Currently, there are several theoretical approaches to defining the essence of profit. However, the development of commodity-money relations imposes new requirements on reconsideration seemingly well-established categories. The problem of the ambiguous interpretation of the concept of profit in all its aspects is clearly retraced in the article. Examining the evolution of scientific views on the economic substance of profit, it is impossible to say for sure which of the theories is the most correct, as each of them explains some important aspects of the issue, and summarizes data views of the modern theory of profit, it certainly represents a further step in forming ideas about the nature and factors of a profit formation, but at the same time it is not consistent with the classification of income that is used in modern practice which is still incomplete and requires further research.

Literature:

1. Economically Glossary: ​​Textbook. benefits in. / [Ed. Professor. V. Sofronova, prof. V.A. Chemuhyn, and. at. Assoc. G.P. Okorokovoy]. – Kursk: IKHSHA, 1998. – 315 p.

2. Pazdernyk L. The economic essence of profit and its historical development concepts / Pazdernyk L.M., Kopchunova O.I. / / Science and Economics. – 2011. – № 2 (22). – 144-147s. – (Business entities).

3. Kucher L.U. Research and Theoretical Foundations of profit in business / / Innovative Economy. Ukrainian Scientific and Production magazine. – 2011. – P. 82-89.

4. Zhyhor O.B. Theoretical aspects of determining the nature of the concept of "income" / Zhyhor O.B., Petrukhin O. – 2011. – P.1-6.

5. Dezhuharova H. T. The economic essence of the category of "income" (a critical analysis of works of the founders of Economics) / / National Academy of statistics. Accounting, analysis and audit. – Kyiv, 2010. – P. 209-213.