Planning in a crisis. Characteristics and main stages of anti-crisis strategic planning Strategic planning in a crisis of a problem

Collection output:

STRATEGIC PLANNING METHODS IN A CRISIS

Gavrilyuk Sergey Alekseevich

postgraduate student, St. Petersburg State University of Engineering and Economics (IZHECON),

Saint Petersburg

The threat of another global economic crisis is relevant today. One way or another, the Russian economy will be seriously affected by the economic crisis, so the management of any enterprise needs a list of measures and methods of anti-crisis management to respond to emerging crisis situations in companies that are somehow related to the crisis. A special role in anti-crisis management is played by the ability to competently plan a combination of strategic and tactical elements. This article highlights the main methods of strategic planning in a crisis period.

Strategic planning - an enterprise management system based on a mechanism for coordinating current decisions - tactical and operational - with strategic ones, as well as a mechanism for adjusting and monitoring the implementation of a strategy. The process of choosing the goals of the organization and ways to achieve them. Strategic planning provides the basis for all management decisions.

The main goal of strategic planning at the enterprise is to collect and analyze information about the final or intermediate results, determine the changes that have taken place and the current state of the enterprise, evaluate the benefits and costs, establish areas for future improvement and development of the enterprise, and then use these data to solve the following problems:

Table 1.

Goals of strategic planning.

Goals	Characteristic
Resource allocation	This process involves the allocation of limited organizational resources such as funds, scarce managerial talent and technological expertise.
Adaptation to the external environment	Adaptation should be interpreted in broad sense the words. It covers all actions of a strategic nature that improve the company's relationship with its environment. Companies need to adapt to both external opportunities and hazards, identify appropriate options, and ensure that strategy is effectively adapted to the environment. The strategic planning of successful companies deals with the creation of new opportunities through the development of better production systems, through interaction with government and society at large, and so on.
Internal coordination	It involves coordinating strategic activities to display strengths and weaknesses firms in order to achieve effective integration of internal operations. Ensuring efficient internal operations in organizations, large or small, is an integral part of management activities.
Awareness of organizational strategies	This activity involves the systematic development of the thinking of managers by forming an organization that can learn from past strategic decisions. The ability to learn from experience enables an organization to correctly adjust its strategic direction and improve professionalism in the field. strategic management. The role of the senior manager is more than simply initiating the strategic planning process, it is also involved in implementing, integrating and evaluating this process.

Environmental analysis is the process by which strategic planners control factors external to the enterprise in order to identify opportunities and threats for the firm. Analysis of the external environment helps to obtain important results. It gives the organization time to anticipate opportunities, time to plan for possible threats, and time to develop strategies that can turn past threats into any profitable opportunity.

Figure 1. Threats and opportunities faced by an enterprise can usually be divided into seven areas.

Analysis of the macro environment includes the study of the impact of the economy, legal regulation and management, political processes, natural environment and resources, social and cultural components of society, scientific, technical and technological development of society, infrastructure, etc. The immediate environment is analyzed according to the following main components: buyers, suppliers, competitors, labor market.

Analysis internal environment reveals those opportunities, the potential that a company can count on in competition in the process of achieving their goals. An analysis of the internal environment also makes it possible to better understand the goals of the organization, to more correctly formulate the mission, that is, to determine the meaning and direction of the company. The internal environment is analyzed in the following areas:

• personnel of the company, their potential, qualifications, interests, etc.;
• management organization;
• production, including organizational, operational and technical and technological characteristics and research and development;
• company finances;
• marketing;
• organizational culture.

Today, most company leaders consider strategic planning as the most important tool for managing a company in times of crisis. Moreover, strategic planning should be not only operational, but also medium-term. However, the concept of medium-term in times of crisis is changing. In a crisis situation, the role of the annual plan in the management of the company changes. First of all, the plan becomes not so much a set of financial indicators as an indication of action depending on the implementation of various risk factors. In a crisis, it is necessary to set the direction of development and identify the priorities of the company, while leaving freedom in terms of a specific interpretation. This will allow strategic planning to maintain a single direction of movement, leaving the possibility of choosing the paths along which the company will develop. In a crisis, the importance of the coordinating function of strategic planning, which ensures coherence, increases anti-crisis actions all divisions of the company.

Strategic planning should allow making operational decisions in response to current changes in the external environment. The management of the company should pay maximum attention to the effective exchange of information between the unit and ensure feedback to all levels of government. The key features of the approach to strategic planning during the crisis period are the reduction in detail, the increase in flexibility and efficiency. Detailed study medium term can be reduced to indicative planning. The plan should provide exactly the level of detail that allows management to manage the enterprise. In a crisis, as part of strategic planning, such a tool as rolling planning is often used. A rolling plan is developed for three months and revised approximately 2-3 times a month. It is important to remember that with significant variability and flexibility in medium-term and operational plans, the strategic plans of the company should change only in special cases. This means that while the strategic goals and mission remain unchanged, operational plans must fully comply with the realities of the business environment.

There are 3 approaches to strategic planning in a crisis:

Table 2.

Strategic planning approaches in a crisis.

An approach	Characteristic
From "living wage"	It is actively used by companies from the industries most affected by the crisis or companies from relatively prosperous industries that entered the crisis with a significant debt burden. With this approach, the key task is to maintain the liquidity of the company.
From scenarios for the development of the external environment	It is critically important for companies whose business is significantly dependent on the dynamics of macroeconomic indicators and government decisions. First of all, this applies to importers and exporters, monopoly companies. Strategic planning is developed on the basis of market analysis, forecasts of the economic situation, government decisions by industry. The key indicators that are taken into account when planning are indicators such as the dollar exchange rate, the price of oil, Gazprom's investment program, etc.
From targets	It is typical for companies whose impact of the crisis on their business is insignificant. As a rule, when planning, they start from the same indicators as in the pre-crisis period.

Undoubtedly, scenario planning is a key tool for strategic planning in conditions of high uncertainty. There are 5 main stages of scenario planning in a company:

Table 3

Stages of scenario planning at the enterprise.

Stages	Characteristic
1. Definition key factors external environment affecting the company	It is very important to approach individually the issue of identifying influencing factors for each specific company. Do not get carried away with excessive analysis and forecasting of external macroeconomic factors, which, on the one hand, may not be so significant for the company, and on the other hand, often cannot be accurately predicted even by specialized expert structures. The number of really influencing factors may be small.
2. Formulation of scenarios at a qualitative level	In scenario forecasting, it is very important to formulate qualitatively different scenarios for the development of events. Often companies limit themselves to drawing up pessimistic, realistic and optimistic scenarios, which is wrong, because. are essentially mathematical variations of the same scenario. In addition, it is often too difficult to make adequate quantitative forecasts, while it is more realistic to determine the main possible trends and directions of development. characteristic feature The current crisis is predominantly pessimistic business forecasts. Often this is justified. However, situations often appear when no one even tries to look for positive opportunities and non-banal anti-crisis ideas.
3. Digitization of scenarios	Forecast of the development of factors and forecast of the development of markets. The construction of mathematical forecasting models, an enlarged digitization of scenarios is needed, because allows you to move on to the development of company plans, which are always in the “figure”.
4. Identification of risks and opportunities for the company in each scenario.	At this stage, the basic prerequisites for formulating response measures are laid.
5. Identification critical events and defining milestones for scenario development.	At this stage, indicators of two types are determined: 1) Events in the external environment, the occurrence of which will be an indicator of a change in scenarios. 2) Indicators by which the development of scenarios is regularly monitored. For example, two sets of control digits are built: for the basic option (the "bottom" in the industry has been reached) and the very hard option. The second option (option “g”) is being worked out in the context of activities in parallel with the creation of budgets for the base option. It is assumed that when the external environment deteriorates, the company synchronously switches to option “g” and each manager keeps in mind a set of necessary measures to make this transition.

World practice shows that strategic planning in a crisis involves planning long before a crisis at the enterprise. The absence of such a methodology and such a plan developed “before” diverts resources to planning “during the time” and causes the company to play up, deceive employees, society, investors in the market, squirm in convulsive attempts to return to a stable state.

Bibliography:

1. Anti-crisis management - Textbook - Korotkova E.M. - 2003 - c. 160-166.
2. Building a personnel management system in a long crisis, Journal "Personnel Management" N23 2008.
3. PRODUCTION AND OPERATIONAL MANAGEMENT Lecture notes Sukharev N.O. Penza, 2002. - p. 15-16

Effective work of organizations is not possible without the formation of an appropriate development strategy that provides them with market advantages and development horizons. The essence of the strategy is to establish a set of actions aimed at capturing the maximum possible market share while receiving the planned amount of profit in accordance with the financial and tactical tasks being solved.

However, the lack of due attention to the development of organizational strategies that determine the competitiveness of economic entities has become an obstacle to the expanded reproduction of the production and technical potential and sustainable economic growth of domestic innovative enterprises and the national economy as a whole.

Moreover, the emergence of global financial crises leading to a recession in almost all areas economic activity requires a clear and well-coordinated program for the functioning of enterprises, and the lack of clear priorities determined by the strategy leads to bankruptcy.

Under these conditions, there is a need to improve methodological approaches to the formation of a strategy aimed at creating competitive advantages, maintaining financial stability that would allow enterprises to efficiently use resources and make strategic decisions, responding to all changes taking place in the organization's market environment.

The formation of a scientific base for ensuring the long-term profitability of Russian enterprises belongs to the "responsibility" of the theory of strategic management.

Unfortunately, real achievements in this area are not very great, and unequivocal empirical evidence of the effectiveness of strategic management has not yet been found. It is not surprising that managers in practice devote so little time to future analysis and strategic planning, which often degenerates into a set of rituals that cover up real decision-making processes.

These problems are largely caused by the fact that the dominant concepts of strategic management are not quite adequate to modern business conditions. Therefore, there is a need to develop strategic management concepts that adequately reflect the features of the "knowledge economy", in which the key resource of Russian enterprises is intellectual capital - the totality of knowledge, skills and connections necessary to create value.

The development of the Russian economy is generally in line with global trends. In Russia, although lagging far behind the leading countries, the information sector of the economy is developing, the degree of internationalization of the economic activity of enterprises is growing, and the proportion of people engaged mainly in mental work is increasing. Ensuring competitiveness Russian enterprises in an economy open to foreign firms is impossible without understanding the specifics of post-industrial business. There are significant problems in this area at Russian enterprises: as a rule, there are no well-founded programs strategic development; strategic objectives are not aligned with available resources; managers and specialists do not have a common vision for the future of their organizations, enterprises do not have strong brands, etc. All of the above fully applies to organizations whose shares are quoted on trading floors RTS and MICEX systems, where these problems have determined the relevance of research in the field of forming business strategies for an organization in a global financial crisis, and predetermined the choice of the topic of the thesis.

The purpose of the thesis is to develop recommendations for substantiating the business strategy and financial concept of the organization in the context of the global crisis.

To achieve this goal, the following tasks were set and solved in the thesis work:

Consider the strategic aspects of the functioning of the organization in a global crisis;

Justify the choice of the financial mechanism for the functioning of the organization in a crisis;

To analyze the financial strategy of the enterprise in a crisis;

Identify strategic issues;

The theoretical and methodological basis of the thesis was the works of domestic and foreign scientists in the field of theory and practice of competition, marketing, the foundations of management theory, economic theory. In the course of the work, legislative and regulatory legal acts were studied Russian Federation and resolutions of the Government of the Russian Federation on issues related to the maintenance market activity organizations, studied the materials of indices and quotations on the Russian trading system.

The object of the study is the communication enterprise JSC "Armada".

The subject of the study is organizational and managerial relations that arise in the process of diagnosing an enterprise's strategy in a crisis. The information base of the thesis consists of materials of monographic studies, publications in periodicals, legal acts, materials of conferences and seminars, information from statistical authorities, financial and economic reporting on the activities of industrial enterprises

Section 1. Strategic aspects of the functioning of the enterprise

in times of crisis

1.1. Content and principles of strategic planning

at an enterprise in a crisis

Currently, domestic companies operate in the aftermath of the global financial crisis, which has had a negative impact on the activities of many sectors of the economy associated with the globalization of the world economic space.

The process of strategic planning is the forecasting of the socio-economic development of the enterprise, the search for new opportunities, the choice of strategies.

In a crisis, the strategic planning process corrects the existing development strategy of the enterprise, reduces planning time, and excludes various opportunities in order to preserve the integrity of the company and the possibility of its survival.

The main tool of strategic planning is the process of forming a financial strategy, interpreting it as a concept of creating and using a competitive advantage, covering the formation of finance and their planning to ensure the financial stability of the enterprise.

Strategic planning, first of all, involves determining the competitive position of the enterprise in the market and in the industry.

In modern conditions, the growth rate of consumer requirements for the quality of goods (services) is growing exponentially, and competitiveness tends to depend on and spread to the immediate environment of the enterprise.

Therefore, strategic planning should be carried out by the enterprise together with its suppliers and partners, which will create the basis for the formation and maintenance of competitive advantages in a crisis.

The logical chain of the process of defining key competencies, consisting of five main blocks, is shown in Figure 1.1

Figure 1.1 - The process of identifying key competencies (QC) of the enterprise

What are the goals of developing the corresponding object of strategic planning in a crisis?;

What should be the sequence of the process of developing managerial decisions in the form of strategic forecasts, programs and plans, in a crisis?;

What should be the strategic forecasts, programs and plans themselves, and what requirements should they meet?;

What methodological approaches to solving what problems of strategic planning should be used in a crisis?

The solution of any problems of management, and, consequently, of strategic planning, in a crisis has certain principles.

Pod principles ctpategicheckogo planipovaniya ponimayut ypopyadochennyyu pocledovatelnoct, and vzaimocoglacovannoct obocnovannoct ppotsedyp, cvyazannyx c pesheniem lyuboy ppoblemy ctpategicheckogo planipovaniya in crisis, a takzhe oppedelenie icxodnogo pynkta, they are normally ottalkivayac From kotopogo dolzhny peshatcya and kotopomy dolzhen podchinyatcya vec At Process planovoy paboty.

Strategic planning provides the basis for all management decisions.

The functions of organization, motivation and control are focused on the development of strategic plans.

Without taking advantage of strategic planning, organizations as a whole and individuals will be deprived of a clear way to assess the purpose and direction of the corporate enterprise.

The strategic planning process provides the basis for managing members of the organization, which enables shareholders and company management to determine the direction and pace of business development, outline global market trends, understand what organizational and structural changes should occur in the company, in a crisis, what is its advantage What tools does she need to successful development in future.

Until recently, strategic planning was the prerogative of large international concerns. However, the situation began to change, and, as surveys show, more and more companies representing medium business begin to engage in strategic planning.

Thus, we can conclude that strategic planning in a crisis is the most important tool that allows you to adjust the prospects for further development of a company in a crisis, make the process of functioning in a crisis manageable and creates an opportunity to determine the possibilities of overcoming the financial crisis.

1.2. Approaches to the process of developing an enterprise development strategy

in times of crisis

The process of developing an enterprise development strategy in a global crisis can consist of the following steps:

Definition of short-term goals of the organization;

Analysis of the environment, which includes the collection of information, analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of the company, as well as its potential opportunities based on the available external and internal information in a crisis;

Choice of strategy, special attention to financial strategy;

Implementation of strategic decisions;

Evaluation and control of implementation;

Strategic analysis in times of crisis is the main element of strategic planning.

This analysis acts as a strategic management tool, with the help of which the company's management identifies and evaluates its activities in order to maintain liquidity and financial stability, using all the most profitable and promising areas. The main method of analysis is the construction of two-dimensional matrices. With the help of such matrices, productions, departments, processes, products are compared according to the relevant criteria.

There are three approaches to the formation of matrices:

1. A tabular approach, in which the values ​​of varying parameters increase as they move away from the column of the name of these parameters. In this case, the portfolio analysis is carried out from the upper left corner to the lower right.

2. The coordinate approach, in which the values ​​of the variable parameters increase with distance from the point of intersection of the coordinates.

Portfolio analysis here is conducted from the lower left corner to the upper right.

3. A logical approach, in which the portfolio is analyzed from the lower right corner to the upper left. Such a campaign is most widely used in foreign practice.

4. Environmental analysis is necessary in the implementation of strategic analysis, because. its result is the receipt of information on the basis of which estimates are made regarding the current position of the enterprise in the market.

Environmental analysis involves the study of its three components:

External environment;

immediate environment;

The internal environment of the organization.

Analysis of the external environment includes the study of the impact of the crisis on the economy as a whole, legal regulation and management, political processes, natural environment and resources, social and cultural components of society, scientific, technical and technological development of society, infrastructure, etc. in terms of impact on the company's activities.

The immediate environment is analyzed according to the following main components: buyers, suppliers, competitors, labor market.

An analysis of the internal environment reveals those opportunities, the potential that a company can count on in a crisis in the process of achieving its goals.

The internal environment is analyzed in the following areas:

Personnel of the company, their potential, qualifications, interests, etc.; management organization;

Production, including organizational, operational and technical and technological characteristics and research and development; company finances;

Marketing;

Organizational culture.

Block process		Executed subprocesses	Tool used
1 Strategic analysis		Complex analysis external and internal environment;	Steiner's product-market model. STEP analysis of the macro environment. Porter's "5 forces of industry competition" model. Campbell's model "Industry Resource Analysis", SWOT-analysis.
2 Strategic forecasting		Forecasting trends in the development of the situation; scenario development	Heuristic: "Delphi", PATTERN, MAI, OTSP, SSO, TMP. Economic and mathematical: Brown, Holt, Holt-Winters models, evolution method for two- and three-parameter models, MAF method, harmonic weights method, linear time series models, correlation, regression, factor analysis
4 Strategic choice	Formation of a set of alternative strategies; selection of the most effective strategy			Correlation SWOT analysis, model life cycle product, portfolio analysis models Calculation of financial indicators of alternative strategies
4 Strategic controlling	Strategy implementation planning, control and adjustment			Balanced Scorecard (BSC). Budgeting. Designing organizational change. Planning change by goals

This toolkit is based on the theory of general competition, not allowing mutual support, which contradicts the main postulate of modern management - partnership and cooperation. There is also a deeper approach in the concept of strategic planning, which is based on the principle of "forecast-strategy-plan" (Figure 1.2) i.e. from the standpoint of building the "ideal enterprise" and "ideal product" models, reflecting strategic goals enterprise development.

Figure 1.2 - Tools for building a strategic planning system at an enterprise in a crisis

The "ideal enterprise" model is a set of specific parameters for industrial, financial, commercial activities, information technology, corporate culture; "ideal product" - functionality, ergonomics and safety, quality, breadth of assortment, exclusivity, service.

The above approach is distinguished by a more complete coverage of all elements of the strategic planning system and its components, which ensures the effectiveness of its application in the process of managing an enterprise in a crisis, as it is focused on achieving long-term competitive advantages.

At the same time, a special role is assigned to the process of ensuring the quality of products at the stage of product development and pre-production, which meets the requirements of the TQM management system implemented at domestic enterprises during their certification according to the requirements of international standards ISO 9004-2001.

In general, the review of the data allows us to conclude that the implementation of the set of tools listed in Table 1.1 and the above approach to strategic planning allow the use of more advanced tools in a crisis.

According to M. Porter, there are three main strategies that are universal and applicable to any competitive force.

It's a cost advantage, differentiation, focus. Each of the main strategies requires the selection of a specific kind of economic resources and skills, as well as certain managerial decisions. Along with advantages in a competitive position, general strategies involve certain risks.

The financial strategy of the enterprise and the set of rules and techniques corresponding to it is aimed primarily at the effective implementation of the financial potential of the enterprise.

The expediency of developing a financial strategy arises, for example, in conditions of steadily growing demand, when there is practically no competition in any industry. A review of the financial strategy should always be carried out when the risk of bankruptcy is likely to increase.

The basic strategy of competition, which is the basis competitive behavior enterprise in the market and describing the scheme for providing advantages over competitors, is a central point in the strategic orientation of the enterprise. All subsequent marketing activities of the enterprise in a crisis depend on its correct choice.

Unlike tactical actions in the market, the strategy of competition should be aimed at providing an advantage over competitors in times of crisis.

Thus, the concept of typical strategies is based on the idea that each strategy is based on competitive advantage and that in order to achieve it in a crisis, a company must justify and choose its strategy taking into account factors of its own competitiveness.

In terms of cost leadership strategy, there are many ways to reduce costs while maintaining industry average quality.

However, some ways to reduce costs are associated with moving along the experience curve, increasing the scale of production to achieve maximum savings.

The philosophy of economies of scale in production is based on the so-called experience curve. It was proposed in 1926 when, through empirical analysis, it was found that the cost of producing a unit of output falls by 20% every time output doubles.

According to this theory, increasing the company's market share is emphasized, since this allows you to increase production volumes and move down the curve towards lower production costs. This is how you can achieve a higher level of income and profit margins and, consequently, greater competitiveness of the enterprise in the market in a crisis.

Moreover, the crisis has both negative and positive aspects. For example, in the face of a decline in the competitiveness of firms in the market, a more financially secure organization can organize a strategy of greater market coverage by offering existing buyers in a crisis more favorable conditions, which will allow it to gain additional competitive advantages.

Understanding the needs of the customer is central to this strategy.

The firm needs to know what is valued by customers, provide exactly the required set of qualities and, accordingly, set the price.

If the firm is successful, then a certain group of buyers in this market segment will not consider products offered by other companies as a substitute for its products. The firm thus creates a group of loyal customers, almost a mini-monopoly.

A successful differentiation strategy reduces the severity of competition, which is often observed in times of crisis. If suppliers raise their prices, "loyal" buyers with little price sensitivity are more likely to accept the final price increase offered by the manufacturer of the exclusive product.

Moreover, customer loyalty acts as a kind of barrier for new manufacturers to enter the market and replace this product with other similar products. However, the differentiation strategy is not a risk-free strategy.

First, if the basis of differentiation, that is, what a firm wants to be different from others, can be easily copied, other firms will be perceived as offering the same product or service. Then competition in this industry is likely to turn into price competition.

Second, firms that focus on broad differentiation may be marginalized by firms that focus on only one particular segment.

Thirdly, if the strategy is based on the process of continuous product improvement (with the goal of always being one step ahead of its competitors), then the company risks simply being at a disadvantage, as it will bear the maximum costs of research and development, while competitors will use the results of its activities in their own interests.

Fourth, if the firm ignores the costs of differentiation, then raising prices will not increase profits.

A focus strategy involves choosing a narrow segment or group of segments in an industry and meeting the needs of that segment more effectively than competitors serving a broader market segment can.

The focus strategy can be applied by both a cost leader serving a given segment and a differentiator that meets the special requirements of a market segment in a way that allows high prices to be charged. So firms can compete broadly (serving multiple segments) or focus narrowly (targeted action). Both options for the focus strategy are based on the differences between the target and the rest of the industry segments.

It is these differences that can be called the reason for the formation of a segment that is poorly served by competitors who carry out large-scale activities and are not able to adapt to the specific needs of this segment. A cost-focused firm may outperform a consumer-oriented firm by its ability to eliminate "excesses" that are not valued in that segment.

Moreover, broad differentiation and focused differentiation are often confused. The difference between the two is mainly that a broadly differentiated company bases its strategy on widely valued differentiators, while a focused manufacturer seeks out a segment with specific needs and satisfies them much better.

The obvious danger of the focus strategy is that the target segment may disappear for any reason. In addition, some other firms will enter this segment, surpassing this firm in focus, and lure buyers, or for some reason (for example, tastes will change, demographic changes will occur), the segment will shrink.

Following one or another typical strategy makes it necessary for the firm to have certain restrictions (barriers) that would make it difficult for competitors to imitate (copy) the strategies chosen by it. Since these barriers are not insurmountable, a firm is usually required to offer its competitors a changing goal through constant investment and innovation.

For all the distinctness and diversity of M. Porter's typical strategies, they nevertheless have common elements: both strategies require entrepreneurs to pay great attention to both product quality and cost control.

F. Kotler offers his own classification of competitive strategies based on the market share owned by an enterprise (firm).

1. The strategy of the "leader". The “leading” company of the product market occupies a dominant position, and this is also recognized by its competitors. The leading firm has a set of strategic alternatives at its disposal:

Expansion of primary demand, aimed at discovering new consumers of the product, expanding the scope of its use, increasing the one-time use of the product, which is usually advisable to apply at the initial stages of the product life cycle

A defensive strategy that an innovator firm adopts to protect its market share from its most dangerous competitors;

An offensive strategy, most often consisting in increasing profitability by maximizing the experience effect. However, as practice shows, there is a certain limit, above which a further increase in market share becomes unprofitable;

A demarketing strategy that involves reducing one's market share in order to avoid accusations of monopoly.

Challenger strategy. A firm that does not occupy a dominant position can attack the leader, that is, challenge him. The purpose of this strategy is to take the place of the leader. In this case, the solution of two most important tasks becomes key: choosing a springboard for attacking the leader and assessing the possibilities of his reaction and defense.

Follow-the-leader strategy. A "follow-the-leader" is a competitor with a small market share that chooses adaptive behavior by aligning its decisions with those made by competitors. Such a strategy is most typical for small businesses, so let's take a closer look at possible strategic alternatives that provide small businesses with the most acceptable level of profitability.

Creative market segmentation. A small firm should only focus on certain market segments in which it can better exercise its competence or have greater agility to avoid major competitors.

Use R&D effectively. Since small businesses cannot compete with large companies in the field of fundamental research, insofar as they should focus R&D on improving technologies in order to reduce costs.

Stay small. Successful small businesses focus on profit rather than increasing sales or market share, and they tend to specialize rather than diversify.

Strong leader. The influence of the manager in such firms goes beyond formulating a strategy and communicating it to employees, covering also the management of the current activities of the company.

specialist strategy. The "specialist" focuses mainly on only one or several market segments, i.e., he is more interested in the qualitative side of the market share.

Based on the reviewed material, we draw the following conclusions:

1. The process of substantiation and formation of the goals of the strategic plan for the development of an enterprise in a crisis is influenced by the value system of its top management, within which it is advisable to single out internal and external system values ​​of top managers.

2. In the process of determining the system of goals of the strategic plan for the development of an enterprise in a crisis, two key points must be taken into account.

Firstly, any goal characterizes the direction of development of the enterprise in a certain period of time, which is its qualitative characteristic.

Secondly, the goal defines the desired state, which should be achieved by the enterprise after a certain period of time. This is the quantitative characteristic of the goal.

3. The process of forming the goals of the strategic development plan of the enterprise is significantly influenced by the level of its organizational culture, which can and should be considered as a strategic factor in the development of the enterprise.

The formation of the goals of the strategic plan for the development of an enterprise (actually goal-setting) is a logical process that can be systematized to a certain extent, but cannot be formalized. At the same time, it should be interactive in order to achieve a balance between the goals and a specific program of action that ensures their full implementation.

4. The concept of model strategies is based on the idea that each strategy is based on competitive advantage and that in order to achieve it, the firm must justify and choose its strategy.

Thus, companies that wish to gain competitive advantage and market resilience in a crisis must choose only one of the strategies and strive for excellence in it.

2.2. Methodology for assessing the financial condition of an enterprise

To assess the financial condition, the following groups of indicators are calculated:

liquidity;

financial stability;

Profitability.

Consider the formulas for these indicators by groups.

The first indicator of liquidity is the current liquidity ratio:

Current liquidity ratio (Kt.l.), or coverage ratio, is equal to the ratio of the value of all current (mobile) assets of the enterprise to the value of short-term liabilities. The value of this indicator from 1 to 2 is considered the most acceptable in modern conditions.

The second indicator is the quick liquidity ratio. The quick liquidity ratio is determined by the ratio of the most liquid part of current assets, that is, excluding the least liquid part of current assets - stocks, to short-term liabilities:

The third ratio is the absolute liquidity ratio. The absolute liquidity ratio shows what part of short-term liabilities can be repaid immediately:

Meaning Cal.l. ≥ 0.2 positively characterizes the quality of liquidity management.

Financial stability indicators characterize the degree of protection of the interests of investors and creditors. The basis for their calculation is the value of property, therefore, in order to analyze financial stability, closer attention should be paid to the company's liabilities.

The most important indicator of this group of indicators is the coefficient of equity capital agility (Km.sk.).

Sufficiently high level Km.sk. considered 0.5. In this case, the risk of creditors is minimized. Having sold half of the property, the company will be able to pay off its debt obligations, even if the second half, in which the borrowed funds are invested, is depreciated for some reason. The value of the inverse Km.sk. is the coefficient of financial independence (Kf.z):

The dependence of the enterprise on external loans characterizes the ratio of borrowed and own funds. This ratio is determined using the debt capital concentration ratio (Кз):

How more value indicator, the higher the degree of risk of shareholders, since in case of non-fulfillment of payment obligations, the possibility of bankruptcy of the enterprise increases. The standard value of the indicator is 0.5-1. Its critical value is equal to one. The excess of the amount of debt over the amount of own funds indicates that the financial stability of the enterprise is in doubt.

To characterize the ratio of borrowed funds and other elements of capital, the coefficient of the ratio of own and borrowed funds (Ks.zk.sk) is calculated:

A good characteristic of the sustainability of an enterprise is its ability to develop in changing conditions of the internal and external environment.

Profitability indicators allow you to evaluate the performance of the enterprise as a whole. They also provide an opportunity to compare alternative options for the use of advanced resources and current costs in terms of their effectiveness.

To assess business activity joint-stock companies(or enterprises paying dividends on securities) the economic growth sustainability coefficient is applied:

The numerator of this ratio P N- div „ represents the net income minus dividends paid to shareholders. If dividends are not paid, this indicator is the same as the net return on assets. Other indicators of profitability are also important. A characteristic of management efficiency is the profitability of products:

where: Pr - profit from sales.

Rp - shows specific gravity profit from sales in each ruble of turnover.

Cost efficiency for the main activity and for its other types allows you to compare the profitability of the main activity:

where: SPT is the cost of production and sales of products (line 020 + line 030 + line 040 (form No. 2)). It shows the share of profit from sales in each ruble of cost products sold, serves as a characteristic of the effectiveness of management and the correctness of the chosen strategy.

Return on total capital (Rsov.k) comparing its value with the value of R.d allows you to identify reserves to improve the efficiency of the enterprise.

where: Pch - net profit of the enterprise.

If Rsov.k will be more than Ro.d , This means that there is reason to think about whether this type of activity should be left as the main one for the enterprise. The application of this indicator is based on the assumption that profit is generated by capital and does not depend on the value of property. The assessment of the company's capital in this case directly depends on the amount of net profit, confirming that capital is an asset that can make a profit.

The disadvantage of this approach should be considered too much conditional assessment of capital and focus more on future income than on actually received. Another important disadvantage of the return on total capital is that it distorts the idea of financial results businesses under inflation. It evaluates the efficiency of economic activity depending on the amount of profit received for reporting period, but in the future, the enterprise may face a completely new situation. Important information for reflection to the shareholders of the enterprise is given by the knowledge of the return on equity (Rsk):

This indicator allows you to evaluate the effectiveness of managing the capital advanced at the stage of organizing an enterprise. The growth of the indicator indicates that financial managers skillfully use the attracted financial resources.

One of the key performance indicators of the enterprise is the total return on assets (Ra). It represents the ratio of book profit to the value of the property, i.e. the amount of economic funds (assets) at the disposal of the enterprise:

where: Pb - balance sheet profit;

Asr - the average value of the assets of the enterprise (p. 190) for the analyzed period.

Net return on current assets (Rch.a) shows what net profit the company receives from each ruble invested in assets:

where: ОАср - the average value of current assets of the enterprise.

Having considered a considerable number of evaluation criteria, however, we can conclude that these indicators, in general, can give an idea of ​​the financial condition of the enterprise, and comparing these indicators with those of competitors can give an idea of ​​the financial competitiveness of the object of study.

In 2007, the company's revenue was $133 million and net income was $13 million. In 2008, the revenue decreased by 70%. In general, according to the media, the company's financial activities developed in accordance with the plans developed, but the impact of the global financial crisis significantly reduced the company's capitalization due to a sharp drop in the company's stock prices.

The company's client base consists of more than 700 large and medium-sized companies from various sectors of the economy, as well as government agencies.

In ARMADA's portfolio of IT contracts, approximately 50% of revenue comes from commercial Russian companies, about 40% from orders from government agencies, and 10% from orders from foreign clients.

In the beginning, we will calculate a group of indicators characterizing the financial stability and liquidity of the company, Table. 2.1.

Table 2.1

Liquidity and Financial Stability Indicators of OJSC Armada in 2007-2008

Indicator			Change
Current liquidity ratio (Ktl)
Quick liquidity ratio (Kbl)
Absolute liquidity ratio (Cal)
The ratio of own and borrowed funds (Ks.zk.sk)
Debt capital concentration ratio (Кз)
Financial Independence Ratio (Kf.z)
Equity maneuverability ratio (Km.sk.)

In 2008 current, quick and absolute liquidity ratios decreased. The greatest change is observed in the absolute liquidity ratio, which decreased by more than two times and amounted to 0.72 at the end of 2008.

A decrease in liquidity ratios means a drop in the company's ability to repay its debts, however, the high value of the current (4.44) and quick liquidity ratios (6.57) indicates the ability of Armada OJSC to use more credit and attracted financial resources in its turnover, without losing financial independence.

The indicators of financial stability also testify to the significant potential of the company. For every ruble of borrowed funds in 2008, there are 13.74 rubles of own financial resources.

In general, the calculation of liquidity and financial stability indicators indicates a high stability and sufficiency cash enterprises, which is very important, as it characterizes a high potential for competitiveness.

Data on the dynamics of the company's revenue are presented in table 2.2.

Table 2.2

Revenue of Armada JSC in 2007-2008

In 2008, Armada demonstrated organic growth in consolidated revenue, which increased by 27% in dollar terms (unaudited IFRS).

The share of proceeds from state structures grew to 75%, and each of the largest clients brought no more than 10% of total income. The share of long-term contracts has increased to approximately 30%.

For a complete assessment financial condition JSC "Armada" will calculate the indicators characterizing the performance of the company, table. 2.3.

Table 2.3

The performance of JSC "Armada" in 2007-2008

Indicator			Change
Economic Growth Sustainability Ratio (Kst)
Product profitability (Rp)
Profitability of the main activity (Kin)
Return on total capital (Rsov.k)
Return on equity (Rsk)
Total return on assets (Ra)
Net profitability of current assets (Рч.а)

The calculation of indicators characterizing the effectiveness of activities showed that, compared with 2007, there was a deterioration in the performance of the enterprise. This is caused by two main factors:

1. Decreased net profit due to the financial crisis;

2. There was a significant drop in the company's capitalization.

As a result, operating profitability declined, with operating profitability down 29.2%.

The only indicator that tends to increase is the return on assets, which increased by 101.8%.

Thus, we can conclude that the indicators of the financial condition indicate that, in general, the performance indicators of JSC "Armada" have significantly decreased under the influence of the global financial crisis. More accurately this conclusion confirms the dynamics of prices for the company's shares listed in the Russian Trading System (RTS) presented in fig. 2.1 and 2.2. With the help of stock trading, the company managed to attract significant amounts of financial resources, which were diversified into new developments and the purchase of promising companies, which in the future made it possible to significantly improve the financial inflow of financial resources and financial condition.

Trading in the shares of OJSC "Armada" continues on the stock exchange to the present. The dynamics of demand for shares and their market price depended on the conjuncture of the Russian trading system. Thus, since July 31, 2007, the shares of Armada JSC have been listed on the stock exchange at a price of 323 rubles or 16.4 US dollars. Dynamics of changes in the share price in US dollars is shown in fig. 2.1.

As can be seen from fig. 2.1. The global financial crisis and a sharp drop in the RTS index in the second half of 2008 led to a significant drop in the sale price of shares in OAO Armada. As of 01.03.2009, at the time of closing, shares of OAO Armada were trading at a price of $1 per share.

Rice. 2.1. Dynamics of the sale price of shares of JSC "Armada" (USD) for the period from 31.07.2007 to 01.03.2009

Thus, the share price has fallen 16 times since the company's IPO on March 1, 2009. This had a significant impact on the company's capitalization, the dynamics of which is shown in Fig. 2.3.

Rice. 2.2. Capitalization of JSC "Armada" (USD) for the period from 31.07.2007 to 01.03.2009

From the moment of the IPO until 07/01/2008, the capitalization of the company JSC "Armada" has been constantly increasing, which confirms the calculations made to justify the market value of the company's shares at the time of the initial offering, however, the global financial crisis brought down the company's capitalization, as a result of which we can conclude that as of 01.03 .2009 the financial possibilities of the company are sharply limited and the company suffered significant losses. The correction, as noted above, affected the company's financial performance, which declined. However, given that the company as a whole is focused mainly on domestic market, we can conclude that the share price will grow in the future, since the potential of the IT market in Russia is very high. This confirms the gradual increase in the company's share price, which began in April 2009, and although it develops in different directions, it tends to increase, fig. 2.3.

Rice. 2.3 Dynamics of the value of the shares of JSC "Armada" and the RTS index from 02.06.08 to 25.09.2009

Thus, we can conclude that the global financial crisis had a negative impact on the activities of JSC "Armada", which caused the need for management at the end of 2008 to revise its financial development strategy for the period of the crisis.

3.2. Analysis of strategic alternatives of an enterprise in a crisis

The main sales market for ARMADA's products is the Russian IT market, which is one of the fastest growing segments of the Russian economy: its average annual growth rate in 2003-2007 was . 23-25%, and in 2008 the growth was 0.5%, and this is one of the best indicators of the growth of the IT market among developed countries in the world.

In the five-year forecast period (2009-2013) spending on IT in Russia will grow annually by an average of 5.8% and in 2012 will amount to $29.5 billion.

In terms of market volumes, 2009 may turn out to be similar to 2007 in dollar terms, as the impact of the financial crisis will subside during 2009, while the capitalization of Armada OJSC will increase.

According to Gartner's forecast, the Russian IT market in 2009 will grow by 2.7-5.7% compared to sales in 2008 ($17.23 billion).

In a crisis, outsourcing can become an option for optimizing IT costs for customers.

As the experience of Western countries shows, economic downturns recent years accompanied by increased investment in outsourcing. Volumes of IT outsourcing in 2009 will not decrease,

First of all, IT costs in 2009 will be reduced by not buying hardware. Companies' PC upgrade cycles will be extended, and new planned projects will be "frozen" or downsized.

One of the main drivers of the IT sector in recent years is the public sector. The public sector has a significant impact on the industry The annual increase in federal and regional spending on IT, as well as the beginning of active informatization social sphere caused by the launch of priority national projects.

In the coming years, this trend will not only continue, but will further intensify due to allocations for the development of "Electronic Government".

Currently, Armada OJSC does not intend to expand into foreign markets, as it sees great strategic prospects in the Russian market, including in the provision of IT services to the public sector.

The following factors may adversely affect the sale of ARMADA products - the risk of a decrease in demand in all sales markets due to a slowdown in the growth of the Russian economy.

To minimize this risk, ARMADA pursues a policy of constant cost-effectiveness control, but at the same time strives to provide the highest quality services, which will ensure the development of competencies necessary to form a long-term competitive advantage over competitors.

At present, the Russian IT market is actively developing: there are already a significant number of players on the market (more than 5,000), however, no single participant controls more than 10% of the market (for the share of 20 largest companies accounts for less than 40% of the market).

Section 4. Analysis of the results of the studies

The analysis carried out according to the data of JSC "Armada" allows us to draw the following conclusions:

The global financial crisis has a significant impact on the shares of companies that are traded on the securities market;

The global financial crisis has had a greater impact on the corporate sector of the Russian economy than on the public sector;

JSC "Armada" expects a decrease in demand from the corporate sector for its own products and services and expects an increase in demand from the public sector;

The impact of the global financial crisis affected the financial condition of JSC "Armada", the indicators of the financial condition deteriorated;

The price of the shares of JSC "Armada" traded on the RTS has fallen significantly, and as of September 2009, although there is a trend in the growth of the share price, it is much lower than before the crisis;

JSC "Armada" builds its business on the basis of borrowed capital both in the form of bank loans, including foreign ones, and through borrowing in the securities market;

JSC "Armada" allocates the funds raised to the acquisition of the most promising companies in the field of development software products and IT outsourcing;

The strategic goal of ARMADA for the next 3-5 years is to occupy 3-5% of the Russian IT market through the consolidation of leading niche market players and its own growth.

In the future, Armada OJSC will continue to attract financial resources in order to purchase market players in order to achieve its strategic goal.

The market development strategy is to form in the foreseeable future 3-5 major players that control more than half of the market.

Thus, we can conclude that, despite the financial crisis, the company has the opportunity, due to the fact that it is one of the largest market players, to consolidate assets by purchasing smaller companies to increase its market share.

Thus, JSC "Armada" has three main strategic alternatives for the next 3 years:

Strategic purchases of niche leaders - companies with their own product, innovative technologies of the company that complement its business;

Expanding our own product and service line by investing in development, expertise and partnerships;

Synergy through cross-selling an extended product line to existing and new customers.

The goal of the Armada OJSC group for the next 3-5 years is to occupy 3-5% of the Russian IT market through the consolidation of leading niche market players and its own growth.

The company does not plan to shift its priorities towards low-margin products and services such as distribution, hardware and others.

Armada expects that in 2009 IT services will continue to develop at a faster pace.

Many companies, in an effort to optimize costs, will partially reduce their own IT resources, resorting to the services of third parties. Currently, Soyuzinform, which is part of Armada, is one of the leaders in the Russian IT outsourcing market, which allows it to count on an increase in the number of orders.

In addition, the crisis gives successful companies additional features- Weak players leave the market or are consolidated by stronger ones.

The company has a stable portfolio of orders, has successfully optimized costs, has no debts and does not need long-term external financing, so it will be able to increase profitability.

2009 the company intends to continue the strategy of "mergers and acquisitions" - M&A. Armada is currently actively negotiating with various IT companies for takeover.

The financial crisis has created a unique opportunity to acquire assets with huge growth potential at very attractive prices.

The company expects that after the end of the economic downturn, Armada, as one of the few public IT companies in Russia with no debt burden, with significant M&A experience, will have an advantage over competitors in the upcoming consolidation in the industry.

Combining organic growth and an acquisition strategy will help achieve the goal of occupying about 5% of the Russian IT market in the medium term.

Section 5. Identification of strategic problems and possible solutions

In the context of the financial crisis, there is a possibility of a slowdown in the growth of demand for IT solutions from customers, and as a result, increased competition in all segments of the IT market.

The largest decline in demand for services will occur in the corporate segment, which is also suffering from the crisis, and therefore will undergo a greater correction than in the segment of government customers. As a result, the income and profitability of the company may decrease.

To solve this problem, JSC "Armada" should concentrate its competitive advantages in the sector of IT solutions for government agencies.

The IT market is actively developing: technologies, industrial standards are changing, new types of services are emerging, and consumer requirements are constantly growing. The success of Armada OJSC will depend on its ability to adequately respond to changes in modern technologies and the IT market as a whole. If ARMADA OJSC fails to achieve this, then consumer interest in the services and products of ARMADA OJSC may fall, which may adversely affect its activities and financial condition.

To minimize this problem, JSC "Armada" attracts professional specialists and constantly searches for new technologies and innovations, invests heavily in the development of new technologies and product lines of the company.

The development of JSC "Armada" in particular is based on plans to acquire other IT companies. In connection with a possible correction in the IT market, the problems of making investments are increasing. On the other hand, there is a strategic problem that the most attractive in the long term but depreciated in the short term will be bought by competitors.

To minimize the first problem, as before, ARMADA pays considerable attention to assessing the risks of making acquisitions. An important role is played by the experience of several years of systematic activity carried out by ARMADA OJSC to search for and offer favorable conditions to companies of interest to it. The company will continue to maintain its contacts with potential assets, which will allow more accurate forecasting of problems from the acquisition of the asset.

To minimize the second problem, the company should consider various options for structuring and paying transactions, including share swaps.

The company has always tried to minimize problems with key employees. Such employees are top managers, project managers, salespeople, key specialists.

The company must provide employees with a constant competitive market level of wages and bonuses, social benefits and compensation, as well as a career development program. The Company should use adaptation mechanisms for newly hired employees, aimed at the speedy inclusion of new employees in the work, and also takes care of the training of young specialists, much attention is paid to training in staff development.

The intellectual property rights of JSC ARMADA are protected by copyrights, trademark rights, trade secret laws, user policies, license agreements and disclosure restrictions.

At the same time, third parties may be able to unauthorizedly copy the software developed by ARMADA OJSC, or otherwise illegally use the intellectual property of ARMADA OJSC.

Problems of JSC "Armada" in protecting its intellectual property rights from infringement or illegal use may adversely affect its financial position and ability to conduct commercial activity. In addition, there is a risk that Armada OJSC will be involved in legal proceedings to protect its intellectual property rights. Any litigation of JSC "Armada" may adversely affect its activities and financial position.

JSC "Armada" rents office space and in the event of an increase in rental prices, this may adversely affect the results of its activities. However, according to numerous analysts' forecasts, the current turbulent market situation may lead to a decrease in rental rates due to falling demand.

If the cost of production of OJSC ARMADA increases (in particular, due to higher tax rates, the introduction of new currency legislation, the establishment of new requirements for licensing activities carried out by the Holding companies), and OJSC ARMADA will not be able to adequately increase prices for their products to cover such costs (for example, due to increased competition and lower prices for similar services), this may adversely affect the results of economic activities. Therefore, to solve this problem, it is necessary to constantly look for opportunities to minimize their costs through more efficient project management.

Changes in the global economy have already begun to adversely affect the Russian economy and are likely to continue to do so well into 2009. This may result in limited access of OJSC ARMADA to capital, and may also adversely affect the purchasing power of OJSC ARMADA's clients and, consequently, its commercial activities.

In order to minimize the dependence on these problems, ARMADA will focus on sectors where, on the one hand, the decline in demand, according to management forecasts, will be the smallest, and on the other hand, where the company has great competitive advantages. In the area of ​​market segments by customers, these are state structures and structures with a share of state capital. In terms of the company's product line segments, priority should still be given to high-margin products and services, such as software development and IT services.

To raise capital, Armada must use its transparency for investors, which is an advantage over a large number of closed competitor structures.

Risks associated with possible military conflicts, the introduction of a state of emergency and strikes in the country (countries) and region in which the issuer is registered as a taxpayer and/or carries out its main activities:

Military conflicts, introduction of a state of emergency, strikes, accidents at environmentally hazardous facilities in the Russian Federation may adversely affect the Issuer's activities.

The consequences of the crisis may lead to an increase in the cost of external financing for its transparency to investors (if such financing is needed).

Some costs are transparent to investors, such as wages for employees, and are sensitive to increases in the general price level in Russia. In such a situation, due to strong competition, its transparency to investors may not be able to raise the prices of its products sufficiently to keep the rate of return at the same level. Thus, inflation can increase the cost of its transparency to investors and lower rates of return, reducing the value of shares of its transparency to investors.

To minimize this problem, ARMADA enters into long-term contracts with customers (more than a year), in which the cost of work at the next stage is approved by the parties upon completion of work at the current stage, which allows taking into account changes in market conditions.

Exposure to the financial condition of JSC "Armada", its liquidity, funding sources, performance results, etc. changes in the exchange rate (currency risks).

A fall in the exchange rate of the ruble against the US dollar or the euro may have a negative impact on OJSC ARMADA, increasing the ruble equivalent of OJSC ARMADA's debt on loans and borrowings received in foreign currency (if such loans exist), and, accordingly, the cost of paying interest.

To minimize this problem, the majority of revenues and expenses of JSC "Armada" remains in rubles.

Thus, we have identified the main strategic problems of JSC "Armada" and we will develop recommendations for determining the goals of the enterprise's development in the context of the global financial crisis.

Section 6. Recommendations for changing the strategy in a crisis in terms of financial strategy

6.1. Determining the goals of enterprise development in a crisis

In 2009, in connection with the crisis, the emphasis on the tasks solved by IT will be different, and the shares in IT budgets will be revised. Thus, the largest part of IT budgets of companies - about 65-75%, aimed at covering operating costs, will be optimized in order to reduce IT costs. Funds allocated for innovation - about 10% and modernization and migration - about 25%, will be used to maintain the competitiveness of business at the end of the crisis and the development of new models of IT use. In such a situation, we do not exclude the possibility of using IT outsourcing.”

Successful acquisitions of companies with high growth potential in the early stages of their growth or at times of low value due to unfavorable market conditions, combined with the opportunities of the already existing business of Armada OJSC, can act as a catalyst for significant growth in the acquired businesses. The probability of occurrence of such events is quite high due to the rich accumulated experience in the choice of investment objects.

The company has historically started from highly profitable segments of the IT market, such as Software Development and Implementation and IT Services, and therefore has high-quality expertise, a mature corporate culture and significant intellectual potential in these areas. This allows Armada to more effectively than many competitors to combine with similar highly profitable IT businesses and get more synergies.

To develop the goals of JSC "Armada", we will determine the interests of the main groups of people who are interested in the organization's activities in the market, table 6.1.

Table 6.1

Interests of key stakeholder groups

Name of the person concerned	Main interest
1. Owner	Making a profit, raising one's own status
2. Employees of the organization	Prestige of the organization, high level of remuneration
3. Buyers of products and services	High level of reliability and quality
4. Business partners	Permanent orders, convenient scheme of work, high solvency
5. IT market in Russia	The emergence of a major player with great opportunities
6. State as a whole	Production of IT products, competitiveness of IT products in comparison with competitors

Thus, we can conclude that the main interest of the activities of JSC "Armada" is that all persons are interested in the enterprise:

Received profit and increased capitalization;

Produced competitive products and services;

Acquired niche players in order to increase its market share.

Thus, on the basis of the represented interests, we will make goal-setting for the long-term period of the company.

Table 6.2

Goals of strategic planning of JSC "Armada"

The main goals of strategic planning in the Russian market are to attract financial resources, increase the company's capitalization, increase the market share to 3-5% with a moderate basic pricing policy.

The market share of JSC "Armada" should be at least 3-5% in the period 2009-2012, and the pricing policy should be flexible and moderate in order to achieve the set goals. In the short term (up to a year), JSC "Armada" should strive to conclude a significant number of contracts, both in the public and corporate sectors.

Thus, we will form the main goals of the company's development for the next 3 years, formed under the influence of the global financial crisis:

1. Carrying out an M&A strategy to buy companies in the IT market and increase the company's share to 3-5% by 2012;

2. Expansion of the product line, in order to gain a foothold in the market;

3. Optimal borrowing policy using loans and the securities market.

6.2. Designing a strategic development program in a crisis

Prior to the onset of the crisis, Armada OJSC was developing steadily, which allowed it to make a profit, increase capitalization and attract significant resources from the securities market.

Prior to the crisis, Armada OJSC pursued a strategy of mergers and acquisitions of niche companies, and the financial crisis led to the fact that it became more difficult to attract borrowed funds and the price of borrowed capital increased. At the same time, the value of the acquired companies decreased. Thus, JSC "Armada" should take the following strategic actions in a crisis.

Rice. 6.1 - Strategic actions of JSC "Armada" in a crisis

Based on the selected strategic actions, we will justify the development strategy of JSC "Armada" until 2012.

The corporate business strategy of JSC "Armada" until 2012 is the implementation of corporate mergers and acquisitions in the IT market.

The implementation of this strategy of JSC "Armada" can have both positive and negative sides.

The positive side is the synergy effect.

Synergy is the effect of the addition of forces, exceeding the arithmetic sum. In accordance with it, JSC “Armada” arising from the integration of business can use a wide range of advantages (synergies) that arise as a result of combining the resources of these corporations. All synergies can be divided into two types: operational synergies and financial synergies.

Operational synergies are represented by the following effects.

1. Savings in transaction costs (agglomeration effect).

OJSC "Armada", as a result of the merger, can achieve a significant reduction in administrative, marketing and many other operating costs.

2. Savings on R&D (research and development).

JSC "Armada" can use the research centers of the acquired corporation, as well as its employees to create and implement new products, while significantly reducing the costs associated with such activities.

3. The effect of combining complementary resources.

JSC "Armada" and small companies often have complementary resources. When such companies merge, everyone wins: a small company gets access to financial resources, and Armada OJSC gets the product it needs at a low price (and there are no costs for developing its own production).

4. Increasing the size of the corporation's market niche.

Capturing a large segment of the market through a horizontal or vertical merger entails a significant reduction in competition in it, which is beneficial for the new corporation, but leads to market monopolization. That is why in many countries of the world in the past few decades there has been a fight against mergers that “restrict competition”.

Financial synergies are associated with the creation of tax shields (avoidance of taxation). The possibility of using a merger as a way to avoid taxation plays an important role among the factors that stimulate mergers. For example, Armada OJSC may decide to merge if one of them has tax benefits and the other does not. Then, if after the merger the tax benefits are extended to the new corporation, it is beneficial to both corporations.

The negative aspects of the implementation of the strategy include the following.

When implementing this strategy, top managers, having significant influence and power, no longer act in the interests of their shareholders, their main motive is their own interests, which often do not coincide with the interests of shareholders (see Table 6.3).

Table 6.3

Motivation of corporate management behavior

Problem	Definition
Motivation	Managers have reasons to put less effort into running a company than shareholders expect them to.
Choosing an investment horizon	Managers always have a shorter investment horizon than their shareholders. Managers prefer short-term projects that increase their own wealth over long-term projects that increase shareholder wealth.
risk taking	The well-being of a manager directly depends on whether he remains in his post or is removed from it (as a result of a decision of the board of directors or the bankruptcy of the company), so managers are always more careful in making decisions compared to their shareholders
Efficiency use of assets	Managers may have motives for inefficient use of the company's assets, since their own well-being does not directly depend on the impact of the use of assets on the value of the company.

Top managers have reasons for allowing their corporations to grow beyond their optimal size through mergers and acquisitions. Growth and, as a result, the concentration of resources under the control of management, increase their power.

In practice, in order to reduce the impact of this negative factor, JSC "Armada" should apply techniques for the activities of managers.

First of all, it is the control of the stock market. The capital market quickly signals to a company's shareholders (through the value of the company's shares on the stock market) that its management cares more about its own interests than about increasing their net wealth.

Another tool of control for shareholders can be contracts concluded with the manager when he is hired, which clearly spell out all his duties, decisions that he can and cannot make, the amount and conditions of his remuneration, etc.

A powerful new tool in this area can be the corporate control market with mergers and acquisitions, which does not materially exist, but its material measure exists - the stock market.

The main premise underlying the effective functioning of the corporate control market is the existence of a high positive correlation between the effectiveness of a company's management and the market value of its shares.

If a company under the control of its management performs unsatisfactorily, then this is reflected in the fall in the market value of its shares.

In this case, the company quickly becomes a potential takeover target from other companies that are guided by different motives:

Armada's managers may hope, through takeover or takeover, to capture the wealth of the target company's managers, which takes the form of wages, pensions, compensatory and bonus incentive schemes;

The underestimated value of the shares of the target company due to inefficient management of its current management may reflect its hidden potential, which will be revealed as soon as control over the corporation passes to more effective management. The lower the value of a share compared to what it would have had it been managed more effectively, the greater its attractiveness as a target company.

Thus, the corporate control market performs the following functions:

Resolves agency conflicts within the company by removing its inefficient management through mergers or acquisitions;

It improves the quality of company management, since with a developed market for corporate control, each manager understands that the lower the quality level of his management, the sooner his company will become the target of a takeover, which means that the chance of losing his job increases;

Increases the efficiency and competitiveness of the corporate sector of the national economy.

It allows you to quickly replace inefficient management with effective management and resolve agency conflicts, which significantly reduce the value of companies.

Thus, it can be concluded that JSC "Armada" in general uses a corporate growth strategy, which necessitated the use of scientific methods in substantiating mergers/acquisitions.

To a large extent, the main problem that JSC "Armada" may face is the problem of developing solutions for the formation of corporate merger strategies, taking into account the criteria for the economic feasibility of their implementation.

Conclusion

Under the influence of the global financial crisis, there is a decrease in the solvency of various companies, and subsequently ordinary people, which leads to instability in the economic situation, which greatly complicates the process of determining strategic prospects.

The main provisions of strategic planning in a crisis are based on 2 possible situations of an enterprise's activity:

Stability;

Survival.

A stability strategy focuses on supporting existing lines of business through "low price" leadership, either differentiation (creating unique product features), or focusing on a specific market segment. This strategy is implemented only in those segments where the company's competitive advantages are significant.

The survival strategy is applied due to existing internal or external reasons that have led the enterprise to a critical situation. This strategy is expressed through "harvesting" - obtaining the maximum income in the short term; "reversal" - the rejection of ineffective products; "separation" - the closure of unprofitable industries.

Combination of several types competitive strategy within a business portfolio represents a hybrid strategy.

Armada is a diversified IT holding whose main activities are the development software, the provision of IT services and the sale of equipment, while the high-margin segments "IT Services" and "Software Development and Implementation" fall into the scope of the company's main priorities.

JSC "Armada" was formed in early 2007 as a result of the spin-off of the IT business from the RBC group. In July 2007, Armada was the first Russian IT company to place shares on Russian stock exchanges MICEX and RTS.

The funds raised as a result of the IPO were used to develop the business and make new acquisitions. Thus, during 2007 the group included PM Expert, Soyuzinform and ETS.

ARMADA's strategy is aimed at combining dynamic organic development and growth through the consolidation of new highly profitable assets.

The indicators of the financial condition indicate that, in general, the performance indicators of JSC "Armada" have significantly decreased under the influence of the global financial crisis.

JSC "Armada" has three main strategic alternatives for the next 3 years:

Strategic purchases of niche leaders - companies with their own product, innovative technologies of the company that complement its business;

Expanding our own product and service line by investing in development, expertise and partnerships;

Synergy through cross-selling an extended product line to existing and new customers.

The goal of the Armada OJSC group for the next 3-5 years is to occupy 3-5% of the Russian IT market through the consolidation of leading niche market players and its own growth.

In 2009 JSC "Armada" should focus on minimizing the possible impact of the global financial crisis on demand among customers.

To do this, JSC "Armada" must continue to participate in government programs on the creation of large-scale information systems, which also provide a competitive advantage in competitions when concluding contracts to support the developed systems.

The financial crisis made adjustments to the company's activities, which reduced the possibility of raising borrowed funds, both in the securities market and from the banking sector. However, the financial crisis also affected the activities of other smaller companies, making them more attractive for takeovers.

The strategy of JSC "Armada" until 2012, implemented in the context of the global financial crisis in a broad sense, can be characterized as vertical integration in the form of any form of relationship between legally independent or non-independent enterprises that go beyond market transactions.

To a large extent, the main problem that JSC "Armada" may face is the problem of developing solutions for the formation of corporate merger strategies, taking into account the criteria for the economic feasibility of their implementation.

Bibliography

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Appendix 1

Bukanova V.I. Strategic management: textbook. allowance for 08050765, 08050265 /V. I. Bukanova. - Saratov, 2007

JSC "Armada. Official site.#"#_ftnref24" name="_ftn24" title=""> #"#_ftnref25" name="_ftn25" title=""> http://www.interstock.ru – website of the Interstock company providing trading services on international stock exchanges

Popova Marina (Senior Consultant, Gorislavtsev & K0, Ph.D. in Economics)

The reasons for the financial crisis in the enterprise can be a general market downturn, an incorrectly chosen development strategy, and inefficient management. Regardless of this, universal tools can be used to bring the company out of the crisis: cost reduction, sales promotion, cash flow optimization, work with debtors and restructuring of accounts payable.

Diagnostics of the financial crisis

The speed and methods of overcoming the crisis largely depend on what are the causes of its occurrence and how quickly it will be identified. There are four main stages in the development of the financial crisis:

• decrease in the efficiency of capital use, reduction in profitability and absolute values ​​of profit volumes;
• the occurrence of unprofitable production;
• lack of own funds and reserve funds, a sharp decline in the company's solvency. Often this is accompanied by a significant reduction in production due to the fact that part working capital is directed to service the increased accounts payable;
• state of acute insolvency. The enterprise does not have the opportunity to finance production and make payments on previous obligations. There is a real threat of suspension or even complete cessation of production, and then bankruptcy.

Personal experience

Vyacheslav Gvozdev,

Deputy CFO of Nikpa (Moscow)

In our company, the main criterion for the approaching financial crisis is the dynamic growth of overdue accounts payable, as well as the frequent exceeding of the limits for the shipment of goods to customers and non-compliance with the established payment terms. Another indicator that is constantly monitored after the crisis situation in which our company was two and a half years ago is the balance of stocks and their dynamics. During the crisis, we were faced with the fact that with a significant amount of funds immobilized in warehouse stocks, sales practically stopped, because the goods in the warehouse were either not the same or of unsatisfactory quality from the point of view of consumer demand.

Grigory Dorokhin,

Head of the Planning and Budget Department of Stroydormash Plant OJSC (Yekaterinburg)

In most cases, the crisis is the result of inefficient management in the absence of a development strategy. The main reason why businesses are on the verge of financial collapse is the work for one client. A poorly diversified portfolio of clients leads to negative consequences. The enterprise ceases to be flexible, loses such management mechanisms as pricing and receivables management, as it is forced to adapt to its requirements in order to retain the client. Another common reason for the development of the crisis is the lack of effective management of the financial and economic block based on modern mechanisms, such as budgeting, marginal analysis, and credit policy. In addition to economic reasons, it is necessary to note the existing legal risks that may adversely affect the financial condition of the enterprise.

Marina Osipova,

financial director of the company "Dionis Club" (Moscow)

With proper management, the main reason for the development of the crisis in the company is the general decline in the market. The steady stagnation of the company, lasting more than a year, is an obvious indicator of the crisis. Such phenomena are easy to distinguish from seasonal fluctuations, which rarely last more than two or three months.

The way out of the crisis is possible only when the causes of its occurrence are eliminated. To do this, it is necessary to conduct a thorough and comprehensive analysis of the external and internal environment, highlight those components that are really of priority for the enterprise (stocks, equipment, key personnel), collect information on each component, as well as assess the real situation of the enterprise. Comprehensive diagnostics of possible causes of the development of the crisis in the enterprise includes:

• analysis of the effectiveness of the current strategy and its functional areas (strategy in the field of financial management, sales and production). To do this, monitoring of changes in key performance indicators of the company in functional areas is carried out;
• analysis of the company's competitive advantages, its strengths and weaknesses, as well as opportunities and threats (SWOT analysis 1);
• analysis of the competitiveness of prices and costs of the enterprise. To do this, periodic marketing research and operational monitoring of the work of competitors are carried out.

Due to their complexity, most of the listed procedures, with the exception of monitoring key performance indicators, cannot be carried out on a monthly basis. It can be recommended to carry out diagnostics annually or in cases where the external and internal working conditions of the enterprise change significantly.

Personal experience

Anna Nekhina,

Director of Anti-Crisis Research Laboratory LLC (Moscow)

The causes of the crisis can be both a general market decline and an incorrectly chosen strategy for the development of an enterprise, but the most important and common cause in practice is a general crisis in the management of an enterprise, including:

• clash of interests of management and owners of the enterprise;
• insufficient qualification of management.

In addition, for Russian enterprises, another characteristic cause of the crisis is the discrepancy between the available means of production (production assets, technologies, personnel) and the tasks set by the enterprise. This problem, which arose after serious structural changes in the economy in the 1990s, has not yet been resolved.

I diagnose the beginning of a serious crisis in an enterprise if it does not make a profit for several quarters in a row. However, in modern companies this value, reflected in the financial statements, is very conditional, therefore it can be determined only on the basis of consolidated reporting all legal entities related to the enterprise. I believe that it is impossible to get out of the crisis with the help of the same people under whose leadership the company came to the crisis. It is necessary to create a working group (it can include both third-party specialists and employees of the company), which is endowed with special powers. This group must collect necessary information and develop an anti-crisis action plan (financial recovery plan). It must be discussed in detail by the owners of the enterprise together with the management, the working group and specialists competent in this matter. Depending on the causes and depth of the crisis, the plan may include various measures, up to the liquidation or sale of the business.

Personal experience

Marina Osipova

I would single out the following steps aimed at correcting the crisis situation:

• diagnosis and recognition of a crisis situation;
• defining a crisis point. These can be outdated technological processes, uncontrolled growth of costs, incorrect positioning of goods on the market;
• development of methods of "treatment";
• formation of an enlarged plan for overcoming the crisis.

Despite the fact that for all enterprises the causes of the financial crisis are individual, there are several universal management tools that can overcome the crisis:

• cost reduction;
• sales promotion;
• optimization of cash flows;
• dealing with debtors and reforming commercial lending policy;
• restructuring of accounts payable.

Cost reduction

It is clear that in order to increase the profitability of sales and further increase cash flow, it is necessary to reduce costs. In a crisis, cost reduction 2 is one of the most effective tools, which the company can use to stabilize the financial situation.

Personal experience

Marina Osipova

The main tools that I had to use in a company in unfavorable financial terms, - rationing of all cost items and strict control over the implementation of established standards. This approach can not be called revolutionary, but it brings tangible results and allows you to keep the company's costs at a given level.

To reduce the costs of the company in a crisis, the following is necessary: ​​tightening the procedures for authorizing expenses, motivating staff to reduce costs and reduce costs not related to the core business of the company. Within the framework of the listed activities, the following procedures must be performed.

1. Formation of the company's budget. Cost planning and transfer of authority for their management to department managers will significantly reduce the company's costs. If at the time of the onset of the financial crisis, budgeting was not carried out, it can be recommended to confine ourselves to drawing up a master budget (forecast balance sheet, cash flow budget and budget of income and expenses), budgets of key production units, as well as to form budgets for receivables and payables and the movement of raw materials and materials . This will optimize cash flow and keep costs at a given level.
2. Horizontal and vertical integration. Horizontal integration involves looking for opportunities to purchase jointly with another buyer. An increase in the volume of purchases will allow you to get the so-called volume discounts. Vertical integration implies closer work with suppliers of key items of raw materials and materials (timely fulfillment of contractual obligations, financial transparency, etc.).
3. Analysis of the possibilities of transferring expensive processes to outsourcing. You should evaluate which components are profitable to produce on your own, and which are cheaper to purchase from other manufacturers. For example, most enterprises with their own boiler houses transferred them to the ownership of city administrations, since maintenance and service were too expensive.
4. Introduction of new forms of settlements with contractors (bills, barter).
5. Tighter control of all types of costs. It has been observed that when a company, for example, begins to register outgoing long-distance calls of employees, the total number of calls decreases due to a decrease in conversations on personal matters.
6. Optimization technological processes. Optimization issues can be resolved when discussing the production technology and product quality by the financial director and production director. At one of the enterprises, production waste was significantly reduced only due to the constant monitoring of the work of personnel and the tightening of production discipline. The problem was the inaccurate handling of raw materials by workers.
7. Reducing labor costs. It is necessary to develop bonus schemes for the company's personnel and motivate them to reduce costs. As a basis, a scheme can be adopted in which part of the saved costs is paid to the employee. It is also necessary to reconsider organizational structure to eliminate unnecessary levels of control.

Personal experience

Vyacheslav Gvozdev

Our company is trying to avoid reducing such a cost item as personnel costs. In most cases, the savings from wage cuts are practically imperceptible, but such measures can provoke a personnel crisis for personnel, which will significantly complicate the state of the enterprise. It must be taken into account that in order to compensate for the outflow of personnel from the company in the short term, it will take time and intensification of the work of the remaining employees, and these factors are very limited in an enterprise in a crisis. In the long term, these factors can be successfully used.

Sales promotion

One of the most common mistakes is that in times of crisis, many companies try to increase their cash flow by raising the price of their products without first researching the market. The activation of sales in a crisis situation should be expressed in the development of relations with existing customers and attracting new ones, offering new products to the market, concluding contracts for work with raw materials to be supplied, as well as revising the existing system of discounts and benefits for buyers.

1. Holding limited marketing research. The main purpose of the study is to determine the market capacity, assess the possibility of increasing sales volumes and selling prices. It is also necessary to identify consumer preferences, that is, to rank in order of importance those characteristics of the product that buyers pay attention to. This will allow you to abandon unclaimed characteristics, and consequently, reduce costs.
2. Identification of a group of products that bring the company the greatest profit. An ABC analysis of the profitability of the company's products is carried out. The attention of sales managers must be focused on the first group (“A”) of goods. To do this, a differentiated motivation system is created, when managers receive a different percentage of sales for different categories of goods.
3. Revision of the assortment and price policies of the company 3 . It is necessary to estimate the break-even point for each category of goods and compare it with sales data for several previous periods. If the break-even point is higher than the sales volume of any of the product names, then the pricing policy for this product should be reviewed or the possibility of removing it from production should be analyzed.

Cash flow optimization

Optimization of cash flows is one of the important tasks of anti-crisis financial management.

The first step in this direction is to introduce a procedure for daily reconciliation of cash balances. This will eliminate possible abuses, give managers reliable information about the current balance of funds in the accounts and in the cash desk of the enterprise, which is necessary for making decisions on making current payments. Then you need to create a register of current payments and prioritize. Top managers should consider the priority of this or that payment during the monthly discussion with the participation of ordinary employees. After that, you can proceed to the construction of the most detailed cash flow budget for the next reporting period (month). This will optimize the company's cash flows and anticipate cash gaps.

In addition, it is necessary to maintain a low balance on current accounts in various banks, that is, to reduce the amount of cash to a minimum. If one of the company's accounts is frozen, it will be able to continue working using accounts in other banks. This measure will protect the company from risks such as bank failure or filing of card files on accounts.

It is also necessary to consider the possibility of increasing the so-called non-operating income. To do this, together with the engineering service, the possibility of selling part of the unused equipment or its conservation is analyzed. The act of conservation of equipment is transferred to tax office, thanks to which it will be possible not to pay property tax on mothballed objects. It is not uncommon for a business to generate additional revenue by renting out unused space or moving the office to a less expensive location.

Along with the above measures to optimize cash flows, it is necessary to revise the company's policy in the field of capital investments:

• suspend or close long-term investment projects, which will not bring income in the near future;
• for projects that cannot be stopped, the schedule for the receipt of investments should be changed so as to exclude the occurrence of cash gaps in the company's budget.

Dealing with debtors and reforming commercial lending policy

In the context of the financial crisis, the company should not completely abandon the sale of products in installments, as this is likely to cause a sharp reduction in sales. In order to optimize the work with debtors 4, we can recommend the following actions.

1. Structuring debtors by payment terms. For example, the following groups of debtors with a maturity date can be distinguished: up to 15 days, from 15 to 20 days, etc. For each of the groups, you need to appoint a responsible person (usually a sales manager) who controls the timeliness and completeness of the fulfillment of obligations by counterparties . It is advisable to introduce a bonus scheme to motivate managers, tied to the maturity of receivables, for example, 1% of the amount of funds received on time; 0.5% upon receipt of funds with a delay of one or two days, etc.
   Personal experience

   Marina Osipova

   Work with existing at the time of the crisis receivables should be built as follows. You need to start with an inventory of the company's debtors, that is, with clarification of the amount of receivables and the timing of their repayment for each counterparty. Also at the inventory stage, an assessment of the likelihood of bad debts is carried out. Then methods of influencing debtors are determined depending on the state of the debt (delay time, size, etc.).

2. Consideration of options for the sale of receivables to the factor company.
3. Development of formalized principles for assessing the creditworthiness of clients. It can be recommended to consider the buyer creditworthy as long as the funds received from him for previously shipped products cover the cost goods sold. For newly attracted customers, it is justified to use full or partial prepayment as the main delivery condition.
4. Formation of a scale of discounts for early repayment and forecasting the growth of cash flows. Before accepting new terms of settlements with counterparties, it is necessary to simulate the situation by constructing a cash flow budget and an income and expenses budget. If the best result is obtained, new scheme calculations are approved by the order of the enterprise.

Personal experience

Grigory Dorokhin

I can give an example from my own practice.

A certain company had two main activities: the production of packaging and the trade in building materials. Due to incorrect pricing in the "packaging" direction, production was largely financed through trade in building materials. The situation was aggravated by the fact that the liability of the company's balance sheet was represented exclusively by short-term liabilities (accounts payable and short-term bank loans). The most serious problem was that the production worked mainly for one client. Naturally, when the management tried to raise prices for products, buyers simply refused to purchase them.

Under these conditions, we have taken the following actions: set limits on general production costs, increased control over the costs of services of auxiliary shops, cut investment in equipment and the production complex, and minimized almost all items of general business costs.

It was also necessary to increase turnover on profitable commodity items. There were not enough own funds for the development and activation of sales, and the company was denied bank loans. The necessary funds were raised through the use of such a tool as factoring, which, although it reduced the profitability of individual operations, made it possible to significantly shorten the financial cycle, while increasing sales and overall profit.

Restructuring of accounts payable

Restructuring accounts payable involves obtaining various concessions from creditors, for example, reducing the amount of debt or reducing the interest rate on a loan in exchange for various assets owned by the company. There are several main ways to restructure accounts payable.

1. Assignment of property rights to fixed assets. The company may agree with the creditor to repay part of the accounts payable in exchange for fixed assets. Before offering any assets as compensation, it is necessary to assess how important they are to production activities enterprises and whether they are collateral for other obligations. This method is suitable for companies with a large number of fixed assets that are difficult to sell at an affordable price, or the costs of their storage and maintenance are quite high. It is advisable to offer this method of restructuring to those creditors who can use or sell the received assets.
2. Assignment of company shares. One of the types of compensation is the offer of a block of shares, which is on the balance sheet of the enterprise. In this case, the shares of the new issue cannot be used to reduce accounts payable. The agreement is concluded between the creditor and the owners of the enterprise, who are ready to give up part of the company's shares in exchange for improved credit conditions. Lenders may take this approach if their claims on the entity represent a significant portion of its total debt or if they plan to diversify their business by acquiring equity stakes in other companies.
3. Carrying out mutual settlements. Debt offsets are a common method of debt restructuring. In the process of analyzing receivables and payables, it often turns out that the company has debt obligations to the company, to which it also has counterclaims. In such a situation, the entity may set off both amounts. Moreover, set-off can be carried out unilaterally by notifying the other party (preferably in writing and with confirmation of delivery of the letter). The company may also try to buy the creditor's debts from a third party at a significant discount, and then offset the full amount.
4. Rescheduling accounts payable. Very often, debts to creditors are not secured by anything. If such creditors demand repayment of a debt in judicial order, then they risk getting only a part or nothing at all, since their claims will be satisfied last. An entity may offer "unsecured" creditors to convert debt into secured obligations in exchange for a reduction in the amount of the debt, interest and/or an increase in the maturity of the debt. To restructure an unsecured loan, you can also offer the lender collateral in the form of a third party guarantee or surety, under which the third party undertakes to repay the company's debt if it cannot do it on its own.
5. Repayment of accounts payable by providing bills of exchange. A promissory note as a means of debt restructuring is a new obligation that must be fulfilled in accordance with the newly established terms and often at lower interest rates. This frees the company from paying debt in this period, contributing to the improvement of the company's performance. Enterprises in financial distress may use promissory notes as a loan restructuring tool if there is a third party interested in acquiring the company's liabilities.

Much more efficient use bank bills. To do this, a loan agreement is concluded with a bank secured by the amount necessary for the purchase of bank bills. In the future, the company pays its creditor with bank bills. In this transaction, the enterprise effectively replaces its many "unsecured" creditors with one "secured" one - a bank that provides a loan to the enterprise at an interest rate lower than the rates on unrestructured debt. Lenders benefit because, in return for bad debts, they receive well-defined claims on the bank. Companies using this method of restructuring tend to have many small creditors, good relationship with a stable bank and have assets that can be used as collateral for a loan.

Personal experience

Vyacheslav Gvozdev

Most of the creditors of our company are Western suppliers of goods. In a situation where a company has overdue accounts payable, we use two approaches. First, an agreement is concluded with the supplier that the company will pay off the debt as new batches of goods are purchased. For example, a new purchase of goods is carried out. At the same time, the full cost of the purchased lot and a part of the old overdue accounts payable are paid. The second approach - accounts payable to the supplier is either restructured with the transfer of payments to the future, or repaid with a short-term bank loan issued to replenish working capital, taking into account the actual turnover of "hung" stocks received from this supplier.

Marina Osipova

In my opinion, the most effective tool for restructuring accounts payable is the repayment of accounts payable as a result of the assignment of claims to one or more debtors. This method does not require the withdrawal of funds from the turnover and allows you to save on the costs of servicing accounts payable.

Anna Nekhina

I believe that the main mechanism for the restructuring of accounts payable is the conclusion of a settlement agreement approved by the court. In this case, the enterprise and persons interested in bringing the company out of the crisis are to some extent insured against unscrupulous creditors. After all, an enterprise in crisis is a very interesting object for specialists in mergers and acquisitions (corporate takeovers).

And already within the framework of a settlement agreement, it is possible to carry out restructuring measures: installment plan, exchange of debts for securities, debt forgiveness, etc.

Personnel management in a crisis

Separately, it is necessary to say about personnel management in the conditions of liquidation of the crisis. If the emergence of an external threat is monitored in a timely manner and there is time for systematic changes, then serious problems do not arise. However, in most crisis situations, all organizational changes in terms of managing costs, receivables and cash must be carried out in a short time, which causes an increase in the workload of employees. All this gives rise to resistance to ongoing reforms and their sabotage. In order to overcome this situation, it is necessary to carry out explanatory work among the staff and bring to them a plan for overcoming the crisis. This can be done as general meetings and through heads of departments.

Personal experience

Anna Nekhina

With personnel problem during the crisis will have to face constantly. To ensure some stability of personnel, at least at the lower and middle levels, it is necessary to plan the cash flows of the enterprise in such a way that there are never any delays in the payment of wages. After all, it is the payment of wages that, it seems to me, is the main indicator of the solvency of an enterprise for its ordinary employees. In addition, the degree of confidentiality of everything related to the financial condition of the enterprise should be increased. Rumors are still unlikely to be avoided, but with a combination of confidentiality and measures aimed at increasing loyalty to the “native factory” (delivery of diplomas, congratulations, labor competitions), I think the mood of the team will be much more positive than if the situation is left to chance.

After developing a financial recovery plan, it is necessary to explain to the team what exactly it is, and, possibly, create some kind of reward system associated with its implementation.

Marina Osipova

Particular attention in personnel management should be given to informal leaders who are negatively disposed towards ongoing anti-crisis measures. These employees need to be convinced of the necessity and justification of the actions taken or fired.

Competent work with personnel in this way will help to carry out the above measures and will contribute to the elimination of the crisis in the enterprise.

Practical experience of overcoming the financial crisis

Anton Khodarev, financial director of LLC TK Russian Coal (Moscow)

Description of the situation

The Russian Coal Company, the Regional Development Assistance Fund and the Federal Agency for Construction and Housing and Public Utilities of the Russian Federation founded the Interregional Communal Communal Company (IRCC) - a management company in the housing and communal services market. In July 2004, the municipal services of the city of Raychikhinsk, which at that time was under the jurisdiction of the municipal unitary enterprise"Housing and communal services of the city of Raychikhinsk" (Amur region), which provided enterprises and the population with a full range of utilities. The public utilities at that time were in a state of permanent financial crisis: for three and a half months wages were not paid, the enterprise had a large debt to budgetary and non-budgetary funds, as well as high accounts payable - a non-payment crisis developed. From the point of view of financial management, the concept of management accounting and cost accounting, accounting was done manually. The top management of the enterprise undermined the credibility of both the personnel of the enterprise and the city administration. Sabotage began, the number of accidents increased sharply. The enterprise was on the verge of bankruptcy, and urgent anti-crisis measures were needed.

What was done

The complexity of the current situation lay in the fact that IRCC acted as an external anti-crisis manager. Its management did not have enough reliable information about the external and internal environment of the enterprise. However, the following activities were carried out.

1. Cost management. Process crisis management was started by reducing existing costs. For this, a global inventory was carried out at the beginning and at the end of the reporting period (initially one month). This made it possible to eradicate trivial theft, which was rampant in the face of non-payment of wages. As a result, it was possible to approximately estimate the real consumption of raw materials and materials for the period and draw up a primary matrix of the unit cost of typical operations.

   The next step towards reducing costs was the introduction of primary budgeting. After the budget was formed, a budget committee was convened, at which the planned expenditures were defended. A detailed analysis of cost items revealed that the overstatement for most cost items is about 30%. For example, a detailed analysis of the budgeted electricity costs, which amounted to about 10 million rubles, showed that in reality they do not exceed 8.5 million rubles. In order to force people to fulfill the budget, a system of indicators was created on its basis, the responsibility for achieving which was distributed between employees of the enterprise and responsibility centers. This made it possible to eliminate the attitude to the budget as a formal document, the execution of which is optional.

2. Work with providers. It was decided to abandon some of the former suppliers of raw materials and materials, which, under tacit agreements with the previous management, supplied raw materials and materials at inflated prices. All purchases over 15 thousand rubles. as a result of anti-crisis measures, they were centralized and carried out through MRCC, due to which the cost of purchases has significantly decreased. In addition, the so-called horizontal integration of purchases was carried out with another local enterprise, Amursky Coal, which purchases large quantities of fuel for coal mining operations - an agreement was signed on the joint purchase of fuel. This led to a significant increase in the volume of orders for fuel and allowed to reduce its cost.
3. Optimizing the use of assets. Based on the results of the analysis of the use of fixed assets, an opportunity was found to mothball one of the thermal stations, redistributing the load among the remaining ones. This resulted in property tax savings and reduced maintenance costs. The woodworking and machine shop processes were also outsourced. The vacated areas were leased for warehouses.
4. Cash management. A list of the highest priority payments was developed, which, in descending order of importance, includes the following items:
   
   
   • electricity;
   • wage;
   • payments to budgetary and non-budgetary funds;
   • materials;
   • other costs.
   
   

In addition, a successful transition to an automated method of maintaining accounting, due to which the staff time spent on standard accounting operations has been significantly reduced and the foundations of primary management accounting have been laid. In the future, this made it possible to avoid errors in indicators that are fundamentally important for the enterprise, such as the cost of services.

1. Debt restructuring. As a result of negotiations with the tax inspectorate, the VAT debt was restructured. This was achieved as a result of submitting financial plans for a year and five years to the tax inspectorate: on the basis of these plans, it was decided to pay the VAT debt within three years. All obligations to pay wages were repaid within four months at the expense of the company's profit. Other accounts payable to suppliers and contractors were liquidated in exchange for the provision of utility bills.
2. Work with personnel. During the reforms, a large number of meetings were held with the participation of all personnel, the main idea of ​​which was that all the difficulties of the enterprise are temporary and will be overcome in the near future. Successful results of the reforms already achieved were also actively discussed and examples were given effective work divisions. This helped to raise team spirit and minimize resistance to change and sabotage.

To work with the personnel, local specialists were involved, who conducted classes on optimizing and automating business processes, which made it possible to significantly reduce the costs of carrying out activities.

Results of anti-crisis management

Thanks to the weighted management decisions in half a year, a bankrupt enterprise was turned into a stable company: accounts payable were reduced by 80%, wage arrears were fully repaid, and the company's profitability increased.

1 For more information about this tool, see the article “SWOT analysis in the service of the CFO” (“CFO”, 2005, No. 2, p. 12). - Note. editions.

2 For cost management methods, see the article “How to develop a cost management system” (“Financial Director”, 2003, No. 11, p. 12). - Note. editions.

3 For more information on how to build the optimal structure of the product range, see the article "How to optimize the assortment"

4 For more information on the management of receivables, see the article “Recommendations for the management of receivables” (“Financial Director”, 2004, No. 1, p. 31). - Note. editions.

Students, graduate students, young scientists who use the knowledge base in their studies and work will be very grateful to you.

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Accurate, comprehensive, timely diagnostics of the state of the enterprise -- this is the first stage development of a strategy for anti-crisis management of the enterprise.

The search for ways out of the economic crisis is directly related to the elimination of the causes that contribute to its occurrence. A thorough analysis of the external and internal business environment is carried out, those components that are really important for the organization are singled out, information is collected and monitored for each component, and based on an assessment of the real situation of the enterprise, the reasons for crisis. Accurate, comprehensive, timely diagnostics of the state of the enterprise is the first stage in the development of a strategy for anti-crisis management of the enterprise.

When conducting an analysis of the external environment, we must carry out:

analysis of the macro environment, can be conditionally divided into four sectors: the political environment, economics. environment, social environment, technological environment.

analysis of the competitive environment by 5 main components: buyers, suppliers, competitors within the industry, potential. new competitors, products - substitutes.

By studying the external environment, managers focus their attention on finding out what threats and what opportunities the external environment is fraught with.

Along with an analysis of the external environment of the business, it is important to conduct an in-depth study of the real state of the enterprise, armed with this knowledge and vision of what the enterprise should become in the future, the manager can develop an achievable anti-crisis strategy to make the necessary changes.

The weaker the current position of the enterprise, the more critical analysis should be subjected to its strategy. If a crisis situation has developed at the enterprise, this is a sign of a weak strategy or its poor implementation, or both. When analyzing the strategy of an enterprise, managers should focus on the following five points.

1. The effectiveness of the current strategy.

First you need to try to determine the place of the enterprise among competitors; second, the limits of competition (market size); third, consumer groups, which the company focuses on; fourth, functional strategies in the field of production, marketing, finance, personnel. Evaluation of each component will give us a clearer picture of the strategy of an enterprise in crisis.

2. Strength and weakness, opportunities and threats of the enterprise.

An important part of the SWOT analysis is an assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of the enterprise, its opportunities and threats, as well as conclusions about the need for certain strategic changes.

3. Competitiveness of prices and costs of the enterprise.

It should be known how the prices and costs of the enterprise compare with the prices and costs of competitors. In this case, strategic cost analysis is used. The method by which this analysis is carried out is called the “value chain”

The value chain reflects the process of creating the value of a product/service and includes different kinds activities and profits. Thus, it is possible to identify the best practice for performing a certain type of activity, the most effective method minimization of costs and, on the basis of the analysis obtained, begin to increase the competitiveness of the enterprise in terms of costs.

4. Assessment of the strength of the competitive position of the enterprise.

The strength of the company's position (how weak or strong) in relation to its main competitors is assessed by such important indicators as product quality, financial position, technological capabilities, and the duration of the product cycle.

5. Identification of the problems that caused the crisis in the enterprise.

Managers study all the results of the state of the enterprise, at the time of the crisis, and determine what to focus on.

Second phase strategic anti-crisis planning -- adjustment of the mission and system of goals of the enterprise. A well-defined mission statement that is easy to understand and believed in can be a powerful incentive to change strategy. A well-defined mission inspires the employees of the enterprise and encourages them to act, gives them the opportunity to take the initiative. The mission forms the main prerequisites for the success of the enterprise under various influences of the external and internal environment on it.

Then comes the process of adjusting the system of goals (desired results that contribute to the exit from the economic crisis). The manager compares the desired results and the results of research on the factors of the external and internal environment that limit the achievement of the desired results, and makes changes to the system of goals. Each enterprise has a certain system of goals that arise as a reflection of the goals of various groups: the owners of the enterprise; employees of the enterprise; buyers; business partners; society as a whole.

If the mission is a vision of what the enterprise should be like in the future, then the system of goals (long-term and short-term goals) is the desired results that correspond to the understanding of the goal. Goals are the starting point of the strategic planning system.

Third stage anti-crisis strategic planning -- the formulation of strategic alternatives for the exit of the enterprise from the economic crisis and the choice of strategy.

This ends the process of strategic planning and begins the process of determining the tactics for implementing the chosen strategy ( operational planning), and then the anti-crisis strategy is implemented, the results are evaluated and monitored.