INDUSTRY-BASED CRITERIA VALUES OF FINANCIAL AND ECONOMIC INDICATORS AS A MEANS OF IMPLEMENTING THE CONTROL FUNCTION IN MANAGEMENT

The aim of this article is to establish a sector-specific database of benchmark values for key financial and economic indicators for electricity distribution system operators, with a view to their subsequent use in assessing the performance of companies operating in this sector. It is noted that the existence of such a framework is one of the key aspects of exercising control functions in management. It has been found that various terms (normative, recommended, optimal, benchmark values, and others) are used in domestic specialist educational materials and academic publications to denote benchmark values. At the same time, they are most often universal in nature, do not reflect sector-specific characteristics, predominantly represent groups of liquidity and financial stability indicators, and lack proper theoretical and methodological justification, references to sources of information, and so on. Although arguments regarding the advantages of sector-specific indicators over universal ones are put forward in the academic community, in practice there are very few concrete developments. A system of criterion values for financial and economic indicators is proposed, organised into four classical groups (liquidity, financial stability, business activity, profitability) for electricity distribution system operators, with industry-average and threshold values provided. The data from the official financial statements of 23 electricity distribution system companies (regional electricity distribution companies) for the years 2020–2023 were used as the information base. Possible areas of application for these financial and economic criteria have been identified, both for the internal purposes of a particular company and for external stakeholders. Whilst not dismissing other existing approaches to the selection of criteria (such as the best performance over a specific period within the enterprise itself, indicators of leading enterprises, state standards, etc.), the study emphasises the alternative use of sector-specific benchmarks. Given the specific nature of each individual business entity’s activities, even within a single highly specialised sector, the importance and necessity of developing individual benchmark frameworks for key financial and economic indicators are highlighted.