Methodology for assessing the business activity index of an enterprise based on the analysis of the business environment

An overview of common business activity indices is presented, methods for their calculation are given, a generalized method for calculating the consolidated business activity index is presented, the role of business activity as an indicator of economic system development is shown; indicators for assessing business activity are systematized in relation to the specifics of entrepreneurial activity. The concept of business activity is defined, a method for calculating business activity indices of industrial enterprises is proposed. The work identifies the characteristic features of the existing framework for assessing the level of business activity of an industrial enterprise, discusses the methodological experience of developed countries and the Russian Federation, and provides quantitative values of the business activity index. The proposed method for assessing the business activity index of enterprises is constructed by calculating a set of qualitative and quantitative indicators. The directions of the enterprise’s activities are taken into account and a generalized characteristic of these activities is proposed, areas of application of the business activity index in managerial strategic decisions are detected. The elements of the methodology are described: the choice of the composition of indicators, the algorithm for calculating the consolidated index of enterprises, the algorithm for calculating the business activity index of a group of enterprises; interpretation of the results. The system of proposed indices allows to analyze and compare economic indicators of different periods, to determine trends and to forecast further development of the market, providing an important tool for developing business plans, helping business and investors to make decisions based on objective data on the economic situation. The authors systematized the indicators of business activity assessment with respect to the specifics of entrepreneurial activity; developed algorithms for calculating the quantitative and diffusion aggregate index of business activity of the enterprise; the relationship between the entrepreneurial situation assessed by business activity indices and recommended management decisions is shown. The developed methodology for assessing the index of business activity of the enterprise can be developed within the scope of application by top management of industrial and regional associations of manufacturers and entrepreneurs. The framework developed allows to reasonably characterize the results of the activities of enterprises that are members of associations, choose the necessary forms of support for their commercial activities, lobby their interests before government bodies.