THEORETICAL APPROACHES TO DEFINING THE ESSENCE OF FINANCIAL SUPPORT FOR THE ACTIVITIES OF BUDGETARY INSTITUTIONS

Abstract

The article examines theoretical approaches to defining the essence of the concept of “financial support” and generalizes scientific interpretations of the category “financial support for the activities of budgetary institutions.” The relevance of the topic is determined by the growing requirements for the efficient use of budgetary resources in the context of limited state financial capacities and the need to enhance the performance of the public sector. Under current conditions of public finance reform, the issue of optimizing financial support mechanisms for budgetary institutions that perform key socio-economic, cultural, and administrative functions becomes particularly important. The purpose of the study is to summarize scientific approaches to defining the essence of the concept of “financial support for the activities of budgetary institutions” and to develop the author’s own vision of this category based on a system-functional approach. The paper systematizes scientific interpretations of the term “financial support,” carried out through the analysis of scholarly views in various research areas. The generalization of results made it possible to identify four main approaches to interpreting this category: systemic, functional, cost-based, and methodological. It is emphasized that financial support serves not only as a source of resources for the current activities of institutions but also as an instrument for implementing state policy and ensuring sustainable socio-economic development. The author formulated an original definition of the concept “financial support for the activities of budgetary institutions,” which is proposed to be viewed through the prism of a system-functional approach as an integrated system of financial relations aimed at forming, distributing, and effectively using financial resources of state and local authorities, as well as organizations established by them to fulfill their assigned functions and objectives. The prospects for further research include the development of practical recommendations aimed at improving the efficiency of financial resource management in the sphere of public finance, based on a well-founded theoretical and methodological framework.