The Impact Of The COVID-19 Pandemic On Business Activities In Ukraine

Abstract

The article summarizes the arguments and counter-arguments within the scientific discussion on financial security and business resilience to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The bibliometric analysis allowed to determine the appearance of terms in time and revealed the latest research topics. Systematization of literature sources and approaches to solving this problem showed that business in Ukraine and other countries had suffered significantly from introducing anti-epidemic restrictions, the need for which is recognized by the world community. The consequences of such measures were manifested in falling GDP, industrial production index, and declining investment activity at the state level. Unemployment has risen significantly, leading to an additional burden on the Compulsory State Social Insurance Fund of Ukraine in the event of unemployment. The negative effects of the pandemic crisis have also been reflected in the deterioration of businesses’ financial performance, especially in industry, transport, temporary accommodation and catering. In these types of economic activity, the share of unprofitable enterprises reaches 73%, which significantly undermines the financial security of Ukraine. The study aims to assess the impact of the pandemic crisis on business and analyze ways to mitigate such impacts, which should be used at the state level in Ukraine. The study’s methodological tools were the methods of scientific abstraction, comparative and systematic analysis and synthesis, systematization, and logical generalization. The study results showed that the pandemic had the greatest impact on small and medium-sized businesses, where more than 60% of entrepreneurs suffered losses or went bankrupt altogether. Big businesses have become more resilient, but they have also faced significant problems with a general decline in business activity, disruption of logistics processes, losses from employee illness and anti-epidemic measures. Analysis of the risks that arose in the business due to pandemic factors showed that they are manifested in a decrease in revenue and profit, deteriorating profitability, increased costs for storage of finished products and marketing activities. The study showed that in today’s economic environment, effective government support for business should be carried out to form an appropriate mechanism that uses the socio-economic potential of business entities and effectively allocates financial resources.