The purpose of this paper is to discuss the broad issue of how to make the financial sector serve society, at least serve it better than it has until now. Finance has been the centre of attention, for better or for worse, for more than a quartercentury, partly because of its increasing share of GDP, and partly because of the negative behaviour and activities of its professionals. The paper is divided into six parts. The first section concerns the necessity of stopping adverse behaviours (activities). Section II presents some measures aimed at encouraging positive activities and promoting positive behaviour. Section III discusses a crucial issue concerning the urgent need to curb rent-seeking. Section IV discusses taxation in the context of the corrosive effect of tax competition. Section V, using analysis provided, presents measures to enhance the role of government in restoring the public’s eroded trust in financial institutions. Finally, Section VI discusses questions about how we can restore trust.

The authors study total financial, organizational and management relations in implementing and developing project finance principles in priority sectors of the Russian economy. The aim of the work is to reveal the importance of the formation and further development of the project finance market to achieve the strategic objectives of the spatial development of Russia. The study employs the scientific methods and approaches of observation, comparison, analogy, analysis, generalization, system-structural approach to assessing the development of the research subject. The authors consider the basic provisions of the spatial development strategy of Russia from the perspective of the content of priority sectors of the economy. They update the list of priority sectors and assess their needs for financial support of competitive development in this context. The authors propose modern effective project finance tools to overcome the deficit of government sources in financing priority sectors, such as syndicated loans, concession bonds, bonds of the special-purpose vehicle in project finance (SPV), securitization, and risk management. The main barriers that hamper the development of the project finance institution in Russia are insufficient legal framework, imperfect bank reserve system for potential losses on loans, loan and equivalent debt, the lack of a comprehensive proposal for project finance, and the lack of a unified database of project finance transactions. As a result, the study made it possible to specify the areas for improving project finance tools. The authors highlight the role of the regulatory framework and the importance of its conceptual review to improve the conceptual framework, the formation of individual legislative acts related to project finance, not as a special form of lending, but as a separate funding institution. They concluded that a unified database of investment objects with project finance tools is necessary. Further study of the topic is associated with developing guidelines for structuring project finance transactions, using the proposed recommendations to improve project finance mechanism by development institutions, banking institutions, pension funds and insurance companies.

The aim of the work is to assess the current state of green financing in the Russian Federation and develop proposals to stimulate its further development. The methodological basis of the research was modern economic and mathematical methods: cluster analysis, building a regression model. This helped obtain results that possess both a certain scientific novelty and practical significance. The authors considered the evolution of scientific consensus about the concept of sustainable development and the formation of a green economy. They analyzed the current state of green financing in the Russian Federation for 2000–2018. Clustering the constituent entities of the Russian Federation by environmental investments and current environmental expenditures allowed for identifying the regions, leaders and outsiders in these processes, as well as revealing a high regional differentiation in financing green projects. The regression model helped prove that with increased investments in fixed assets aimed at environmental protection and rational use of natural resources by 1 million rubles, Russia’s GDP will increase by 0.1 billion rubles. Increasing current environmental expenditures in organizations by 1 million rubles will raise Russia’s GDP by 0.3 billion rubles. The authors concluded that to stimulate the development of green financing in Russia, it is necessary to implement policies providing for an appropriate regulatory framework; development and use of new tools for financing green projects; creation of a specialized banking institution.

The aim of the paper is to develop a methodology for evaluating oil and gas fields return on investments based on not only finance, but also environmental and social interrelations. The subject of the study is a comparison of methods for calculating return on investments on the example of China, Canada and Russia’s oil and gas companies. The authors used a comparative method of calculations, as well as a case study — a comparison of return on investments methods on the example of oil and gas enterprises. In the paper, the authors analyze the next traditional methods of economic assessment: net present value, differential rent, reserve and multiple costs. The authors suggest using a new assessment method that determines the energy return on investment (EROI). This method does not rely on traditional analysis of net present value (NPV), internal rate of return (IRR), and financial sensitivity. It comprehensively takes into account the costs of energy production, environmental protection and energy efficiency. Based on the results of the study, the authors conclude that the advantages of various methods of economic assessment should be integrated in order to avoid disadvantages and create a new dynamic integrated system of economic assessment. Oil and gas companies may use the results of the study to implement the energy return on investment methodology concerning oil and gas fields’ evaluation. A promising direction for further research may be to compare the energy return on investment at oil and gas enterprises in different countries as well as developing corporate reporting concerning energy return on investment improving efficiency.

The aim of the article is to develop a typology for purchase and sale of foreign goods under the customs procedure of the customs warehouse and to propose a mechanism for the formation of economically sound tax consequences of VAT based on this typology. The subject of the research is transactions with goods under the customs procedure of the customs warehouse and their taxation mechanism. The methodological basis was economic methods, a generalization method, and a comparison method to study the approaches in Russia and abroad to the formation of the institutional structure of the customs procedure of the customs warehouse. The study results are a typology of purchase and sale of foreign goods under the customs procedure of the customs warehouse, the base for economically sound tax consequences that comply with the principle of neutrality in determining the tax consequences of VAT. The author concludes that for taxpayers relied on economic rather than tax interests, it is necessary to create conditions in the tax and customs legislation of the Russian Federation that taxation was identical in identical operations. Thus, it is necessary to clarify the norms of Article 147 of the Tax Code of Russia, so that under the current regulation were no legal opportunities to reject Russian territory as a place of sale of goods located in the Russian customs warehouse when they undergo the customs procedure of the customs warehouse. The directions for future research are to develop a mechanism for introducing economically sound tax consequences that comply with the principle of neutrality in determining VAT for sale of foreign goods imported into the territory of the Russian Federation and placed under the customs procedure of the customs warehouse.

The article provides the study of the Russian legislation on grants funded through the budget. The relevance of the research is due to the importance of grants in the development of human potential, stimulating innovative and other activities, as well as the lack of an overall estimate of budget legislation on grants by the scientific community. The aim of the article is to answer the following questions. First, whether state grant support in the Russian Federation is a special type of financing, or it is regulated by the general rules of budget or civil law. Second, whether the financial legislation on grants contributes to the economic and social development of Russia and to achieving grant objectives. Third, what proposals could increase the legal regulation of grant activities in the Russian Federation. The authors used the scientific methods of formal legal and comparative legal methods, generalization and modeling. They applied the method of comparative law to the legal regulation of grants in the European Union and to the attempt to transfer this positive experience to the Russian legal system. The modeling method helped the authors build a mocking mechanism for the legal regulation of grant activities in the Russian Federation. The formal logical method allowed for evaluating the current conceptual framework of grant support and making suggestions for improvement. Studying the regulatory legal acts and applying grant legislation by the authors resulted in the conclusion that the quality of legal support for grants in Russia is unsatisfactory. To improve the efficiency of legal regulation of grants, the authors propose to separate the concepts of “grants” and “budget subsidies”; to provide a separate chapter “Budget grants” in the Budget Code of the Russian Federation with the concept, procedure and grants funded through the budget. According to the authors, these proposals will be able to increase the effectiveness of state grant support in the Russian Federation.

The article discusses the concept and application of performance audit in public administration integral to the modern public financial control system. The aim of the study is to analyze the public financial control system using modern approaches to audit performance and its development prospects in Russia. The authors use general scientific and special research methods (analysis, synthesis, induction, deduction), as well as methods of economic theory: positive analysis and scientific abstraction. The study analyzed basic approaches to defining the concept of “performance audit”, its idea, the most important issues that it solves, and development prospects. The study proposed the concept of a two-level control system: the internal control bodies represented by the Federal Treasury of the Russian Federation should supplement the bodies conducting the performance audit. In the future, this will help build a full performance audit system of the use of public financial resources. As a result, the authors identified the problems of implementing the proposed concept. The key problem is the different statuses of the Federal Treasury of Russia and the Accounts Chamber of the Russian Federation, with different regulation of their activities. The authors named directions for the development of the public financial control system when it is impossible to implement the proposed system. In particular, they proposed to review and precisely regulate the activities of all public financial control bodies. The authors concluded that there is still no regulatory, legal and informational base necessary to switch to the proposed two-level performance audit system. Further studies may provide a deeper look at the possibilities and prospects of the integrated implementation of the performance audit system in the general government sector.

The impact of currency regulation on the country’s export potential has been the focus of scientific research and discussion among economists for years. Currency regulation is a backbone element to maintain the competitiveness of the country’s economy, macroeconomic stability, and to stimulate economic growth. The aim of this research is to analyse the impact of the exchange rate of the Armenian national currency (dram) on the country’s export potential, as well as the choice of a currency regulation policy stimulating export expansion and economic growth in Armenia. The study employed the methods of statistical and comparative analysis, as well as the construction of logistic assumptions. The authors conducted a statistical analysis of the dynamics and structure of Armenia’s exports by product groups and countries. They revealed that, with the exception of exports to Russia, Armenia’s exports to other countries has a high ratio of raw materials. As known, the exchange rate has the greatest impact on the price competitiveness of finished products in foreign markets. The authors evaluated the impact of currency regulation policy implemented in Armenia on the export potential and competitiveness of Armenian goods, especially in the EAEU markets. The results show that Armenia is not able to maximize its export opportunities due to the uncompetitive exchange rate of the national currency. The key conclusion of the research is the thesis that Armenia should abandon the non-market mechanisms for ensuring exchange rate stability, the Central Bank should immediately shift to a policy of free-floating national currency and non-intervention, which will significantly expand the presence of Armenian finished products in foreign markets, especially in the Russian Federation.

The subject of the study is the demographic development of the regions of the Russian Federation. The dynamics of the key indicators at the federal and local levels define the relevance of the issue. State financial resources aimed at implementing measures to stimulate fertility growth and increase life expectancy often fall flat. The aim of the study is to determine the impact of the elements of the regional social infrastructure on demographic processes. The research methods follow from assessing particular parameters of social infrastructure development, and Rosstat statistical data for 2010–2018, as well as data by the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation. The authors carried out a structural, correlation data analysis, formed a complex of regression equations, and used the methods of normalization and ranking of indicators. The study resulted in an approach to the sequential convolution of particular indicators, which characterize the development of individual areas of social infrastructure, into integrated indicators for the considered areas; the following determination of the integral indicator of the development of regional social infrastructure as a whole. The authors calculated integral indicators of social infrastructure development for the identified areas in the constituent entities of the Russian Federation. The scientific novelty of the approach consists in developing a set of integrated indicators, based on the assessment of social infrastructure development aimed at the indicators of natural and migration movement of the population. The authors concluded that the development of public policy measures in the field of demographic development, as well as an appropriate financial base, should consider the impact of social infrastructure elements on the components of demographic development. The results can be useful for building a comprehensive model of socio-economic development of the Russian regions.

The relevance of the article is due to increasing attention of the state and corporations to artificial intelligence technologies, developing strategies and increasing investments in technology. The aim of this article is to study artificial intelligence as a general-purpose technology, its distribution features and approaches to assessing and modelling the impact on production, organization finances and the economy. The study employed the methods of an AI qualitative analysis according to the classification of general-purpose technologies and a regression analysis of company production factors. The author analysed the data of 21 public Russian companies in the industry of hydrocarbon production, mining and metal production for 2014–2018. He proposed a model to assess the impact of AI technology on production, organization finances and the economy. The correlation analysis proved that capital expenditures and the market value of companies have a close relationship. The study revealed low productivity of assets of Russian companies. The investor expects to receive 28 kopecks for each rouble invested in the company’s assets, whereas foreign markets show a one to one ratio. The study highlighted the cyclicality of the performance of the company factors. The research did not expose general-purpose technology signals in the given time interval. The author concluded that under a quality classification, artificial intelligence is a general-purpose technology; however, at this stage, it is impossible to empirically observe the economic effect of the technology distribution. The proposed model may be of further use to study the effect of artificial intelligence on the finances of a company and the economy. The potential consequences of market monopolization due to the distribution of AI technologies allow for an argument for the state regulation of the technology adaptation process by business.