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The escalating wartime risks in Ukraine has led to a rapid reduction in insurance coverage in life and non-life segments. The purpose of the study is to rank Ukraine’s insurance companies based on an adaptation of the DEA method to the insurance market conditions. The study utilized the Supervisory Statistics of the National Bank of Ukraine as data. The study also used ranking of insurance companies based on technical efficiency criteria. The output indicators include the profitability of total capital (Output1) and the occupied share of the insurance market (Output2). The input indicators comprise the volume of total assets of insurers (Input1), the share of equity capital in assets (Input2), the level of gross payments (Input3), and the level of payments to insurance reserves (Input4). The ranking of insurance companies is based on minimizing the distance of each from the bounds of technical efficiency by solving a set of optimization problems. Based on the modeling results, a list of market leaders (7 companies) was formed for the end of the third quarter of 2023. They served nearly 37% of the insurance market in Ukraine, accumulating 41.5% of the total assets of this financial market sector. So, the primary issue for insurance companies is the loss of solvency due to the absence of adequate levels of insurance reserves. Therefore, priority measures should include strengthening regulatory constraints in this financial market segment to facilitate its qualitative renewal.

The relevance of the study is due to the need to improve the efficiency of budget investments in the Republic of Kazakhstan. Performance audits of the use of these investments will reveal opportunities to optimize expenditures and increase the overall socio-economic impact, which is significant for the sustainable development of the country. In order to improve the efficiency and socio-economic return of budget expenditures, this study is focused on evaluating the efficiency of budget investments during the performance audit. This study is aimed at reviewing the role and capabilities of the performance audit, as a mechanism of public financial control of budget investments. Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) is used as a method for evaluating efficiency. Taking into account the reference management, the DEA algorithm is proposed to address the issue of limited input and output data to evaluate the national socio-economic development indicators. The special study of the budget investments’ technical performance in the regions of Kazakhstan shows that this method can be used since it improves the flexibility and performance of evaluation in the performance audit. The stability of the concept of performance audit is therefore confirmed, showing the need for a periodic revision of the legislative and methodological base. The study highlighted the main challenges of performance audit of budget investments in the Republic of Kazakhstan and provided recommendations for improvement.

This study examines the dynamics and effectiveness of investments in Kazakhstan’s research and development (R&D). The primary aim is to assess the efficiency of scientific research activities in Kazakhstan by analyzing the relationship between R&D investments and scientific outputs across different periods. As a methodological approach, Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) calculates efficiency indicators by transforming multiple inputs into outputs. Descriptive analysis comprehensively explains trends and patterns in R&D funding, scientific publications, and patent registrations. The results reveal a substantial increase in R&D expenditure. Despite this, the share of domestic R&D expenditures from the gross domestic product (GDP) declined from 0.25% to 0.12%. The analysis also uncovered a significant surge in scientific publications, with Scopus publications increasing from 1,799 to 28,280 and Web of Science publications rising from 1,468 to 20,532 across the study period. However, a contrasting trend was observed in patent registrations, which decreased from 6,968 to 2,612, indicating potential inefficiencies in translating research into innovations. The study concludes that while Kazakhstan has demonstrated notable progress in enhancing research output, the decline in patent registrations relative to the increase in R&D investments underscores the need for strategic initiatives. These should strengthen industry-academia collaboration, enhance innovation infrastructure, and balance incentives for publications and patents, ensuring that R&D investments translate into tangible innovations and contribute effectively to the nation’s socio-economic development. Acknowledgment This research article has been supported bу the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Kazakhstan within the project «Development of а model for evaluating the effectiveness of research activities of universities in Kazakhstan based on non-parametric and semi-parametric data analysis» (IRN AP13268842). А.I.Р. thanks the lnstitute of Solid-State Physics, University of Latvia. ISSP UL as the Center of Excellence is supported through the Framework Program for European universities, Union Horizon 2020, H2020-WIDESPREAD-01-2016-2017 TeamingPhase2, under Grant Agreement No. 739508, CAMART2 project.

Starting with overview of existing approaches to meaning and use of the terms the paper focuses on analysis of two indicators vital in any economy – debt and investments. It discusses the differences of sovereign and country debts as well as internal and external debts. Public debt is important indicator for government performance evaluation but outcome and impact of total external debt should be on focus too for sustainable growth of any country. The article discusses the results of analysis conducted with regard to the gross public debt, gross external debt by sectors. Further analysis is focused on Foreign Direct Investment and External Debt stocks of the selected countries which are from developing and emerging economies. Empirical analysis of external debt and foreign direct investments of Kazakhstan is carried out as of the country which leads the list of Foreign Direct Investment related component of the external debt. We discuss the important factors to be further investigated with regard to debt management and investment policy of a country.

The development and implementation of budgetary policy is impossible without effective financial control, which is a tool for ensuring effective management of resources and property of the state in compliance with the principles of economy, efficiency, performance, and transparency. It becomes even more relevant nowadays, when new trends in the development of financial control emerge in the Republic of Kazakhstan. The state financial control sphere narrows down, while non-state control expands. There is a shift from the next to the previous financial control. The object of financial control gradually transforms. Scientific novelty of this study lies in the development of theoretical and methodological provisions and practical recommendations for defining the nature of financial control, its subject matter, goals, and classifications for studying the effectiveness of low-budget organisations in the Republic of Kazakhstan (RK). Rules, regulations, procedures, and costs are being replaced by planned goals, results, and efficiency. This requires a new conceptual approach to the essence of financial control and its place in the public finance management system. The practical significance of the study results lies in their use for the efficiency improvement of budgetary institutions’ cooperation.

This study is necessitated by a detailed analysis of the types of audit, in particular, the performance audit of the quasi-public sector. The purpose of this study was to investigate one of the most effective mechanisms of state financial control – performance audit. The main research methods included the method of system analysis, the method of analysis and synthesis, and the method of the system approach. It was pointed out that the performance audit constitutes a detailed audit of the activities of persons who manage the received public funds, aimed at determining the effectiveness of the use of budget funds as an indicator of their competence in performing the functions assigned to them and the tasks set. The main difference between a performance audit and any control activity is that it should not end with the conventional preparation of a report on its results. The obvious vulnerabilities of the performance audit were also identified with the currently available legislative and methodological framework, and its concepts were presented in accordance with the audit standards adopted by the International Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions. As a result, the study proved the relevance of the concept of performance audit, but it requires systematic preparation of the legislative, regulatory, and methodological framework, taking into account the specific features of the country's development.

The tax administration effectiveness depends on the level of tax revenues and economic system functioning and the stable economic development of any government. The article considers institutional aspects of tax administration. The purpose of this study is to describe, evaluate and search for the development prospects of the organizational model of tax administration. The authors describe the contemporary condition of the Republic of Kazakhstan tax authorities’ organizational structure. Moreover, the international practices of the tax administration’s organizational system in modern realities is overviewed. The tax administration effectiveness is evaluated by the correlation-regression analysis of the tax authorities’ activity indicators. As a result, the relationship between the degree of effectiveness of tax administration and key performance indicators of tax authorities were identified and evaluated. Based on the conducted theoretical research, this paper reviewed tax administration’s partner system within the perspective innovative development framework. The research results are of interest to economists and public officials in the tax audit field.