Criteria for classifying economic entities as small and medium businesses: russian and foreign practice

The article presents the results of the analysis of the criteria for classifying business entities as small and medium on the basis of legal acts regulating their activities in Russian and foreign practice. It has been shown that there are no uniform approaches to the classification and definition of small and medium-sized businesses in the world practice. The most frequently used indicators include: number of employees, financial indicators (assets / turnover / investment), industry affiliation. The values of quantitative indicators also vary considerably. The lack of a unified system of classifying business entities as small and medium businesses makes it impossible to generate comparable statistical data, and, accordingly, the impossibility of performing a correct comparative analysis of development problems, as well as the performance of this sector of the economy at the global level. In this regard, it seems appropriate to develop a standard of uniform principles and criteria for classifying business entities as small and medium businesses, taking into account development features of individual countries and regions. At the same time, harmonization of approaches to defining the criteria of «small and medium business» should be considered as an important factor in ensuring the comparability of competitive advantages of business entities, as well as the use of best practices and international experience of state support and development of this economic sector