THE ROLE OF DIGITAL COMPETENCE IN THE ENTERPRISE FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

Abstract

The article substantiates the role of digital competence in the enterprise financial management system under the active spread of analytical platforms, enterprise resource planning systems, cloud services, automated data exchange and artificial intelligence-based technologies. The purpose of the study is to deepen the theoretical understanding of the digital competence of a financial manager and to develop a structural and functional approach to determining its influence on planning, budgeting, cash flow management, evaluation of investment decisions, financial risk management, management reporting and forecasting. The methodology combines systems, competence-based and functional approaches, content analysis of scientific sources, structuring, comparison and an author-developed scoring assessment of the functional significance of individual components of digital competence. Seven interrelated components are identified, including data handling, proficiency in financial information systems, analytics and visualization, automation and the use of artificial intelligence-based systems, cybersecurity, digital communication, critical verification of algorithmic outputs and digital ethics. The study establishes that digital competence should be treated as a management resource that converts technological capabilities into high-quality financial decisions, while its insufficient level creates a gap between the availability of information infrastructure and the enterprise’s actual ability to use data for management. The author’s functional assessment produces an overall coefficient of 0.865 for the relationship between digital competence and the core functions of financial management. The strongest dependence is found for management reporting and financial control, with a coefficient of 0.952, followed by operational cash flow management, with a coefficient of 0.905. Among the competence components, the greatest functional significance belongs to data handling, with a coefficient of 1, and analytics and visualization, with a coefficient of 0.944. The scientific novelty lies in improving the theoretical approach to digital competence by directly linking its components with the functional tasks of financial management and determining a progression from a basic to an integrated level of competence development. The practical significance of the results lies in the possibility of applying the proposed approach to job profiling, professional development programmes, internal competence assessment and the identification of training priorities for financial managers at enterprises.