Concept and Economic Essence of Capital Investment

Understanding the economic nature of capital investments is essential for building their accounting. The purpose of the article is to analyze the evolution of the concept of capital investment in the agro-industrial complex as the object of accounting in order to further deepen their economic essence. The author analyzes the economic essence of investments through the allocation of directions of investment theories: early mercantilism, late mercantilism, the economic theory of investments of mercantilism, the formation of the capitalist economy, the school of physiocrats, classical economic science, Marxist economic theory, institutionalism. It was found that attracting all types of investments takes place in order to obtain additional income from the use of capital. The main factors of production in agriculture were determined, on which the economic efficiency of production depends: land, capital, labor. The main types of investments in entrepreneurship were allocated: investments into real assets (physical); investment in monetary assets; investment in intangible assets. The regulatory legal approaches to the definition of the category "capital investments" were analyzed and it was established that they limit the definition of "investment", taking into account only fixed assets and long-term financial investments. It is in part contrary to the essence of investments from the point of view of economy and estimating their economic efficiency. It was grounded that "capital investments" and "capital attachments" are identical, have the same essence, but in modern terminology it is worthwhile to use the definition of "capital investment", since the investment process takes place not only in the form of renewal of fixed assets. The use of the definition "capital investment" is possible only in the context of accounting, in terms of distribution of funds within the enterprise business (internally).