Oeconomia Copernicana 

About: Oeconomia Copernicana is an academic journal published by Institute of Economic Research, Polish Economic Society Branch in Toruń, Faculty of Economic Sciences and Management at Nicolaus. The journal publishes majorly in the area(s): European union & Computer science. It has an ISSN identifier of 2083-1277. It is also open access. Over the lifetime, 411 publications have been published receiving 3569 citations.

Systematic review of variables applied in bankruptcy prediction models of Visegrad group countries

Abstract: Research background: Since the first bankruptcy prediction models were developed in the 60?s of the 20th century, numerous different models have been constructed all over the world. These individual models of bankruptcy prediction have been developed in different time and space using different methods and variables. Therefore, there is a need to analyse them in the context of various countries, while the question about their suitability arises. Purpose of the article: The analysis of more than 100 bankruptcy prediction models developed in V4 countries confirms that enterprises in each country prefer different explanatory variables. Thus, we aim to review systematically the bankruptcy prediction models developed in the countries of Visegrad four and analyse them, with the emphasis on explanatory variables used in these models, and evaluate them using appropriate statistical methods. Methods: Cluster analysis and correspondence analysis were used to explore the mutual relationships among the selected categories, e.g. clusters of explanatory variables and countries of the Visegrad group. The use of the cluster analysis focuses on the identification of homogenous subgroups of the explanatory variables to sort the variables into clusters, so that the variables within a common cluster are as much similar as possible. The correspondence analysis is used to examine if there is any statistically significant dependence between the monitored factors ? bankruptcy prediction models of Visegrad countries and explanatory variables. Findings & Value added: Based on the statistical analysis applied, we confirmed that each country prefers different explanatory variables for developing the bankruptcy prediction model. The choice of an appropriate and specific variable in a specific country may be very helpful for enterprises, researchers and investors in the process of construction and development of bankruptcy prediction models in conditions of an individual country.

Management of financial risks in Slovak enterprises using regression analysis

Abstract: Research background: Financial risk management is the task of monitoring financial risks and managing their impact. Financial risk is often perceived as the risk that a company may default on its debt payments. The issue of the debt, default or prosperity of the company are presented in the article as one of the ways of the risk management. A prediction of corporate default is an inseparable element of the risk management. Mainly the consequences of risk are the engine of research and development of methods and models, which enable to predict economic and financial situation in specific conditions of global economies. Purpose of the article: The main aim of the presented article is to assess financial risks of Slovak entities, realized by the identification of significant factors and determinants affecting the prosperity of Slovak companies. Methods: To conduct the research we have used the data of Slovak enterprises, obtained from annual financial reports covering the year 2015 and the calculated financial ratios of profitability, activity, liquidity and indebtedness that may affect the financial health of the company were applied in the regression analysis. Realizing the multiple regression analysis, the statistically significant determinants that affect the future financial development of the company are identified, as well as the regression model of the bankruptcy prediction. Findings & Value added: In the research aimed at the management of financial risks in Slovak enterprises, we focused on the revelation of significant economic risk factors using multiple regression. The results suggest that the most significant predictors are net return on capital, cash ratio, quick ratio, current ratio, net working capital, RE/TA ratio, current debt ratio, financial debt ratio and current assets turnover based on which the decision about the future company default can be made. These factors are significant enough to manage financial risks and to affect the profitability and prosperity of the company.

Does the life cycle affect earnings management and bankruptcy

Abstract: Research background: Deteriorating economic conditions and a negative outlook increase the pressure on financial management and the need to show high financial performance. According to Positive Accounting Theory, the growing risk of bankruptcy is associated with the phenomenon of earnings management. Bankruptcy risk and the quality of reported profits, along with other aspects of financial performance, vary throughout the company's life cycle. Nevertheless, these factors or their interactions are investigated only to a very small extent. Purpose of the article: The aim of this study is to clarify the impact of corporate life cycle and bankruptcy on earnings management, in order to describe behaviour of companies at different stages of corporate life cycle. Methods: A hierarchical mixed model with a random time and industry effect was chosen as appropriate because it allows the investigation of multilevel data that is not independent. The sample covers the financial indicators of more than 33,000 Central European companies from 2015–2019. The non-sequential Dickinson model, company age, and three models of accrual earnings management were used as proxies for the company's life cycle and quality of reported profit. Findings & value added: Earnings management and bankruptcy risk have a U-shape, indicating that financially distressed firms reduce reported accounting profit at the Introduction, Decline and, to a lesser extent, at the Growth stage. Slovak and Czech companies manipulate profits to a similar extent, Hungarian companies increase accounting profit to a greatest extent than the surveyed countries by controlling bankruptcy — life cycle effect; however, the variability of accounting manipulations across industries has not been demonstrated. These findings imply that start-ups and declining businesses provide crooked financial statements to obtain more favourable debt covenants, and estimating discretionary accruals using life-cycle subsamples can improve the predictive power of accrual earnings management models.

Advanced methods of earnings management: monotonic trends and change-points under spotlight in the Visegrad countries

Abstract: Research background: Enterprises manage earnings in an effort to balance their profit fluctuations to provide increasingly consistent earnings in every reporting period Earnings management is legal and very effective method of accounting techniques and may be used to obtain specific objectives of the enterprises involving the manipulation of accruals Therefore, there is a need to analyze it in the context of group of countries, while the issue of their detection in the new ways appears Purpose of the article: The analysis of annual earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) of 5,640 enterprises from the Visegrad Four during the period 2009?2018 confirms that the development of earnings management in these countries is not a randomness Thus, the aim of this article is to determine the existence of positive trend in earnings management and to detect the change-point in its development for each Visegrad country Methods: Grubbs test, Mann-Kendall trend test and Buishand test were used as appropriate statistical methods Mann-Kendall test identifies significant monotonic trend occurrence in earnings manipulation in every country Buishand test indicates significant years, which divides the development of EBIT into two homogenous groups with individual central lines Findings & Value added: Based on the statistical analysis applied, we rejected randomness in the managing of earning, but we determined the trend of its increasing The positive earnings manipulation was not homogenous in the analyzed period, however, a change-point was defined Year 2014 was identified as a break-point for Slovak, Polish and Hungarian enterprises considering the earnings manipulation Year 2013 was detected as a change-point in Czech enterprises The methodical approach used may be very helpful for researchers from other countries to determine, detect and understand earnings management as well as for the investors to make decisions based on a specificities of an individual country

Determinants of Human Capital Development in Africa : a Panel Data Analysis

Abstract: Africa is regarded as the least developed continent in terms of overall development and specifically in terms of human capital development (HCD) efforts. Research on the determinants of HCD in Africa is scanty, as the literature is dominated by country-specific studies as well as group of country studies that primarily focus on the effect of human capital on growth and other economic development parameters. Therefore, this paper investigates the determinants of human capital development in 33 African countries over a 14-year period from 2000 to 2013. The empirical analysis is predicated on Sen’s capability approach that was modified following Binder and Georgiadis (2011) in order to explicitly account for the role of health, infrastructure and institutions as potential drivers of HCD. This is a departure from previous studies that focused primarily on the role of education. In addition to preliminary tests such as line plot, descriptive statistics and correlation analysis carried out, the data is analysed using panel unit root, co-integration and causality techniques. Findings show that all the variables are integrated of order one while HCD and its determinants have a stable long-run equilibrium relationship. Specifically, all the variables significantly influence HCD in the long run, whereas the contemporaneous models suggest that only institutions matter. Utilizing alternative estimators as well as estimation of subsamples, robustness tests reinforce our findings. Therefore, African governments may consider supporting HCD through sustained investment in the education and health sectors. At the same time, short-term gains may be attained through enhanced institutional quality and infrastructure development.