G30 - Corporate Finance and Governance: GeneralReturn

The goal of the study is to verify whether there is a relation between a company's declared innovation strategy and declared problems with access to capital. The research is based on a survey that covers more than 400 companies operating in Poland. Beside the self-assessment approach to evaluation of financial constraints and level of innovativeness of the company, an analysis of financial data was employed in the study. Chi-squared, Welch's t-test, ANOVA and the ordered logit model were used to test the hypotheses. It was proved that there is relation between innovation strategy and financial constraints. The firms that are moderate innovators are financially constrained more than strong innovators, which can be linked with their better financial condition. Research confirms also that SMEs are still in a worse position compared to large enterprises in the area of access to different sources of capital. Secondly, innovative companies are exposed to additional difficulties in raising funds successfully, which confirms the validity of the used dedicated tools as a subsidy by authorities.

The main goal of this paper is to discuss theoretically and to evaluate empirically the differences of risk and risk management information disclosure (RRMID) among companies listed in Nasdaq OMX Baltic and Euronext Brussels and to determine factors influencing such differences. The authors use analysis and systemization of scientific literature, induction, content analysis and coding procedure for risk and risk management information disclosure assessment, as well as correlation and regression analyses. The results suggest that companies listed in Euronext Brussels disclose more risk and risk management (RRM) information; RRM related disclosures are more qualitative, focused on past or present events and have a neutral meaning in both markets. Companies also disclose more information about risks themselves than about risk management. Finally, only companies' size and presence of audit committee are significant factors influencing RRMID.

Today the subject of non-financial accounting and reporting has become very popular. Human Capital Reporting (HCR) has become a vital part of everyday business activities of companies across the world. Most companies declare that human capital is the most important factor of their competiveness, which is also reflected in their CSR reports by incorporated social disclosures. The subject of the present research is human capital reporting and its linkage with the performance indicators of companies. The aim of this research is to establish whether there is a linkage between HCR and financial performance indicators of Estonian companies listed on the Nasdaq OMX Baltic (Tallinn market). The authors calculated various ratios and carried out HCR scoring to examine the presence of linkage between HCR reporting and companies' financial performance. The results demonstrate that there is no direct relationship between the level of HCR and the financial performance of selected companies.

Despite the fact that obligations to publish reports on corporate social responsibility will come into force in the European Union from 2018, an increasing number of companies are starting to implement corporate social responsibility (CSR) policy into their everyday business practices, and as a result the information of this activity is disclosed in CSR reports or within annual reports. As the disclosure of such information is currently voluntarily based, we believe that the growing popularity of CSR leads to a direct link between the sustainability of the company and its financial performance. The purpose of this paper is therefore to determine the linkage between CSR and financial performance within two countries in the CEE region - Czech and Estonia - using data from 2012 - 2013. We compare return on assets and normalized market value added of listed companies. Based on the results, we can state that the implementation of a standalone CSR report does not have any direct linkage with the financial performance of the tested companies.

Bankruptcy models are a common tool of financial analysis to predict the financial distress of companies. However, in the recent years, the instability and risk of the overall economic environment have underlined the need for accurate tools to predict bankruptcy and assess the overall performance of companies. In this article, we analyze the ex-ante predictive ability of selected bankruptcy and solvency models commonly used in financial analysis: Kralicek quick test, Taffler model, the IN99 and IN05 indexes, and Altman Z'-score models in the case of Czech companies from 2007 to 2012. We determined the percentage of cases when these models correctly predicted failures of companies up to five years in advance, and found that the IN05 and IN99 credibility indexes provided the best results, as well as the Altman Z'-score model. However, the predictive ability of the Taffler model and Kralicek quicktest has only been limited.

The survey of real outcomes of insolvency proceedings in the Czech Republic analysed by this study took place during 2012 and 2013. This is the first survey that enables (on the basis of a statistically declarative sample) the ascertainment of certain crucial data as to the actual outcome of insolvency proceedings in the Czech Republic, i.e. especially as to the yields which creditors obtain. The study analysis outcomes drawn from two waves of statistical research, compare these two waves together and place the results gained into an international context. In addition, the study also brings forward basic information on the structure of the insolvency act in the Czech Republic and possible changes in legislation that would create a more congenial environment for creditors.

This paper focuses on the particular case of professional ethics in the context of the accounting profession. After briefly discussing recent events that made us reconsider our understanding of corporate governance, accountancy and ethics, we attempt to delimit the state of the art by looking at ethics from the accounting profession's perspective. When aiming to clarify professional ethics, we closely analyze integrity based on the latest developments undertaken by European professional bodies. The findings are used in identifying ways to contribute to the endeavor of aligning the profession's performance with society's reasonable expectations.