The debt management in time of crisis: survey evidence from Poland and Silesia

Abstract

Purpose of the article: The purpose of the article is to present partial results of the research project conducted in Poland and Silesia aiming at analyzing changes in the financial condition of non-financial companies in time of financial crisis. This article presents the results of the project’s part which was related to the analysis of debt management and capital structure decisions. Methodology/methods: The research findings are based on the authors’ research method with the application of financial ratio analysis and financial statements as basic tools. The observations are conducted with regard to Poland and are a subject for the comparative analysis of the pre- and post-crisis state. The analyzed period covers years 2006–2010. Scientific aim: The paper aims at revealing the consequences of debt management and capital structure decisions in time of global financial crisis with regard to companies as the representatives of the real sphere of the economy. Findings: In general, the result of the researches indicate that in 2007 and 2008 as a crisis observation and in 2009–2010 as the post-crisis observation there were no significant changes of the debt management reflected in the capital structure and the level of financial risk. The differences were observed only with regard to the level of long-term debt implementation. Conclusions: The research findings bring a valuable and original perspective for analysing the impact of financial crisis on the debt management decisions reflected in the changes of companies’ capital structure. These results might be applied in the cross-country comparative studies aiming at analysing changes in the financial situation of the companies operating in different countries and regions, finding similarities and explaining differences.