Financial risk management in the SME segment in the Czech Republic

Abstract

The aim of this article is to examine the level of financial risk management and the evaluation of Czech managers of their ability to manage these risks properly. In order to do so, entrepreneurs of small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) from a selected region of the Czech Republic were surveyed. The results of this survey were then compared to a similar survey conducted in a selected region of Slovakia. The results show the entrepreneurs in both countries have a similar approach to the financial risk management and share a similar opinion on their ability to manage these risks properly. However, the profitability of their companies has decreased in the current crisis what could be caused exactly by overestimating their own skills in the field of the financial risk management or the poor management of other risks impacting the financial risks afterwards.