Influence of selected factors on financial risk management in SMEs in the Czech Republic

Abstract

The aim of this article is to analyze risk management and the influence of selected factors on approaches to financial risk management in the small and medium-sized enterprises in Czech Republic. For this analysis there were used the results of the research conducted at Tomas Bata University in Zlin in 2015. As part of the research there were addressed entrepreneurs of SMEs in individual regions of the Czech Republic by a form of a questionnaire survey. Research covered a survey of the business environment in the Czech Republic, where for this article there were used questions regarding the perception of financial risks' influence, their importance, the ability to manage financial risks and the use of instruments for their elimination. As part of the survey a total of 1,141 respondents from all regions of the Czech Republic have answered our questions. It was found out that more than 75% of the surveyed entrepreneurs perceive the effect of financial risks in the business environment, but only 28.5% of businessmen believe that entrepreneurs have the ability to manage these risks. With the use of creation of reserves as a tool to eliminate the negative impact of financial risks has agreed only 45% of the interviewed entrepreneurs. It was also found that opinions on the ability to manage financial risks and the increasing importance of financial risk in times of crisis vary according to the age of the entrepreneur and the age of his company.