Selected aspects of financial risks of SMEs in Czech Republic and Slovakia

Abstract

The article examines the selected aspects of financial risk of SMEs in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Significant attributes of financial risks are defined and attitudes of entrepreneurs to risk are compared. Czech entrepreneurs were less critical in the opinion that SMEs have difficulties in gaining access to external sources of financing. It was found that only a small part of entrepreneurs in both countries can properly manage financial risks. The biggest differences are observed between these countries during the comparison of the impacts on financial risks’ growth and SMEs’ approach to external financing sources. Czech entrepreneurs have more positive attitude than the Slovak ones. Some differences were also found among the attitudes of companies in terms of their age, older companies in both countries more intensively perceive the importance of financial risks during crisis. © Ludmila Kozubikova, Aleksandr Kljucnikov, Lubos Smrcka, 2016.