Applicability of Z-score Models on the Agricultural Companies in the Republic of Srpska (Bosnia and Herzegovina)

Abstract

The aim of our research was to test the predictability of Altman’s Z-score models in the case of agricultural companies in the Republic of Srpska. Due to the fact that according to these models the companies from the critical zone are supposed to go bankrupt in the near future, while the companies from the safe zone are not supposed to go bankrupt, these two groups of companies have been subject to ex-ante analysis during the period of five years (2011-2015) in order to estimate the predicting efficiency of Z-score models. The authors have also performed the ex-post analysis to see how the bankrupt companies had been classified according to these models in the years preceding their bankruptcy. The results of these analyses show that Z-score models are not reliable in predicting bankruptcy, nor for the creditworthiness analysis, but can be useful in identifying agricultural companies with long-term financial difficulties especially if other, non-financial variables are included.