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A multivariate study of the economy of the European Union via financial statements analysis

A multivariate study of the economy of the European Union via financial statements analysis
A multivariate study of the economy of the European Union via financial statements analysis
To what extent do financial statements of firms reflect changes in the economy? We address this question by using European Union data. European countries have a service, normally under the name of the Central Balance Sheet Office, which is charged with the collection and aggregation of financial information from commercial firms. For members of the European Union this information has been harmonized and published under the ‘Bank for the accounts of companies harmonised’ project of the European Commission. The data contained in the project’s database for the manufacturing sector are analysed by using weighted multidimensional scaling techniques. This approach fully exploits the cross–sectional time series nature of the data and results in statistical maps which can be interpreted by means of regression–based techniques. It is found that three characteristics, or dimensions, describe the movements that are observed in the database: business performance, capital structure and macroeconomic influences. These three characteristics do not impact on all countries in a similar way. Differences between countries are explored. Two cycles, a business performance cycle and an economic cycle, are observed in the data. A delay of about 2 years is observed between the two cycles, suggesting that changes in the economy are reflected in financial statements with a 2–year delay.
‘Bank for the accounts of companies harmonised database’, central balance–sheet, European convergence, financial ratios, individual differences scaling, weighted multidimensional scaling
0964-1998
335-354
Cinca, C.S.
bc9ba3a2-020b-4116-9295-c8f1f57230db
Molinero, C.M.
3a3ea724-74c3-4666-b94a-6d8e68252fab
Larraz, J.L.G.
61e409fb-63fc-49b2-8e8b-d658daeb61e2
Cinca, C.S.
bc9ba3a2-020b-4116-9295-c8f1f57230db
Molinero, C.M.
3a3ea724-74c3-4666-b94a-6d8e68252fab
Larraz, J.L.G.
61e409fb-63fc-49b2-8e8b-d658daeb61e2

Cinca, C.S., Molinero, C.M. and Larraz, J.L.G. (2002) A multivariate study of the economy of the European Union via financial statements analysis. Journal of the Royal Statistical Society: Series A (Statistics in Society), 51 (3), 335-354.

Record type: Article

Abstract

To what extent do financial statements of firms reflect changes in the economy? We address this question by using European Union data. European countries have a service, normally under the name of the Central Balance Sheet Office, which is charged with the collection and aggregation of financial information from commercial firms. For members of the European Union this information has been harmonized and published under the ‘Bank for the accounts of companies harmonised’ project of the European Commission. The data contained in the project’s database for the manufacturing sector are analysed by using weighted multidimensional scaling techniques. This approach fully exploits the cross–sectional time series nature of the data and results in statistical maps which can be interpreted by means of regression–based techniques. It is found that three characteristics, or dimensions, describe the movements that are observed in the database: business performance, capital structure and macroeconomic influences. These three characteristics do not impact on all countries in a similar way. Differences between countries are explored. Two cycles, a business performance cycle and an economic cycle, are observed in the data. A delay of about 2 years is observed between the two cycles, suggesting that changes in the economy are reflected in financial statements with a 2–year delay.

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More information

Published date: 2002
Keywords: ‘Bank for the accounts of companies harmonised database’, central balance–sheet, European convergence, financial ratios, individual differences scaling, weighted multidimensional scaling

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 35849
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/35849
ISSN: 0964-1998
PURE UUID: 24c1a728-134a-4a21-94ca-9a3524dc8bbb

Catalogue record

Date deposited: 23 May 2006
Last modified: 07 Jan 2022 22:25

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Contributors

Author: C.S. Cinca
Author: C.M. Molinero
Author: J.L.G. Larraz

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