Company crisis: methods and tools for studying the symptoms

The prediction of company difficulties is a theme of extreme operative importance, because a company bankruptcy can cause serious repercussions on a vast number of operators (managers, professionals, creditors, auditing companies, banks, audit companies, stock exchange operators, shareholders, the company itself, etc.). The theme is continually brought up by and between business management experts, as a moment of scientific speculation in the framework of theoretical and/or empirical analyses, to favour the maintenance of a company’s long term economic equilibrium. The research for models capable of highlighting any anomalies in the companies future with acceptable forewarning and cost, is a topic which lends itself well to a multidisciplinary type analysis. Judgements about economic opportunities are centred around two logical phases: diagnosis and prognosis. The diagnosis of the company involves searching, examining, reviewing and assessing all the elements that precisely define this specific "clinical case". By contrast, prognosis is about assessing and interpreting the symptoms so as to be able to pass a judgement. This is the basis for all of the decisions - operational and otherwise - that form the fabric of the management of the company In conclusion, the present study aims to give a contribute to the existing literature in this field, making some considerations about the economic instruments for studying the symptoms.