Prior research on the ability of financial ratios to predict bankruptcies has shown a significant difference between the companies that went into bankruptcy and those that survived. This paper investigates whether there is a difference in the prediction ability of financial ratios during the last financial crisis compared to relatively normal macroeconomic environments in which most previous studies have been conducted. We use univariate analysis to compare companies that went into bankruptcy during 2010 and 2011 with companies that remained active. Our dataset consists of 51 failed companies that are matched with 102 companies that remained active. All companies were Swedish limited companies with more than 50 employees and the comparison is made with 26 financial ratios. Our result indicates that financial ratios were better tools to predict bankruptcy during the crisis than during more stable macroeconomic conditions. In total 24 of the analyzed financial ratios differed significantly between the two populations and many of them showed significance earlier prior to the bankruptcy than in comparable studies.

Problem: I dagens Sverige har det blivit tämligen enkelt att starta upp ett eget aktiebolag och till följd av detta har antalet konkurser ökat. Konkursprediktion med hjälp av finansiella nyckeltal är ett beforskat område och sträcker sig tillbaka till början av 1960-talet. Altmans Z- scoremodeller är de mest tillämpade modellerna att förutspå en konkurs. Problematiken är att Z-scoremodellerna inte genererar lika hög träffsäkerhet i Sverige då modellerna är konstruerade i USA som härstammar från en annan redovisningstradition och tillämpar ett annat regelverk. Syfte: Studiens syfte är att testa Altmans Z ́-scoremodell utifrån den kontinentala redovisningstraditionen på 2000-talet. Vidare är syftet att modifiera Z ́-scoremodellen genom att utveckla modellen i enlighet med svensk redovisning. Metod: Studien bygger på en kvantitativ metod med en deduktiv forskningsansats och utifrån ett positivistiskt perspektiv. Analysen utgår från Altmans Z ́-scoremodell och en multipel diskriminantanalys. Slutsats: Studien visar att de finansiella nyckeltalen kan förutspå en konkurs på ett tillförlitligt sätt med hjälp av studiens egenutvecklade modell ZPP-scoremodellen. Modellen har en träffsäkerhet på 88 procent ett år före konkurs på svenska tillverkande företag. Emellertid visar studien att Altmans Z ́-scoremodell inte är tillförlitlig utan måste modifieras i enlighet med svensk redovisning för att kunna erhålla en välfungerande och tillförlitlig modell. / Problem: Today in Sweden it has become equally easy to start up a private limited company and as a result of this, the number of bankruptcies increased. Bankruptcy prediction using financial ratios is a well-researched area and extends back to the early 1960s. The most used models are Altman's Z-scoremodels. The problem is that the Z-scoremodels do not generate as high precision in Sweden because the models are designed in the United States, which is originating from a different accounting tradition and applies a different set of regulations.Purpose: The study aims to test the Altman Z'-score model on the continental accounting tradition in the 2000s. Furthermore, it intends to modify the Z'-score model by developing the model in accordance with Swedish accounting.Method: This paper is based on a quantitative method with a deductive research approach and from a positivistic perspective. The analysis is based on the Altman Z' –scoremodel and multiple discriminant analysis.Conclusion: This paper shows that financial ratios can predict a bankruptcy reliably using the papers developed model ZPP -scoremodel. The model has a precision of 88 percent a year before the bankruptcy of Swedish manufacturing companies. However, the paper shows that Altman Z' -scoremodel is not reliable without being modified in accordance with Swedish accounting in order to obtain an efficient and reliable model.