What is the experience of companies in accounting for impairment of receivables?

Abstract

Account receivables constitute a significant portion of current assets, and the issue of receivables management is studied from many aspects and in many different contexts and levels. The purpose of this paper is to analyse the use of the prudence principle in the account's receivables area in Czech companies. This research paper aims to evaluate the view of enterprises whether they are willing to make impairment of receivables, what types of impairment they prefer, and how they assess the impairment of receivables. The research was done through a questionnaire survey. We received a total of 185 completed questionnaires. The research was done in 2019 in enterprises from the Czech Republic. Our results show that the enterprises make the impairment of receivables regardless of their sector. The impairment of receivables is more preferred in medium-sized and large enterprises. The medium-sized and large enterprises prefer a combination of tax and non-tax impairment of receivables. At the same time, the medium-sized and large enterprises more appreciate the impairment of receivables as a percentage of the value of particular receivable.