The impairment of assets reporting 
in the COVID-19 pandemic 
– evidence from the Warsaw Stock Exchange Cover Image

Wpływ skutków ekonomicznych pandemii COVID-19 na raportowanie utraty wartości aktywów na przykładzie spółek notowanych na Giełdzie Papierów Wartościowych w Warszawie
The impairment of assets reporting in the COVID-19 pandemic – evidence from the Warsaw Stock Exchange

Author(s): Bartłomiej Lisicki
Subject(s): Economy, National Economy, Business Economy / Management, Socio-Economic Research
Published by: Stowarzyszenie Księgowych w Polsce
Keywords: impairment of assets; write-off; Covid-19; stock exchange; current reports; financial reporting

Summary/Abstract: Purpose: The main aim of this paper is to verify how frequently issuers from the WSE issue current reports informing about the impairment of assets. The author believes that in the first months of the Covid-19 pandemic, one of the external premises for a decrease in the value of assets began to occur, i.e., market, economic or legal changes. Methodology/approach: Content analysis of current reports was used. The analysis period was divided into two sub-periods, 2013–2018 and 2020, when it was likely there was an increase in the submission of the abovementioned reports by issuers. The results were verified using the ANOVA test.Findings: Analyzing the issuers' reports in 2020, 77 cases were found where investors were informed about the impairment of assets. The number of current reports about the impairment of assets is much greater than in the period 2013–2018 (163 cases). The X2 statistic allowed us to indicate the statistical significance of the difference of the cases recorded in 2020 from the average values of the previous years.Originality/value: This article discusses the issues of assets impairment during the economic downturn caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. The increased frequency of reporting write-offs allows us to conclude that entities are afraid of the long-term effects of the pandemic. Therefore, they decide to revise the recoverable amount of assets in line with the „prudent valuation” principle.

  • Issue Year: 2021
  • Issue No: 113
  • Page Range: 189-202
  • Page Count: 14
  • Language: Polish