Ratio Selection between Six Sectors in the Visegrad Group Using Parametric and Nonparametric ANOVA

Abstract

The changes that have been triggered in market economies by COVID-19 have increased the importance of assessing the financial standing of companies and sectors. It is essential for managers, lenders, and investors to properly evaluate the financial condition of companies. Therefore, it is crucial to select indicators that show the differences in the values of market sectors before, and during, the COVID-19 pandemic (checking the stability of ratios over time). We used parametric and nonparametric analyses of variance (ANOVA) to single out indicators. The sample consists of listed companies in six sectors from the Visegrad group: manufacturing, construction, retail, wholesale trade, transportation and warehousing, and energy. We applied yearly and quarterly analyses in the periods from Q1 2017–Q1 2021. The analyses take into account 82 indicators. The results of the parametric ANOVA indicate that only the ratio of the company size shows the differences between the sectors in most of the periods of quarterly analysis. In comparison, the results of the nonparametric ANOVA demonstrate that five ratios show differences between the sectors in the quarterly analysis, and nine show differences in the yearly analysis. On the basis of the results, the construction and energy sectors are the least effective in managing their assets.

Keywords

• COVID-19
• normal distribution
• Kruskal–Wallis test
• indicators
• decision-making