A study of the economic and financial analysis for social firms: are they really businesses?

espanolEl principal objetivo de esta investigacion es analizar la situacion economico- financiera de las empresas sociales a traves del analisis de ratios, mostrando sus fortalezas y debilidades basandonos en la informacion contable. La muestra esta formada por 118 empresas sociales situadas en la Comunidad Autonoma de Madrid en Espana. Para analizar los datos se han utilizado ratios economico-financieros y el indicador de estres financiero, el Z' -score de Altman. Nuestros resultados destacan que las empresas sociales son negocios con una elevada rentabilidad, especialmente para sus socios. De este modo, esta garantizada su supervivencia en el largo plazo y con un nivel de liquidez optimo. Este estudio es una importante contribucion para la literatura academica porque establece una comparacion entre dos tipos de negocios sociales centrandonos en su estructura financiera y economica, completando la escasez de estudios empiricos sobre estas empresas. EnglishThe main objective of this research paper is to analyze the economic and financial situation of social enterprises through ratio analysis and show their strengths and weaknesses based on financial data. The sample consists of 118 social companies operating in the Autonomous Community of Madrid in Spain. For data analysis, economic and financial analysis has been carried out, using ratio analysis and the indicator of financial distress: the Altman Z'-score. Our findings highlight that social companies, are businesses with a high level of profitability, especially for their partners. Thus, their survival, on average, is guaranteed in the long-term and their liquidity level is optimum. This study is an important contribution for the academic literature, because it carries out a comparison amongst the two different types of social firms, focusing on their economic and financial structure, diminishing the lack of empirical studies about these companies.