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Do Small and Medium Sized Enterprises Match Their Assets and Liabilities? Evidence from Portugal

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  • Jan Bartholdy
  • Cesario Mateus
  • Dennis Olson

Abstract

For small and medium-sized enterprises, various types of debt are not identical. There are specific costs and benefits associated with each funding source. We argue that the asset and liability sides of the balance sheet are interrelated. Specifically, we hypothesize that firms match specific assets with a specific set of liabilities. We test our theory using a unique sample of Portuguese firms for the years 1990-2000. Our data set identifies various short-term and long-term funding sources, as well as the uses of these funds to purchase various assets. Our results reject independence between the two sides of the balance sheet—suggesting that small and medium-sized firms in Portugal do indeed match specific assets with specific liabilities. The implication for financial theory is that each asset or project may have a different weighted average cost of capital. That is, there is no single weighted average cost of capital for a typical small to medium-sized firm.

Suggested Citation

  • Jan Bartholdy & Cesario Mateus & Dennis Olson, 2012. "Do Small and Medium Sized Enterprises Match Their Assets and Liabilities? Evidence from Portugal," The International Journal of Business and Finance Research, The Institute for Business and Finance Research, vol. 6(4), pages 13-31.
    • Handle: RePEc:ibf:ijbfre:v:6:y:2012:i:4:p:13-31
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

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    2. Farinha, Jorge & Mateus, Cesario & Soares, Nuno, 2018. "Cash holdings and earnings quality: evidence from the Main and Alternative UK markets," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 56(C), pages 238-252.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Asset-Liability; SMEs; Capital Structure; Sources and Uses of Funds;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G32 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Financing Policy; Financial Risk and Risk Management; Capital and Ownership Structure; Value of Firms; Goodwill
    • M40 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Accounting - - - General

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