Monitoring mechanisms and financial distress of public listed companies in Malaysia

Abstract

This study examines the relationships between financial distress and financial ratio (liquidity, leverage, profitability, firm’s performance, and dividend) among public listed companies, using the Altman Z-Score to determine the financial distress levels among public listed companies in Malaysia. Five-year data has been collected (2010 to 2014) from the annual financial statements and from Data Stream of public listed companies in Malaysia. The findings indicate significant relationships between liquidity, leverage, profitability, firm’s performance, and dividend with the financial distress levels among the companies in question. This study also examines the interaction effects of financial ratios and the year after implementation of the Malaysian Code on Corporate Governance (MCCG) in 2012 on financial distress levels. The results suggest that only liquidity and firm’s performance have stronger effects on financial distress levels in two years after MCCG implementation. This indicates that after the implementation of the Code, liquidity and firms’ performance ratios had strong and significant effect on financial distress levels. Overall, this study could help investors, creditors as well as external regulators in monitoring companies from being classified as financially distressed companies.