Examining financial distress of the Vietnamese listed firms using accounting-based models.

Financial distress is generally considered the most severe consequence for firms with poor financial performance. The emergence of the Covid-19 pandemic has adversely impacted the global business system and exacerbated the number of financially distressed firms in many countries. Only firms with strong financial fundamentals can survive extreme events such as the Covid-19 pandemic and the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict. Vietnam is no exception. However, studies examining financial distress using accounting-based indicators, particularly at the industry level, have largely been ignored in the Vietnamese context, particularly with the emergence of the Covid-19 pandemic. This study, therefore, comprehensively examines financial distress for 500 Vietnamese listed firms during the 2012-2021 period. Our study uses interest coverage and times-interest-earned ratios to proxy a firm's financial distress. First, our findings confirm the validity of Altman's Z"- score model in Vietnam only when the interest coverage ratio is used as a proxy for financial distress. Second, our empirical findings indicate that only four financial ratios, including EBIT/Total Assets, Net Income/Total Assets, Total Liabilities/Total Assets, and Total Equity/Total Liabilities, can be used in predicting financial distress in Vietnam. Third, our analysis at the industry level indicates that the "Construction & Real Estates" industry, a significant contributor to the national economy, exhibits the most significant risk exposure, particularly during the Covid-19 pandemic. Policy implications have emerged based on the findings from this study.

Early Impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the United States Construction Industry.

The COVID-19 pandemic has been the largest global health crisis in decades. Apart from the unprecedented number of deaths and hospitalizations, the pandemic has resulted in economic slowdowns, widespread business disruptions, and significant hardships. This study focused on investigating the early impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the U.S. construction industry since the declaration of the national emergency on 13 March 2020. The study objectives were achieved through 34 telephone interviews with project managers, engineers, designers, and superintendents that represented different states and distinct industry sectors in the United States (U.S.). The interviewees offered information on their experience with the pandemic, including the general and adverse effects experienced, new opportunities created, and risk management efforts being undertaken. The reported adverse effects included significant delays on projects, inability to secure materials on time, reduction in productivity rates, material price escalations, and others. The new opportunities that were created included projects involving the fast-track construction of medical facilities, construction of residential buildings, transportation-related work, and opportunities to recruit skilled workers. The risk management measures that were widely adopted included measures to enhance safety and reduce other project risks. The safety measures adopted included requiring employees to wear cloth face masks, adoption of social distancing protocols, staggering of construction operations, offering COVID-19-related training, administering temperature checks prior to entry into the workplace, and others. Measures to manage other project risks included the formation of a task force team to review the evolving pandemic and offer recommendations, advocating that construction businesses be deemed essential to combat delays and taking advantage of government relief programs. The study findings will be useful to industry stakeholders interested in understanding the early impacts of the pandemic on the construction industry. Industry stakeholders may also build upon the reported findings and establish best practices for continued safe and productive operations.