In an economic context marked by growing challenges and uncertainties, small and medium enterprises need to prevent and manage financial crises more than ever. However, how prepared are European SMEs to handle these situations and use the regulatory tools the European Union provides?
The study “Awareness and Readiness of European SMEs for Financial Distress” investigates this question. Researchers conducted it as part of the OITBC-MSMES project (Observatory and Initial Training on Business Crisis for MSMEs), funded by the Erasmus+ program. Casartigiani Arezzo coordinated the research involving 174 micro and small businesses across four European countries: Italy, Spain, Portugal, and Bulgaria.
The results reveal a significant knowledge gap: only 3% of surveyed companies report in-depth knowledge of EU Directive 2019/1023 on preventive restructuring, while 49% have never heard of it.
“These findings deeply concern us,” says Michele Rossi from the research team. “The Directive introduces essential tools to prevent insolvency and promote business continuity, but companies can’t take advantage of these benefits if they don’t know about them. We must bridge this information gap to strengthen our business fabric’s resilience.“
Patrice de Micco adds: “We find it interesting that 64.4% of the involved companies believe current national regulations don’t adequately support business continuity during periods of financial difficulty, suggesting the need for more impactful intervention at the European level.“
“A particularly significant finding emerges from the analysis of early warning indicators,” highlights Erina Guraziu from OpenCom, one of the study’s authors. “52.9% of companies admit they don’t know which indicators might signal the onset of a financial crisis in their business. This highlights a critical vulnerability in the European business fabric.“
An international consortium completed the study through collaboration between Casartigiani Arezzo (Italy) as coordinator and OpenCom i.s.s.c. (Italy), Oporto Forte (Portugal), Ce Consulting (Spain), and Global Business Group Ltd (Bulgaria).
You can find the complete study results on the project website, www.oitbc.eu and download them directly from https://docsend.com/view/wns4krhuezaryj6n .
The study results guide developing training and informational materials that will become available through a dedicated digital platform. The goal aims to provide European SMEs with practical tools to strengthen their ability to prevent and manage financial crises.
The collaboration between partners from different European countries helped identify common challenges and national specificities, confirming the importance of a coordinated European approach to support business fabric resilience.
