Impairment of assets of the issuers in the condition of economic crisis - evidence from the Warsaw stock exchange

The main goal of this paper is to examine the impact of on the performed impairment of assets on the market valuation of companies listed on Warsaw Stock Exchange in the conditions of an economic crisis caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. The research undertaken in the project helps recognize the correct behaviour (in the short term) of the issuers’ shares in a period of uncertainty and increased volatility of securities prices on capital markets. To this purpose, was adopted a research hypothesis indicating that disclosure of information about the impairment of the company’s assets results in negative abnormal returns of their share prices, which was dominant position in the research of previous authors. The research undertaken in the article helps identify the rules of behaviour whether the reaction of investors on updating the company’s assets in crisis conditions is different than in times of prosperity. The main hypothesis will be verified using the event study methodology. The author intends to verify whether the level of abnormal returns occurring on the days adjacent to the announcement regarding impairment of assets is significantly different from the average level. The subject of the article will be all reports on impairment of assets submitted by 140 biggest issuers listed on the main trading floor in WSE during the Covid-19 pandemic (year 2020). The effect of the article will be interpretation of certain relationships that characterize the stock exchange in Poland as well as an indication of the importance of the occurrence of impairment of issuers’ assets for their share prices in economic crisis situation.