Compr ehensive financial analysis of colombian businesses 2009-2010: perspectives of regional competitiveness

Financial analysis, usually circumscribed to private industry, is being converted into a tool to evaluate the competitiveness of business groups belonging to a particular economic sector or region. The objective of this article is to evaluate the financial productivity of Colombian businesses belonging to the five regions of the country, namely the Andean, Caribbean, Pacific, Amazon, and Orinoco regions – from the perspective of competitiveness. The research was of a documentary nature, using the base of information reported by the businesses to the Superintendence of Corporations, with which a comprehensive financial analysis was carried out. The results indicate that the Andean region enjoys financial health, while the Caribbean region has problems of liquidity, the Orinoco and Amazon regions have problems of indebtedness, and the Pacific region has problems of profitability. In addition, there are well-known disparities in matters of tax pressure, ease of long-term financing, and loss of patrimonial participation. In conclusion, the Andean region provides the best financial conditions for business development. Additionally, the particularities of the financial problems of each region, markedly dissimilar to each other, demand the design and implementation of specific policies that foster competitiveness on a regional level.