Purpose

The apparent lag between macro-economic behavior and financial implications in the construction industry is yet to be examined. The purpose of this paper is to understand the nature of the lag and the relationship between economic changes from year-to-year and the impact on the financial status of construction companies.

Design/methodology/approach

Correlation was made between US economic growth and construction industry financial indicators over a 28-year period. Cumulative per cent growth in US GDP was considered an independent variable, while nine financial ratios were calculated and considered dependent variables in this study.

Findings

The results of this study found that correlation improved when considering lag of two, three or sometimes four years after the economic event. Some financial ratios proved more sensitive than others, supporting the hypothesis of this study.

Research limitations/implications

The practical application of this study for construction companies is to understand how the construction industry lag impacts financial behavior. It therefore informs managerial decisions related to solvency, liquidity, equity structure and managerial practices; all of which are measured by financial ratios.

Practical implications

This study was intended to advance the research in this area and also to serve to strengthen industry members in their financial management of construction companies. Economic dynamics have long-lasting implications, which can be addressed through an increased focus on managing financial health.

Originality/value

Though the lag is intuitively known and has been studied from market perspectives, there is a lack of empirical study evaluating the impact of lag on financial key performance indicators.

中文翻译：

---

使用会计比率衡量建筑业滞后

目的

宏观经济行为与建筑业财务影响之间的明显滞后尚待研究。本文的目的是了解滞后的性质以及逐年经济变化与对建筑公司财务状况的影响之间的关系。

设计/方法/方法

28 年间美国经济增长与建筑业财务指标之间存在相关性。美国国内生产总值的累积百分比增长被认为是一个自变量，而在本研究中计算了九个财务比率并被认为是因变量。

发现

这项研究的结果发现，考虑到经济事件发生后两年、三年或有时是四年的滞后，相关性有所改善。一些财务比率证明比其他财务比率更敏感，支持本研究的假设。

研究限制/影响

这项研究对建筑公司的实际应用是了解建筑业滞后如何影响财务行为。因此，它为与偿付能力、流动性、股权结构和管理实践相关的管理决策提供信息；所有这些都是通过财务比率来衡量的。

实际影响

本研究旨在推进该领域的研究，并有助于加强行业成员对建筑公司的财务管理。经济动态具有长期影响，这可以通过更加关注管理财务健康来解决。

原创性/价值

尽管滞后是直观已知的，并且已经从市场角度进行了研究，但缺乏评估滞后对财务关键绩效指标影响的实证研究。