Mitrović, PhD Aleksandra, Professor

In accordance with the current situation on the insurance market and predictions for the future, the management of insurance companies must develop and implement sustainable business strategies that correspond to their capacities. This requires insurance company management to closely monitor changes in the market in order to recognize potential risks and opportunities and take appropriate steps. The main focus of insurance companies is meeting the needs of current and future policyholders. In this process, it is crucial to measure the effi ciency of their operations. This paper deals with the application of the DEA method to insurance companies operating in Serbia, in order to determine their technical effi ciency. Research results indicate good effi ciency for some companies, or wrong allocation or inefficient use of resources in the implementation of operating activities for other companies for the observed period from 2018-2022. Keywords: DEA analysis, insurance companies, effi ciency, Republic of Serbia.

Dominacija ere znanja dovela je do sve veće primene intelektualnog kapitala u delatnostima koje se temelje na znanju kako bi se stekla održiva konkurentska prednost i rast profitabilnosti. Osiguravajuće kompanije zasnivaju svoje poslovanje na znanju pa upravljanje intelektualnim kapitalom postaje ključni faktor daljeg razvoja ovih kompanija. Cilj rada je da se utvrdi doprinos intelektualnog kapitala i njegovih komponenti profitabilnosti osiguravajućih kompanija u Republici Srbiji. Istraživanje obuhvata 16 osiguravajućih kompanija čiji se rezultati prate od 2018. do 2022. godine. Za testiranje istraživačkih hipoteza korišćena je regresiona analiza. Rezultati pokazuju da intelektualni kapital doprinosi profitabilnosti osiguravajućih kompanija, pri čemu efikasnost fizičkog kapitala ima dominantan uticaj na profitabilnost. Analiza uticaja komponenti intelektualnog kapitala pokazuje da efikasnost ljudskog kapitala ima veći doprinos profitabilnosti osiguravajućih kompanija u poređenju sa efikasnošću strukturnog kapitala. Ključne reči: intelektualni kapital, profitabilnost, osiguravajuće kompanije

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the financial performance of insurance companies by applying an alternative financial metric in combination with cash flows. The sample includes 16 insurance companies operating in the Republic of Serbia during the period between 2017 and 2021. The authors provide evidence that indicators based on cash flows provide greater informational value compared to earnings measures based solely on accrual categories. It was found that the majority of the observed insurance companies have a value of earnings quality indicators greater than 0 during the five-year period. There are fluctuations in the values of earnings quality indicators, but they are not statistically significant. The research results may be of interest to insurance company managers, investors, analysts, and other stakeholders.