Small and medium-sized enterprises have been recognized as a separate but very
important economic discipline. SMEs prepare financial statements usually for external
users, primarily to meet tax regulations and legislations. Internal reports, on the other
hand, are under-represented or non-existent. This means that accounting information is
insufficiently used in decision-making processes and management of small and mediumsized
enterprises. The more intensive explanation of internal reports could intensify
financial position and business performance. They are one of the prerequisites for longterm
growth and development of enterprises. In that sense, the importance of financial
statement analysis needs to be stressed. Principal tools and techniques of financial
statement analysis are well recognized. However, financial statement
analysis is certainly not confined to horizontal and vertical analysis. Financial ratio analysis
is of extreme importance. They are widely accepted in business practice of large
companies, primarily because of the simplicity of its calculation and use. Bearing that in
mind, the subject matter and objective of this paper is to indicate the trends and dynamics
of some of the most important financial ratios of financial position and business
performance of SMEs in the Republic of Croatia. Based on the obtained results, the
quality of business performance will be evaluated for this important economic discipline.