Assessing the risks and their sources in dependence on the rate of implementing the risk management process in the SMEs

Research background: The managers have a key position in process of management risk. The managers are able to implement the risk management process in the companies with an emphasis on preventing the company crises using the appropriate methods and tools for the early identification of the changes if the entrepreneurial environment develops negatively. Does a manager have enough knowledge and awareness about the potential risk sources in company? Purpose of the article: The essence of this article is to assess the sources of the market, economic, financial, operational, HR, security and legal risk depending on the rate of implementing the risk management process in the small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Methods: We realized the risk assessment process on the basis of evaluations by 487 man-agers who gave their opinions to selected risks and their sources in the SMEs in Slovakia. Subsequently, we utilized the methods and tools of the mathematical statistics (descriptive statistics, comparison, Z-score for 2 population proportions, Chi-squared test for 5 x 2 contingency table). Findings & Value added: The strongest dependence perceived by the SME-entrepreneurs lies between the development of the tax and insurance burdens as the source of the economic risk and the criterion of the ?level of the risk management in the company?. The overall results of the empirical research underline the significance and importance of dealing with the assessment of the key risks and their sources in the Slovak SMEs. The results having been processed are the basic material for the professional public and other organizations whose effort is to help the companies in an effective implementation of the risk management process in the Slovak enterprises.