PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to realise a complete analysis at the company level using grey systems theory for shaping the relations among variables.Design/methodology/approachStarting from the symptoms that can be identified and moving forward to causes that determine a specific stage in a company's development and long‐term survival, all the aspects that can appear and affect a company's performance and bankruptcy are taken into account. Also, due to the fact that all the activities that took place in a company are running in an uncertain and a continually changing environment, grey systems theory was chosen to better shape the relations among the implied variables. Even when referring to a company's diagnosis or to its prediction, the involved aspects are presented and depicted. A numeric example is also computed in the last part of the paper.FindingsThe results are convincing: not only that the diagnosis of the company can show the main elements, factors that are affecting a company's activity, but even the main identified factors can be used for a prediction on a company's future evolution.Practical implicationsThe method exposed in the paper can be used by any company for realising the diagnosis of the actual stage in which a firm could be situated and even for making further predictions regarding its evolution.Originality/valueThe paper succeeds in realising both diagnosis and prediction of a firm's current and future stage by using one of the newest developed theories: grey systems theory.

Purpose -By making an analogy with the human body, the purpose of this paper is to underline the relations between a firm's failure causes and its current situation, in terms of the syndrome that can be identified at its level. Design/methodology/approach -For this reason, some elements taken from medicine, such as symptoms, causes and syndromes are presented and characterized from the point of view of the firm. Findings -It is shown that knowing the type of syndrome and the relation between it and the causes that determined its occurrence, a firm's situation can be improved and its life can be lengthened. The study was conducted on 19 firms and the results are conclusive. Practical implications -By knowing the main causes that determine a certain type of bankruptcy syndrome, the firm's management can properly intervene to establish a new order and a new equilibrium, which can "save" the firm from an imminent collapse, bringing it to a normality situation and even leading it, in future, to increased performance. Originality/value -The paper succeeds in shaping the relation between a firm's situation, its symptoms, the bankruptcy syndrome and the causes that led to a certain situation. Using one of the newest developed theories -the grey systems theory -and one of the newest concept used in firms' diagnosis -the bankruptcy syndrome -the paper extends the characteristics of this term and uses it in determining the causes that generate anomalies at firm level.

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This paper attempts to put forward a hybrid model which combines the advantages offered by grey systems theory, fuzzy theory and genetic algorithm, and tries to identify the causes that are influencing financial failure of a company. For this purpose, a knowledge matrix will be computed. Further, this matrix can be composed with a one-dimensional symptoms matrix for a certain company and so the causes that generate the anomalies can be identified. Knowing the causes, and managing them properly, we can improve company's financial situation and also lengthened its life on the market.