Steep terrain harvesting can only be implemented by a limited set of operational alternatives; therefore, it is important to be efficient in such conditions, in order to avoid incurring high costs. Harvesting abiotically-disturbed forests (salvage harvests caused by wet snow), which is becoming common these days, can significantly impact the operational efficiency of extraction operations. This study was implemented in order to evaluate the performance of truck-mounted uphill cable yarding operations in salvage logging deployed in coniferous stands. A time study was used to estimate the productivity and yarding costs, and predictive models were developed in order to relate the time consumption and productivity to the relevant operational factors, including the degree of wood damage. The average operational conditions were characterized by an extraction distance of 101 m and a lateral yarding distance of 18 m, resulting in a productivity rate of 20.1 m3 h−1. In response to different kind of delays, the productivity rate decreased to 12.8 m3 h−1. Under the prevailing conditions, lateral yarding accounted for 32% of the gross work cycle time, and for 50% of the delay-free work cycle time of the machine. Decreasing the lateral yarding distance and increasing the payload volume to the maximum capacity of the machine would eventually lead to a yarding productivity of close to 30 m3 per SMH (scheduled machine hour). The calculation of the gross costs of uphill yarding showed that the labor costs (35.7%) were slightly higher than the fixed costs (32.9%), and twice as high compared to the variable costs (17.7%). The remote control of the carriage, mechanical slack-pulling mechanisms, and radio-controlled chokers are just some of the improvements that would have led to increments in operational efficiency.

Cable-based yarding technology has had a long tradition on steep slopes in Europe, and the new implementation of yarding functions in recent decades favored operational efficiency and lower extraction costs. The main goal of this study was to evaluate the performance of the Syncrofalke 3t truck-mounted Processor Tower Yarder (PTY) on steep terrain, in coniferous forests managed with the shelterwood system. In particular, the aim was to determine PTY productivity and costs, with attention to parameters that could increase PTY effectiveness. The study was carried out in the Sredna Gora Mountains, Central Bulgaria, in pure Scots pine stand, with trees of average DBH = 34 cm and height = 22 m. The study was carried out in six corridors with 120 work cycles of tree extraction up the hill, 28° (53%). The mean productivity of PTY was 15.20 m3 per productive machine hour (PMH) and 12.29 m3 per scheduled machine hour (SMH) and was mainly influenced by the productivity of the yarder unit. Under the given conditions, the performance of PTY significantly increased if more than one tree (at least two trees) were attached and extracted per yarder cycle, since the productivity of the processor was approximately twice that of the yarder. The gross costs of the studied PTY were calculated at 297.48 EUR PMH−1 and 16.17 EUR m−3. The variable costs (75%) predominate in the net costs distribution, followed by the fixed costs (15%) and the labor costs (10%). The time, productivity and cost results obtained showed the high efficiency and level of integration of PTY operations in order to achieve economic efficiency of logging in montane pine forest managed in a shelterwood system.

The paper assesses the importance of corporate receivables to the financial position of companies nowadays. The process of streamlining corporate accounts receivable relates to maintaining their value within such limits which would be sufficient to ensure covering shortterm corporate accounts payable without having to resort to additional sources of financing. The contents of the research paper is presented in two logically connected parts. Part one reviews the methods and approaches to corporate accounts receivable management which have been established in financial theory. Part two presents an analysis of the accounts receivable of six Bulgarian public companies. According to achieved financial results, each company has been positioned within a matrix illustrating the correlation between accounts receivable and sales volumes, following the Gentry-De La Gаrzа model. The views of the authors on related issues are based on the conducted research and are presented as research findings and conclusions.

The 1 main objective of any business entity is to achieve positive financial results which are evidence of sound managing practices as well as an indicator of profit and growth. 2 During a crisis, Bulgarian companies face substantial difficulties which lead to shrink in production, reduced advertising, and in some cases, to making loss for several years on end. These could be explained both with the deteriorated economic environment in which companies operate during a crisis and with the possibility that their customers (i.e. other companies and households) 3 might be going through a difficult period as well. It is therefore necessary to assess the financial viability of companies by employing models for predicting bankruptcy probability. Financial managers' awareness about the essence of failure is vital to the financial-managerial policy of companies. Therefore, financial managers must be familiar with the nature of failure, what is more, they must be able to predict a possible failure in advance and have the knowledge how to deal with the threat of a bankruptcy. Analysis of a potential financial distress which a company is facing and which may result in liquidity shortage, insolvency, or even bankruptcy, is a major component of overall corporate financial management. As a matter of fact, when undertaking any activity that is related to starting a production or making some investment, it is important to take into account different downturn scenarios. Profit and growth are goals which all companies pursue, yet their opposites, failure and liquidation, must be deemed just as likely. 4 The ability to predict corporate failure due to insolvency far before it has become a fact is important both to managers and lenders of enterprises. 5 Corporate bankruptcy reflects problems which have occurred in