State-owned enterprises are companies which hold a monopoly over the market, provide services of public interest to citizens and are controlled by the public authorities. Among public services there is waste removal, water supply, electricity supply and public transport. Although their main objective is not profit-gaining, state-owned enterprises must be efficient in their business. A business crisis is a combination of situations that can cause various difficulties within the company. It can be caused by external and/or internal factors. Every business crisis requires a carefully prepared coordination of activities by a manager who reverses the negative business trend. The situation analysis is most often carried out when there is a change in the owner, manager or a supervisory board, or when creditors or investors enter the company. Its main purpose is to evaluate the company at a particular time of change. It distinguishes responsibility between the former and the future management and analyses various elements of business such as the financial condition, compliance with legal regulations, implementation of safety regulations, organization, risk and human resources management, as well as the information system efficiency. Finally, conclusions are drawn and the main recommendations for possible improvements are emphasized. A clean start analysis is entrusted to external consultants who are to ensure an independent and objective view of all aspects of the business. This paper aims at examining the importance of a situation analysis at a moment in which the state-owned enterprises’ manager roles change. The research method used was the interviews with 6 CEOs in state-owned enterprises. Based on the collected data, the author proved the functionality of a clean start analysis at a time of manager role changes in a state-owned company.