1,721,041 research outputs found
Is gender diversity in ownership structure related to private Italian companies' propensity to engage in earnings management practices?
Full text linkThe study investigates whether and how gender diversity in ownership structure (here intended as female ownership) is related to private (unlisted) Italian companies’ propensity to engage in earnings management practices, specifically in “earnings minimization” (EM) and “earnings change minimization” (ECM). Companies practice EM when they manage earnings to bring them close to zero. They practice ECM, instead, when they manage earnings to avoid large earnings changes or, in other words, to “smooth” company earnings. Companies that engage in such practices are detected by adopting the earnings distribution approach. The results of chi -square tests for equality of distributions show that the earnings frequency distributions and the earnings change frequency distributions, conditional on the portion of equity held by female owners, are significantly equal from a statistical point of view, demonstrating that gender diversity in ownership structure and private Italian companies’ propensity to engage in EM and ECM are not related. Logit analysis models confirm these findings. The main contribution this study brings to the literature consists in the fact that it is the first study that investigates the relationship between gender diversity in ownership structure and earnings management practices
Small-sized companies’ earnings management: evidence from Italy
Full text linkThis study explores the earnings management practices of small-sized Italian companies. Adopting the earnings distribution approach, it finds that these companies are likely to manage their earnings to achieve two earnings level targets. On the one hand, they manage their earnings to report slightly positive earnings. Those with negative earnings manage them upward to be above the zero threshold. Those with positive earnings manage them downward to bring them close to zero. On the other hand, they manage their earnings to minimize earnings changes. The main implication of the findings of this study is that the small-sized Italian companies’ earnings are not unconditionally informative regarding their performance. In other words, they are of poor quality. As a result, they should be interpreted with caution by those who use financial statement information. This study mainly enriches the literature on earnings management in two ways. Firstly, it provides evidence on small-sized companies’ earnings management practices which are very little explored in literature. Secondly, it provides additional evidence on the earnings management practices undertaken in the Italian setting, and so in countries which are characterized by a code law system and a close alignment between accounting and tax systems
Titoli e partecipazioni, nel circolante e immobilizzati: prassi valutative a confronto
No full textIl lavoro analizza la prassi espositiva e valutativa dei titoli e delle partecipazioni dell'attivo circolante nei bilanci di esercizio di un campione di aziende quotate italiane
The Application of the Accounting Concept of Materiality in the Italian Listed Companies’ Financial Statements
Full text linkThe concept of materiality in the process of preparing the financial statement is essentially a matter of disclosure. In fact, financial statement should disclose only the information that are material, namely those that can impact on the decisions of users. However, how concretely to apply the concept of materiality is not generally prescribed by accounting standard setters. As a result, previous studies show that materiality judgements exhibit considerable diversity and remain primarily a matter of professional judgment. This study aims to explore how the concept of materiality has been interpreted and applied in practice by a sample of Italian companies, that adopt the Italian accounting standards, with respect to a set of information that should be disclosed in the financial statements only if they are judged material
The Links between Accounting and Tax Reporting: The Case of Bad Debt Expense in the Italian Context
Full text linkThis study shows the way tax rules, rather than accounting ones, affect the measurement of receivables for the purpose of preparing the financial statements of Italian private (unlisted) companies according to national accounting standards. Through the distribution approach, it shows that Italian companies are likely to account for bad debt expense that corresponds to the maximum tax-deductible amount. Considering that the impact of tax rules on the preparation of the financial statements may affect the quality of earnings, the main implication of the findings of this study is that the earnings reported by Italian companies are not unconditionally formative regarding the company‟s performance. In other words, they may be of poor quality. As a result, they should be interpreted with caution by those who use financial statement information
Bilanci di previsione delle comunità pontificie secondo la bolla Pro commissa (15 agosto 1592)
No full textThe Pro commissa Bull, issued by Pope Clement VIII on 15th August 1592, set up a public administration and control system of the communities of the Pontifical States that worked up until 1847. This system was based on the Tabella (or Libretto) and its drafting, preventive approval and final control process. As a technical practice, the Tabella was a budget for these communities although it was peculiar and in an early stage of development, compared to the way this is usually intended in recent times. In fact, it showed some of the most relevant characteristics of a modern government budget, especially with reference to its functions, drafting principles and contents. If the Tabella was, in fact, a budget for communities, it will be necessary to revise the history of the public administration budget as it results from literature. According to an acknowledged interpretation, the budget, in modern terms, is an evolutionary stage of a State’s balance sheet. It was introduced in representative democracy at the time when there was a division of political power among legislative, executive and judiciary branches (the so-called separation of powers). From that time onward, the budget was conceived as a means to allow the legislative to control the executive branch. So, the separation of powers could have brought about the creation of the budget. On the contrary, in Italian territories the budget cannot be considered an evolutionary stage of the State’s balance sheet as the State became a representative democracy. Indeed, the Tabella was the configuration of the balance of the communities of the Pontifical States, and it appeared long before the birth of the first representative democracies. Moreover, the Tabella was introduced to facilitate control by the central government over the local governments and to enable the centralization of power
Titoli immobilizzati e titoli del circolante nel bilancio delle imprese: prassi valutativa e prospettive di armonizzazione
No full textCon questo lavoro si analizza la prassi espositiva e valutativa adottata da un campione di società italiane quotate, nel periodo 1998-2000, limitatamente ai titoli immobilizzati, diversi dalle partecipazioni, e ai titoli e partecipazioni del circolante. L'obiettivo principale è di valutare l'incidenza dei principi contabili nazionali e internazionali e le eventuali interferenze della normativa fiscale
The determinants of the corporate effective tax rate of Italian private companies
Full text linkThis study investigates the determinants of the corporate effective tax rate (ETR) of Italian private (unlisted) companies in 2016 and 2017. Although a large body of research has addressed the issue of the determinants of the ETR, both the Italian context and the private companies have been the object of scant attention in previous studies. To test research hypotheses, as in several previous studies, a pooled cross-sectional OLS model has been adopted. The study shows a statistically significant and negative (positive) association between ETR and firm size, investment in tangible fixed assets, inven-tories, investments in subsidiaries, affiliates and other companies, and the firm’s profitability (intangible fixed assets and the firm’s indebtedness). Conversely, it shows no statistically significant association between ETR and tangible fixed assets. The financial year in question, the region where companies are located, and the economic sector they belong to, included as control variables, affect the ETR. Italian public policy-makers and Italian and non-Italian economic operators can benefit from the results of the study in order to make more informed future decisions
Il conto economico delle aziende sanitarie pubbliche: proposte operative
No full textLo scopo di questo lavoro è quello di suggerire i possibili miglioramenti da apportare a uno degli strumenti del sistema informativo aziendale, il conto economico, sulla base della situazione attuale, giudicata scarsamente corrispondente alle finalità della riforma, e degli aspetti che non sono stati presi in considerazione al momento della redazione dei prospetti obbligatori di bilancio per le aziende sanitarie pubbliche
Do Ownership Structure Characteristics Affect Italian Private Companies’ Propensity to Engage in the Practices of “Earnings Minimization” and “Earnings Change Minimization”?
Full text linkThe study aims to verify whether and how ownership structure (with specific reference to ownership concentration and identity) affects Italian private (unlisted) companies’ propensity to engage in practices of “earnings minimization” and “earnings change minimization”. Companies that engage in these practices have been identified following the “earnings frequency distribution” approach suggested by Burgstahler and Dichev (1997). The influence of ownership structure, together with that of a set of control variables mainly aiming to control for tax, financial, and size incentives, is tested by logit analysis models. Ownership concentration does not have a statistically significant influence. Conversely, institutional, state, and foreign ownership has a statistically significant influence. In the first and third cases, the influence is negative, in the second case the influence is positive. The study extends the current knowledge on the relationship between aspects of corporate governance and earnings management practices in private companies, especially SMEs. It also expands what is known about the earnings management practices undertaken by companies in countries, like Italy, in which a code law system is in force and accounting and tax systems are closely aligned
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