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This paper focuses on the relevance of financial instruments’ disclosure in the banking sector, considered as a topic of crucial importance especially after the recent financial crisis. Namely, this paper aims to test whether information required by IFRS 7 is value relevant for investors in order to support them in assigning appropriate risk levels in their investment decisions. The regulatory framework of bank’ financial risks is complex since it is formulated by a range of different bodies. Literature, however, argues for the incompleteness of such framework. This incompleteness is one of the premises for IFRS 7. The sample consists of all Italian listed banks over a 7-year period, 2007–2013. Results confirm our expectations, showing a positive association between banks’ value and the financial index disclosure.

Il saggio è frutto del lavoro da un gruppo di docenti costituito in seno alla SIDREA (Società Italiana Docenti di Ragioneria e di Economia Aziendale) con lo scopo di analizzare e valutare le eventuali nuove prospettive di studio della disciplina economico-aziendale.

The present paper aims at investigating the flow field behavior within a reciprocating engine under motoring conditions. Simultaneously two velocity components of the air velocity were acquired at different engine speeds within the cylinder at different radii from the cylinder axis. Mean motion, integral time scales and Reynolds shear stresses, for the radial and tangential components, were estimated from the instantaneous velocity data by applying an ensemble averaging technique. The integral time scale was obtained from the single point time autocorrelation function whereas, the Reynolds shear stresses were computed through the estimate of the degree of the fluctuations correlation. Tests, carried out at 1,000, 1,500, and 2,000 rpm, showed that the tangential mean motion scales approximately with engine speed whereas a radial inward motion can be observed during the last part of compression. The integral time scale shows a global decrease along the compression and an approximate inverse scaling trend with engine speed. Further, an increase of the Reynolds shears stress, at the end of compression, was observed.

In-cylinder measurements of turbulent integral length scales, carried out during the last 60 degrees of the compression stroke at 600 and 1,000 rpm by a two-probe volume LDV system, were used to assess the capability of the k-e model used in KIVA-II code. The objective of the paper is to address the following question: what is the most reasonable definition of turbulent length scale in the k-e model for engine applications? The answer derived from the comparison between KIVA predictions and experiments that showed a fair agreement between the computed turbulent length scale and the measured lateral integral length scale. The agreement is a result of proper choice of the initial swirl ratio and turbulent kinetic energy at inlet valve closure (IVC) by taking into account the LDV measurements and the value of the constant Cµs in the k-e model equations that relates the turbulent length scale to k and e. In reciprocating engines the fuel evaporation and mixing processes are strongly influenced by the turbulent nature of the in-cylinder flows. The velocity gradient in the mean flow is the major source of energy for the turbulent velocity fluctuations. The air-jet created by flow during the intake stroke interacts with the cylinder wall and moving piston to generate large-scale rotating flow, both in the vertical and horizontal planes. The behavior of the in-cylinder turbulent flow can be characterized by monitoring the kinetic energy and the integral length scale evolution of the turbulent eddies that contribute to the turbulence production during intake and compression strokes. The objectives of this work are to measure and model the in-cylinder flow field and compare the measurements to predictions, assessing the k-e turbulence model within the 3-D KIVA-II code. It is well known that the k-e turbulence model is widely used in many simulation codes for computing flows in internal combustion engines. However, the model was developed to simulate steady pipe flows and it is not yet understood if the turbulence model could predict the complex non-stationary turbulent flow in engines. For this reason, it is still important to evaluate the model capability using measurements of turbulence intensity and integral length scales carried out in real engines. The present paper outlines measurements taken in a motored engine using a two-probe volume laser Doppler velocimetry (LDV) system. The lateral integral length scale has been computed from the spatial correlation coefficient of the ensemble fluctuating velocity for different separations. The mean tangential velocity and the turbulent kinetic energy measured within the cylinder in a point located at 5 min below the engine head and 26 min from the cylinder axis has been used as initial conditions for the code. Comparison between the measured integral length scales and those computed has been performed.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether the firms with the same Big Four audit firm and from the same legal system disclose more comparable non-GAAP measures. Using 23,436 pairs of European firms, we hand-collected infor-mation on the non-GAAP measures disclosed in the statement of comprehensive income. The results showed that the firms with the same Big Four audit firm or from the same legal system are positively and significantly associated with non-GAAP comparability. Our work adds to the studies on accounting comparability. Furthermore, it provides fresh insights that support the latest IASB activity on the Primary Financial Statement project, under which the standard setter has en-dorsed ED/2019/7 General Presentation and Disclosures.

This paper examines the loan loss provisioning behaviour during the transition from IAS 39 to IFRS 9 for a sample of 403 banks in 27 countries in European Union. The objective of the study is to investigate whether during the first years of adoption of the new expected credit loss (ECL) impairment model banks are more en-couraged to smooth earnings and manage capital, compared to the previous in-curred loss (ICL) model. Results show that under ECL, banks adopt a more ag-gressive opportunistic behaviour in accordance with the income-smoothing and capital management approach. Management should be aware of this to implement monitoring and control systems, increasing trustworthiness of financial in-formation for investors' expectations.

Purpose This paper aims to investigate the relationship between the female board participation and the readability of annual report. Design/methodology/approach Using hand-collected data from a “network-oriented market”, as exists in Italy, which includes 435 annual reports, this study uses a regression analysis to test whether female board participation affects the annual report readability. Findings Female board participation is found to have a positive impact on disclosure readability in firms with small boardroom connections but the opposite effect in firms with large boardroom connections. Research limitations/implications This paper responds to recent calls in the corporate governance literature by investigating whether the female board participation affects the transparency of the disclosure practices. Practical implications This study has policy implications, as it helps to improve evaluations of how, and under which circumstances, female board participation may lead to higher disclosure quality and thus benefit investors. Originality/value This paper shows that female board participation has different effects on the disclosure readability at different levels of board positions in inter-firm networks.

The usefulness of carbon disclosures has been questioned in the literature because they do not truly reflect firm’s carbon performance, suggesting that they may not be useful for risk evaluation and investment decisions. This study empirically tests the usefulness of carbon information voluntarily disclosed by the Italian firms. Our results based on the price model show that there is a positive association between the stock price and carbon disclosures, suggesting that investors find carbon information useful for their investment decisions. We find similar results based on the market valuation model. Additionally, the results reveal that the positive association is especially strong for firms that have established environmental committees on a voluntary basis and also for firms from the highly polluting industries defined by the EU_ETS program, confirming that investors’ positive response is especially strong to carbon disclosures by firms from the highly polluting industries. We also find that the market reacts positively to carbon disclosures by firms with a higher percentage of independent directors on their corporate boards, but the positive association is marginally significant.

This study focuses on the issues relating to the implementation of management accounting systems in complex settings such as archeological sites. The aim is to understand the conditions under which the implementation of performance management systems (PMS) may enable cultural organizations to fulfil their multiple objectives and the factors which play a crucial role in such dynamics. Focusing on the Herculaneum Conservation Project (HCP) the study explains how PMS came to be implemented having been made acceptable to all parties involved. The Middle Range Theory as developed by Broadbent and Laughlin (Accounting control and controlling accounting: interdisciplinary and critical perspectives, Bingley, Emerald, 2013) was utilized to explore how the PMS change took place in the HCP, and focus on the factors influencing this process. The findings reveal that the change in the PMS benefited from the involvement of a multidisciplinary Specialist Work Group. This involvement reduced the natural tendency to resist the forces of change and increased the commitment of the various groups of stakeholders to the new culture. The findings reveal how PMS were developed in the context of a multifaceted approach to change, allowing us to draw both theoretical and practical lessons that may be brought to bear in other complex contexts.

La relazione tra performance management systems e innovazione sta acquisendo importanza crescente e le sue potenzialità per il settore culturale non sono ancora del tutto indagate. Muovendo da tale consapevolezza, il contributo investiga le condizioni alla base della creazione di un efficace PMS, orientando l’attenzione, in particolare, al ruolo che l’innovazione può svolgere nel favorire la convergenza tra prospettiva, appunto, culturale e quella economica, nell’ottica di supportare il processo decisionale. L’analisi è stata realizzata attraverso lo studio dell’Herculaneum Conservation Project, considerato esempio di riferimento di cooperazione pubblico-privato, e si è soffermata sull’implementazione del Geographical Information Systems (GIS) quale strumento di innovazione manageriale, che ha favorito il raggiungimento di adeguati livelli di efficacia ed efficienza gestionali.

In this chapter, we offer a composite index approach to detect firms’ information quality. Our interest coincides with recent moves among scholars in analysing the quality and understandability of corporate disclosure practices. We test our measure of information quality using a sample of annual reports of Italian family listed firms. We find a positive association between non-family female executives and firms’ information transparency. These findings support the argument that non-family female executives are more likely to reduce agency problems with a net benefit for the information quality. Our study may help policy makers and managers in looking at how to make corporate disclosures easier and more meaningful.

While a considerable amount of research has already been carried out into the corporate governance determinants of non-financial risk disclosure in companies in the private sector, such determinants in the annual reports of listed Governmentowned Companies (LGCs) have yet to be investigated fully. This study attempts to complete the picture. Italian LGCs have been selected for analysis and agency theory has been applied in the public sector under the accountability paradigm. The research investigates whether non-financial risk disclosure provided in the Management Commentary (MC) of Italian LGCs may be affected by ownership concentration, corporate governance mechanisms and company-specific features. The issue is of particular importance in a country where Government intervention has significantly affected its economic development since the nineteenth century. Our findings show that there is a relationship between the level of non-financial risk disclosure and Board diversity, leverage and sector. Our findings also reveal some useful insights concerning policy makers and standard setters.

Fair value measures in financial reporting have been at the centre of the debate in the last years and many scholars consider this kind of evaluation the more relevant and useful. The paper discuss if these conditions recur also in those countries, like Italy, wherein lenders are the major source of financing and hence are the ???primary users??? of financial reporting. Specifically, we argue that fair valuation ??? while potentially useful in countries that boast advanced capital markets with diffused equity ownership ??? is not as useful, and even potentially misleading, in these countries. The discussion about fair valuation grounds on a literature review on the prediction of default, bankruptcy, credit-rating, and the pricing of credit. In this literature the informational inputs used for predictions and pricing of such events largely ignore fair values, whether measured as exit values or otherwise. Basically, the idea that fair values are suitable for all countries and entities, regardless of differences in ownership structure and modes of financing, may need to be re-examined. Possibly, enhanced disclosures of fair values are more likely to satisfy the criterion of decision usefulness in those countries where lenders are the main source of financing.