Carlotta del Sordo

Social reports in Italian universities: disclosures and preparers’ perspective

Purpose - Although there is no mandatory requirement for Italian universities to report beyond a financial report, several universities have produced a social report, despite the context of increasing pressure to cut financial resources. This study aims to investigate if Italian state universities produce voluntary social reports and, if so, what they disclose. Also to explore their motivations to do so and the main difficulties encountered. Design/methodology/approach - Content analysis is applied to the total pool of Italian universities’ social reports obtained. Also, a subsequent online survey was undertaken with preparers of those social reports. Findings - The findings indicate that a social report is not a common practice in Italian universities. Subsequent online interviews and thematic analysis found that a key individual within the university played a pivotal role in developing a social report. In the pool of reports examined, there were few social and environmental aspects disclosed. Also the respondents to the survey highlighted that the main difficulty in the development of social reports was the lack of systematic collection of non-financial information within the university. Researchlimitations/implications - The study is limited to the Italian university social reports produced and those answering the online survey. Originality/value - Most of the prior Italian literature on social reports is normative in nature and focuses on what should be reported, rather than on what was actually reported. This study is an attempt at analysing the pool of Italian universities’ social reports and is useful for understanding how and why organisations voluntarily produce social reports.

Accounting practices in Italian higher education system

Abstract The aim of this paper is to investigate whether the accounting systems and techniques in use in higher education system in Italy allow key users to have useful information for a rational decision-making process. The paper develops on a specific case, the Italian context of state and non-state universities. The research is conducted through a survey addressed to all Italian universities and investigates accounting conditions during the academic year 2008-2009. It reveals the most common approach to the building of the accounting information system and the level of diffusion and development of cost accounting techniques, identifying areas of improvement.

Credit and accounting in early modern Italy: the case of the Monte di Pietà in Bologna

The foundation of Monti di Pietà by Franciscan friars in the fifteenth century represented a response to the problems of usury and difficult access to consumer credit. Some historians have highlighted the bank-like nature of the Monti, while others have considered them as economic institutions. This paper explores the case of the Monte di Pietà in Bologna during the early modern era, with particular reference to its governance model and its accounting and internal control practices. The presence of a well-preserved archive made it possible to perform a depth investigation of the emergence of accounting as a tool of control of the Monte.

La misurazione della performance sociale nell’esperienza dell’Università di Bologna

New Public Management principles have led to a growing number of public organisations to use social and environmental performance measurement tools, such as social reports, to be accountable in terms of results, social and environmental impacts. Thus, social report, with reference to the state universities, is developing. This article analyses, the process to develop a social report and the consequential performance measurement in terms of social and environmental impacts. The social report of the studied organisation is an expression of the following functions: (1) transparency of the activity, (2) internal governance (3) stakeholders engagement and (4) measurement of the economic, social and environmental impacts provide with reference the territory. The case study method is used to develop this research. We have applied it to the University of Bologna, which is a large-university that has included in its stated (set out in the Charter of the University to be therefore developed consistently every year) reporting system the social report.