Michela Cordazzo

Intangibles and Italian IPO prospectuses: a disclosure analysis

Purpose – The purpose of the paper is to investigate intangibles disclosure in Italian initial public offerings (IPO) prospectuses. It seeks to examine whether intangibles disclosure in IPO prospectuses is correlated to some firm‐specific variables, which influence the information selected by a company for its admission on the stock exchange.Design/methodology/approach – The paper is an empirical analysis of intangibles disclosure in Italian IPO prospectuses, and in particular an analysis of its association with some firm‐specific variables through a regression model.Findings – The paper finds that intangibles information is increasing in Italian IPOs. Firm size and pre‐IPO managerial ownership are associated with intangibles disclosure, while firm age and level of technology are not related.Research limitations/implications – The paper shows that the IPO disclosure could not be exhaustive of the intangibles disclosure provided by Italian companies, because it is produced on a voluntary basis. Originality...

IC statements vs. environmental and social reports: An empirical analysis of their convergences in the Italian context

Purpose – To verify if the intellectual capital (IC) statement has some points of contact with environmental and social reports, or whether it can be considered as a brand‐new reporting model, which is completely detached and independent by the other two.Design/methodology/approach – An empirical analysis of environmental and social reports in Italy, and in particular an analysis whether some elements of IC statement are present in the environmental and social reports.Findings – A high level of dispersion in the information composing the environmental and social reports; a significant overlapping of data between these two sets of documents; and a quite relevant set of information in common between the environmental and social reports and the IC statement.Research limitations/implications – The environmental and social reports analysed could be not an exhaustive list, because Italian companies produce such reports on a voluntary basis and for internal purposes.Practical implications – The lack of uniformit...Purpose – To verify if the intellectual capital (IC) statement has some points of contact with environmental and social reports, or whether it can be considered as a brand‐new reporting model, which is completely detached and independent by the other two.Design/methodology/approach – An empirical analysis of environmental and social reports in Italy, and in particular an analysis whether some elements of IC statement are present in the environmental and social reports.Findings – A high level of dispersion in the information composing the environmental and social reports; a significant overlapping of data between these two sets of documents; and a quite relevant set of information in common between the environmental and social reports and the IC statement.Research limitations/implications – The environmental and social reports analysed could be not an exhaustive list, because Italian companies produce such reports on a voluntary basis and for internal purposes.Practical implications – The lack of uniformit...

Intellectual capital disclosure in the UK biotechnology IPO prospectuses

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the extent of intellectual capital (IC) disclosure on the UK biotechnology initial public offering (IPO) prospectuses. The study is based on companies going public on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) and the London Alternative Investment Market (AIM) over the period 2005‐2007.Design/methodology/approach – The extent of IC disclosure is collected and measured by using the IC disclosure index and the framework proposed by Bukh et al. The differences in the level of IC disclosure are analysed by modelling some firm‐specific determinants such as size, maturity, age and independence of the board.Findings – It is shown that primary listing companies on the LSE disclose more IC information than those on the London AIM. Maturity and independence of the board are associated with IC disclosure, while size and age are not related, showing the importance of corporate communication as a signal of credibility to possible investors at IPO stage.Originality/value – The...

An analysis of the firms-specific determinants influencing the voluntary IFRS adoption: evidence from Italian private firms

Abstract: The EU regulation 1606/2002 enhances the financial statement comparability by requiring the IFRS mandatory application. In Italy, the implementation of EU regulation states that listed firms are required to prepare their financial statements in accordance with IFRS, then extended to private firms on a voluntary basis. The study aims to examine the influence of some firm-specific characteristics on voluntary IFRS adoption by analysing a selected sample of Italian private firms over 2006–2010. The results show that firms are more likely to adopt IFRS in their separate financial statements if there is the presence of ownership diffusion and a Big-4 along with greater profitability. Such adoption is not influenced by whether firms register a high level of capital intensity and leverage, and it does not increase with the firm size or level of foreign sales. Our findings may also represent a primary approach to investigate whether IFRS adoption could be beneficial for SMEs, as a large part of sampled firms may be classified according to the EU definition of SME.

The interaction between mandatory and voluntary risk disclosure: a comparative study

Purpose n n n n nThe purpose of this paper is to investigate whether the interaction between mandatory and voluntary risk disclosure is a complementary or substitutive consequence of different risk regulatory regimes. The paper is a cross analysis comparing Germany, the US, Italy, France and the UK during the period 2007-2010. n n n n nDesign/methodology/approach n n n n nContent analysis is used to examine mandatory and voluntary risk information in corporate annual reports. A framework for the identification and measurement of risk information is developed by considering national and supranational regulations. n n n n nFindings n n n n nA complementary effect between mandatory and voluntary risk disclosure exists in each risk regulation jurisdiction. This effect does not depend on the presence of national risk rules (Germany and the US) as against national risk guidelines (France and the UK). Some cross-country differences emerge in the extent of the complementary effect, which are based on the national risk regulations. Germany shows the highest degree of complementing mandatory with voluntary risk disclosures. n n n n nResearch limitations/implications n n n n nThe main limitations relate to the sample size, which is based on the choice of a matched approach and to some country-specific influences on regulatory regimes, which are not analysed. The practical implications refer to the revision or addition of mandated rules by accounting standard setters. n n n n nOriginality/value n n n n nThe paper contributes to the literature in two ways. First, it proposes an incremental analysis of corporate risk disclosure by examining the interaction between mandatory and voluntary risk disclosure with a complementary or substitutive consequence in different risk regulatory settings not previously investigated. Second, the paper makes a method-based contribution by developing an original analytical framework based on the analysis of different regulatory regimes.

Transition to IFRS in Germany and Italy: impact on companies’ reporting performance

Previous research has investigated the economic consequences of IFRS adoption, but there is little evidence on the impact of IFRS adoption on companies reporting performance by adopting a comparative approach. To this purpose, this study investigates the impact on reporting performance of IFRS transition for a sample of German and Italian companies listed on domestic stock exchanges. The analysis is conducted on the changes of magnitude of some key financial ratios, in order to highlight the most important differences and similarities between German and Italian companies due to the transition to IFRS. Our results show that IFRS adoption has changed the magnitude of the key financial ratios. These changes are the result of different accounting treatments under local GAAP and IFRS, which are mostly common to Germany and Italy.

Impact of IFRS transition on company financial reporting: the case of Italy and Germany

The purpose of this paper is to study the impact on company financial reporting of IFRS mandatory transition in Italy and Germany. The study investigates the global and partial impact of each individual accounting adjustment that occurs on company financial reporting during IFRS transition. The analysis of such impacts is conducted in order to highlight how Italian and German companies have experimented IFRS adoption, and whether there are differences and similarities between Italian and German companies by moving to an international accounting regime. The results show that the global effect on equity is not significant for both Italian and German companies, while that on net income shows a stronger impact on Italian than on German ones. With regard to the individual accounting adjustments, the most significant partial impacts are those concerning employee benefits, provisions, and intangible assets for both Italian and German companies.