Riccardo Macchioni

Successful changes in management accounting systems: A healthcare case study

Abstract This paper explores how a change in the management accounting systems (MAS) of healthcare organisations was implemented in a manner acceptable to those involved. The study employed a longitudinal case study of a university hospital in southern Italy, and was informed by Broadbent and Laughlins Middle Range Theory (MRT). The findings revealed that the change in the MAS was successful due to the involvement of professionals in the ongoing process of change. This involvement reduced their natural tendency to resist, and increased the commitment of the various groups of professionals to the new business culture.

Do Corporate Governance Characteristics Affect Non-Financial Risk Disclosure in Government-Owned Companies? The Italian Experience

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.

The Factors Motivating Voluntary Disclosure of Carbon Information: Evidence Based on Italian Listed Companies:

The purpose of this research is to examine how environmental committees, institutional shareholdings, and board independence affect managerial carbon disclosure decisions, particularly those of firms belonging to highly polluting industries. We focus on Italian firms that operate in a code law environment but that have the option either to adopt the unitary corporate structure prevalent in common law countries or to retain the dual corporate structure used in code law countries. We use weighted and unweighted carbon disclosure indexes based on the Kyoto Protocol requirements. The findings show that all factors greatly affect voluntary carbon disclosure and that their impact is especially strong for firms in highly polluting industries. This study has important implications for managers and regulators.

A Composite Index Approach to Detecting Reporting Quality: The Case of Female Executives in Family Firms

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.