LA REGOLAMENTAZIONE DEGLI INDICATORI DI RISULTATO NELLA RELAZIONE SULLA GESTIONE: EVIDENZE DALLA REALTÀ ITALIANA

N. 1 - Gennaio-Marzo 2014

Abstract

This work adds to previous literature concerning the regulation of non-financial information in annual reports. Based on a sample of Italian listed companies, our aim is to evaluate the quality of indicator disclosure in Italy, before and after the introduction of two specific normative interventions issued by two European authorities. Following the European prescriptions, Italian regulator has opted for a mainly voluntary regime for indicator disclosure that neither specifies any particular indicator to report on, nor mandates any indication about the way of presentation. We analysed the disclosure about financial and non-financial indicators included in management reports before and after the European interventions. A multidimensional measure based on three dimensions — amount, type and presentation — is developed to assess the quality of performance indicator disclosure. Findings show that mainly voluntary regime is not effective in guarantee the quality of performance indicator disclosure in Italian annual reports. The number of financial indicators published has arisen over time, but this increase is mainly related to adjusted measures. On the other hand,
non-financial indicators remain rarely published. Moreover, firms pay less attention to the international recommendations regarding the presentation of performance indicators prescribed by the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) with the Recommendation CESR/05-178b. The main policy implications derived from these results are discussed. In particular, the development of disclosure frameworks that take into consideration the differences among performance indicator categories might contribute to preserve the quality of annual report disclosure.


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👤  Laura Bini
👤  Sara Maccherini

Keyword

non-financial information indicator disclosure multidimensional measure ESMA