Il rendiconto finanziario tra aspetti teorici ed elementi empirici: alcune considerazioni sulla post-implementation analysis

The aim is to compare the accounting rules contained in the Italian accounting standard no. 10 with the operating procedures for the preparation of the first time adoption of the statement of cash flows, highlighting the main critical elements deriving from the empirical analysis of a sample of 200 companies. Many errors and inaccuracies have been observed in its preparation, a sign that the statement has not yet fully entered Italian accounting culture. The main criticalities are in the Cash Flow from Operating Activities, due to its complex structure: transformation of some values from accrual to financial dimension, with particular regard to the treatment of the items of net working capital; the survey of non-cash items, with particular reference to the positive ones; interpretation of «Utilisation of provisions». The policy implications go in the direction of: making the layout proposed by the OIC no. 10 (and/or the text of the accounting standard) more analytical, so as to overcome the criticalities that emerged in the empirical analysis; improving the definition of the net working capital, in order to clearly identify its boundaries; making companies understand that the table is not to be filled but to be reasoned; reinforcing its equal role with the statement of profit or loss and the statement of financial position; to clarify some situations of operational difficulty such as the different nature of short-term financial debt and the need to make certain items more analytical (i.e. accounts receivable, accounts payable, prepayments and accrued income, accrued expenses and deferred income); request the introduction of commentary information on the items and reference aggregates.