THE STAKEHOLDERS: A COMPARISON BETWEEN IAS/IFRS AND ITALIAN OIC STANDARDS FOR FINANCIAL REPORTING

Annalisa Baldissera
University of Brescia, Department of Law, via San Faustino, 41, 25122 Brescia, Italy

DOI: https://doi.org/10.31410/EMAN.2019.205
​​
3rd International Scientific Conference – EMAN 2019 – Economics and Management: How to Cope With Disrupted Times, Ljubljana – Slovenia, March 28, 2019, CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS published by: Association of Economists and Managers of the Balkans, Belgrade, Serbia; Faculty of Management Koper, Slovenia; Doba Business School – Maribor, Slovenia; Integrated Business Faculty –  Skopje, Macedonia; Faculty of Management – Zajecar, Serbia, ISBN 978-86-80194-17-2, ISSN 2683-4510

---

Abstract:

The scope of this paper is to analyze – from a critical point of view – the financial statements, with particular regard to their main recipients and to their effective adequacy in satisfying the information needs of stakeholders. The paper aims to contribute to the current debate on the ability of financial reporting to be really useful and effective for stakeholders. It is important to note that in the last ten years the external information has increased considerably, moving from mere accounting and financial information towards several profiles, as sociality, environment, sustainability, corporate governance, risk policies and, more generally, non-financial data. This new direction highlights the growing need for information that the recipients of financial statements express, so that it is extremely important to verify if this need is really satisfied. In addition, given that the Italian accounting standards, settled by OIC (Italian Accounting Body), are very different from the International IAS/IFRS, the paper uses a comparative method, based on the reconstruction, for each of them: a) of the type of information provided; b) of the type of recipients to whom they are addressed. The comparison is made through the analysis of the conceptual framework of the two groups of principles, considering that the main difference between IAS/IFRS and OIC standards is that the former are mostly derived from practice and use a problem-solving approach, typical of Anglo-Saxon empiricism; while the latter are based on an opposite view, namely on the construction of an accounting theory aimed at guiding the practice. According to the majority doctrine, there is a typical and well-known difference between the two groups of principles: the IAS/IFRS standards are based on fair value and are mainly investor-oriented, while the OIC standards are based on historical cost and are mainly creditor-oriented. In addition to this distinction, the paper proposes a further one, based on the differentiation between informational effects and management effects. In particular, the accounting conservatism typical of prudent countries, like Italy, produces, above all, management effects due to the fact that it prevents the distribution of unrealized earnings, so protecting company’s capital. On the contrary, an opposite effect is produced by IAS/ IFRS, since the use of fair value can provoke the emersion of presumed but not effective profits, in some cases distributable.

Keywords:

stakeholders, financial reporting, accounting standards.

REFERENCES

[1] Libonati, B. (2013) Scritti giuridici. Volume I. Impresa e società. Concorrenza e mercato. Gruppi. Bilanci e contabilità, Giuffrè, Milano, pp. 832-833.
[2] De Gobbis, F. (1931) Il bilancio delle società anonime, Società Anonima Editrice Dante Alighieri, Milano.
[3] Onida, P. (1974) Il bilancio d’esercizio nelle imprese. Significato economico del bilancio. Problemi di valutazione, Giuffrè, Milano.
[4] Messineo, F. (1958) Studi di diritto delle società, Giuffrè, Milano.
[5] Pescatore, S. (2009) Strutture societarie e autonomia contrattuale. Saggi, Giuffrè, Milano.
[6] Onesti, T., Romano, M., Taliento, M. (2016) Il bilancio di esercizio nelle imprese. Dal quadro concettuale di riferimento alle nuove regole contabili nazionali e internazionali, Giappichelli, Torino, p. 121.
[7] Capaldo, P. (2012) Sulla nozione di reddito distribuibile in Fortuna, F. (ed.), Liber amicorum per Umberto Bertini. L’uomo, lo studioso, il professore, FrancoAngeli, Milano, pp. 198-208.
[8] Ansoff, H. I. (1965) Corporate strategy: an analytical approach to business policy for growth and expansion, Mc Graw-Hill, New York.
[9] Freeman, R. E. (1984) Strategic Management. A Stakeholder Approach, Pitman, Boston.
[10] Denozza, F. (2010) L’interesse sociale tra «coordinamento» e «cooperazione» in AA. VV., L’interesse sociale tra valorizzazione del capitale e protezione degli stakeholders. In ricordo di Pier Giusto Jaeger. Atti del convegno Milano 9 ottobre 2009, Giuffrè, Milano, pp. 9-44.
[12] Colombo, G. E. (1965) Il bilancio di esercizio delle società per azioni, Cedam, Padova.
[13] Carrol, A. B., Buchholtz, A. K. (2015) Business and Society. Ethics, Sustainability, and Stakeholder Management, Cengage Learning, Stamford.
[14] Freeman, R. E., Harrison, J. S., Wicks, A. C., Parmar, B., Del Colle, S. (2010) Stakeholder Theory. The State of the Art, Cambridge University Press, New York.
[15] Eskerod, P., Jepsen, A. L. (2013) Project Stakeholder Management, Gower, Farnham.
[16] Wasieleski, D. M., Weber, J. (eds.) (2017) Stakeholder Management, Emerald, Bingley.
[17] Mella, P., Velo, D. (eds.) (2007) Creazione di valore, Corporate Governance e informativa societaria, Giuffrè, Milano, p. 560.
[18] Caratozzolo, M. (2006) Il bilancio d’esercizio, Giuffrè, Milano.
[19] Comoli, M., Corno, F., Viganò, A. (2006) Il bilancio secondo gli IAS, Giuffrè, Milano.
[20] Fortunato, S. (2007), Dal costo storico al fair value: al di là della rivoluzione contabile in AA. VV., IAS/IFRS. La modernizzazione del diritto contabile in Italia, Giuffrè, Milano, pp. 1-18.
[21] Saita, M., Saracino, P., Provasi R., Messaggi S. (2012) Evoluzione dei principi contabili nel contesto internazionale, FrancoAngeli, Milano.
[22] Allegrini, M., D’Onza, G., Mancini, D., Garzella, S. (2003) Le frodi aziendali. Frodi amministrative, alterazioni di bilancio e computer crime, FrancoAngeli, Milano.
[23] Cavalieri, E., Ferraris Franceschi, R. (2010) Economia aziendale, Giappichelli, Torino.
[24] Ferrero, G. (1966) La valutazione economica del capitale d’impresa, Giuffrè, Milano.
[25] Allegrini, M. (2013) I principi contabili internazionali. Caratteristiche, struttura, contenuto, Giappichelli, Torino.
[26] Epstein, B. J., Jermakowicz, E. K. (2008) IFRS Policies and Procedures, Wiley, Hoboken.
[27] Lionzo, A. (2005) Il sistema dei valori di bilancio nella prospettiva dei principi contabili internazionali, FrancoAngeli, Milano.
[28] Bensadon, D., Praquin, N. (eds.) (2016) Essay in Honor of Professor Jacques Richard. IFRS in a Global World. International and Critical Perspectives on Accounting, Springer, Heidelberg-New York-Dordrecht-London.
[29] Montrone, A. (ed.) (2008), Aree di criticità nell’applicazione di alcuni principi contabili internazionali. Lo IAS 38 – Intangible Assets e l’IFRS 3 – Business Combinations, FrancoAngeli, Milano.
[30] Parker, D. (2016) International Valuation Standards. A guide to the evaluation of real property assets, Wiley, Chichester.