About Laura Bini

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So far Laura Bini has created 63 blog entries.

Interdisciplinary research by accounting scholars: An exploratory study

By | 2023-02-09T22:29:08+01:00 February 9th, 2023|

Francesco Giovanni Avallone, Alberto Quagli, Paola Ramassa / Financial Reporting / 2-2022


There is a growing consensus around the pivotal role of interdisciplinary research (hereafter IDR) in achieving innovative results and addressing the challenges of modern societies, whose solutions are often beyond the scope of a single discipline. This paper builds on this literature to explore the trends in IDR and its evaluation in research quality assessments in the context of accounting studies by Italian scholars, even in comparison with disciplinary research. This exploratory study covers a dataset of all articles published by Italian accounting scholars in international journals indexed in Scopus from 1985 to 2015 (1,233 articles). We operationalise IDR as diversity in the subject area of journals where the articles are published and diversity in the disciplinary sector of coauthors. Thus, the novelty of this article is that instead of using a single indicator of IDR, we consider the interaction of two alternative perspectives of analysis. The main findings reveal a relevant increase in disciplinary and interdisciplinary articles, with a comparatively smaller increase for IDR. Additionally, we observe that IDR by Italian accounting scholars is strongly oriented towards medical publications. Regarding quality evaluation, the findings show a significantly higher evaluation of disciplinary studies compared to IDR according to the criteria followed by the national assessment exercise (VQR). This explorative study contributes to the debate on IDR in two different ways. On the one hand, our study shows a relatively low growth of IDR in the under-researched context of social sciences in a non-Anglo-Saxon setting, where national research evaluations have stimulated radical changes in the features and outlets of scientific production. On the other hand, our results are consistent with the view that papers with a clear disciplinary focus receive comparatively higher evaluations because the standards established for assessment are usually defined within the discipline.

 


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GAAP-compliant versus non-GAAP voluntary disclosures relative to critical reporting dates

By | 2022-07-29T16:09:43+02:00 June 7th, 2022|

Thomas D’Angelo, Marco Lam, Samir El-Gazzar, Rudolph Jacob  / Financial Reporting / 1-2022


Purpose – This paper investigates the impact of generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) and non-GAAP voluntary disclosures on equity returns for important financial reporting dates. Design/methodology – Using hand-coded archival data, we developed 2,329 matched pairs consisting of non-GAAP (control) and GAAP (treatment) quarterly observations and compared the equity returns for each group around the earnings release and SEC filing dates. Findings – Our findings suggest that the valuation relevance of GAAP disclosing firms significantly exceeds that of non-GAAP firms in the case of earnings and cash flow surprises. These results support the notion that investors perceive GAAP-compliant disclosures as necessary, complementary information about a firm’s performance and equity value. We also reveal that the market revaluation of equity on the earnings release date significantly exceeded that on the SEC filing date. This finding confirms that the more comprehensive disclosure provided by GAAP firms on the earlier date preempted at least some of the information subsequently disclosed on the SEC filing date. Value – Extends the voluntary disclosure literature, in particular the valuation relevance of GAAP versus non-GAAP disclosures. The findings discussed in this paper are of special interest to policymakers and regulators, financial analysts, corporate managers, firm stakeholders, and academics interested in financial re-porting as they continue to study voluntary disclosure rules and practices.

 


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Financial reporting and book-tax conformity: A review of the issues

By | 2022-07-29T16:10:00+02:00 June 6th, 2022|

Luca Menicacci  / Financial Reporting / 1-2022


This work reviews accounting research on book-tax conformity (BTC) with specific reference to financial reporting issues. There is an ongoing debate in the accounting literature about the impact of BTC levels (weak/strong) on accounting quality and on tax avoidance. Policymakers have discussed at length the opportunity to reform BTC as well. Proponents of a strong BTC argue that it can deter both financial reporting manipulation and aggressive tax planning by creating contrasting incentives between book earnings maximisation and taxable income minimisation. Further controls on book earnings assured by taxing authorities will reinforce such beneficial effects. Opponents of a strong BTC suggest that financial accounting decisions should not interfere with tax accounting and vice versa, as financial reporting and tax reporting have different purposes. Furthermore, under a strong BTC, managers will tend to smooth earnings to minimise income taxes, thus reducing earnings in-formativeness. Even if a strand of research based on the Tax Reform Act (TRA 86) in the US corroborates the position of opponents, a large body of literature formed in international settings has not yet reached a consensus over the consequences of BTC. This circumstance makes BTC a relevant topic to the current de-bate on financial reporting quality.

 


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The role of the Big Four audit firms and the legal system in non-GAAP comparability

By | 2022-07-29T16:10:10+02:00 June 5th, 2022|

Riccardo Macchioni, Alessandra Allini, Martina Prisco / Financial Reporting / 1-2022


The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether the firms with the same Big Four audit firm and from the same legal system disclose more comparable non-GAAP measures. Using 23,436 pairs of European firms, we hand-collected information on the non-GAAP measures disclosed in the statement of comprehensive income. The results showed that the firms with the same Big Four audit firm or from the same legal system are positively and significantly associated with non-GAAP comparability. Our work adds to the studies on accounting comparability. Furthermore, it provides fresh insights that support the latest IASB activity on the Primary Financial Statement project, under which the standard setter has endorsed ED/2019/7 General Presentation and Disclosures.

 


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The role of Key Performance Indicators as a performance management tool in implementing corporate strategies: A critical review of the literature

By | 2022-07-29T16:10:21+02:00 June 4th, 2022|

Ivo Hristov, Antonio Chirico, Riccardo Camilli / Financial Reporting / 1-2022


Over recent decades, organizations have moved into highly competitive markets that force companies to implement Performance Management Systems (PMSs) to keep monitoring strategy alignment and activities. In this context, this paper provides a Systematic Literature Review (SLR) on the use of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) in PMSs. Relevant and useful papers have been selected for the analysis and the final 60-paper sample has been studied by means of con-tent analysis and descriptive statistics. The relevant findings have been reported across categories (i.e. value drivers, practices and measures, contextual drivers, and critical issues), such as increasing the use of KPIs supporting sustainable developments and a dichotomy between qualitative and quantitative indicators. In particular, authors revealed the need for a KPI strategical formulation and for a cultural factor aimed at ensuring the effective integration of quantitative, qualitative and sustainable development indicators. Therefore, a conceptual model was developed in order to guide managers through the criticalities and the recently reported requirements. This review addresses the KPIs’ implementation from both a systemic and critical point of view; these aspects made our study really useful for practitioners of all application sectors.

 


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Dialogue with standard setters. Climate change and Financial reporting

By | 2022-07-29T16:13:11+02:00 June 3rd, 2022|

Giulia Cordero di Montezemolo, Matteo Strada / Financial Reporting / 1-2022


 

 


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Book Review. Lorenzo Simoni, Business Models and Corporate Reporting: Defining the Platform to Illustrate Value Creation, Routledge, 2022

By | 2022-07-29T16:13:49+02:00 June 2nd, 2022|

Sam Rawsthorne / Financial Reporting / 1-2022


 

 


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Dialogue with standard setters. COVID-19: The impact on IFRS Financial Reporting

By | 2022-02-03T12:03:03+01:00 February 3rd, 2022|

Alberto Quagli, Paola Ramassa, Marco Venuti  / Financial Reporting / 2-2021


 

 


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Integrated reporting: Much ado about nothing?

By | 2022-02-03T12:13:16+01:00 February 3rd, 2022|

Brigitte de Graaff, Bert Steens, Kees Camfferman / Financial Reporting / 2-2021


Integrated reporting, which helps companies to share their value creation processes with their stakeholders, has developed rapidly in recent years. Due to the increased attention paid to the International Integrated Reporting Framework is-sued by the International Integrated Reporting Council, the number of companies worldwide engaging in integrated reporting is continually rising, which is presumably driven by the claimed benefits of this practice. Through recourse to legitimacy theory and management fashion theory, here we provide a preliminary assessment of the development of integrated reporting, alongside considering the potential influence of academic research in its growth. We review the existing body of academic literature on this topic, ultimately identifying 123 claims about the benefits of IR from 29 papers published in 15 journals between May 2011 and September 2016, before proceeding to analyse both the sources and the level of substantiation of these claims. Our findings suggest that only a few of the purported ad-vantages of integrated reporting are supported by actual empirical evidence, while most of the claims only cite a limited number of primary sources. Based on these results and our assessment of the development of the concept of IR, we propose a future research agenda.

 


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Improving business model disclosure in the annual report: Insights from an interventionist research project

By | 2022-02-03T11:56:43+01:00 February 3rd, 2022|

Carlo Bagnoli, Antonio Costantini, Maurizio Massaro  / Financial Reporting / 2-2021


Responding to the calls for empirical research on the extent and nature of business model reporting, this paper has the purpose to assess the quality of business model disclosure. To accomplish this purpose, the study takes advantage of an interventionist research project that was conducted in an Italian listed company operating in the information technology industry to investigate how the business model was disclosed in the annual report and provide feedback to support possible changes. The study uses a framework of analysis that helped to assess the quality of business model disclosure in terms of three attributes: amount, spread and connectivity. The annual report of two consecutive fiscal years was analyzed. The study mainly shows that the measurement and assessment of BM disclosure quality can facilitate its improvement. The analysis enabled meaningful in-sights on BM’s quality to emerge, delivering evidence on the relative importance, coverage and interconnections of BM’s disclosed components. Further, the interventionist approach helped to shape managers’ view on how to tackle disclosure issues and offer more effective communication of the BM according to the company purposes..

 


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