L’evoluzione della disclosure nella sezione narrativa. L'impatto dei principi contabili internazionali e del processo di armonizzazione

The purpose of the volume was to analyze the informative quality of the financial statements prepared according to the IAS/IFRS and its temporal evolution, deepening the level of disclosure with particular reference to the narrative section, a crucial element in order to improve the information quality of the document and the communication processes of companies. \ r\n\ r\nThe work, divided into six chapters, was developed according to several profiles, including the theoretical and the communicative one, with the analysis of the level of disclosure in the face of certain key moments in the process of harmonization and regulatory evolution on the narrative part of the financial statements. \ r\nIn the first chapter, the objectives of the research work, the cognitive purposes, the strengths, weaknesses and future development possibilities are identified and illustrated. In summary, the research represented in the volume wanted to provide answers to some guiding questions (research questions). \ r\na) To what extent and in what direction has the informative quality of the financial statements changed with particular reference to the narrative section, that is, has the new financial statement model made concrete changes at the information level? \ r\nb) Has the rapprochement between financial reporting and business reporting been encouraged? \ r\nc) What are the main differences between the communication model of Italian companies and that of United Kingdom companies whose accounting culture is certainly closer to that of international accounting standards? \ r\nThe second chapter defines: the theoretical framework of reference; the main differences in the Italian and English socio-economic environment, with reference also to the legislation on financial statements disclosure; the survey methodology. \ r\nIn particular, the analysis of the narrative section of the financial statements took place through the application of content analysis, understood in its most complete form. \ r\nThe next three chapters are intended for the analysis of the results, relating to the information categories and sub-categories, the informational attributes, the degree of correspondence, in terms of content, between the information currently communicated by the companies and the IASB Practice Statement relating to the Management Commentary. \ r\nThe last chapter is instead dedicated to comparative and overall analysis, which allows, on the one hand, to formulate considerations on the communication models of companies belonging to individual countries and on the elements of differentiation and similarity; on the other, to provide some answers to the research questions that guided the research. \ r\n\ r\nThe main strength of the research is the systematic analysis of the content of the narrative section of the financial statements, both in an evolutionary and comparative key, also providing a complete application methodology and contributing to the growth of the level of knowledge regarding the communication behavior of companies in the face of a significant change, that is, the adoption of “new” accounting principles and the effective approach of the communication processes of companies belonging to countries characterized by significant differentiations, even cultural. \ r\n\ r\nAmong the main limitations of the research, there is the fact that the results are affected by the limitations inherent in content analysis, first of all the low number of documents submitted for analysis (in any case higher than previous studies) and, therefore, the possibility of generalizing only the proposed structure and the methodology used. It is considered, however, that in the trade-off between deepening the analysis and extending it with lower levels of analyticity, the first choice is preferable, as it allows for more information to be used according to the specific objectives of individual users.