LE DETERMINANTI DELLA MANIPOLAZIONE DEI FLUSSI DI CASSA NEL RENDICONTO FINANZIARIO: PRIME EVIDENZE EMPIRICHE NEL CONTESTO ITALIANO

In the last decades, cash flow analysis has received considerable attention from analysts, as it should be characterized by a higher degree of objectiveness compared to earnings. While cash flows are less subject to managerial manipulation in terms of biased estimates, their presentation in the statement of cash flows could be distorted. Previous literature suggests that cash flows manage- ment is “distinct from earnings management”, consisting of “shifting items between the statement of cash flows categories both within and outside the boundaries of generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP)” and “timing certain transactions such as delaying payments to suppliers or accelerating collections from customers”. In the European context, non-small companies are required to publish a set of annual financial statements which in most cases includes a statement of cash flows. To the best of our knowledge, there is no evidence about the quality of this document and the incentives for opportunistic behaviors. Our research, focusing on the Italian context, provides some evidence on cash flows management behaviors and their determinants. Focusing on a sample of 9.040 non-listed Italian companies that published a Cash Flows statements over the period 2017-2018-2019, this study investigates the determinants and incentives for these behaviors. The results suggest that cash flows management behaviors are positively related to the increase of financial debt, the issuance of capital, and negatively related to investments in fixed assets, while the presence of an auditor and the presence of losses has no significant impact on this choice, confirming the relevance of the issue for non-public entities.