Enel: CSR and Performance Measurement

The Enel case is focused on the impact of CSR on performance measurement and evaluation. Particularly, it points out the impact that a CSR approach can have on performance measurement both for external and internal users. On the one side, we refer to the external reporting for communication and information towards the stakeholders (CSR disclosure), such as the triple bottom line reporting, or the environmental and social balance sheet; on the other side, it is taken into consideration the managerial reporting devoted to support the management in the evaluation of business performance and in the decision making process. With regard to CSR disclosure, and considering an historical point of view, the case deals with the introduction of the social balance sheet and the environmental reporting in 1996, the ethical code in 2002, and the sustainability balance sheet in 2003. Referring to the managerial reporting, the case describes how, since 2003, the CSR principles have been introduced in the strategic planning, budgeting and managerial reporting. It gives also an account of the introduction of a Sustainability Balanced Scorecard. The case deals also with the reasons why a company decides to revise its performance measurement and evaluation systems, in order to align them to the CSR approach, the related advantages and difficulties, and the technical issues (the contents of the sustainability balance sheet and reporting, the choice of KPI, the IT issues, and so on)

Accounting, auditing and control for sustainability

The article aims to highlight the main impact that CSR and sustainability produce on managerial accounting

Creare valore con la sostenibilit\ue0 del service nel settore automotive: il progetto officine sostenibili

L'articolo si pone un duplice obiettivo: da un lato mettere in luce i principali impatti cha la sostenibilit\ue0 produce sulla gestione delle attivit\ue0 di servizio post-vendita nell'ambito del settore automotive; dall'altro presentare i risultati di un progetto di miglioramento della sostenibilit\ue0 dei processi e delle attivit\ue0 di competenza della rete del service

Determinanti e strategie del post-vendita

L'articolo prende spunto dalle evidenze emerse da una ricerca condotta sul tema dei processi post-vendita nel contesto delle imprese operanti in diversi settori di beni durevoli. In particolare, l'articolo, dopo aver messo in luce il ruolo dei servizi post-vendita nel processo di creazione di valore aziendale, presenta ed analizza le diverse possibili configurazioni strategiche che tali attivit\ue0 possono assumere

A Decade of Integrated Reporting Studies: State of the Art and Future Research Implications

Purpose – Over the past decade, researchers have witnessed an exponential growth in the number of publications on IR. This paper aims to understand the state of the art of the research field and to highlight the areas where further academic research is needed, guiding developments in theory, research, policy and practices. Design/methodology/approach – The authors apply the dynamic literature review method called “Systematic Literature Network Analysis”, which combines systematic literature review and bibliographic network analysis. Furthermore, to overcome some of the limitations connected to the methodology, the authors integrate the literature with a manual content analysis of papers. Findings – IR adoption and practices and their determinants represent the most analyzed aspects of literature. Over time, attention has been paid to more specific issues, such as the relationship between IR and other disclosure mechanisms, IR quality and its assurance, the critical analysis of the IR framework and principles and difficulties in IR adoption. Although the literature on IR can be considered to be in its mature stage, many aspects are still under-researched, so there is plenty of space for future research. Originality/value – The authors propose the following main issues as subjects to be investigated in future studies: IR is not simply an evolution of sustainability reporting, but an innovative communication tool; the debate on who the recipients of value are (shareholders or stakeholders) and on what the definition of value adopted by IR is still remains an open issue; more attention should be given to the role of IR as a managerial tool, which could support strategy formation and communication, and influence internal processes of performance measurement and evaluation; what the future of IR will be in light of recent EU Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive and new ISSB’s standards is still an open question. From a methodological perspective, little is known about structured approaches in accounting studies. The authors confirm how methodologies, such as that of this paper, may be exploited as a tool to support dynamic analysis for setting the agendas for future studies in the accounting field

OVOL2 impairs RHO GTPase signaling to restrain mitosis and aggressiveness of Anaplastic Thyroid Cancer

Background: Anaplastic Thyroid Cancer (ATC) is an undifferentiated and aggressive tumor that often originates from well-Differentiated Thyroid Carcinoma (DTC) through a trans-differentiation process. Epithelial-to-Mesenchymal Transition (EMT) is recognized as one of the major players of this process. OVOL2 is a transcription factor (TF) that promotes epithelial differentiation and restrains EMT during embryonic development. OVOL2 loss in some types of cancers is linked to aggressiveness and poor prognosis. Here, we aim to clarify the unexplored role of OVOL2 in ATC. Methods: Gene expression analysis in thyroid cancer patients and cell lines showed that OVOL2 is mainly associated with epithelial features and its expression is deeply impaired in ATC. To assess OVOL2 function, we established an OVOL2-overexpression model in ATC cell lines and evaluated its effects by analyzing gene expression, proliferation, invasion and migration abilities, cell cycle, specific protein localization through immunofluorescence staining. RNA-seq profiling showed that OVOL2 controls a complex network of genes converging on cell cycle and mitosis regulation and Chromatin Immunoprecipitation identified new OVOL2 target genes. Results: Coherently with its reported function, OVOL2 re-expression restrained EMT and aggressiveness in ATC cells. Unexpectedly, we observed that it caused G2/M block, a consequent reduction in cell proliferation and an increase in cell death. This phenotype was associated to generalized abnormalities in the mitotic spindle structure and cytoskeletal organization. By RNA-seq experiments, we showed that many pathways related to cytoskeleton and migration, cell cycle and mitosis are profoundly affected by OVOL2 expression, in particular the RHO-GTPase pathway resulted as the most interesting. We demonstrated that RHO GTPase pathway is the central hub of OVOL2-mediated program in ATC and that OVOL2 transcriptionally inhibits RhoU and RhoJ. Silencing of RhoU recapitulated the OVOL2-driven phenotype pointing to this protein as a crucial target of OVOL2 in ATC. Conclusions: Collectively, these data describe the role of OVOL2 in ATC and uncover a novel function of this TF in inhibiting the RHO GTPase pathway interlacing its effects on EMT, cytoskeleton dynamics and mitosis

FSHD muscular dystrophy Region Gene 1 binds Suv4-20h1 histone methyltransferase and impairs myogenesis

Facioscapulohumeral Muscular Dystrophy (FSHD) is an autosomal dominant myopathy with a strong epigenetic component. It is associated with deletion of a macrosatellite repeat leading to over-expression of the nearby genes. Among them, we focused on FSHD Region Gene 1 (FRG1) since its over-expression in mice, X. laevis and C. elegans leads to muscular dystrophy-like defects, suggesting that FRG1 plays a relevant role in muscle biology. Here we show that, when overexpressed, FRG1 binds and interferes with the activity of the histone methyltransferase Suv4-20h1 both in mammals and Drosophila. Accordingly, FRG1 over-expression or Suv4-20h1 knockdown inhibits myogenesis. Moreover, Suv4-20h KO mice develop muscular dystrophy signs. Finally, we identify the FRG1/Suv4-20h1 target Eid3 as a novel myogenic inhibitor that contributes to the muscle differentiation defects. Our study suggests a novel role of FRG1 as epigenetic regulator of muscle differentiation and indicates that Suv4-20h1 has a gene-specific function in myogenesis

!CHAOS: A cloud of controls

The paper is aimed to present the !CHAOS open source project aimed to develop a prototype of a national private Cloud Computing infrastructure, devoted to accelerator control systems and large experiments of High Energy Physics (HEP). The !CHAOS project has been financed by MIUR (Italian Ministry of Research and Education) and aims to develop a new concept of control system and data acquisition framework by providing, with a high level of abstraction, all the services needed for controlling and managing a large scientific, or non-scientific, infrastructure. A beta version of the !CHAOS infrastructure will be released at the end of December 2015 and will run on private Cloud infrastructures based on OpenStack