Auditor choice in Italian non-listed firms

© Emerald Group Publishing Limited. Purpose – This paper aims to investigate auditor choice in those Italian non-listed firms adopting the “traditional” model of corporate governance. In Italy, non-listed firms can choose between two types of auditor: the Board of Statutory Auditors (BSA), that is the statutory auditors, or an “external” auditor. At the same time, a BSA conducts the administrative auditing for all companies with equity exceeding €120,000. Design/methodology/approach – The paper estimates a logistic regression model of firm auditor choice between an external auditor and the BSA, which incorporates variables proxying for both agency conflict and organizational complexity effects. Findings – The results show that of the potential agency factors, only board independence drives auditor choice, whereas organizational complexity and risk factors including firm size, investment in inventories, subsidiary status and complexity drive auditor choice. These results may be explained in the administrative audit role of the BSA, which monitors both day-by-day firm operations and the financial statements preparation “project”. Stakeholders as a result are reassured that, in general, their interests are protected. Finally, it was found that legal form and voluntary International Financial Reporting Standards compliance exert an impact on auditor choice. Originality/value – The paper provides support for an internal yet independent auditing body such as the Italian BSA as a wider model for corporate governance in European non-listed firms (OECD, 2004 and 2015). The BSA as an administrative and financial auditing body made up solely of independent highly qualified professionals can work within the firm on an operational basis, and in so doing can increase stakeholder protection

Improving the efficiency of Port Community Systems through integrated information flows of logistic processes

The aim of the paper is to investigate maritime logistic processes, focusing on efficiency and coordination. The topic is timely because, in the European context, the EU Directive no. 2010/65/EU imposes the adoption of digital procedures concerning documents and information, in order to facilitate the relationships between all the actors of a port community system (PCS). From a theoretical viewpoint, we adopt the evolutionary economic approach, since it helps to understand the change processes due to its focus on organizational routines and their institutionalization. From a methodological viewpoint, we adopt a case-study approach, investigating the port of Salerno (south of Italy), which is involved in the “Smart Tunnel Project”, whose aim is to create a platform for intelligent logistic services. As a result, we provide a model that aims to replace the old inter- organizational routines with new more efficient ones, also improving the knowledge of the logistic processes through a facilitation of the exchange of documents and information between all the involved actors

Investigating the Relationship between the Social and Economic-financial Performance

Hundreds of studies have explored and measured financial returns related to social performance (Margolis and Walsh, 2003), with controversial results. In addition to these studies‟ outcomes, we found, in this body of literature, a lot of innovation in the integration and adaptation of financial analysis tools and models to the study of statistical relationships. In this paper, we investigate the relationship between corporate social performance and corporate financial (and economic) performance, using multiple measures of financial and social performance and by looking statistically at the movement of actual financial and social performance over time. We emphasize the worth of statistical analysis in traditional financial representations. Our findings show how ratio analysis and statistical cause-and-effect validation are not alternatives for developing the financial analysis of sustainability and reporting. We show, through constant testing and a double learning process, the critical relationship between the key factors of financial, economic and social performance

Patient empowerment and health online community : two ways to give the new viability doctor-patient relationship = Cooperación y intercambio de conocimiento en la era de Internet : dos maneras de dar nueva viabilidad a la relación médico-paciente

The purpose of this study is to analyze patient empowerment and point out how it affects new approach to physician-patient management. It is also examined the role of empowered patients and Health Communities in giving new viability to healthcare organizations. The paper is based on a literature review of empowerment and in particular of patient empowerment. The emerging results are enforced by the discussion of RareConnect.org explanatory case study.The study investigates new patient decision-making ability, which involves a radical shift in healthcare management and communication. It also contributes to the definition of a “viable” approach to organization-patient relationship management, based on cooperation and new resources acquiring. The paper represents a first attempt to examine physician- patient relationship according to the model of viability cycle.El objetivo de este trabajo es evaluar el empowerment del paciente y señalar cómo afecta el nuevo enfoque de gestión médico-paciente. También se examina la influencia que los pacientes y las comunidades de salud online tienen en la viabilidad de las organizaciones sanitarias. El presente artículo se basa en una revisión bibliográfica sobre el empowerment y, en particular, del empowerment del paciente. Los resultados emergentes son respaldados por el estudio de caso explicativo RareConnect.org. El artículo investiga la nueva capacidad de decisión del paciente, lo que implica un cambio radical en la gestión de la asistencia y la comunicación sanitaria. También contribuye a la definición de un enfoque “viable” para la gestión de la relación médico-paciente, basada en la cooperación y la adquisición de nuevos recursos. El artículo constituye un primer intento en la investigación sobre la relación médico-paciente de acuerdo con el modelo de ciclo de viabilidad

The impact of financial difficulties on earnings management strategies: The case of Italian non-listed firms

This study investigates the impact of the degree of financial distress on the earnings management activities of Italian non-listed firms. The extant literature provides mixed evidence on this relationship for listed firms. We find a positive (negative) relationship between financial distress risk and income-decreasing (income-increasing) earnings management, suggesting that firms tend to manage earnings downward as financial distress risk (proxied by Altman's Z-Score) increases. Consistent with the Jensen control hypothesis, stressed firms are more likely to reveal their weak financial performance to stakeholders in order to renegotiate their debt on better terms and to signal the manager's willingness to deal with these problems to stakeholders (e.g. lenders and auditors). In two robustness tests, we test the power of the Kothari et al. (2005) model for decomposing total accruals and we also analyse a reduced firm sample representing over 80% of the population. We employ a linear regression model controlling for heteroschedasticity and autocorrelation using the Petersen method. The dependent variable is continuous and proxies negative discretionary accruals (DA) by setting positive (DA) to zero since we hypothesise that managers of distressed firms are more likely to manage earnings downward than healthy firms. Distress is proxied by the Altman Z-score measure for non-listed firms. Our research has several implications for academics, practitioners, lenders, and national standard setters, showing that, i

Improving the efficiency of Port Community Systems through integrated information flows of logistic processes

The aim of the paper is to investigate maritime logistic processes, focusing on efficiency and coordination. The topic is timely because, in the European context, the EU Directive no. 2010/65/EU imposes the adoption of digital procedures concerning documents and information, in order to facilitate the relationships between all the actors of a port community system (PCS). From a theoretical viewpoint, we adopt the evolutionary economic approach, since it helps to understand the change processes due to its focus on organizational routines and their institutionalization. From a methodological viewpoint, we adopt a case-study approach, investigating the port of Salerno (south of Italy), which is involved in the “Smart Tunnel Project”, whose aim is to create a platform for intelligent logistic services. As a result, we provide a model that aims to replace the old inter-organizational routines with new more efficient ones, also improving the knowledge of the logistic processes through a facilitation of the exchange of documents and information between all the involved actors