The valuation methods for small and medium-sized enterprises

none2The aim of this work is to verify which valuation methods are used by accountants to define the value of Italian Small and Medium-sized Enterprises, considering the event of a change in the decision-making owner. Moreover, the objective is also to examine if the valuation methods employed in practice coincide with those methods considered theoretically correct and suggested by international bodies like the Federation of European Accountants. An adequate valuation should strongly increase the probability of achieving development corporate processes, through business transfers or rearrangement of ownership structure with the entrance of new partners or the start of entrepreneurial successions. The findings of this work are based on the analysis of 70 cases concerning Italian SMEs (according to the definition of European Commission), which span the period from 1978 to 2012. Specifically, we have analyzed the valuation reports, elaborated by professionals. The empirical data clearly shows us that the preferred method to valuate Italian SMEs is the mixed method, particularly the Anglo-Saxon method (with limited capitalization of goodwill). SMEs are shaped by their entrepreneurs that strongly affect the future perspectives of profit. Therefore, in the case of changes in the decision-making owner, perspectives of profit will significantly change, as they especially depend on the entrepreneur. Thus, it is reasonable to suppose that goodwill has a limited duration, in case of changes in ownership arrangement. However it is also important to consider the assets consistency of a business, because such a consistency guarantees the prosecution of business activity, also to the different decision-making owner. When an expert has to define the value of a SME, he cannot abstract from specific peculiarities of this type of firm that inevitably condition the choice of valuation method: the entrepreneur is the owner and decision-maker of the firm; SMEs do not have adequate planning and control systems, therefore it is very difficult to make trustworthy previsions.openGrandis, F.G.; Palazzi, F.Grandis, F. G.; Palazzi, Federic

Enhancing Artificial Intelligence on a Real Mobile Game

Mobile games represent a killer application that is attracting millions of subscribers worldwide. One of the aspects crucial to the commercial success of a game is ensuring an appropriately challenging artificial intelligence (AI) algorithm against which to play. However, creating this component is particularly complex as classic search AI algorithms cannot be employed by limited devices such as mobile phones or, even on more powerful computers, when considering imperfect information games (i.e., games in which participants do not a complete knowledge of the game state at any moment). In this paper, we propose to solve this issue by resorting to a machine learning algorithm which uses profiling functionalities in order to infer the missing information, thus making the AI able to efficiently adapt its strategies to the human opponent. We studied a simple and computationally light machine learning method that can be employed with success, enabling AI improvements for imperfect information games even on mobile phones. We created a mobile phone-based version of a game calledGhostsand present results which clearly show the ability of our algorithm to quickly improve its own predictive performance as far as the number of games against the same human opponent increases

Operating times and users' behavior at urban road intersections

The safety of at grade road intersections is a relevant issue with social, economic, and environmental implications. It is related to the behavior of a driver approaching an intersection that, in its turn, is affected by kinematic and physiological variables. This study proposes a model to calculate the intersection operation time (IOT) for typical non-signalized 4-leg and 3-leg (or T-leg) urban intersections. Data available in the literature have been considered in order to identify the points of interest and assess the number and the time of a driver's eye fixation on them. When approaching an intersection, the probability of glancing in a particular area changes with the distance to the yield or stop line; for this reason, a probabilistic approach was used to model the phenomenon. All possible maneuvers have been considered: left turning, right turning, and through-movement. The proposed model allowed an objective comparison between time spent by drivers for various maneuvers and layout conditions, and identification of the critical conditions. Indeed, significant differences in terms of IOT were found: they could lead to modification of the traffic management considering different needs of road users, traffic demand, and geometrical and functional constraints

Measurement of the Intrinsic Dissipation of a Macroscopic System in the Quantum Regime

We report on the first measurements of the intrinsic dissipation in a macroscopic system cooled at very low temperature (35 mK) and operating in the quantum regime. The system under study is an rf SQUID with a high quality Josephson junction. Below 50 mK the tunneling probability of escape from a metastable well vs applied flux presents a series of maxima due to energy level quantization. From the shape of the tunneling probability we can evaluate the intrinsic dissipation related to the overall system as well as the coherence time related to the Rabi oscillations in a future macroscopic quantum coherence experiment

Superconducting tunable flux qubit with direct readout scheme

We describe a simple and efficient scheme for the readout of a tunable flux qubit, and present preliminary experimental tests for the preparation, manipulation and final readout of the qubit state, performed in incoherent regime at liquid Helium temperature. The tunable flux qubit is realized by a double SQUID with an extra Josephson junction inserted in the large superconducting loop, and the readout is performed by applying a current ramp to the junction and recording the value for which there is a voltage response, depending on the qubit state. This preliminary work indicates the feasibility and efficiency of the scheme.Comment: 10 pages, 5 figure

Il Futuro della Cybersecurity in Italia: Ambiti Progettuali Strategici

Il presente volume nasce come continuazione del precedente, con l’obiettivo di delineare un insieme di ambiti progettuali e di azioni che la comunità nazionale della ricerca ritiene essenziali a complemento e a supporto di quelli previsti nel DPCM Gentiloni in materia di sicurezza cibernetica, pubblicato nel febbraio del 2017. La lettura non richiede particolari conoscenze tecniche; il testo è fruibile da chiunque utilizzi strumenti informatici o navighi in rete. Nel volume vengono considerati molteplici aspetti della cybersecurity, che vanno dalla definizione di infrastrutture e centri necessari a organizzare la difesa alle azioni e alle tecnologie da sviluppare per essere protetti al meglio, dall’individuazione delle principali tecnologie da difendere alla proposta di un insieme di azioni orizzontali per la formazione, la sensibilizzazione e la gestione dei rischi. Gli ambiti progettuali e le azioni, che noi speriamo possano svilupparsi nei prossimi anni in Italia, sono poi accompagnate da una serie di raccomandazioni agli organi preposti per affrontare al meglio, e da Paese consapevole, la sfida della trasformazione digitale. Le raccomandazioni non intendono essere esaustive, ma vanno a toccare dei punti che riteniamo essenziali per una corretta implementazione di una politica di sicurezza cibernetica a livello nazionale. Politica che, per sua natura, dovrà necessariamente essere dinamica e in continua evoluzione in base ai cambiamenti tecnologici, normativi, sociali e geopolitici. All’interno del volume, sono riportati dei riquadri con sfondo violetto o grigio; i primi sono usati nel capitolo introduttivo e nelle conclusioni per mettere in evidenza alcuni concetti ritenuti importanti, i secondi sono usati negli altri capitoli per spiegare il significato di alcuni termini tecnici comunemente utilizzati dagli addetti ai lavori. In conclusione, ringraziamo tutti i colleghi che hanno contribuito a questo volume: un gruppo di oltre 120 ricercatori, provenienti da circa 40 tra Enti di Ricerca e Università, unico per numerosità ed eccellenza, che rappresenta il meglio della ricerca in Italia nel settore della cybersecurity. Un grazie speciale va a Gabriella Caramagno e ad Angela Miola che hanno contribuito a tutte le fasi di produzione del libro. Tra i ringraziamenti ci fa piacere aggiungere il supporto ottenuto dai partecipanti al progetto FILIERASICURA