Asset revaluation: scelte manageriali in tempo di crisi

Starting from the accounting advantages that a revaluation of fixed assets can gen-erate in terms of strengthening the capital structure of firms, this paper illustrates that the management of small and medium-sized Italian companies, with low debt ratios, in times of crisis, can improve economic and financial performance through the use of this accounting tool. In an accounting system such as the Italian one based on the valuation of assets according to the historical cost method, the revaluation granted by special laws al-lows management to strengthen the perception of the solidity of the asset structure without directly intervene on the capital in the event of losses. The research was applied on the revaluation allowed in Italy in 2008, during the world market crisis, which permitted, like the last regulatory intervention issued during the COVID-19 emergency, a revaluation valid only for civil law purposes without an obligation to a fiscal realignment. The results of this research show that management re-evaluates fixed assets to give a better representation of assets, spe-cially before requesting loans from credit institutions. However, only companies that already had a healthy financial structure have obtained income benefits. Compared to companies that have not proceeded with a revaluation, this account-ing concession has enabled a significant improvement in the profitability of com-panies. It is a relevant finding especially in times of market crisis such as this, in which it is necessary that healthy companies can overcome temporary lack of li-quidity and become competitive again.