The uncertainty generated by the Covid-19 pandemic has influenced countless aspects of business management. In order to deal with the pandemic, managers had to make particularly complex choices regarding, for example, the cash management activities, investment decisions and workplace safety procedures. At the same time, the instability related to the performance and solvency of companies has made it necessary for companies to have adequate information disclosure, even more than that in the past. The Covid-19 pandemic has in fact increased the need for an effective communication about the main corporate events with all corporate stakeholders. Based on this premise, this study aims to highlight the main scientific contributions regarding the impact that the Covid-19 pandemic has had on accounting and on corporate financial reports. The analysis carried out led to the identification of five thematic areas: Policy, Corporate Social Responsibility, Disclosure, Financial Statements Data and Audit. Moreover, considering the importance of providing adequate disclosure in a period of great uncertainty, this paper proposes an analysis on the disclosure about the Covid-19 pandemic provided by the companies belonging to the FTSE MIB index of the Italian Stock Exchange. Following a preliminary quantitative analysis of the performance of these companies, a content analysis was carried out on the financial statements and the main documents attached to it, in order to verify the presence of references to the Covid-19 pandemic. It will be shown that the companies analyzed have made adequate disclosure of information regarding the emergency situation arising from the pandemic.
The effects of covid-19 on financial statements: Some insights from italy through an international literature review
Bertacchini F.
2021
Abstract
The uncertainty generated by the Covid-19 pandemic has influenced countless aspects of business management. In order to deal with the pandemic, managers had to make particularly complex choices regarding, for example, the cash management activities, investment decisions and workplace safety procedures. At the same time, the instability related to the performance and solvency of companies has made it necessary for companies to have adequate information disclosure, even more than that in the past. The Covid-19 pandemic has in fact increased the need for an effective communication about the main corporate events with all corporate stakeholders. Based on this premise, this study aims to highlight the main scientific contributions regarding the impact that the Covid-19 pandemic has had on accounting and on corporate financial reports. The analysis carried out led to the identification of five thematic areas: Policy, Corporate Social Responsibility, Disclosure, Financial Statements Data and Audit. Moreover, considering the importance of providing adequate disclosure in a period of great uncertainty, this paper proposes an analysis on the disclosure about the Covid-19 pandemic provided by the companies belonging to the FTSE MIB index of the Italian Stock Exchange. Following a preliminary quantitative analysis of the performance of these companies, a content analysis was carried out on the financial statements and the main documents attached to it, in order to verify the presence of references to the Covid-19 pandemic. It will be shown that the companies analyzed have made adequate disclosure of information regarding the emergency situation arising from the pandemic.I documenti in SFERA sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
