LIBRI DI PAOLA RAMASSA

There is a growing consensus around the pivotal role of interdisciplinary research (hereafter IDR) in achieving innovative results and addressing the challenges of modern societies, whose solutions are often beyond the scope of a single discipline. This paper builds on this literature to explore the trends in IDR and its evaluation in research quality assessments in the context of accounting studies by Italian scholars, even in comparison with disciplinary research. This exploratory study covers a da- taset of all articles published by Italian accounting scholars in international journals indexed in Scopus from 1985 to 2015 (1,233 articles). We operationalise IDR as diversity in the subject area of journals where the articles are published and diversity in the disciplinary sector of coauthors. Thus, the novelty of this article is that instead of using a single indicator of IDR, we consider the interaction of two alternative perspectives of analysis. The main findings reveal a relevant increase in disciplinary and interdisciplinary articles, with a comparatively smaller increase for IDR. Additionally, we observe that IDR by Italian accounting scholars is strongly oriented towards medical publi- cations. Regarding quality evaluation, the findings show a significantly higher eval- uation of disciplinary studies compared to IDR according to the criteria followed by the national assessment exercise (VQR). This explorative study contributes to the debate on IDR in two different ways. On the one hand, our study shows a relatively low growth of IDR in the under-re- searched context of social sciences in a non-Anglo-Saxon setting, where national research evaluations have stimulated radical changes in the features and outlets of scientific production. On the other hand, our results are consistent with the view that papers with a clear disciplinary focus receive comparatively higher evaluations be- cause the standards established for assessment are usually defined within the disci- pline.

This paper aims at contributing to financial reporting literature by proposing a conceptual interpretative model to analyse the corporate use of social media for financial communication purposes. In this perspective, the FIRE model provides a framework to study social media shifting the focus on the distinctive features that might enhance web investor relations. The model highlights these features through four building blocks: (i) firm identity (F); (ii) information posting (I); (iii) reputation (R); and (iv) exchange and diffusion (E). They represent key aspects to explore corporate communication activities and might offer a framework to interpret to what degree corporate web financial reporting exploits the potential of social media. Accordingly, the paper proposes metrics based on this model aimed at capturing the interactivity of corporate communications via social media, with a particular focus on web financial reporting. It tries to show the potential of this model by illustrating an exploratory empirical analysis investigating to what extent companies use social media for financial reporting purposes and whether firms are taking advantage of Twitter distinctive features of interaction and diffusion.

Increased comparability of financial statements across adopting countries is one of the main objectives of IFRS adoption. The level of achievement of this objective, however, is still debatable. While some studies have documented that crosscountry comparability of financial statements has increased after IFRS adoption, other studies have found that comparability has actually decreased since 2005. We contribute to this debate by studying whether the motivations for goodwill writeoff are the same or vary across countries with different accounting systems. Although a good deal of research has investigated the motivations for goodwill writeoff, our study is the first to analyze whether these motivations vary across countries with different accounting systems. We find that firms that expect low cash flows in the future are more likely to report goodwill write-offs if they are located in countries with an Anglo-Saxon accounting system than if they are located in countries with a Continental accounting system. These results suggest that IFRS are "interpreted" differently in different countries and that harmonization of financial statements has not been fully achieved yet.

The Italian university system is undergoing signicant changes, especially in terms of research evaluation. This evolution is even more significant for disciplines where the systematic analysis of research activity has only recently been introduced (such as Economia Aziendale). In the light of these considerations, the present paper aims at carrying out a first exploratory analysis of research published by Italian scholars of Economia Aziendale over the period 2008-2010. More specifically, the study focuses on research topics, methodology, international perspective and co-authorships with regard to both articles published in national and international journals (Journal Rating AIDEA), and books.

Financial communication has been studied from a variety of perspectives, largely focusing on features, determinants and outcomes of specific kinds of documents and disclosures. This paper reviews prior literature on the topic with particular regard to research methods in order to identify opportunities for further research. In the light of these open questions, a systemic approach is suggested for future studies on financial communication. According to this perspective, the paper shifts the focus from the analysis of specific messages and documents to the study of financial communication policies and strategy, which result from the interactions of specific choices and elements. To investigate the topic, it proposes the adoption of the case study research strategy and discusses its potential.

L’XBRL (linguaggio utilizzato per lo scambio elettronico di informazioni contabili e finanziarie) è divenuto standard obbligatorio per il deposito dei bilanci societari. Il volume fa il punto della situazione sul suo utilizzo a livello nazionale e internazionale, sulle sue potenzialità di impiego, sulle sue caratteristiche ed elementi di forza e debolezza. Un’opera per accademici, manager, consulenti dell’area amministrazione, finanza e controllo, dottori commercialisti, revisori, consulenti del lavoro, IT specialists.