This paper examines the relationship between governance variables and voluntary intellectual capital disclosure in a sample of European biotechnology firms. We extend previous research by simultaneously considering governance mechanisms such as the proportion of independent directors, board dimension, CEO duality and board structure in relationship to voluntary disclosure on intellectual capital. We understand voluntary disclosure as a multidimensional and complex concept and, hence, use the semantic properties of the information disclosed, and on the content of information, as proxies for the quality of disclosure. Our results suggest that governance-related variables strongly influence the quantity of information disclosed, thus confirming our hypotheses. In regard to the quality of disclosure, our results show that (1) the proportion of independent directors is positively related to the disclosure of internal structure, (2) CEO duality is negatively linked to the disclosure of forward-looking information, and (3) board structure helps to improve the annual report's overall readability. We contribute to agency theory by indicating that corporate governance mechanisms and voluntary disclosure can be used strategically to reduce agency conflicts. The results of this study might be of interest to regulators, investment analysts and market participants.

The relationship between literature/theory and practice in accounting is not well understood, especially in the area of cost accounting. This article examines the development of both the relevant literature/theory and cost accounting practice in Italy during the nineteenth century and the first four decades of the twentieth century. In this way, the article provides insights into aspects of accounting’s development, throwing light on alternative views such as the diffusionist and “multiple origins” theories, and helps to provide material for future comparative international accounting history research

This paper investigates the relationships of the choice of philanthropic strategy with board capital (diversity and networks), board activities (board processes, internal board committees, and board effectiveness), and CEO leadership. Using a sample of 110 Italian foundations, the research shows that board processes have the strongest positive association with an evolved strategic approach to philanthropic institutional grant-giving, while board diversity and strong CEO leadership are associated with the strategic approach only under certain conditions. In particular, good governance processes (e.g., training the board, self-evaluation of trustees, setting the stage for effective board and committee meetings, implementing control software, and steering meetings to improve the board’s analysis) are positively associated with evolved strategic approaches to philanthropy (e.g., signaling other funders for the best grantees, improving the performance of grant recipients, and advancing selected social fields’ state of knowledge and practice)

Accounting historians link the origins of cost accounting to the rise of manufacturing firms and, in a more detailed way, to efficiency control, pricing and decision-making problems faced in those organizations. To date, the international debate has mainly focused on practices in the USA, Great Britain and France, with little evidence available of developments in other countries, such as Italy. In this paper, the authors analyse the development of cost accounting in an Italian firm, 'La Magona d'Italia'. This iron, steel and tinplate firm, situated in Piombino, is observed over the period 1865-1940, i.e. during the central phase of the industrial revolution in Italy. We find that several factors influenced the implementation of a cost accounting system at Magona, including efficiency control, strategic decision making, and stock valuation. We also find a strong British influence on Magona's strategy, organization and information system, particularly in respect of finance, managers, technology and accounting practices. There is little evidence that Italian accounting traditions and practice played much of a role.Origins Of Cost Accounting, Italy, La Magona D'ITALIA, Tinplate Manufacture, British, Influences,

Utilising archival materials relating to an Italian pottery manufacturer, Manifattura Ginori, this paper examines the development of the company's accounting system during the 19th century. By the early 1800s, Manifattura Ginori is shown to have developed a double-entry bookkeeping system and to have carried out cost calculations. Deficiencies in the archive unfortunately do not enable us to determine precisely the nature of the links between the cost calculations and the financial accounting system during the early decades of the 19th century. However, as the century wore on, and the business moved from being an artisanal based manufacturer of high quality porcelain to a large-scale, industrial producer of utilitarian wares, Manifattura Ginori developed its system of accounting to reflect organisational changes and managerial needs. The Ginori archives therefore not only provide us with a rare glimpse of accounting in an early industrial context in Italy, but also of the use of accounting as a mechanism for business management and control in a non-Anglo-Saxon context. In particular it allows us to examine the role of accountants, to throw light on factors causing accounting change, and the relevance of alternative theoretical paradigms in interpreting such changes. By placing the experiences of Manifattura Ginori in a context of developments elsewhere in Europe, especially Britain and France, some implications can be drawn regarding the possibility of multiple origins of accounting ideas.