Finalità aziendali e Conceptual Framework. Soggetti destinatari dell'informazione e contrapposizioni di interessi.

Abstract

Conceptual Frameworks supply the rational bases upon which financial reports standards are built. Their study, then, is of core relevance for fully understanding essentials and trends of financial reports standard peculiar contents. Thus, in this work, the authors read again the structures of the two main International Frameworks (namely, the ‘private’ one by the IASB, and the ‘public’ one by the IPSASB) under the diachronic light shed by a critical and historical survey. This dynamic reading of the basic assumptions and principles of Conceptual Frameworks (from now on, simply, CF) focuses on the privileges, granted variously in different times, among the recipient subjects (the ‘users’) of financial reporting. The objective of the research, of course, does not concern only a descriptive analysis but includes also a critical study on the consistency between these privileges and the entity’s ends, as under a strict ‘business’ point of view as under a properly ‘institutional’ one. This criticism is differently declined, as well as in ‘private’ and ‘public’ domain as in its ‘general’ issues. Methodology is basically of qualitative nature and includes several phases: the first one is the knowledge and description of the same object, the two main CFs and their contents, through their various releases. The presentation of contents implies, on its turn, a historic interpretation under the light shed by the institutional contexts where these CFs were born. From this empirical ground the authors induce the inspiring basic principles, with particular concern to the privileged users. Afterwards, these principles are developed, this time in a deductive way, to infer from the privileged users the consistent main features of the accounting and financial report system. Finally, a last and normative phase follows, in which CFs are evaluated and according the entity’s ends generally accepted by the doctrine and according defined canons of social desirability to infer main normative conclusions. The paper contributes to the debate on CF, particularly hoping to shift it to more theoretical issues like the critical analysis about relations between fundamentals of CF and entity’s ends. The aim is enhancing debate on IFRS and IPSAS issues toward a deeper thought on basic foundations. This thought should not only have a theoretical value but it should lead to more conscious and consistent law interventions on accounting standard, mainly for what concerns financial reports users. The contribution could be original not just because it explores theoretical and basic aspects of accounting often quite neglected but, in addition to this, very relevant for its implicit effect on international and national issuing of standards. The afforded topics show their relevance mainly in a context of continuous international crisis where a more ethically sustainable approach to accounting regulation is needed.