The aim of this conceptual article is to present a systematic literature review about the most used and innovative startup valuation methods to define the state of art and future trends on this important topic. Because of the particular features of early-stage companies, it is not easy to find an adequate method to assess their value. Traditional valuation methods are unsuitable for startups. Therefore, over time, academic literature and experienced investors created alternative and innovative valuation models. We analysed the main models, outlining the advantages and limits for each one. The results of our analysis show that there is currently no "perfect" method to assess a startup’s value. Each model discussed has significant limits, and the possibilities for improvement are many. We are witnessing a gradual withdrawal from more arbitrary valuation models, and consciousness is growing towards the idea that to better assess startup’s value, it is necessary to consider three aspects: attention to future forecasts instead of past data, using probability to consider different scenarios, and understanding of and attention to the specific business model of the startup rather than data on comparable companies in the market. Currently, none of the discussed methods integrates these three features harmoniously. We expect that in the near future, the academic literature will develop new valuation methods (or will perfect existing ones) that should consider the three characteristics mentioned previously. In this way, it would be possible to create a more suitable method to assess a startup's value, i.e., a method to reduce uncertainty and that better represents the startup’s value and makes startup company valuation more reliable.
In this article, we build a Quantitative Discretion Index (hereafter referred to as QDI) to identify within the financial statements the most vulnerable areas related to possible opportunistic earnings management (hereafter referred to as EM) practices, with the aim of supporting ethical behaviour in corporate social communications. In order to better explain the QDI construction method, a practical example is implemented, starting from an analysis of the consolidated balance sheet of an Italian listed company operating in the media sector (in 2016). The QDI might be added to the contents of voluntary information provided by companies that pay attention to ethical behaviour and corporate social responsibility. Within each corporate balance sheet, the QDI allows stakeholders to identify the evaluation discretion areas, where any possible EM practices may be more likely and on which it may be more useful for stakeholders to focus their research attention. Business ethics aims to mitigate EM practices in social communications, including voluntary communication. Indeed, the discretional nature of the assessment of financial statements items by the administrative body represents one of the main weaknesses in the activity of mitigating earnings management practices. At present, the literature has dealt with the relations between ethical behaviour and EM; however, the research should also provide tools that can identify and neutralise the possibilities that opportunistic EM practices can be implemented, thus resulting in more ethical business practices.
The valuation of a small or medium-sized enterprise through subjective methods, may not exclude a correct contextualisation of the data forming the information base of the estimate. "Contextualisation" refers to the general overview of all those elements that allow a proper definition of the enterprise's background. All of this serves in the analysis for the correct data necessary for the determination of values such as the economic and financial flows to discount, the timeframe of analysis and the discount rate. Without a correct contextualisation, it is not possible to reach a correct measurement of the company value in accordance with the studies on the "theory of value". After observing that "contextualisation" has not been widely studied till now for the theory of value, the present work analyses the incidence on the measurement of the company value, showing with an empirical case the different results that may be reached on the basis of the contextualisation of data. Hence, a correct "contextualisation" is crucial for the proper valuation of a company. Academic researches should take more carefully into consideration, this aspect concerning the valuation of a company and in particular, define more accurately the implementing rules in the assessment methods.
This study is a concise, systematic literature review of a legal instrument called the ‘trust’ in academic business research. Therefore, it aims to define the state-of-the-art and future research paths on this topic. Web of Science and Scopus are bibliographic databases used to collect data, and a rigorous and transparent methodological protocol has been used to conduct a systematic literature review. The study of bibliometric data and the content analysis of the research sample allow for insightful considerations, showing the main business areas dealing with trusts (the financial, historical, and corporate governance areas) and mapping the specific sub-topics of each one. Moreover, a new trend outlines the increasing interest in trusts and connected institutions (investment trusts, trust companies, unit trust funds, real estate investment trusts) from the traditional UK and US contexts to new emerging countries such as China, Malaysia, and South Africa. In conclusion, many gaps in the literature and opportunities for future business research are outlined. This study helps overcome the traditional juridical study perspective of trusts, showing many links with businesses and corporations and encouraging scholars to investigate the trusts in the business world.
The process of accounting harmonisation via International Accounting Standards/International Financial Reporting Standards (IAS/IFRS) adoption is very widespread, and it is still involving a huge number of countries all over the world.Previous academic literature investigated the impact of this process from different perspectives, such as the quality of financial reports, the transparency of financial disclosures, the liquidity of the financial markets and the cost of equity.The aim of this article is to contribute to the research stream exploring the effects of IAS/IFRS adoption, investigating if accounting harmonisation through the IAS/IFRS has had an impact on the internationalisation process. To achieve our objective, two multiple linear regression analyses are presented. The first one focuses on the impact of the adoption of IAS/IFRS on foreign direct investments (FDIs) using data collected from a sample of 34 Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) member countries. The second statistical analysis investigates the influence of IAS/IFRS adoption on cross-border mergers and acquisitions (M&A), considering operations carried out by European-listed companies towards target companies located in the 34 OECD member countries. The FDIs and cross-border M&A are considered proxies of the internationalisation process.Preliminary results show that the adoption of IAS/IFRS has positively affected FDI flows and increased the value of cross-border M&A.This study has tried to provide theoretical contributions to the literature stream about the effects of the harmonisation process with IAS/IFRS adoption, showing the beneficial impact they may have on the internationalisation process. Moreover, our findings can be useful for policymakers and managers, suggesting that becoming IAS/IFRS adopters can facilitate the internationalisation process of the companies.
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