Financial Statement Valuations in the Italian Civil Code: Is Fair Value Really So Extraneous to the Historical Cost Tradition?

Annalisa Baldissera – University of Brescia, Department of Law, Via San Faustino 41, Brescia, Italy

Abstract

The adequacy of the fair value concerning the historical cost is particularly debated in the literature. This study aims to analyze the Italian legislation on financial statements to verify whether the historical cost is so far from current values. The method applied by this study is based on the historical analysis, from 1942 to today, of the provisions of the Italian civil code on financial statements. The study found that, although the historical cost criterion has always been and still is fundamental, the application of fair value is by no means extraneous to Italian accounting tradition.

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