Exploring the Going Concern Statement, Readability and Length Cues as Indicators of Distress at Italian Companies

This study explores the going concern statement, readability and length cues as indicators of Italian private companies in default. The results indicate that the disclosures of defaulting companies contain (1) low readability; (2) greater uncertainty and confusing information; and (3) a lengthy going concern statement compared to non-defaulting firms. This is the first study to analyse the going concern statement and its correlation with Italian default by comparing International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) and Italian Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP).