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This study aims to ascertain the intentions of risk managers to use artificial intelligence in performing their tasks by examining the factors affecting their motivation.

The study employs an integrated theoretical framework that merges the third version of the technology acceptance model 3 (TAM3) and the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT) based on the application of the structural equation model with partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) estimation on data gathered through a Likert-based questionnaire disseminated among Italian risk managers. The survey reached 782 people working as risk professionals, but only 208 provided full responses. The final response rate was 26.59%.

The findings show that social influence, perception of external control and risk perception are the main predictors of risk professionals' intention to use artificial intelligence. Moreover, performance expectancy (PE) and effort expectancy (EE) of risk professionals in relation to technology implementation and use also appear to be reasonably reliable predictors.

Thus, the study offers a precious contribution to the debate on the impact of automation and disruptive technologies in the risk management domain. It complements extant studies by tapping into cultural issues surrounding risk management and focuses on the mostly overlooked dimension of individuals.

Yet, thanks to its quite novel theoretical approach; it also extends the field of studies on artificial intelligence acceptance by offering fresh insights into the perceptions of risk professionals and valuable practical and policymaking implications.

This paper investigates whether board gender diversity is associated with the propensity to prioritize environmental issues in the material topic list on Global Reporting Initiative (GRI)-based reports.

Regressions analyses are performed using a sample of 755 firm-year observations from Italy over the 2018–2022 period. The data were obtained from hand-collection on GRI-based reports and Refinitiv Eikon database. Board gender diversity is measured through three proxies: the natural logarithm of the number of women directors, the ratio of female representation on board and the Blau index reflecting the proportion of women/men on board. Additional tests are also developed.

Results show that board gender diversity positively influences the propensity to rank environmental issues at the top of the material topic list on GRI-based reports.

Since the study focuses on the Italian context, results cannot be subjective to an extensive generalization to other countries.

This study highlights the importance of strengthening the female participation on board to prioritize the firm’s impact on environment within the materiality assessment of sustainability reporting.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to investigate the association between board gender diversity and the highest ranked environmental material topics, thus contributing to better understand the role of women directors on materiality assessment within sustainability reporting.

The purpose of this paper is to develop a model for assessing the audit evidence of the going-concern (GC) assumptions underlying the preparation of financial statements.

This research analyses 678 audit opinions of Italian listed firms from 2007 to 2016 and uses a multiple linear discriminant analysis to create a GC score, which includes variables suggested by the international standards on auditing (ISA) 570 and by literature on GC.

The model provides three cut-off scores which can orient auditors towards issuing the most appropriate GC audit opinions (unmodified opinion, unmodified opinion, which includes emphases of matter, qualified opinion or disclaimer of opinion).

The development of the model is mainly based on public data and does not assess confidential information that is not disclosed in audit opinions.

This model can enable auditors to identify the most appropriate GC opinion and align auditor’s opinions in similar circumstances, thereby reducing their reliance on discretion and increasing the reliability of their judgement with a higher degree of accuracy. Moreover, this research lists additional events or conditions that may individually or collectively cast significant doubt on GC assumptions.

This study goes beyond the traditional decision-making process, apparently binary in nature, between “continuity” and “failure” or between “unmodified” and “modified” opinions. It is conceived to detect the different degrees of uncertainty that affect GC evaluations to orient auditors’ professional judgements.

In this chapter, we address the operationalization of the enterprise risk management (ERM) system in Italy. We first present some Italian economic highlights emphasizing the uncertainty characterizing the domestic development, and we focus on the recent changes in domestic regulation which are related to the concept of risk. Then, we examine the degree of knowledge of ERM in the academic arena and the role of professional bodies in this field, focusing on if and how ERM principles are embedded within organizations and effectively integrated into their practices. On the basis of the evidence from questionnaires collected from risk professionals working in prominent Italian firms, who are involved in different ways in the ERM process, we provide some concluding considerations about the degree of integration of ERM practices with governance mechanisms, accounting practices and disclosure in annual reports.