ISA 570: ITALIAN AUDITORS’ AND ACADEMICS’ PERCEPTION OF THE GOING CONCERN OPINION

This study aims to identify which of the indicators used to assess whether an entity may not be able to continue as a going concern, are regarded both by Italian partners in auditing firms and Italian academics in the field of accounting and finance as being the most important. The indicators and ratios are those pursuant to auditing standard ISA 570 – Going Concern, literature and professional practice. The ISA 570 does not suggest a hierarchy of these indicators, because they are only examples of events or conditions that, individually or collectively, may cast significant doubt on the entity’s ability to continue as a going concern, neither suggest specific ratios. To this end, an on-line survey was administered to the partners in auditing firms and to the university faculty of Accounting and Finance. The paper contributes to enriching previous literature by providing insights into how Italian auditors and Italian financial reporting scholars prioritize going concern indicators suggested by ISA 570. The results would help auditors and directors to focus on the most relevant indicators in a going-concern assessment.