23 in via preliminare è utile definire i crediti commerciali ai fini della loro classificazione di bilancio, che secondo i principi contabili italiani “rappresentano diritti ad esigere, ad una scadenza individuata o individuabile, determinati ammontari di disponibilità liquide da clienti o da altri soggetti” e pertanto “nelle imprese mercantili, industriali e di servizi tale diritto deriva generalmente dalla vendita di prodotti, merci e servizi con pagamento differito”. Da un punto di vista finanziario oltre ai crediti, le cambiali attive rappresentano titoli di credito con una promessa incondizionata di pagamento verso il portatore del titolo, mentre le ricevute bancarie (RIBA), sono strumenti che consentono l’incasso del credito tramite un ordine disposto dal creditore ad un istituto bancario per la riscossione del credito sottostante, anche attraverso la forma elettronica di ricevute interbancarie. In questo caso per le RIBA, non abbiamo una sostituzione del titolo di credito con una cessione a terzi (cioè la banca, salvo i casi di pro-soluto) ed il titolo termina di esistere solo dopo l’incasso. In bilancio i crediti sono esposti nell’attivo patrimoniale secondo la loro natura e destinazione: crediti verso terzi o verso il gruppo se si tratta di una società controllata o controllante altre entità. La classificazione dei crediti tra l’attivo circolante e le immobilizzazioni finanziarie non è effettuata sulla base del criterio finanziario (riferendosi al termine temporale entro cui questi titoli saranno incassati e si trasformeranno in liquidità), ma bensì sulla funzione del credito nell’amAs a preliminary point, it is useful to define trade receivables for the purposes of their classification in financial statements, which according to Italian accounting standards “represent the right to request, at an identified or identifiable deadline, certain amounts of cash and cash equivalents from customers or other parties” and therefore “in mercantile, industrial and service companies this right generally derives from the sale of products, goods and services with deferred payment”. From a financial point of view, in addition to credits, promissory notes are a credit tool with an unconditional promise of payment to their holder, while bank receipts allow the credit to be collected through an order placed from the creditor to a bank to collect the underlying credit, also by electronic interbank receipts. In the case of bank receipts, there is no replacement of the credit title with a transfer to third parties (i.e. the bank, except in cases of non-recourse) and the title ceases to exist only after collection. Receivables are shown in the financial statements according to their nature and destination: receivables from third parties or from the group if it is a subsidiary or parent company of other entities. The classification of receivables between current assets and financial fixed assets is not carried out on the basis of a financial criterion (referring to the time period within which these securities will be collected and will be transformed into liquidity), but rather on the credit function within the management: commercial transactions are recorded in working capital while financial transactions, given their characteristic and duration, among fixed assets. Receivables must be entered according to their presumed realization value. The nominal value of the receivables is therefore adjusted to take into account any expected losses due to uncollectables, returns and billing adjustments, discounts and rebates, and other causes of lower convertibility. A provision for bad debts is functional to take into account uncollectable debt that has already occurred or is reasonably foreseeable at the time of preparation of the financial statements. The estimate of the doubtful debt provision includes loss forecasts both for uncollectables that have already appeared and for other uncollectables that have not appeared yet, but are considered highly likely. An operational logic of credit analysis underlines that total or partial uncollectables, whether certain or presumed (on the basis of objective elements), as in the case of bankrupt debtors or any case of financial difficulties, judicial disputes, and untraceable debtors, must be immediately recorded as a loss, also for full credit deductibility that is technically no longer collectable, and for which, under certain conditions, a variation note can also be issued for VAT purposes for tax recovery. Having completed the theoretical premises, it is appropriate to dwell on some aspects of credit management and analysis, as for a company it is a fundamental activity to maintain a constant level of positive cash flows, in order to have a balanced financial cycle. The collection management relationship is parameterized with suppliers’ manage-
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