Building-bonus tax credits were created without checks, and if one is fake, the buyer pays
29 September 2026, 21:46
In Trani, seizures worth €88 million: building-bonus tax credits generated several times over on the same homes, without a single job being done. The system allowed it: all it took was an online notice with no checks, and a VAT number to do the work. And when a credit turns out to be fake, even those who bought it in good faith lose it.
Japan's rice has gone from shortage to glut: stock bought out of fear is paid for twice
29 September 2026, 09:29
In two years Japan has gone from empty shelves to a rice surplus, and today growers are selling below the cost of production. It is the path of every stock built up out of fear, in business too: it is paid for once in cash, when it is bought, and a second time in the accounts, when the price falls.
The diesel discount hasn't ended: now Eni pays for it instead of the State
28 September 2026, 21:03
The State is cutting the diesel discount that cost it about €12 million a day, and at the same moment Eni is capping prices at its filling stations. The bill moves from taxes to the oil companies' margins, and competitors have to follow suit with their own money.
Mercedes wants more hours for the same pay, but an hour only gets cheaper if someone buys it
28 September 2026, 09:33
Mercedes-Benz management wants to lengthen the working week of its German workers without raising their pay, so every hour paid would cost less. But the cost that matters to anyone drawing up quotations is the cost of the hour sold: it is calculated on the hours that actually end up on an order, and the gap between those and the hours paid is the number almost nobody measures.
In the vineyards between Gorizia and Udine, an hour's work was worth less than €3
27 September 2026, 18:23
The Guardia di Finanza in Gorizia found 107 undeclared workers in the area's vineyards, in some cases paid less than €3 net an hour. Punishing those who exploit is right. But behind the coachloads of farmhands lies a problem every business knows: in the vineyards, and not only there, Italians no longer go.
Barilla builds a mill in Foggia and sells two: making in-house pays only above a threshold
27 September 2026, 10:13
Barilla is spending €100 million on a mill next to its pasta factory in Foggia, while selling two mills and continuing to buy their semolina. It is not a contradiction: making in-house what is otherwise bought turns a cost that follows sales into a cost that has to be paid regardless, and it pays only above a turnover threshold that should be calculated before signing.
In Orzinuovi an abandoned nightclub has become a factory in nine months
26 September 2026, 18:23
On the site of the Kalua, closed and abandoned for years, the AB group has built a 16,500-square-metre plant where around a hundred people will work. A story that begins in 1981 with a 21-year-old and the electrical systems of the cowsheds of the plain south of Brescia.
Turnover grows by 3 per cent and profit falls: that is what happens when the margin loses two points
26 September 2026, 09:53
According to Unioncamere, more than one business in four expects turnover to grow by at least 3 per cent in 2026, and among the businesses worried about their energy bills 43.4 per cent expect lower margins. Taken together, the two forecasts can mean more work and less profit: a company's strength is measured by its distance from the break-even point, not by its turnover.
The bank asks its customers for an extra confirmation. For €95 million, a WhatsApp was enough
25 September 2026, 18:14
The then chairman of Fideuram sent off €95 million after a message from a fake Carlo Messina and the cloned voice of a lawyer: €36 million is still missing. The same bank tells its customers to be wary of urgent requests.
The customer who pays after the due date is borrowing money from the supplier
25 September 2026, 08:13
In the second quarter of 2026 only 42 per cent of Italian companies paid their suppliers on time, and among large companies just over one in five. Every day of delay is money the supplier lends the customer: it can be measured customer by customer, and the law even puts a price on it.
In Italy electricity is paid for at the price of gas even when gas has nothing to do with it
24 September 2026, 22:14
Confcommercio: in Italy electricity costs almost €70 per megawatt-hour more than in France. The reason lies in how the price is set: every kilowatt-hour is paid for like the last one, and the last one, very often, comes from gas. In 2022 a law made producers hand back the difference. It has expired.
You can answer yes to all three of the Observatory's questions and still see EBITDA fall
24 September 2026, 08:41
UniCredit's survey of SMEs in southern Italy measures turnover, production and headcount, but not margin: EBITDA is the number that tells whether the business engine is working, and it can fall in the very year everything else rises.
To be let off, you must have collected the money you never collected
23 September 2026, 22:32
Bari, a curtain company: €539,956 of VAT declared and not paid, a six-month prison sentence upheld by the Court of Cassation in June. In 2024 a way out arrived for those left without money. It only applies to those who had collected the tax.
Before a plan, calculate where the company is heading if nobody does anything
23 September 2026, 08:06
The twelve-month extension of short-time working for a company in the Melfi supply chain helps explain what the five-year inertial projection is for: the scenario obtained by assuming that nobody takes any decision at all.
A small loan costs more than a large one: 4.37 against 3.55
22 September 2026, 18:06
The Bank of Italy says so every month and nobody reads it. Below a million you pay almost a point more. Meanwhile, money in the current account earns 0.69.
The diesel discount is paid for by the VAT on a full tank
22 September 2026, 16:06
The dearer the pump, the more VAT flows to the State. And that extra VAT comes back in the form of lower excise duty. It's called a discount.
The debate about bringing managers back is for companies that have one
22 September 2026, 08:09
Il Sole 24 Ore asks whether bringing back a leader who had left is a good idea. The question takes for granted something most SMEs simply do not have: a manager to bring back.
Lucas invented the category in which his museum will be judged
21 September 2026, 18:07
The Lucas Museum of Narrative Art was born inside a category defined by its founder, and that makes any verdict impossible: the same thing happens in business every time a project is declared non-comparable.
The factory building is an investment. It should be judged like any other
21 September 2026, 14:12
Your money is tied up in the factory building, and almost always nobody has worked out what it earns. The right comparison is not mortgage payments against rent: it is what that capital would have earned if put to work in the business.
How much debt is too much? It is the wrong question, for a state as for a business
21 September 2026, 13:14
Rising yields, wide deficits, huge debts. The instinctive reaction is that there is too much debt, and it is the same mistaken reaction people have in front of a company's accounts: the stock tells you how much, not whether you can cope.
Your best deal may have been a terrible decision
21 September 2026, 13:00
Poker players and football analysts have stopped judging choices by their outcome. In business it still happens, and the cost is that the organisation learns the wrong lesson.
Money already spent has no place in the decision. And yet it decides almost everything
21 September 2026, 12:53
Britain and France knew Concorde would never pay back what it cost, and carried on regardless. The same sentence can be heard on every factory floor, in front of the line that has been losing money for three years.
High energy costs are a fact. That they are your problem remains to be proven
21 September 2026, 12:38
Confartigianato puts a number on the table, and it is right. But before deciding that energy is your problem you need another number, and it is in your own financial statements: how much energy weighs on the value of production.
If a digital investment doesn't show in your numbers, it didn't happen
21 September 2026, 12:36
The Economist asks how quickly investment in artificial intelligence turns into gains for everyone. The same question, three rungs further down, is whether that €40,000 of software shows up anywhere in your accounts.
Diesel can't be cut. Its share of turnover can.
21 September 2026, 09:07
The diesel price surge hitting hauliers says something that applies to everyone: a cost built into the service can't be cut, it is squeezed on its share of turnover, by working on price, on the quotation and on the contract. Meanwhile the tax credit improves profit long before it improves cash.
The incentive pays for the machine once. You pay for the people every year
21 September 2026, 08:04
Before using a subsidy to grow, it pays to calculate how far the minimum turnover that covers all costs rises, because the aid is a one-off while the costs it brings in stay.
Your top customer is worth 40% of turnover: the right question is not how much it buys
20 September 2026, 18:46
How to measure customer concentration by looking at margin rather than volume, and how to work out how many weeks of runway the cost structure leaves you if that customer stops ordering.
Profit cannot be paid into the bank
20 September 2026, 17:38
A company can close the year in profit and not have the money to pay its suppliers. It is not an accounting paradox: it is a matter of timing, and it can be measured before it happens.
How to (really) reorganise a company: case history no. 5
Theory and practice
In many industrial companies, volume grows… but margins don’t. Why?
How to (really) reorganise a company: case history no. 4
Theory and practice
“We do have a strategic direction. It just changes every two weeks.” It’s a real quip, made by a sales manager at an SME during an internal meeting.
How to manage generational handover in a family business
Theory and practice
We have often talked about control, method and strategy, but there is a moment in the life of every business that truly puts all of this to the test: the generational handover.
Your stock is your bank. But without the IBAN
Theory and practice
In a business, what seems “normal” is often what locks up liquidity. And among all the invisible blockages, there is one that keeps making itself felt without saying a word: inventory.
How to (really) reorganise a company: case history no. 1
Theory and practice
We are not talking about theory but about reality. About a real business, with real problems and a growth path built step by step, with method, vision and courage.
Why Fractional Management is the right solution for SMEs
Theory and practice
In our recent posts we have talked about controlling, organisation and synergy between skills.
The purchasing department does not just place orders
Theory and practice
In truly well-organised companies, the Purchasing Manager is not simply someone who carries out tasks but a strategic role.
“In our company we all do a bit of everything.”
Theory and practice
It’s one of the things we hear most often in SMEs, and it’s also one of the main reasons why many companies grow in a disorderly way, creating overlaps, decision-making conflicts and operational inefficiencies.
Overlapping roles in SMEs are a real problem
Theory and practice
In a company that builds mechanical plant to order, we found ourselves faced with the classic “indispensable” figure: the business owner’s right-hand man, a respected person, present everywhere, involved in everything.
Many companies think they have a good sales process
Theory and practice
But then they discover that orders are still managed with Excel files, scattered emails and manually entered information.
The companies that really grow are not the ones that work harder
Theory and practice
They are the ones that work best, because continuous improvement does not come from improvisation but from clear, shared and verifiable company procedures.
The real problem isn’t the work. It’s how it is organised
Theory and practice
Many companies are organised by function: production, administration, sales. Everything is divided, everything is assigned: it looks like organisation but, in reality, it is more often fragmentation.
Many business owners think they have everything under control
Theory and practice
In reality, they simply carry everything on their own shoulders, and this is where one of the biggest limits to SME growth arises: the inability to truly delegate.
When the company grows but the organisation stands still
Theory and practice
It happens more often than you might think. The business grows, the market responds, customers increase but, beneath the surface, something starts to creak.
Manufacturing businesses and controlling
Theory and practice
Let’s get to the heart of the more technical side of controlling: that of mechanical engineering companies.
“I don’t need a controller. I already have an accountant”
Theory and practice
That is what a business owner told us at our first meeting. His financial statements showed a profit and his turnover was good.
From controlling to control of the future
Theory and practice
Many business owners know all too well the feeling that something in the company is not heading in the right direction: the problem is that feelings are not enough and, often, the numbers are only looked at once the problem has already become an emergency.
Profit isn’t found. It’s built
Theory and practice
Many business owners “feel” how their company is doing, and they are often right, but there is a limit: gut feelings are not a management system.
The rolling forecast: a little-known but essential tool
Theory and practice
Preparing a budget is important, but stopping there is a mistake, because the budget has a structural limitation: it is static, built months in advance, on assumptions that can change quickly.
The budget is not a forecast. It is taking a stand
Theory and practice
The budget is one of the most underrated tools in SMEs: not because it is useless but because it is used the wrong way.
Without a budget, you are not running the business. You are reacting
Theory and practice
Once you understand how to build a price, where margin is generated and how to analyse it, you reach the highest level: deciding where you want to go.
Do you really want to understand where you make money? Then you need to change perspective
Theory and practice
Once you have started reading COGS and margins, the next level follows: understanding how income is generated.
You don't need cost accounting to understand where you are making money
Theory and practice
You need to start by asking yourself: “But what am I really making money on?” Many think that without an advanced cost accounting system it is impossible to answer, but that is not the case.
The problem isn’t the price. It’s how you build it
Theory and practice
Many companies are convinced they have a sales problem. “The market doesn't pay.” “Customers haggle over price.” “The competition is aggressive.”
Does the market decide the price? No. Your cost structure does
Theory and practice
Let’s continue our journey through informed business management.
Profitability by product line: what the financial statements don't tell you
Theory and practice
In previous posts we got to grips with the logic of the Break Even Point: now we’ll start to understand where the money is really made.
Cost analysis: the lens that separates real margins from illusions
Theory and practice
There is a truth that invariably emerges when you get into a company’s numbers: many decisions are made without really knowing what they cost.
From calculation to control: the real value of the Break Even Point
Theory and practice
Every business owner knows the concept of “breaking even” but hardly anyone really uses it as a strategic compass.
How to truly understand the break-even point: the power of reclassifying the financial statements
Theory and practice
Of all the tools a business owner can use to understand whether the company is really making money or just spinning its wheels, reclassifying the financial statements is one of the most underrated.
Digital complexity syndrome in SMEs
Theory and practice
For years the market has been pushing a seductive narrative: “digitalise everything and you will be more efficient, faster and more competitive”.
Data culture: the real hidden resource of SMEs
Theory and practice
In many SMEs the data exists but stays locked away in digital drawers: endless reports, Excel files everywhere, charts that nobody really looks at.
Controlling: the essential steps to avoid leaving your company to chance
Theory and practice
Many business owners believe they have everything under control until the numbers speak for themselves but, with the Italian Business Crisis Code, having clear tools to monitor and steer the company is no longer an option: it is a necessity.
The consulting that really matters: why tax advice is not enough
Theory and practice
Talking about method, numbers and control is important, but there is one aspect that deserves attention: the difference between those who manage the accounts and those who help the business grow.
Controlling does not mean “doing the accounts”
Theory and practice
And yet how many SMEs still confuse them? Many business owners believe that having up-to-date accounts or efficient management software is enough to know how the company is doing.
Controlling? In SMEs it is still an optional extra
Theory and practice
Controlling is not a luxury. It is a matter of survival, yet it is still seen as something “to do later”, when there is time, when the company is bigger.
Optimising cash flows: much more than “getting on with the bank”
Theory and practice
Financial statements and performance indicators help us understand the health of the company, but there is another aspect that separates those who react from those who anticipate: the management of cash flows.
When debt speaks: the indicator that reveals a business crisis
Theory and practice
In previous posts we learned how to read financial statements, but one fundamental issue remains to be addressed: knowing how to recognise the warning signs of a crisis.
The numbers that really matter: reading the financial statements to steer the business
Theory and practice
The balance sheet, the profit and loss account and the cash flow statement tell the story of the company: now it’s time to understand how to read them to make real decisions.
Why the cash flow statement is an essential tool
Theory and practice
The balance sheet and the profit and loss account say a great deal about a company.
Company financial statements explained in simple terms - Part II
Theory and practice
Having learnt how the Balance Sheet captures the structure of the business, it’s time to set that picture in motion.
Company financial statements explained (really) in simple terms – Part I
Theory and practice
Accounting helps us tell the story of the business through numbers: now it’s time to understand where all these numbers come together.
Financial accounting explained (really) in plain words
Theory and practice
Together we will set out on a structured journey to talk about controlling but, to do so, we first need to understand where the numbers come from, so that we can then interpret them.