Forensic fact-finding

Reconstruction from the officially published methodology

A ratio is not a verdict. It is the result of a calculation.

Where an authority publishes its calculation rule, the result is reproducible. That is the difference between recalculating and guessing, and it decides whether a counter-calculation holds up in proceedings. The clearest case is the Italian Indici Sintetici di Affidabilità fiscale: formulas, coefficient tables and allocation matrices are published as an annex to the ministerial decree in the Gazzetta Ufficiale, organised by trade, manufacturing, services and the professions.

Why the wording counts

“Reverse engineered” sounds like rebuilding something closed and invites the question whether that was permitted. “Implemented from the officially published methodology” is a citation — and the question does not arise. In court the second is a strength, the first a surface to attack. That is why this page states what our calculation rests on, not how we built it.

What goes into the value — and who verifies it

InputOriginWho verifies it
Revenue and goods inputfrom the accountsthe accounts themselves and the audit
Payroll cost and structurefrom the accountsthe accounts themselves and the audit
Number of seatsdeclared once a yearnobody
Days opendeclared once a yearnobody
Price leveldeclared once a yearnobody
Staff daysdeclared once a yearnobody
Floor space and equipmentdeclared once a yearnobody

Verify the inputs and you verify the value

With the formula known and the coefficients known, the inputs determine the result completely. The point of attack therefore does not lie with the calculation rule — that is fixed — but with the non-accounting declarations. A wrongly declared seat count changes the expected value and with it the distance between expectation and declaration. That can be recalculated without arguing over a single euro of turnover.

A maintenance point that comes with it

The coefficients are set anew every year — each tax year has its own decree. A calculation built on the figures of an earlier year produces a wrong result for the current one without this being apparent. Anyone working with such values needs not a one-off implementation but an annual reconciliation.

What we contribute

We recalculate the value from your own accounts — following the published specification, not a supposition — and check every non-accounting figure against what the records show. For every deviation you receive the origin of the number and its effect on the result.

The Italian ISA in detail

What a usable expert report needs

The legal provisions cited here are given for information and do not replace legal advice.

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