The Impairment Risk Of Corporate Properties: Strategic And Operational Approaches To Analyze Some Mismatches Between The Physical And The Economical Function Of The Buildings

A control activity, able to prevent Corporate Properties from Impairment Risks, has becoming a strategic task also for the Italian Companies. More and more various are, in fact, the services delivered by the Facility Management, either ìwithinî or ìin outsourcingî, as well as many are the variables to look up to in order to identify risky events and, at the same time, to enhance the assets performance. During the last few years the Italian Government has progressively introduced new regulations in two main areas of corporate properties management, in accordance with recent agreements signed in the Euro Area. The first class of provisions deals with a technological enhancing of buildings and plants (i.e. security systems, environmental quality certifications, etcÖ), while the second one concerns the IAS-IFRS principles adoption. This last provision requests an international alignment both in the book-keeping procedures and in the transparency criteria and implies, at the same time, to adjust the procedures for the tax-treatment of immovable assets (see, in particular, IAS 16). These new rules highly expose corporate properties to impairment risks, above all Companies that make use of large buildings (Shopping Malls, Expo Districts, Congress Centers and other Special Purpose Buildings). Furthermore, this particular sector is compelled to invest in the competitiveness of its own Brands (in many cases quoted in the Stock Exchange). These investments introduce an additional strategic task that indirectly influences the physical value as well as the life-cycle of the real estate assets. The study presented, supported by the analysis of international researches (technical literature, direct enquires, etc..), propose a synthetic ìimpairment riskî identification process. The approach suggested might be adopted to improve the instrumental properties management. In particular it relates different risks and variables diversified by typology and nature trough a 3 examination levels (general, sector-based, or specific). Our final considerations recommend to improve the management of corporate properties ìImpairment Riskî through more flexible solutions to activate among the three fundamental variables in the Balance Sheet (building life cycle, depreciation and maintenance costs). This approach let, at the same time, a better alignment of all those new regulations recently introduced for Properties and Plants. In other words the paper intends to promote a more competitive vision of corporate properties moving from the idea of instrumental assets as a patrimonial stock reserve to the more dynamic concept of ìcorporate buildingî as ìincome factorî.