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Italian to English translations [PRO] Bus/Financial - Accounting / Balance sheet
Italian term or phrase:Capitale investito netto /mezzi propri
The term is found on Italian balance sheets.
This is in the glossary, with clear definitions from reputable sources as equity, or net worth, or net assets. The problem is that if you look at a balance sheet the figures simply don't add up. It is not just the shareholders' equity but includes net borrowings (what the shareholders put in out of their own pocket plus (what they borrowed less what they lent) )
I have often seen it translated as 'total capital employed' but that is something different (shareholders' equity + minority interests). Any experts got an answer.
Explanation: I don't necessarily disagree with Paul's answers, but I feel that something isn't being properly clarified here. Namely that "capitale investito netto" and "mezzi propri" aren't the same thing, a fact which everyone seems to be overlooking. They're similar, but not identical. And we should also clarify what type of company we're talking about. Is it a bank or a non-financial company?
If we're talking about a bank, I have no problem with "own funds" for "mezzi propri". If it's a normal company, then I'd tend to go with a basic equity, as this is normally what is meant by "mezzi propri", as opposed to "mezzi di terzi", which is essentially "debt".
"Own funds" in a banking context is essentially the same as "regulatory capital" or "available capital" and includes both equity and *subordinated* debt. The difference between this and "capitale investito netto" is that this is equal to "equity" plus "indebitamento finanziario netto", the latter of which is more than just subordinated debt.
It should also be noted that "net invested capital" doesn't have one single definition in English and doesn't necessarily coincide precisely with "capitale investito netto" in Italian, although it's generally fairly similar.
FWIW
Cheers,
Grey
-------------------------------------------------- Note added at 3 hrs (2006-09-30 09:27:52 GMT) --------------------------------------------------
Oops! I should have written: ...a basic "equity"
as opposed to: a "basic equity"... which of course is nothing.
-------------------------------------------------- Note added at 5 hrs (2006-09-30 10:59:28 GMT) --------------------------------------------------
As Paul so rightly says, "net capital invested" is used in financial analysis and isn't a specific financial statement item, so your comment about "putting it under liabilities" doesn't really make any sense, given that the figure is, from one point of view, a combination of assets and liabilities or, from another, a combination of liabilities and equity.
As I understand it (and have seen confirmation of on various sites), your equation "mezzi propri + indebitamento finanziario netto" EQUALS "capitale investito netto". It doesn't really make any sense to say that "if [you] take indebitamento finanziario netto away [you] get capitale investito netto" because, clearly, if you take net debt away you get "mezzi propri", which, again, isn't the same thing as "net capital invested".
As for the definition of "net invested capital" (or "net capital invested") -- as used in the "non-Italian" world -- I didn't mean to imply that it was "controversial", just that different companies include different things in the calculation. The end results are all relatively similar, but not exactly identical. The main differences come from which assets are included in the calculation and which aren't, which primarily boils down to what is considered an "operating asset" and what isn't.
I do, however, have my doubts as to how "widely used" the term is. I only get 1,500 hits for "net capital invested" and about 20,500 for "net invested capital", which compares with over 600,000 hits for terms like "debt-to-equity ratio" and "net working capital". And you really should adjust the "net invested capital" numbers down quite a bit if you consider all the cases where the term is a translation from Italian.
That said, though, I do agree that it's the best translation of "capitale investito netto".
-------------------------------------------------- Note added at 5 hrs (2006-09-30 11:06:01 GMT) --------------------------------------------------
Also, most definitions I've seen of "net invested capital" don't coincide all that precisely to the definitions I've seen of "capitale investito netto". They're fairly close and serve essentially the same purpose, but their is even more difference between Italian and English definitions than there is between the various English definitions, if you see what I mean. But again, I don't see any real reason not to use the English term as a translation of the Italian.
Let's just be careful not to confuse "mezzi propri" with "capital investito netto" because those definitely are NOT the same thing, unless **your specific text** is (I would say incorrectly) using them as synonyms.
The error in your reasoning is that their equation excludes "indebitamento **finanziario** netto" (note "passività **d'esercizio** i.e. "operating" liabilities), hence "indeb. fin. netto" + "mezzi propri" (i.e. equity)=capitale investito netto
Hi Grey, everything you and Paul seems to make a lot of sense, but it is the equations of this balance sheet presentation that don't add up:
The equation given is:
(Capitale immobilizzato (A)) + ((Capitale d'esercizio netto (D) = (current assets - current liabilities) ) - (Passività d'esercizio a medio-lungo (E) ) = Capitale investito netto (A + D + E)
Which I read as: (fixed assets + net current assets) - non current liabilities = total assets - total liabilities = net assets or equity
but it doesn't!!! It equals CIN which equals:
Patrimonio netto del Gruppo + Patrimonio netto di pertinenza di terzi + Indebitamento finanziario netto = mezzi propri + Indebitamento finanziario netto = CIN
I still don't see any evidence from the context given that "mezzi propri" is being treated as a synonym for "capitale investito netto". I believe we've resolved the "CIN" issue, but I don't see a clear consensus on "mezzi propri".
James. I think your job is actually very easy here as the company provides the basis of the calculation (A+D+E). If you add further explanation, you may introduce an error. If you research "net capital invested", you will find lots of material to validate
Automatic update in 00:
Answers
3 hrs confidence:
net invested capital/equity
Explanation: I don't necessarily disagree with Paul's answers, but I feel that something isn't being properly clarified here. Namely that "capitale investito netto" and "mezzi propri" aren't the same thing, a fact which everyone seems to be overlooking. They're similar, but not identical. And we should also clarify what type of company we're talking about. Is it a bank or a non-financial company?
If we're talking about a bank, I have no problem with "own funds" for "mezzi propri". If it's a normal company, then I'd tend to go with a basic equity, as this is normally what is meant by "mezzi propri", as opposed to "mezzi di terzi", which is essentially "debt".
"Own funds" in a banking context is essentially the same as "regulatory capital" or "available capital" and includes both equity and *subordinated* debt. The difference between this and "capitale investito netto" is that this is equal to "equity" plus "indebitamento finanziario netto", the latter of which is more than just subordinated debt.
It should also be noted that "net invested capital" doesn't have one single definition in English and doesn't necessarily coincide precisely with "capitale investito netto" in Italian, although it's generally fairly similar.
FWIW
Cheers,
Grey
-------------------------------------------------- Note added at 3 hrs (2006-09-30 09:27:52 GMT) --------------------------------------------------
Oops! I should have written: ...a basic "equity"
as opposed to: a "basic equity"... which of course is nothing.
-------------------------------------------------- Note added at 5 hrs (2006-09-30 10:59:28 GMT) --------------------------------------------------
As Paul so rightly says, "net capital invested" is used in financial analysis and isn't a specific financial statement item, so your comment about "putting it under liabilities" doesn't really make any sense, given that the figure is, from one point of view, a combination of assets and liabilities or, from another, a combination of liabilities and equity.
As I understand it (and have seen confirmation of on various sites), your equation "mezzi propri + indebitamento finanziario netto" EQUALS "capitale investito netto". It doesn't really make any sense to say that "if [you] take indebitamento finanziario netto away [you] get capitale investito netto" because, clearly, if you take net debt away you get "mezzi propri", which, again, isn't the same thing as "net capital invested".
As for the definition of "net invested capital" (or "net capital invested") -- as used in the "non-Italian" world -- I didn't mean to imply that it was "controversial", just that different companies include different things in the calculation. The end results are all relatively similar, but not exactly identical. The main differences come from which assets are included in the calculation and which aren't, which primarily boils down to what is considered an "operating asset" and what isn't.
I do, however, have my doubts as to how "widely used" the term is. I only get 1,500 hits for "net capital invested" and about 20,500 for "net invested capital", which compares with over 600,000 hits for terms like "debt-to-equity ratio" and "net working capital". And you really should adjust the "net invested capital" numbers down quite a bit if you consider all the cases where the term is a translation from Italian.
That said, though, I do agree that it's the best translation of "capitale investito netto".
-------------------------------------------------- Note added at 5 hrs (2006-09-30 11:06:01 GMT) --------------------------------------------------
Also, most definitions I've seen of "net invested capital" don't coincide all that precisely to the definitions I've seen of "capitale investito netto". They're fairly close and serve essentially the same purpose, but their is even more difference between Italian and English definitions than there is between the various English definitions, if you see what I mean. But again, I don't see any real reason not to use the English term as a translation of the Italian.
Let's just be careful not to confuse "mezzi propri" with "capital investito netto" because those definitely are NOT the same thing, unless **your specific text** is (I would say incorrectly) using them as synonyms.
Grey Drane Italy Local time: 04:48 Specializes in field Native speaker of: English PRO pts in category: 52
Grading comment
Thanks Grey
Notes to answerer
Asker:
Asker: Hi Grey. I'm glad this question is arousing some expert interest. The company is not a bank.
The bottom line is this:
Mezzi propri e indebitamento finanziario netto (L) = (F + G + H + I) 21.102
If I subtract the indebitamento finanziario netto from this , the result is capitale investito netto.
If I take the capitale invetito netto out of the equity section and put it where my Anglo Saxon brain tells me it should be, under liabilities then everything looks fine.
Thanks for the help
Jim
The translation workplace 
