History of a decline: The Federconsorzi case

Introduction: The paper focuses on analyzing the causes of the crisis of an Italian company in the early 1990s. Aim of the work: The aim of this paper is to analyze the causes that led to the crisis of Federconsorzi to identify the decision-making errors and incorrect accounting, management, and regulatory practices that compromised its operations. In addi-tion, special attention will be given to the individuals who operated in that organi-zation, which was unique worldwide, and who, through their actions, enabled the achievement of the corporate collapse. Methodological approach: The work is based on an enriched version of the “fraud triangle” to correctly identify the activities and individuals involved in the Feder-consorzi crisis. Main findings: The case was analyzed to find that the fraud triangle theory, even modified from the most recent literature, does not consider certain elements that, on the other hand, proved to be diriment in the case analyzed. Originality: The paper provides a broadening of knowledge on issues related to business crises and the factors and elements that can play an important role in the process of deterioration of key business economic quantities.