This study seeks to present in a coherent form the "Theory of Data Reporting and Detection " first proposed by Piero Mella in "La rilevazione d'impresa. Analisi comparata di sistemi contabili"(Data Reporting by Companies. A Comparative Analysis of Accounting Systems) (1977) and subsequently taken up in his later works (1982, 1992, 1993). "Reporting" should not be understood here as the mere presentation of data using appropriate graphical forms. Nor should the term be confused with the

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... tion or specification of values of a given size. Data reporting is an empirical process covering 8 phases, through which an observer, whether a scientist or a professional, searches for information in order to understand, decide and act. In order to speak of data reporting we must specify both the objects of the reporting as well as the primary object of the process. Also required is an investigation of the possible uses of the data collected. The analysis of the data reporting process can provide us with several "principles of data gathering" that must be followed for the information to be significant.