La regola del Patrimonio netto del Regolamento di Sostenibilità Finanziaria della UEFA.

 

Luca Marotta

jstargio@gmail.com

Da una conversazione con Lorenzo Vendemiale sul Patrimonio Netto è nata la seguente riflessione sul tema della Regola del Patrimonio Netto contenuta nel nuovo regolamento “UEFA Club Licensing and Financial Sustainability Regulations Edition 2022” plusvalenze contenuto nell’ALLEGATO J al punto J 9.

L’ Articolo 69 del Regolamento di Sostenibilità Finanziaria della UEFA disciplina la Regola del patrimonio netto.

 

Il vecchio Regolamento (UEFA Club Licensing and Financial Fair Play Regulations Edition 2018) era intervenuto sul tema, ne parlava all’articolo 52, individuando il patrimonio netto non negativo come uno dei punti cardine. Era il secondo punto dopo il “going concern” (continuità aziendale).

Il Regolamento del 2018 considerava negativamente la situazione di un patrimonio netto negativo deteriorata rispetto al dato comparativo contenuto nel bilancio annuale dell'anno precedente.

 

Article 52 Future financial information 

   1 The licence applicant must prepare and submit future financial information in order to demonstrate to the licensor its ability to continue as a going concern until the end of the licence season if it has breached any of the indicators defined in paragraph 2 below. 

  2 If a licence applicant exhibits any of the conditions described by indicator 1 or 2, it is considered in breach of the indicator: 

 a) Indicator 1: Going concern The auditor’s report in respect of the annual or interim financial statements submitted in accordance with Articles 47 and 48 includes, regarding the going concern, either a key audit matter or a qualified opinion/conclusion.

 b) Indicator 2: Negative equity The annual financial statements (including, where required, the supplementary information) submitted in accordance with Article 47 disclose a net liabilities position (negative equity) that has deteriorated relative to the comparative figure contained in the previous year’s annual financial statements, or the interim financial statements submitted in accordance with Article 48 (including, where required, the supplementary information) disclose a net liabilities position (negative equity) that has deteriorated relative to the comparative figure at the preceding statutory closing date.

 

Il nuovo Regolamento UEFA Club Licensing and Financial Sustainability Regulations Edition 2022, tratta la questione all’articolo 69.

Article 69 Net equity rule

69.01 The licence applicant must report in its annual financial statements or interim financial statements (whichever close as at the 31 December preceding the deadline for submission of the application to the licensor and preceding the deadline for submission of the list of licensing decisions to UEFA) a net equity position which: a. is positive; or b. has improved by 10% or more since the previous 31 December.

69.02 Net equity means the residual interest in the assets of the entity after deducting all its liabilities as set out in its annual financial statements or interim financial statements as applicable. If a licence applicant’s assets exceed its liabilities, then the licence applicant has a net asset position, i.e. positive equity. If a licence applicant’s liabilities exceed its assets, then the licence applicant has a net liability position, i.e. negative equity.

69.03 If a licence applicant does not comply with paragraph 1 above as at 31 December, the licence applicant can submit a new audited balance sheet by 31 March at the latest in order to demonstrate that one of the conditions in Paragraph 69.01(a) or (b) has since been fulfilled.

69.04 For the purpose of compliance with this criterion, equity can include subordinated loans that are, for at least the following 12 months, subordinated to all other liabilities and non-interest-bearing.

69.05 The licensor ’s assessment must be in accordance with Annex I.

69.06 Exceptionally, a licence applicant can request an alternative assessment date if: a. it has an annual accounting reference date of 31 May, in which case it may prepare interim financial statements for a six-month period ending 30 November and use such interim financial statements for the purposes of the net equity rule; or b. it has an annual accounting reference date of 30 November, in which case its annual financial statements for the reporting period ending 30 November may be used for the purposes of the net equity rule. In such exceptional cases a) or b), all references to 31 December in the net equity rule should be understood as 30 November.

In definitiva, al punto 69.01 si afferma che il Patrimonio Netto del richiedente la licenza evidenziato nel proprio bilancio annuale o nel bilancio intermedio deve essere:

a.    positivo; oppure

b.    migliorato del 10% o più rispetto al 31 dicembre precedente.

Nella sostanza il nuovo regolamento UEFA si dimostra elastico.

Infatti il punto 69.03 permette al richiedente l'autorizzazione che non soddisfa il paragrafo 1, al 31 dicembre, di presentare un nuovo bilancio certificato entro il 31 marzo per dimostrare che una delle condizioni di cui al paragrafo 69.01 sia la (a) o la (b) è stata soddisfatta.

Si può dedurre che entro il 31 marzo un club con patrimonio netto negativo deve renderlo positivo o migliorarlo del 10%.

Il punto 69.04 detta criteri per la conformità a questo criterio, si accontenta di prestiti subordinati [deduco anche versamenti soci in conto capitale]

For the purpose of compliance with this criterion, equity can include subordinated loans that are, for at least the following 12 months, subordinated to all other liabilities and non-interest-bearing.

 

L'allegato I al punto I.3 detta le norme in tema di Valutazione della documentazione di licenza per la regola del Patrimonio netto. Conferma la richiesta di documentazione riguardante qualsiasi contributo.

 

I.3 Assessment of licensing documentation for the net equity rule
In respect of the net equity rule, the licensor must perform the following minimum
assessment procedures:
a. Determine the net equity position as at the 31 December preceding the deadline
for submission of the application to the licensor based on the annual financial
statements or interim financial statements;
b. Assess, if applicable, whether the subordinated loans meet the required
conditions;
c. If the net equity position as at the 31 December preceding the deadline for
submission of the application to the licensor is negative, assess whether it has
improved by at least 10% compared with the net equity position that enabled the
licence applicant to satisfy the net equity rule in the previous year;
d. If the equity rule is not fulfilled as at the 31 December preceding the deadline for
submission of the application to the licensor, assess if the licence applicant has
submitted by 31 March at the latest a new audited balance sheet, including any
contributions made since 31 December, demonstrating that the net equity
position has improved by at least 10% compared with the net equity position
that enabled the licence applicant to satisfy the net equity rule in the previous
year.

Conclusioni

La Regola del Patrimonio Netto conferma che il Regolamento  “UEFA Club Licensing and Financial Sustainability Regulations Edition 2022” è elastico.

Potremmo concludere affermando che un club con patrimonio netto negativo, per ottenere la licenza UEFA per partecipare alle competizioni europee, entro il 31 marzo, deve effettuare dei versamenti in conto capitale, per dimostrare che il patrimonio Netto sia migliorato del 10% rispetto all'esercizio precedente.