Apresentação

ID: 20454

Authors: Marcos Antonio de Souza, Claudia Cristina Bitencourt.

Source: BASE - Revista de Administração e Contabilidade da UNISINOS, v. 3, n. 3, p. 219-220, September-December, 2006. 2 page(s).

Document type: Editorial (Portuguese)

Assessing credit ratings attributed by external risk classification agencies

ID: 20455

Authors: Heber José de Moura.

Source: BASE - Revista de Administração e Contabilidade da UNISINOS, v. 3, n. 3, p. 221-228, September-December, 2006. 8 page(s).

Keyword: credit rating , credit risk , credit risk assessment

Document type: Article (Portuguese) Show Abstract

The paper proposes a methodology to assess the ratings attributed to the customers of a financial institution. The process is based on the use of a posteriori likelihood distributions developed from the concepts of Bayesian statistics. The banking practice has lacked a more effective ex-post assessment of the credit risk grades (which are often called score or classification) ascribed by independent risk assessment companies. The lack of this information has certainly had a negative impact on the analysis of the consistency between the grades given to potential borrowers and their actual performance and may have caused biased results. The method proposed here is designed to fill this gap. It intends to check whether the a priori ratings are really adequate to the specific customer group of a bank. Thus, the article aims at contributing to credit risk assessment by establishing a systematic and statistically consistent procedure that makes it possible to assess the ratings proposed by external risk assessment companies.

Information Technology and competitive advantage in the Brazilian automobile industry

ID: 20456

Authors: Marco Antonio Pinheiro da Silveira, Ronaldo Zwicker.

Source: BASE - Revista de Administração e Contabilidade da UNISINOS, v. 3, n. 3, p. 229-239, September-December, 2006. 11 page(s).

Keyword: automobile industry , competitive advantage , information technology

Document type: Article (Portuguese) Show Abstract

This paper analyzes the use of information technology (IT) as a source of sustainable competitive advantage for industrial companies. It employs the resource based approach as the main reference to build the research method. This approach assumes that IT projects can only be a source of sustainable competitive advantage if they are associated with complementary human and/or business resources. It also considers as complementary resources the IT management capacities that the literature defines as essential for the good performance of the IT department. The article is based on a case study carried out in Brazilian automotive companies and identifies an IT project that represents a competitive advantage, although it cannot be defined as sustainable. The most relevant complementary resources identified were the CEO’s commitment and the integration of IT with strategy.

An empirical analysis of supply management: effects of the single versus multiple sourcing trade-off on firm performance

ID: 20457

Authors: Wesley Mendes-da-Silva, Leonardo de Oliveira Pontual.

Source: BASE - Revista de Administração e Contabilidade da UNISINOS, v. 3, n. 3, p. 240-252, September-December, 2006. 13 page(s).

Keyword: Brazilian companies , corporate performance , supply management

Document type: Article (Portuguese) Show Abstract

The lean production approach proposes a transparent and lasting relation with few suppliers in order to have a more reliable supply, to minimize the inventory levels and to guarantee a better process quality. On the other hand, the multiple sourcing approach assumes that the diversification of supply sources is a more adequate strategy, as the competition between suppliers creates better purchasing conditions for the customer. This article intends to empirically verify whether there is an association between the strategies of supplier diversification or supplier concentration and the company’s performance. The study consists of a multiple crosssectional analysis that comprises annual data of the period from 1997 up to 2003, comprehending a set of 176 manufacturing companies listed at the São Paulo Stock Exchange. The data analysis included two approaches to a quadratic model: a static (for short-term effects) and a dynamic (for long-term effects) one. The main results point to a significant association between the concentration of the supplier portfolio and the average period of inventory. However, the analysis did not find a supplier portfolio composition that would maximize the company’s performance by minimizing the average period of inventory.

A study on the real estate equity trusts of developers in the Greater São Paulo Area

ID: 20459

Authors: João Bosco Segreti, Ivam Ricardo Peleias, Daniel Viegas Ribas Filho, Nelson Satio Bito.

Source: BASE - Revista de Administração e Contabilidade da UNISINOS, v. 3, n. 3, p. 253-261, September-December, 2006. 9 page(s).

Keyword: building enterprise , developers , real estate equity trusts , taxation

Document type: Article (Portuguese) Show Abstract

Responding to the so-called “ENCOL effect”, the Brazilian federal government created in 2004 (through the Law # 10,931) the Real Estate Equity Trusts (“Patrimônio de Afetação”) and the Special Taxation Regime (STR) based on presumed income. The equity segregation under such trusts, at the developer’s option, aims at providing security to the purchase of real estate units under construction. It does so by demanding greater transparency in the information provided to the purchasers of such units as well as by requiring developers to maintain a complete and individual set of financial accounting information on each project and to deliver statements signed by accredited professionals on the work’s progress and the correspondence between the agreed terms and the earmarked resources. The STR is a way of encouraging developers to adhere to the segregation of their projects by establishing a single 7% rate on the business’ invoicing, which includes several taxes. This paper analyzes whether the STR brings advantages that would make developers want to adhere to the segregation regime. Hence, an exploratory research was carried out on the basis of the financial statements of 30 developers in the Greater São Paulo Area, comparing the STR with the presumed income and with the real income. The results show that the STR, when compared with the presumed income, would be advantageous with a rate of around 6,5%. The STR, when compared with the real income, is advantageous, on average, to 53% of the sampled companies, but there was no majority in all three years of the study period. A 50 basis point decline in the STR tax rate, however, would render the option more attractive in both situations.

A framework for strategic control of costs: a case study in a security sector company

ID: 20460

Authors: Carlos A. Diehl, Antônio Diomário de Queiroz.

Source: BASE - Revista de Administração e Contabilidade da UNISINOS, v. 3, n. 3, p. 262-274, September-December, 2006. 13 page(s).

Keyword: case study , control , cost , strategy

Document type: Article (Portuguese) Show Abstract

There is evidence showing that a better competitive performance can be achieved through an alignment between management control and strategy in each company. Understanding the relationship between them could contribute to improve the organizational effectiveness. This paper discusses a research model that shows the links between a company’s strategy and its cost-related management control. This model is applied to a service company in the security industry trough a case study. Thus it is possible to identify the relationship between strategy and cost management control as well as some gaps. The filling of these gaps would offer an opportunity to increase the company’s organizational effectiveness.

The accountant’s profile in the present: an exploratory study

ID: 20461

Authors: Jorge Luiz Cardoso, Marcos Antonio de Souza, Lauro Brito Almeida.

Source: BASE - Revista de Administração e Contabilidade da UNISINOS, v. 3, n. 3, p. 275-284, September-December, 2006. 10 page(s).

Keyword: accountant’s profile , organizational management , skills

Document type: Article (Portuguese) Show Abstract

The current operational environment of companies, characterized by fierce competition, has required all its actors to rethink the validity of the strategies, postures and procedures so far adopted by management. Accountants have also had to extend their skills to efficiently meet the demands of this new environment. Personal skills, knowledge of the business and a more active participation in the management process began to be a part of the accountant’s new profile. Taking this reality into account, this article makes a diagnosis of the accountant’s profile in the present and identifies to what extent it is consistent with these new requirements. Using an exploratory and descriptive research methodology, an empirical inquiry was conducted with accountants from the 150 best companies to work at according to the magazine Você S.A, published by Editora Abril in 2004. For the data collection a questionnaire with closed questions was used. In the data classification the article applies descriptive statistics, which is the basis for the qualitative analysis. Its results show that the accountants’ training is still focused on the technical aspects, with little priority given to the improvement of other skills. They also show that the accountant’s participation in the decision making process of the organizations is still below of what is recommended by the literature.

A study on the key factors in the implementation of Models of Organizational Performance Measurement

ID: 20462

Authors: Andréa Cavalcante Correia Lima, Vera Maria Rodrigues Ponte.

Source: BASE - Revista de Administração e Contabilidade da UNISINOS, v. 3, n. 3, p. 285-296, September-December, 2006. 12 page(s).

Keyword: balanced scorecard , measurement , performance

Document type: Article (Portuguese) Show Abstract

There is a world-wide trend toward the search of knowledge about the measurement of corporate performance. One can see a variety of models focused on the measurement of organizational performance. The specialized literature highlights the benefits and characteristics of the Models of Measurement of Organizational Performance (MMOPs), but without elaborating on the key factors that are essential for an effective implementation of those models in the business environment. This article discusses the following research problem: What are the key factors in the efficient implementation of a MMOP? These factors were investigated by means of bibliographical research and a case study conducted at the Pelágio Oliveira S.A. (Fábrica Estrela), a traditional pasta and biscuit plant in northeastern Brazil. The study was carried out in the light of the Balanced Scorecard – BSC and the Partners for Excellence Programs – PAEX. The bibliographical research evidenced a set of factors that can be grouped in 7 topics: strategy, information system, people, leadership and management, communication, processes, organizational culture. The field research demonstrated that many of those key factors had been carefully dealt with by Pelágio Oliveira S.A. and contributed to the success of the implementation of its model of organizational performance measurement between 2001 and 2003.

Measuring the intellectual capital of companies: a proposal of two proxies

ID: 20463

Authors: Francisco Antônio Mesquita Zanini, Leandro Cañibano Calvo.

Source: BASE - Revista de Administração e Contabilidade da UNISINOS, v. 3, n. 3, p. 297-310, September-December, 2006. 14 page(s).

Keyword: accounting theory , intangible assets , intellectual capital , intellectual capital indicators

Document type: Article (Spanish) Show Abstract

In today’s knowledge society the theme of the intellectual capital or intangible assets of companies is being increasingly studied, but these studies often lack empirical evidence as they are rather theoretical constructions. The disconnection between the companies’ book and market prices is well described by a number of authors, but the connection between this fact and the various intellectual capital theories deserves a more comprehensive and profound research. Admittedly, there is a lack of standards for measuring the companies’ intellectual capital. That is why this exploratory paper, using established intellectual capital models, tries to find a set of indicators that can be used as proxies of that intellectual capital, thereby helping to get a better interpretation of the companies’ real present and future situation. It proposes to create two proxies for the intellectual capital that are tested by associating them with the market/book price ratio. These proxies translate in numbers, using an original methodology, a set of objective and subjective data offered by companies in their annual reports. The results indicate that at least one of the proxies, the one that deals with objective information, has shown good results for the Brazilian listed banks analyzed in the period from 1997 to 2005.

The evaluation of the efficiency of public sports services using models of cost accounting and management indicators

ID: 20464

Authors: Daniel Carrasco Díaz, Dionisio Buendía Carrillo, Andrés Navarro Galera, Maria José Valencia Quintero, Virginia Llorente Muñoz.

Source: BASE - Revista de Administração e Contabilidade da UNISINOS, v. 3, n. 3, p. 311-320, September-December, 2006. 10 page(s).

Keyword: cost calculation , performance indicators , public municipal services , sport

Document type: Article (Spanish) Show Abstract

At present, the Spanish public administration agencies lack a standardized cost accounting system as well as sets of management indicators that, when suitably standardized, would make it possible to carry out the comparative analyses that could contribute to the evaluation of their efficiency. This article proposes a cost accounting methodology for the administration of public municipal sports services and describes a set of performance indicators that, along with the cost calculation model, provide fundamental instruments for the evaluation of the efficiency of those public services.