Editorial

ID: 9997

Authors: Fábio Frezatti.

Source: Revista Contabilidade & Finanças, v. 24, n. 61, p. 1-1, January-April, 2013. 1 page(s).

Document type: Editorial (Portuguese)

Rumo à contabilidade econômica ou à nobre origem?

ID: 9998

Authors: Sérgio de Iudícibus.

Source: Revista Contabilidade & Finanças, v. 24, n. 61, p. 7-8, January-April, 2013. 2 page(s).

Document type: Article (Portuguese)

Study of published articles on management accounting in Brazil and Spain

ID: 9999

Authors: Rogério João Lunkes, Vicente Mateo Ripoll Feliu, Fabricia Silva da Rosa.

Source: Revista Contabilidade & Finanças, v. 24, n. 61, p. 11-26, January-April, 2013. 16 page(s).

Keyword: Management accounting , Methods and literature , Topics

Document type: Article (Spanish) Show Abstract

In recent decades, management accounting has undergone major changes with the inclusion of new topics and research methods, dedicated journals, and especially multidisciplinary studies. These changes have been detected in articles published in leading journals. In this context, the following research question arises: what is the profile of management accounting research in Spain and Brazil? Thus, the objective of this study is to identify and analyze the topics and research methods applied in management accounting studies in Spain and Brazil; to explain how these studies are important to further developing the field of management accounting; and to compare them with studies conducted by Hesford, Lee, Van Der Stede, and Young (2007) with respect to articles published in English-language journals. We first selected seven Spanish accounting journals listed in the IN-RECS database (Índice de Impacto de Revistas Españolas de Ciencias Sociales) [Impact Factor of Spanish Social Science Journals] and found 421 articles published between 2001 and 2010. Second, we found 321 articles by selecting 29 Brazilian accounting, administration, management, finance, and business journals evaluated by Brazilian Federal Agency for the Support and Evaluation of Graduate Education (CAPES – Coordenação de Aperfeiçcoamento de Pessoal de Nivel Superior). The results show that management accounting studies have not figured prominently in the articles that were reviewed. Planning and control are among the most important subjects that emphasize performance measurement and evaluation. The existing studies are largely focused on case studies and surveys in Brazil as well as case studies and reviews in Spain.

Audit costs and Corporate Governance

ID: 10000

Authors: Patrícia Maria Bortolon, Alfredo Sarlo Neto, Thaís Barreto Santos.

Source: Revista Contabilidade & Finanças, v. 24, n. 61, p. 27-36, January-April, 2013. 10 page(s).

Keyword: Audit costs , Corporate governance , Reference form

Document type: Article (Portuguese) Show Abstract

The service provided by an independent audit is essential to the greater transparency and reliability of the financial reporting of public companies. The topics explored in the international literature include possible threats to the auditors' independence and the quality of their analysis, the cost of their services and their relationship with corporate governance mechanisms. The present study investigates this topic in the Brazilian context. This has become possible following CVM Instruction No. 480, which obligates the disclosure of the costs of audit and non-audit services contracted to independent audit firms. The information provided by 131 companies in the first half of 2010 was analyzed to determine the relationship between corporate governance and audit and non-audit service costs. The proxies for governance that were used are given as follows: the five largest shareholders rights mismatch, the participation in premium listing segments of the Brazilian Securities, Commodities, and Futures Exchange (Bolsa de Mercadoria e Futuros e Bolsa de Valores de São Paulo - BM&FBovespa), the existence of an audit committee and an internal audit department. The results point to a negative relationship between governance and audit costs, which suggests that the risk effect is predominant in the Brazilian market; that is, better governance practices reduce external audit’s risks (legal and loss of reputation), thereby allowing them to charge less. Most studies in the international literature show a positive relationship in favor of the demand effect, but this is not consensual. According to this effect, better governance implies greater demands on the audit service, resulting in an increase in the fees charged. The relationship between non-audit service costs and good governance practices is also negative. Although studies have not shown that these costs can contribute to the loss of independence of the external audit, legislators and regulators tend to limit this practice.

Securities-based earnings management in banks: validation of a two-stage model

ID: 10001

Authors: José Alves Dantas, Otávio Ribeiro de Medeiros, Fernando Caio Galdi, Fábio Moraes da Costa.

Source: Revista Contabilidade & Finanças, v. 24, n. 61, p. 37-54, January-April, 2013. 18 page(s).

Keyword: Banks , Discretionary , Earnings management , Manipulation , Securities

Document type: Article (Portuguese) Show Abstract

Studies investigating earnings management in banks have been particularly concerned with the use of Loan Loss Provisions (LLP) and mainly use two-stage models to identify discretionary management actions. Another type of record that has received attention from researchers in identifying discretionary management actions is the classification and measurement of the fair value of securities. In this case, however, one-stage models have prevailed. The present study aims to develop and validate a two-stage model for the identification of discretionary management actions using gains obtained from securities. Our model incorporates macroeconomic indicators and specific attributes of the securities portfolios to the traditional parameters used in models previously utilized in the literature. To validate the proposed model, the results are compared with the results from the estimation of a one-stage model - a methodology widely used in the literature. Tests conducted with the two models reveal evidence of income smoothing using securities and the classification of available-for-sale securities among the actions taken by management. The consistency of the results across the two models validates the proposed model, thereby contributing to the development of research on the topic that is not only concerned with determining whether earnings management is practiced but also whether it can be associated with other variables. We also find that securities-based earnings management is more significant in smaller-sized banks and in banks controlled by private capital.

Rational Valuation Formula (RVF) and time variability in asset rates of return

ID: 10002

Authors: Alexandre Ripamonti.

Source: Revista Contabilidade & Finanças, v. 24, n. 61, p. 55-63, January-April, 2013. 9 page(s).

Keyword: Chebyshev , Cointegration , Rational expectations , RVF , TV VECM

Document type: Article (Portuguese) Show Abstract

The present study examines the long-term relationship between aggregate price and dividend data and the corresponding mechanism for shortterm error correction using the rational valuation formula and time-varying cointegration and based on Muth's (1961) theory of rational expectations and price movements. The study assumes the variability of asset rates of return and tests the null hypotheses of error-correction mechanisms for time-constant cointegration vectors and inequality between fundamental value and share price. The series used were provided by Shiller (2005) and refer to aggregate price and dividend data for the U.S. stock market over the period 1871 to 2010. The data were analyzed using Johansen’s cointegration models with the use of restricted variables resulting from the combination of the variables studied with the Chebyshev time polynomial, as proposed by Bierens and Martins (2010). The results indicate rejection of the null hypothesis of constancy of cointegration vectors as well as the non-rejection of the null hypothesis of inequality between fundamental value and share price. These results are consistent with those obtained by Bierens and Martins (2010) and do not corroborate Muth's (1961) theory of rational expectations. It is therefore concluded that investors have different expectations of return for different future periods. The results suggest the validation of the model used and that there is a possibility of the occurrence of speculative movements supported by rationality or rational speculative bubbles.

Empirical evidence: arbitrage with Exchange-traded Funds (ETFs) on the Brazilian market

ID: 10003

Authors: Yuri Sampaio Maluf, Pedro Henrique Melo Albuquerque.

Source: Revista Contabilidade & Finanças, v. 24, n. 61, p. 64-74, January-April, 2013. 11 page(s).

Keyword: Arbitrage , Data snooping , ETF , Market-efficiency hypothesis

Document type: Article (Portuguese) Show Abstract

According to risk management literature, diversification helps mitigate risk. Index funds, known as exchange-traded funds (ETFs), which were recently introduced into the Brazilian market, make diversification straightforward to accomplish. This paper investigates the efficiency of the valuation process of the Ibovespa iShares with respect to the fair value of the shares. For this purpose, a high-frequency time series analysis of ETFs and Ibovespa was used, followed by strategy simulations that included goodwill and negative goodwill between asset sets with and without transaction costs. To avoid data-snooping effects on the transaction outcomes, a time series bootstrap was applied. The results initially indicated share-pricing inefficiency because the inclusion of goodwill and negative goodwill in the strategy resulted in returns of 172.5% above the fund’s index. Additionally, it became apparent that even with the introduction of operating costs, the gains continued to exhibit inefficiency. However, after applying the bootstrap technique, the results did not suggest excess returns, which could be attributed to data snooping. Therefore, the results demonstrate the impossibility of agents earning abnormal returns from the differences between the values of the ETF share and its corresponding index, thereby indicating that the Ibovespa iShare fund pricing is efficient.

Accounting education research: scientific production and preference of PhDs, 2005 to 2009

ID: 10004

Authors: Gilberto José Miranda, Luciana de Almeida Araújo Santos, Silvia Pereira de Castro Casa Nova, Edgard Bruno Cornachione Junior.

Source: Revista Contabilidade & Finanças, v. 24, n. 61, p. 75-88, January-April, 2013. 14 page(s).

Keyword: Accounting Sciences , Publications , Stricto sensu graduation , Teaching

Document type: Article (Portuguese) Show Abstract

The present study aims at describing the lines of scientific research engaged in by doctors who presented their dissertations on "Accounting Education and Research" in the School of Economics, Business Administration and Accounting of the University of São Paulo (Faculdade de Economia, Administração e Contabilidade da Universidade de São Paulo - FEA/USP) during the period from 2005 to 2009. We evaluate whether publications in this field are treated in a prejudiced manner in Brazil – the phenomenon identified internationally by Pierre, Wilson, Richard, Ravenscroft, and Rebel (2009) – which may indicate disinterest on the part of researchers. We used descriptive research with a quantitative approach for our purposes. Data were collected from documentary research on the Lattes Platform and accounting dissertations defended at the USP, comprising a total of 203 PhDs. We found that the number of dissertations defended has practically doubled every decade and that the number of females obtaining doctoral degrees has increased significantly. Of the PhDs surveyed, 7% were productivity grant recipients from the National Counsel of Technological and Scientific Development (Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico - CNPq), 76% were linked to some research group and 56% identified a research line on their Lattes resume. Of the research groups and lines, 8% and 6%, respectively, were related to accounting education. We found that the research line, "Accounting Education and Research", showed the lowest percentage of defended studies (8% of dissertations, 4% in the "Accounting Education" field). With respect to publications, the most prominent subjects were those dealing with specific accounting issues and topics related to teaching institutions; there was little research on instructional and pedagogical issues. These results may indicate a gap in researchers’ knowledge on the subject and highlights the need to better prepare accounting PhDs for teaching practice. Education and Research was the line that showed the greatest number of women. These findings highlight the need for accounting education research to be valued to benefit the development of the accounting profession and improve teacher training.