Editorial

ID: 42031

Authors: Fábio Frezatti.

Source: Revista Contabilidade & Finanças, v. 27, n. 71, p. 143-143, May-August, 2016. 1 page(s).

Document type: Editorial (Portuguese)

O academicismo em contabilidade e a gestão por números

ID: 42032

Authors: Trevor Hopper.

Source: Revista Contabilidade & Finanças, v. 27, n. 71, p. 144-148, May-August, 2016. 5 page(s).

Document type: Editorial (Portuguese)

Corporate Governance Characteristics as a Stimulus to Tax Management

ID: 42033

Authors: Antônio Paulo Machado Gomes.

Source: Revista Contabilidade & Finanças, v. 27, n. 71, p. 149-168, May-August, 2016. 20 page(s).

Keyword: BTD , CashETR , corporate governance , ETR , tax management

Document type: Article (Portuguese) Show Abstract

This article aimed to investigate whether corporate governance uses tax management to increase companies’ performance. The objective was checking whether corporate governance characteristics, such as remuneration paid to the executive board, segregation between Chairman and CEO, and the independence and composition of the Board of Directors, influence tax management in Brazilian companies. At the same time, it aimed to identify whether the preceding tax management is reflected on the subsequent tax management. To do this, a sample of 355 Brazilian companies listed on the BM&FBOVESPA between 2008 and 2014 was used, in order to find out whether their corporate governance characteristics influenced tax management, something identified by calculating ETR, CashETR, and BTD. As a result, it was found (i) that the remuneration paid to executives may be regarded as a characteristic influencing tax management in Brazilian firms, and (ii) that the preceding tax management influences the future tax management. In addition, it was found that Brazilian companies do not rule out tax management benefits, since the average effective rate in the sample under analysis was 25%, and it is statistically lower than the nominal rate of taxes on earnings in Brazil, which is 34%.

Comparability of Accounting Choices in Subsequent Measurement of Fixed Assets, Intangible Assets, and Investment Property in South American Companies

ID: 42040

Authors: Flaida Êmine Alves de Souza, Sirlei Lemes.

Source: Revista Contabilidade & Finanças, v. 27, n. 71, p. 169-184, May-August, 2016. 16 page(s).

Keyword: accounting choices , comparability , fair value , T-index

Document type: Article (English) Show Abstract

Expertise on comparability, accounting choices, and fair value is among the most controversial and poorly discussed themes in the current accounting scenario. Accounting choices are needed in order to guarantee a reliable representation, at the same time that their discretionary use may decrease the comparability level expected by the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB). In this article, we identified the comparability degree of accounting choices in the subsequent measurement of fixed assets, intangible assets, and investment property (IP) for listed companies in Brazil, Chile, and Peru, in addition to check whether certain entity characteristics can influence managers’ accounting choice for fair value. Comparability was measured through the T-index and the explanatory variables were identified through regressions, within the period 2009-2013. It was found that, for fixed assets, national and international comparability increased after IFRS adoption, both increased over time. For intangible assets, there was not a substantial increase in national and international comparability. For IP, national and international comparability did not increase after IFRS adoption, their rates remained close to 0.50 (low comparability) in almost every year. Thus, IFRS adoption alone did not ensure comparability. By using regression analysis, we found that the characteristics industry, audit by big four, country, managers’ remuneration, size, indebtedness, profitability, relevance, and time influenced managers’ accounting choices, indicating the possibility that the choices under analysis have been used for management of outcomes.

Determinants of Bond Spread and Credit Default Swap: Why are they different? The case of Petrobras

ID: 42039

Authors: Fernando Nascimento de Oliveira, Renan Feuchard Pinto.

Source: Revista Contabilidade & Finanças, v. 27, n. 71, p. 185-201, May-August, 2016. 17 page(s).

Keyword: asset swap spread , basis , bond , credit default swap , Petrobras

Document type: Article (English) Show Abstract

In this article, we study the main determinants of Petrobras’ credit risk, measured through asset swap spreads (ASWs) and credit default swaps (CDS), replicating the main papers on the theme and analyzing whether the two products price risk differently. Our results allow us to conclude that, curiously, firm-specific (microeconomic) variables are little or no significant to explain the discrepancy between the markets, and that a large part of the difference between them (also known as the CDS-Bond Basis) may be explained by the response of each product to macroeconomic variables. The main contribution of this article is being the first in the literature addressing the theme credit risk or liquidity of a Brazilian company, from the viewpoint of bond spreads and CDS, traded in the foreign market, besides discussing why there is a difference between them.

Hedge Accounting in the Brazilian Stock Market: Effects on the Quality of Accounting Information, Disclosure, and Information Asymmetry

ID: 42038

Authors: Silas Adolfo Potin, Patrícia Maria Bortolon, Alfredo Sarlo Neto.

Source: Revista Contabilidade & Finanças, v. 27, n. 71, p. 202-216, May-August, 2016. 15 page(s).

Keyword: disclosure , hedge accounting , information asymmetry , informativeness , relevance

Document type: Article (Portuguese) Show Abstract

This paper investigates, in the Brazilian stock market, the effect of hedge accounting on the quality of financial information, on the disclosure of derivative financial instruments, and on the information asymmetry. To measure the quality of accounting information, relevance metrics of accounting information and book earnings informativeness were used. For executing this research, a general sample was obtained through Brazilian companies, non-financial, listed on the Brazilian Securities, Commodities, and Futures Exchange (BM&FBOVESPA), comprising the 150 companies with highest market value on 01/01/2014. Through the general sample, samples were compiled for applying the econometric models of value relevance, informativeness, disclosure, and information asymmetry. The sample for relevance had 758 companies-years observations within the period from 2008 to 2013; the sample for informativeness had 701 companies-years observations with the period from 2008 to 2013; the sample for disclosure had 100 companies-years observations, within the period from 2011 to 2012; the sample for information asymmetry had 100 companies-years observations, also related to the period from 2011 to 2012. In addition to the econometric models, the propensity score matching method was applied to the analyses of the hedge accounting effect on disclosure and information asymmetry. The evidence found for the influence of hedge accounting indicates a relation: (i) positive and significant concerning accounting information relevance and disclosure of derivatives; (ii) negative and significant for book earnings informativeness. Regarding information asymmetry, although the coefficients showed up as expected, they were not statistically significant.

Meta-Interpretation: Fifteen Years of Research with the Management Report

ID: 42034

Authors: Uajará Pessoa Araújo, Mozar José de Brito, Lívia Maria de Pádua Ribeiro, Fernanda Tarabal Lopes.

Source: Revista Contabilidade & Finanças, v. 27, n. 71, p. 217-231, May-August, 2016. 15 page(s).

Keyword: institutionalization , legitimization , management report , meta-interpretation

Document type: Article (Portuguese) Show Abstract

This paper deals with Brazilian empirical research published in journals between 2000 and mid-2015 that used, as a source of data, the Management Reports (MRs) released by publicly-traded companies together with their financial statements. MRs differ from each other, both in form as well as in substance, and due to this as well as to their other characteristics, they prove attractive for academic studies interested in official company discourse, more so because they involve documents that are public and retrievable over time, covering a substantial range of typically larger companies from different economic sectors. Driven by these characteristics, the goal of this study was to understand the way the academic world understands and uses the MR. The paper favored an interpretivist viewpoint, but used the triangulation allowed by the use of qualitative (content analysis) and quantitative (statistical, sociometric, and bibliometric analyses) methods. It was concluded that, for the core group of experts who dealt with the document, the MR is biased, incomplete, questionable, unclear, laborious, uncertain, but also useful - in the absence of another -, comprehensive, available, and retrievable over time. And it lends itself to the interest of company directors by increasing their value and at the same time legitimizing their companies, incorporating into discourse the use of contemporary management practices, consistent with the expectations of stakeholders. Finally, it suggests the possibility, unexplored in the articles analyzed, of employing the MR to study the dynamics of the institutionalization of administrative practices among companies in the country.

Consequences for Future Return with Earnings Management through Real Operating Activities

ID: 42035

Authors: César Medeiros Cupertino, Antonio Lopo Martinez, Newton Carneiro Affonso da Costa Jr..

Source: Revista Contabilidade & Finanças, v. 27, n. 71, p. 232-242, May-August, 2016. 11 page(s).

Keyword: earnings management , future returns , operational decisions , real operating activities

Document type: Article (Portuguese) Show Abstract

This article analyzes earnings management through real operating activities by firms in the Brazilian capital market. This way of manipulating outcomes takes place when managers make suboptimal decisions in terms of timing and volume of operating activities. This study tests the hypothesis that firms engaged in earnings management through real operating activities might have a negative impact on future returns. Our analysis is restricted to nonfinancial firms listed on the Brazilian Securities, Commodities, and Futures Exchange (BM&FBOVESPA) with annual data made available by the Economatica® for the years from 1989 to 2012. Empirical tests involving regression on panel data and estimation of future firm returns and outcomes indicate a negative impact on return on assets (ROA) related to manipulation through real operating activities. This finding is useful for several stakeholders. It demonstrates that manipulation through real operating activities takes place in the Brazilian capital market, suggesting that earnings management extends beyond discretionary accounting choices in this country. The main contribution is demonstrating a negative relation between earnings management by using real operating activities and future returns. This finding is relevant for investors, particularly for the purposes of comparison and valuation of securities.

Motivational Factors for the Master’s Degree: a Comparison between Students in Accounting And Economics in the Light of the Self-Determination Theory

ID: 42036

Authors: Samuel de Oliveira Durso, Jacqueline Veneroso Alves da Cunha, Joana Darc Vilaça Teixeira.

Source: Revista Contabilidade & Finanças, v. 27, n. 71, p. 243-258, May-August, 2016. 16 page(s).

Keyword: accounting , economics , master’s degree , motivation , self-determination theory

Document type: Article (Portuguese) Show Abstract

The general aim of this study was identifying the motivational level of students in Accounting and Economics regarding the search for a stricto sensu graduate degree. Also, it sought to determine the variables that significantly influence the motivation of these individuals. Having the Self-Determination Theory as a basis, a questionnaire was prepared resorting to the Academic Motivation Scale developed by Vallerand, Pelletier, Blais, Brière, Senécal, and Vallières (1992), and translated into Portuguese by Sobral (2003). The database contains observations of 173 university students from public institutions in Minas Gerais, Brazil, which provided courses in Accounting and Economics. The methodological procedure consisted in conducting a non-parametric test of mean values for the Motivation Self-Determination Index (MSI) of students, in calculating the correlations between the MSI and individual characteristics of students, and finally in estimating multiple linear regressions. Research results indicated that students in Accounting showed no difference regarding the motivational level when compared to students in Economics. It was also possible to notice that women, older students, scientific initiation scholarship holders, those from lower socioeconomic backgrounds, and those whose mothers have higher educational level tend to have a rather self-determined motivation. Additionally, it was found that insertion into the labor market increases self-determined motivation to pursue a stricto sensu Master’s degree only in the case of students in Accounting. The research was limited to the fact that the sample only included students of public education institutions from Minas Gerais. For future research, it is suggested that the procedures of this study be replicated in privet institution and in different states.

Return and Liquidity Relationships on Market and Accounting Levels in Brazil

ID: 42037

Authors: Fernanda Finotti Cordeiro Perobelli, Rubens Famá, Luiz Claudio Sacramento.

Source: Revista Contabilidade & Finanças, v. 27, n. 71, p. 259-272, May-August, 2016. 14 page(s).

Keyword: accounting liquidity , accounting return , financial constraints , market liquidity , market risk/expected return

Document type: Article (Portuguese) Show Abstract

This article discusses profitability-liquidity relationships on accounting and market levels for 872 shares of publicly-traded Brazilian companies, observed between 1994 and 2013. On the market level, the assumption is that share liquidity is able to reduce some of the risks incurred by investors, making them more willing to pay a higher price for liquid shares, which would lower expected market returns. On the accounting level, the basic hypothesis argues that a firm’s holding more liquid assets is related to a conservative investment policy, possibly reducing accounting returns for shareholders. Under the assumption of financial constraint, however, more accounting liquidity would allow positive net present value investments to be carried out, increasing future accounting returns, which would positively affect market liquidity and share prices in an efficient market, resulting in a lower market risk/expected return premium. Under the assumption of no financial constraint, however, more accounting liquidity would only represent a carry cost, compromising future accounting returns, which would adversely affect market liquidity and share prices and result in a higher market risk/expected return premium. Among the hypotheses, the presence of a negative market liquidity premium was verified in Brazil, with shares that traded more exhibiting a higher expected market return. On the margins of the major theories on the subject, only two negative relationships between excess accounting liquidity and market liquidity and accounting return, supporting the carry cost assumption for financially unconstrained firms, were verified. In terms of this paper’s contributions, there is the analysis, unprecedented in Brazil as far as is known, of the relationship between liquidity and return on market and accounting levels, considering the financial constraint hypothesis to which the firms are subject.