Apresentação

ID: 44268

Authors: Fábio Frezatti.

Source: Revista Contabilidade & Finanças, v. 28, n. 73, p. 5-6, January-April, 2017. 2 page(s).

Document type: Editorial (Portuguese)

Editorial: - Pesquisa contábil: entre a ciência natural e a prática

ID: 44267

Authors: Frank G. H. Hartmann.

Source: Revista Contabilidade & Finanças, v. 28, n. 73, p. 6-10, January-April, 2017. 5 page(s).

Document type: Editorial (Portuguese)

Using the Newcomb-Benford Law as a Deviation Identification Method in Continuous Auditing Environments: A Proposal for Detecting Deviations over Time

ID: 44269

Authors: Wilton Bernardino da Silva, Silvana Karina de Melo Travassos, José Isidio de Freitas Costa.

Source: Revista Contabilidade & Finanças, v. 28, n. 73, p. 11-26, January-April, 2017. 16 page(s).

Keyword: continuous auditing , first digit , Newcomb-Benford Law , public spending , time series analysis

Document type: Article (Portuguese) Show Abstract

This paper used the Newcomb-Benford Law (NB Law) to analyze 210,899 contracts issued by sixty management units in two states in the Brazilian Northeast in 2010. In this article we seek to address the following question: What proposal emerges from the need to identify financial deviations over time in terms of NB Law compliance in continuous auditing scenarios? To this end, the goal of the paper is to analyze this compliance with the aim of identifying deviations over time. The analysis focuses on first significant digit distribution. Graphical analysis of observed frequencies and time series of relative discrepancies reveals the formation of typical patterns of divergences from Public Tenders Law (Federal Law n. 8.666/93). From the results obtained, we conclude that time series analysis of NB Law compliance can improve the accuracy of sampling procedures in continuous auditing.

Social quotas, affirmative actions, and dropout in the Business field: empirical analysis in a Brazilian federal university

ID: 44275

Authors: Larissa Couto Campos, Thalyson Renan Bitencourt Machado, Gilberto José Miranda, Patrícia de Souza Costa.

Source: Revista Contabilidade & Finanças, v. 28, n. 73, p. 27-42, January-April, 2017. 16 page(s).

Keyword: accounting , affirmative actions , dropout , entrants , social quotas

Document type: Article (Portuguese) Show Abstract

Rawls’ Justice Theory establishes that a fair society must allow less advantaged people to have access to the benefits of social cooperation. In this line of thought, the affirmative actions established by Law 12,711/2012 aim at promoting inclusive education in Higher Education. Evaluating the performance of affirmative actions, specifically their impact on the dropout level, has been a theme of debate in scientific literature. Besides representing a personal frustration, dropout is associated with significant academic, social, and economic losses. In this context, this research aims at analyzing whether the adoption of affirmative actions, as established by Law 12,711/2012, affects the dropout rates of students in Accounting Sciences and other courses in the Business field. The study was conducted through documentary research in a Brazilian public Higher Education institution (HEI). The results of binomial analysis showed that out of the 2,418 students who entered in the first semester of 2013, 520 (22%) dropped out from university until the end of the first semester of 2014. It was found that the dropout rate among entrants in the Business field, either through broad competition or using the system of quotas, was 29%. In the course of Accounting Sciences, the dropout rate among entrants admitted through broad competition was 25% and using the system of quotas it was 23%. Contrary to other investigations, this study found that there is no statistical difference between the dropout rates among entrants in the Business and Accounting Sciences fields through broad competition and quotas, suggesting that affirmative actions do not affect significantly the dropout rates.

Why has not it worked? An empirical application of the extended Burns and Scapens’ framework within the implementation of a controlling department

ID: 44274

Authors: Márcia Maria dos Santos Bortolocci Espejo, Neusa Sawczuk von Eggert.

Source: Revista Contabilidade & Finanças, v. 28, n. 73, p. 43-60, January-April, 2017. 18 page(s).

Keyword: controllership , implementation , institutional theory , study case

Document type: Article (Portuguese) Show Abstract

The aim of this study is to understand the implementation of a controlling department within Bogt and Scapens’ framework (2014) as an empirical observation mechanism towards investigating rationalities, which prevented its implementation. This study was conducted in a quite successful 63-year old company in the South of Brazil. We hope these results promote practical insight to those interested in supporting changes within this field of organizational environment. There had been two main reasons leading to such work: a lack of equivalent study in the scholarly literature as well as empirical application of Burns and Scapens’ framework (2000) reorganized by Bogt and Scapens (2014). Bogt and Scapens (2014), inspired by different logics (Bogt & Scapens, 2012) and in order to reevaluate their original framework (2000), suggest the introduction of a fairly important term: rationality. This new element shows the deliberate action from the organizational player – his/her way of thinking. However, even with the introduction of rationales within the model by Bogt and Scapens (2014), rules and routines remain as important elements so that actions take shape. Used methodology consists of an interpretational case study with document analysis, direct observation, and application of semi-structured interviews. Through the interviews and discussions with individuals involved in the study, it can be observed that some rationality resulted in conflicts. Different rationales and the culture of the individual and the organization are relevant aspects observed in the speeches analyzed; all may be factors, which led to the gap within the process of implementation of controlling department in the organization. In addition, time factors suggested in the extended Bogt and Scapens’ (2014) framework is of utmost importance for changes must occur gradually.

Exposition to factors of the investment funds market in Brazil

ID: 44276

Authors: Cláudia Olímpia Neves Mamede Maestri, Rodrigo Fernandes Malaquias.

Source: Revista Contabilidade & Finanças, v. 28, n. 73, p. 61-76, January-April, 2017. 16 page(s).

Keyword: fixed income , institutional investors , variable income

Document type: Article (Portuguese) Show Abstract

The growth of the investment funds industry in Brazil and its international representativeness indicate the relevance of analyzing this sector. Literature has shown the effects that market factors can have on the performance of investment funds. One way of evaluating the relation between funds’ returns and market factors’ variations is the return-based style analysis. In this context, this research aimed to investigate, through the style analysis, the exposition to various market factors in two modalities of investment funds. With this analysis, we may infer differences between the allocations and the composition of portfolios, constructing a panorama of sensitivity of funds’ returns to the market factors addressed in the study. The database consisted of daily returns of 508 funds, out of which 385 are fixed income funds and 123 are Neutral Long & Short multimarket funds, within the period from January 3, 2005, to July 11, 2014. Through the style analysis, with 6 market factors, we found a difference between the composition of portfolios of multimarket funds and portfolios of fixed income funds. Regarding the evolution of the composition of portfolios in these funds, we observed that the investment style of funds does not seem to be constant over time, something which may be a positive evidence concerning the changes that managers promote in their portfolios, seeking to achieve better profitability indicators.

Value Relevance vis-à-vis Disclosure on Business Combinations and Goodwill Recognized by Publicly Traded Brazilian Companies

ID: 44272

Authors: Maíra Melo de Souza, José Alonso Borba.

Source: Revista Contabilidade & Finanças, v. 28, n. 73, p. 77-92, January-April, 2017. 16 page(s).

Keyword: business combinations , disclosure , goodwill , value relevance

Document type: Article (Portuguese) Show Abstract

The objective of this study is to examine the value relevance of the level of disclosure on business combinations and goodwill recognized by publicly traded Brazilian companies. The research sample is composed of publicly traded Brazilian companies that carried out any type of business combination, as the acquiring entity, between 2010 and 2013, yielding a total sample of 202 observations. To measure the disclosure level of each, a metric was created based on CPC-15 R1 (2011) to examine certain disclosure items in order to render a greater level of detail. Data collection was carried out using the footnotes to the annual consolidated standardized financial statements (DFPs) available from the São Paulo Stock Exchange (BM&FBOVESPA) website. The results revealed that disclosure levels for business combinations are positively and significantly associated with the stock price of the companies analyzed. As to the recognition of goodwill during business combinations, despite the fact that it represents a significant share of the value of the transactions, no statistical significance explaining stock price behavior was found. It also bears mentioning that the average level of disclosure identified in the explanatory notes in the sample was very low, indicating that companies need to improve when it comes to transparency of information.

Geographically Weighted Logistic Regression Applied to Credit Scoring Models

ID: 44271

Authors: Pedro Henrique Melo Albuquerque, Fabio Augusto Scalet Medina, Alan Ricardo da Silva.

Source: Revista Contabilidade & Finanças, v. 28, n. 73, p. 93-112, January-April, 2017. 20 page(s).

Keyword: credit risk , credit scoring , geographically weighted logistic regression

Document type: Article (Portuguese) Show Abstract

This study used real data from a Brazilian financial institution on transactions involving Consumer Direct Credit (CDC), granted to clients residing in the Distrito Federal (DF), to construct credit scoring models via Logistic Regression and Geographically Weighted Logistic Regression (GWLR) techniques. The aims were: to verify whether the factors that influence credit risk differ according to the borrower’s geographic location; to compare the set of models estimated via GWLR with the global model estimated via Logistic Regression, in terms of predictive power and financial losses for the institution; and to verify the viability of using the GWLR technique to develop credit scoring models. The metrics used to compare the models developed via the two techniques were the AICc informational criterion, the accuracy of the models, the percentage of false positives, the sum of the value of false positive debt, and the expected monetary value of portfolio default compared with the monetary value of defaults observed. The models estimated for each region in the DF were distinct in their variables and coefficients (parameters), with it being concluded that credit risk was influenced differently in each region in the study. The Logistic Regression and GWLR methodologies presented very close results, in terms of predictive power and financial losses for the institution, and the study demonstrated viability in using the GWLR technique to develop credit scoring models for the target population in the study.

Heterogeneity in earnings quality between different classes of companies after IFRS adoption: evidence from Brazil

ID: 44270

Authors: Roberto Black, Sílvio Hiroshi Nakao.

Source: Revista Contabilidade & Finanças, v. 28, n. 73, p. 113-131, January-April, 2017. 19 page(s).

Keyword: accounting information , earnings quality , firm-level incentives , IFRS

Document type: Article (Portuguese) Show Abstract

This paper aims to investigate the existence of heterogeneity in earnings quality between different classes of companies after the adoption of the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). IFRS adoption is generally associated with an increase in the quality of financial statements. However, companies within the same country are likely to have different economic incentives regarding the disclosure of information. Thus, treating companies equally, without considering the related economic incentives, could contaminate earnings quality investigations. The case of Brazil is analyzed, which is a country classified as code-law, in which tax laws determined accounting practice and in which IFRS adoption is mandatory. First, Brazilian companies listed on the São Paulo Stock, Commodities, and Futures Exchange (BM&FBOVESPA) were separated into two classes: companies issuing American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) before IFRS adoption and companies that did not issue ADRs until the adoption of IFRS. Then, this second class of companies was grouped, using cluster analysis, into two different subclasses according to economic incentives. Based on the groups identified, the quality of accounting profit is tested for each class of the companies before and after IFRS adoption. This paper uses timely recognition of economic events, value relevance of net income, and earnings management as proxies for the quality of accounting profit. The results indicate that a particular class of companies began showing conditional conservatism, value relevance of net income, and lower earnings management after IFRS adoption. On the other hand, these results were not found for the two other classes of companies.

Cognitive brain mapping of auditors and accountants in going concern judgments

ID: 44273

Authors: César Valentim de Oliveira Carvalho Junior, Edgard Cornacchione, Armando Freitas da Rocha, Fábio Theoto Rocha.

Source: Revista Contabilidade & Finanças, v. 28, n. 73, p. 132-147, January-April, 2017. 16 page(s).

Keyword: belief revision , cognitive brain mapping , going concern , neuroaccounting

Document type: Article (Portuguese) Show Abstract

This study aims to explain the extent to which brain mapping patterns follow behavioral patterns of auditors and accountants’ judgments when assessing evidence for decisions involving going concern. This multidisciplinary research involved investigating the relation between the theory of belief revision, neuroscience, and neuroaccounting with a sample of auditors and accountants. We developed a randomized controlled trial study with 12 auditors and 13 accountants. Auditors and accountants presented similar judgments about going concern, specially demonstrating greater sensitivity to negative evidence. Despite similar judgments, results showed diverging brain processing patterns between groups, as distinct reasoning was used to reach going concern estimates. During the decision process, auditors presented homogeneous brain processing patterns, while accountants evidenced conflicts and greater cognitive effort. For both groups, the occurrence of maximization (minimization) of judgments is observed in brain areas associated with identification of needs and motivations linked to individuals’ relations with their social group. This was strengthened by the lack of significant differences between the regression maps of auditors and accountants, leading to interpretation of the groups’ findings as homogeneous brain behavior. Despite familiarity with the executed task and knowledge of auditing standards, as a result of the greater use of algorithmic reasoning the auditors’ judgments were similar to that of accountants. On the other hand, the accountants’ greater cognitive effort, due to the experiencing of greater conflict in the decision-making process, made them use more quantic brain processing abilities, which are responsible for conscious reasoning. This was observed in the maximizations (minimizations) of the estimates in brain areas related to concerns with the judgments’ social repercussions, which culminated in some degree of “conservatism” in their decisions. Furthermore, these findings reveal another opportunity to discuss the assumption of the brain as the original accounting institution.

Informações Editoriais 2016

ID: 44277

Authors: Revista Contabilidade & Finanças - USP.

Source: Revista Contabilidade & Finanças, v. 28, n. 73, p. 148-165, January-April, 2017. 18 page(s).

Document type: Other (Portuguese)