Editorial

ID: 9660

Authors: Carlos Eduardo Facin Lavarda.

Source: Revista Universo Contábil, v. 9, n. 1, p. 4-5, January-March, 2013. 2 page(s).

Document type: Editorial (Portuguese)

Determinants factors of hidden costs occurrence: study in rice agroindustrial cooperative of Rio Grande do Sul

ID: 9661

Authors: Marcos Antonio de Souza, João Rafael Alberton, Luiz Henrique Figueira Marquezan, Renato Pereira Monteiro.

Source: Revista Universo Contábil, v. 9, n. 1, p. 6-27, January-March, 2013. 22 page(s).

Keyword: Hidden costs , Rice agribusiness , Strategic cost management

Document type: Article (Portuguese) Show Abstract

The traditional practice of measuring costs is limited to the identification of a special type of costs, addressed in the literature as hidden costs. The objective of this study is to identify the factors and operations of occurrence of hidden costs in a rice agribusiness cooperative located in Rio Grande do Sul. This is a descriptive and qualitative research, conducted through a case study. The data was collected through semi-structured interviews with those responsible managers for finance, accounting, and commercial production of the cooperative search. We also used the analysis of managerial accounting documents and observation of operational procedures, performed during the period of August to December 2010. The data were analyzed to identify the potential existence of hidden costs. It was found that the following operational hidden costs occur: a) costs of project design and monitoring of crop producers; b) costs of storage of rice. It also became evident the occurrence of the following hidden costs related to failures of operational processes: a) the purchase of rice from other agricultural industries; b) in processing of rice by faults in the production process; c) no additional time for loading bags; d) in extra time to seal packages. It was found that the cooperative is still a long way towards implementing procedures for the identification, measurement and analysis of its hidden costs.

Capital budgeting practices: a study in the Florianópolis (SC) hospitality companies

ID: 9662

Authors: Paula de Souza, Rogério João Lunkes.

Source: Revista Universo Contábil, v. 9, n. 1, p. 28-45, January-March, 2013. 18 page(s).

Keyword: Budget , Capital budgeting , Hotels , Investments

Document type: Article (Portuguese) Show Abstract

The budget is considered an essential management tool to guide the organization, evaluate its performance and motivate staff, besides being one of the indispensable tools in planning and control phases. One of the important processes in the preparation of the budget includes the preparation and analysis of the capital budget. In this context, the aim of this study is to analyze the capital budgeting practices of hospitality companies in Florianópolis (SC). To build the theoretical referential, a bibliographic research was performed on capital budget in the Scopus and ISI (International Statistical Institute) database. The structuring of the referential showed a lack of studies on the subject, which reinforces the importance of conducting research on the capital budgeting practices in companies in the hospitality industry. Data were collected through surveys in 16 hospitality companies. Descriptive statistics were applied to the results in order to improve the basis for discussions. The results show that Florianopolis hospitality companies tend to use the profitability index in the evaluation of the budget, as well as the method of cost of equity for setting a minimum rate of return acceptable. The research reveals that the scenario analysis is the most widely used technique to assess the risk of investments, while the most critical step of the process of investment analysis is the definition of the project. Concerning the degree of predictability, the behavior of suppliers was rated as always predictable and it was found that, in general, the information obtained by the information systems are always available.

Management presentation: an analysis of the use of visuals resources in the Brazilian corporations’ management reports

ID: 9663

Authors: Marina Dutra do Nascimento, Fernanda Fernandes Rodrigues, Pedro Henrique Melo Albuquerque, César Augusto Tibúrcio Silva.

Source: Revista Universo Contábil, v. 9, n. 1, p. 46-64, January-March, 2013. 19 page(s).

Keyword: Accounting disclosure , Graphs , Management Report , Presentation Management

Document type: Article (Portuguese) Show Abstract

The study aims to identify the use of visuals resources at Brazilian corporations’ Management Reports and to analyze the influence of graphs on the neutrality of submitted information. We analyzed 203 companies from different sectors, between 1997 and 2009. Of those, we sought to examine the quantity, types and characteristics of the visual elements (graphs, tables, photos, etc.). In general, the research showed that, over the years, the use of visual aids has increased. However, the types of graphs have not undergone variations, and the most used were the ones with columns in their composition. The study also showed that a portion of the diagrams can give rise to a misguided interpretation as a result of the techniques of its preparation.

Value relevance analysis of accounting information in Brazil in the context of convergence to international accounting standards

ID: 9664

Authors: Marcelo Alvaro da Silva Macedo, Márcio André Veras Machado, Márcia Reis Machado.

Source: Revista Universo Contábil, v. 9, n. 1, p. 65-85, January-March, 2013. 21 page(s).

Keyword: Convergence to Accounting International Standards , Financial statements , Value relevance

Document type: Article (Portuguese) Show Abstract

This study compares the relevance of accounting information in the periods before and after the first phase of the convergence process to international accounting standards in Brazil, which occurred in 2008, following the same approach of previous studies, such as Niskaen, Kinnunen and Kasanen (2000); Bartov, Goldberg and Kim (2005); Barth, Landsman and Lang (2008); Morais and Curto (2008); Kadri, Aziz and Ibrahim (2009); Chalmers, Clinch and Godfrey (2009) and Lima (2010). For this, it was carried out a R2 comparasion, before and after convergence, between the regressions of each accounting proxy (earnings - LLPA and equity - PLPA) as independent variables and the stock price as the dependent variable, for the period 1997 to 2009, of the non-financial traded companies in Brazil. The results show differences in value relevance of accounting information of LLPA and PLPA before and after the first phase of convergence process, with LLPA showing informational gain and the PLPA presenting loss of informational content. The informational gain of LLPA may be associated with a reduction in conservatism and the introduction of the fair value concept in accounting practices, which tend to make the profit closer to economic reality of the company, breaking the paradigm that the Net Profit is a simply accounting number. With regard to the loss of informational content of PLPA, it may be associated with a decoupling of the financial situation of companies and the capital market performance, due to the global crisis of 2008, since, in crisis periods, financial assets lose value without any substantial change in the general economic environmental.

Disclosure evidence of assets’ impairment in the Brazilian stock market

ID: 9665

Authors: Esmael Almeida Machado, Ana Paula Capuano da Cruz, Renata Turola Takamatsu, Gerlando Augusto Sampaio Franco de Lima.

Source: Revista Universo Contábil, v. 9, n. 1, p. 86-103, January-March, 2013. 18 page(s).

Keyword: Disclosure , Impairment test , Novo mercado

Document type: Article (Portuguese) Show Abstract

This study aimed to identify whether there are different levels of information disclosure on impairment among Brazilian companies listed in 2009 in Novo Mercado. The technique of content analysis was applied to measure the intensity of the disclosure in relation to five preset categories based on standard accounting and previous studies. From the Mann-Whitney test, was explored if the 13 companies recognized impairment losses or reversals (CPRI) had different levels of disclosure in relation to the other 93 companies with no impairment losses or reversals (SPRI). The results showed that: a) the CPRI had higher level of disclosure in 3 of 5 categories explored, while the SPRI in just one category; b) 1 category did not return significant differences between groups CPRI and SPRI; and c) was not possible to infer whether the lower level of disclosure is the result of the particular industry in which companies or their relation to the audit firms.

The dividend puzzle and the systematic risk

ID: 9666

Authors: Heloísa Pinna Bernardo, Ana Akemi Ikeda.

Source: Revista Universo Contábil, v. 9, n. 1, p. 104-120, January-March, 2013. 17 page(s).

Keyword: Beta , Dividends , Systematic Risk

Document type: Article (Portuguese) Show Abstract

One of the persistent themes in finance studies deal with the impact of dividend policy on firm value. There are several theories that try to explain the dividends relevance for shareholders and firms .Despite numerous studies since the 60s, little is known about how companies decide on the portion of profits to be designed to reward shareholders. Thus, research dealing with the impact of dividend policy preferences of investors and the value of the companies are especially relevant to the increase the understanding about the investors’ behavior about the price formation mechanisms under risk. The objective of this research is to evaluate the systematic risk of the portfolio shares of companies that, through the payment of dividends and interest on own capital, offer investors the highest financial returns. Was investigated the hypothesis that the stock portfolio of companies that pay higher levels of dividends to shareholders has less systematic risk in relation to the market portfolio. The results confirm the hypothesis, indicating that the portfolio formed from the firms with highest dividend yield, provides systematic risk, measured by beta, lower than the market risk.

Regulatory risk and market reaction: analysis of the Brazilian electricity industry

ID: 9667

Authors: Marinês Taffarel, Wesley Vieira da Silva, Ademir Clemente.

Source: Revista Universo Contábil, v. 9, n. 1, p. 121-134, January-March, 2013. 14 page(s).

Keyword: Brazilian electricity sector , Regulatory risk , Stock market risk

Document type: Article (Portuguese) Show Abstract

This article is aimed to assess the impact of regulatory events on risk and return of stocks of companies pertaining to the Brazilian electricity sector. The sample includes common shares of eight companies that had continuous listing in the period January 2004 to December 2010. The complete series consists of 1,524 trading days. The statistical procedures adopted are  similar to those of Kobialka and Rammerstorfer (2009). The surveyed companies are subdivided into state enterprises, four in number, and private, in equal quantity. The analysis of the impact of regulatory risk is performed in two steps. The first step is an investigation on the influence of the regulatory events instituted in the sample period on stock returns of companies of the electricity sector. Subsequently, the impact of regulatory risk on the volatility of stocks is assessed by modeling the conditional variance through the Generalized Autoregressive Conditional  Heteroskedasticity (GARCH). The results indicate that neither all regulatory events have impact on risk and return of companies’ shares, nor all companies’ stocks are equally affected.

Relation between internal and external auditing and is impact on the external auditing fees

ID: 9668

Authors: Ana Sofia Valente Cunha e Silva, Helena Coelho Inácio.

Source: Revista Universo Contábil, v. 9, n. 1, p. 135-146, January-March, 2013. 12 page(s).

Keyword: External audit , Fees , Internal audit

Document type: Article (Portuguese) Show Abstract

Over the past few years given the growing demand on the reliability of the information provided to markets has increased the role of internal audit in companies. Moreover, theoretically there are several points of action that are common between internal audit and external audit. Thus, based on the contribution of internal audit to external audit we did a literature review of a set of empirical studies for the analysis of factors that may underlie the influence of this contribution in the formation of external auditor’s fees. From the analysis performed it was concluded that on the one hand, the contribution may or may not reduce, the fees, on the other, this effect is strongly associated with the view that the relationship between these two types of audit can be seen, this is depends on whether the two types of audits are seen as complements or substitutes. This conclusion leaves an open field of research in Portugal, where the fees were liberalized and internal audit has been developing significantly.

Evaluation and disclosure of performance measures on Portuguese local governments: the case of Setubal district

ID: 9669

Authors: Ana Bela Teixeira, Carlos Mata, Pedro Nuno Pardal, Nuno Teixeira.

Source: Revista Universo Contábil, v. 9, n. 1, p. 147-168, January-March, 2013. 22 page(s).

Keyword: Accounting , Indicators , Local government , Performance measurement , POCAL

Document type: Article (Portuguese) Show Abstract

The application of POCAL should permit the calculation and presentation of different indicators of performance, including measures from budget information, financial and cost accounting. These indicators should enable the analysis of local governments’ performance based on measuring the levels of economy, efficiency and effectiveness, serving as a support for management. The purpose of this study focuses on characterizing the existing information about of the local governments in Setúbal district, which is included in the Annual Financial Report of Portuguese Municipalities and on the indicators presented in Management Report. This analysis showed that the indicators of municipalities have a budgetary and/or financial nature, justified by the poor implementation of cost accounting. Despite 3 of the local governments didn’t present any indicator on their management reports, the other entities presented a total 159 different indicators, being 115 from budgetary information and 44 of financial nature. However, evidence showed that part of the indicators are based on accounting measures used on private sector and also showed that there isn’t a standardization of local governments disclosures, what is a clear limit to a comparative analysis of performance. Also, through the development of a performance ranking for Setúbal district, we confirmed that Alcácer do Sal, Almada and Grândola are the local governments best positioned.