Gender diversity, governance and dividend policy in Brazil

Purpose – Considering that the heterogeneity in the composition of deliberation and management bodies can promote a differentiated impact on earnings distribution policies of companies, the purpose of this paper is to examine the marginal influence of female participation on the board of directors and executive board regarding decisions associated with dividend policy in companies operating in Brazil. Design/methodology/approach – The sample is composed of non-financial companies listed on the B3 Stock Exchange between 2010 and 2015, which encompasses 261 companies (1,084 observations per year). The tests aim at explaining the probability of earnings distribution and the payout level of companies through variables that measure the female presence – considering that the explanatory economic attributes of decisions over dividends are kept under control. The econometric analysis was carried out through the descriptive analysis of the variables and LOGIT and TOBIT tests of inference estimated with fixed effects and meeting all econometric requirements. Findings – The proportion of women in both deliberative and executive bodies affects marginally the dividend policy of Brazilian companies. The female presence in management bodies contributes to a higher probability of earnings distribution and increase in the payout level; such tendency is moderated when women are in the board of directors; so, we do not reject the hypothesis of female influence on dividend policy decisions in Brazil. Originality/value – One can find such investigations in foreign environments, but such tests had not been accomplished in Brazil so far. We discuss, therefore, in an unprecedented way, the heterogeneity in deliberative (governance) and executive (management) bodies and its outcomes in strategic decisions made in Brazilian companies, focusing on the female insertion and on fundamental decisions that are related to the relationship among stakeholders, which is the dividend policy per se

A PARTICIPAÇÃO FEMININA NA PRODUÇÃO CIENTÍFICA DAS ÁREAS DE ADMINISTRAÇÃO E CIÊNCIAS CONTÁBEIS

Este artigo analisa como se caracteriza a participação feminina na produção científica das áreas de Administração e Ciências Contábeis no triênio de 2013 a 2015. Realizou-se um estudo bibliométrico, descritivo e de abordagem qualitativa-quantitativa. A amostra compreendeu 23 periódicos de Qualis A1 a B2, nos quais foram analisados todos os 1724 artigos com, pelo menos, uma participação feminina. Após a análise dos artigos, foram observadas 2740 autoras, as quais compuseram um ranking por ordem de participação em publicações nesse período. A partir das análises, verificou-se que a participação feminina ainda é inferior à masculina nos anos estudados, não havendo evolução da participação feminina nos periódicos das áreas de Administração e Ciências Contábeis. Ainda, identificou-se que os procedimentos metodológicos qualitativos são mais utilizados pelas pesquisadoras e que as diferenças regionais são relevantes, sendo sul e sudeste as regiões que apresentaram maiores volumes de publicação com pelo menos uma participação feminina

Governança corporativa em empresas brasileiras como determinante da evidenciação de benefícios a empregados

The research aimed to raise the degree of compliance with the disclosure guidelines defined in the CPC 33 companies listed on the BM & FBovespa, and investigate whether there was greater compliance with these guidelines by companies participating in the Differentiated Levels of Corporate Governance. Methodologically, were used bibliographic and documentary procedures and nonparametric hypothesis tests and correspondence analysis, gathering a sample of 366 companies. There was low compliance with the disclosure requirements. Furthermore, there was greater compliance with the requirements for companies of different levels, and an association between firms with greater adherence to CPC 33 and those of the New Market.A pesquisa objetivou levantar os graus de cumprimento das orientações de divulgação definidas no CPC 33 pelas companhias listadas na BM&FBovespa, assim como investigar se houve maior observância dessas orientações pelas empresas participantes dos Níveis Diferenciados de Governança Corporativa. Metodologicamente, utilizaram-se procedimentos bibliográficos e documentais, além de testes de hipóteses não paramétricos e análise de correspondência, reunindo uma amostra de 366 companhias. Observou-se baixa observância das exigências de divulgação. Ademais, verificou-se maior observância às exigências pelas empresas dos níveis diferenciados, bem como uma associação entre as empresas com maior aderência ao CPC 33 e aquelas do Novo Mercado.

Accounting Information Quality of Latin American Firms: The Influence of The Regulatory Environment

Objective: This study aimed to investigate the relationship between the regulatory environment and the quality of the accounting information of Latin American companies, specifically regarding earnings management through accruals.Background: It is believed that the regulatory environment in which firms operate has an influence on the informational quality of disclosed financial reports, since by monitoring information regulatory bodies increase incentives for the elaboration of high quality financial reports (Shima & Gordon, 2011). On the other hand, other authors such as Silva, Galdi and Teixeira (2010) point out that when regulation originates from agencies linked to the state, governments susceptible to popular reaction could establish stricter rules or control sectors in a strategic way. Thus, companies regulated by public bodies could use earnings management practices in certain periods, such as election years.Method: The study sample was comprised of companies listed on the main stock exchanges in Latin America, according to the availability of information in the Capital IQ® database – the main data source for this study – and that adopted IFRS as the basis for preparing their financial statements in the period analyzed (2011 to 2016), thus totaling 2,360 firm-year observations. Considering the absolute value of discretionary accruals as a proxy for earnings management, the results suggest that there is a positive relationship between the regulatory environment and the manipulation of profits. The final sample resulted in observations about the companies listed on the stock exchanges of Brazil, Chile, Mexico and Peru, where the statistical analyzes presented for each country, as well as considering the Latin American context.Results: Our results indicate that the regulatory environment is positively related to the use of discretionary accruals for companies in Brazil, Peru, Mexico, and considering Latin America as a whole. For Chile, there does not seem to be any significant relationship between these factors, so that it is concluded that there are aspects related to the country level, whether economic, cultural, or institutional, that were not mentioned by this study and that are possibly able to influence the use of discretionary accruals as a form of earnings management.Contributions: The results presented by the study contribute to the literature on information quality and regulation, first because they present evidence that regulation negatively influences the quality of accounting information, secondly because it investigates a context of emerging markets that despite the political instability, some studies predict a growth of in the coming years, especially those in Latin America,  and third, because it analyzes the companies of these countries from an individual and collective perspective , allowing a discussion of the reality of each country, among them and with other contexts