This study aimed to measure the impact of the change in the chief executive officer (CEO) on the earnings management in Brazilian banks. A literature review was conducted on the management of accounting results in banks in Brazil, as well as the identification of international productions on the subject. In the review of the national literature, 23 studies published in journals between 2006 and 2022 were identified, focused on the investigation of a specific type of earning management, mainly income smoothing with the use of Loan Loss Provision (LLP). In the research, various types of specific discretionary accruals are used, in addition to different metrics and models. Based on the theoretical gap observed about the influence of the CEO in the occurrence of big bath accounting in Brazilian banks and the knowledge of different models accepted in the literature to ascertain the earning management in banks in Brazil, the methodological design of this study was developed exploring the common methods in the literature, investigating both individual institutions and financial conglomerates. The data collected was accessed through the website of the Central Bank of Brazil, covering the periods from 2012 to 2022. The analysis for individual institutions and financial conglomerates was through regressions that related the variables of interest on the new CEOs with the LLP expense accruals, calculated according to one or two-stage models, depending on data availability. The results for individual institutions confirmed only income smoothing, showing that discretionary expense with LLP occurs more intensively in the semester following the arrival of the new CEO. The result for financial conglomerates proves that new CEOs practice big bath accounting when they take over, increasing the accruals as soon as they start management. The increase in discretionary accruals at the beginning of the mandate of the new CEO coming from outside the bank was not confirmed. It was confirmed the reduction in earnings management when a new woman CEO takes office. The research contributes to increasing the understanding of earning management practices in Brazilian financial institutions, mainly the practice of big bath accounting, still little explored by the literature. Also highlighted are the evidences of the small female participation and the peculiarities of their management in the highest executive position of Brazilian banks. Furthermore, the research points out directions for future investigations in this field. 

The Decree No. 9,203/2017 establishes that the organs and entities of the direct, autarchic, and foundational administration must institute an integrity program to promote the adoption of measures and actions aimed at preventing, detecting, punishing, and remediating fraud and acts of corruption. This work examines the process of implementing integrity programs in federal public universities in the Brazilian Midwest. The following specific objectives were defined: (i) to investigate the stage of implementation of integrity programs in public federal universities of the region, as disclosed on their websites; (ii) to analyze the integrity plans disclosed by universities in the Midwest, comparing them with the principles established in Law No. 9,203/2017 and the guidelines of the Office of the Comptroller General of the Union (CGU). The study is justified by the relevance of this segment in relation to the economic, social, and political dimensions of the country. In this study, a qualitative approach was employed, using content analysis technique supported by NVivo software. Additionally, the essential theoretical basis was Agency Theory, which highlights the relationship between the citizen and their ruler as a dynamic between principal and agent, respectively. The CGU stipulated that the implementation of the Integrity Program should occur in specific stages: (i) the designation of the Integrity Management Unit in the first phase; (ii) the approval of integrity plans by organs and entities in the second phase; and (iii) the start of execution and monitoring of the integrity program, as defined in the plans, in the third phase. It is concluded that universities have established their Integrity Management Units, formalized their Integrity Plans, and are in the process of managing risk management procedures to reach the third phase envisaged by the CGU, which consists of executing and monitoring the integrity program. Additionally, universities face significant challenges in executing and monitoring their Integrity Program, dealing with budgetary constraints and the challenges imposed by the Covid-19 pandemic. While the integrity programs of federal public universities constitute one of the tools made available to society to be accountable for the use of public resources derived from taxes paid by citizens, their implementation and continuous monitoring entail costs. Thus, citizens (principals) would incur costs to align the interests of managers (agents) with their own.

This study aims to evaluate whether the financial information resulting from current accounting practices for recognition, measurement and disclosure of cryptocurrencies meets the requirements to be considered useful to users in making economic decisions. To this end, the study uses two distinct, independent, and complementary methodologies - a critical-reflective analysis and a test of the practical effects of the application of current classification and measurement models for cryptocurrencies - to reveal whether the absence or insufficiency of specific accounting standards, and the consequent multiplicity of current accounting practices, compromises the usefulness of the resulting financial information. The critical-reflective analysis revealed that the financial information resulting from current practices does not have the qualitative characteristics necessary for the information to be useful to users in making economic decisions. This conclusion was corroborated by the test of practical effects on financial information, which highlighted the distortions caused by current accounting practices in financial reports and economic-financial indicators, which compromises the usefulness of this information for users. The results indicate the need to update the current regulatory framework. The study promotes the dissemination of knowledge about the cryptocurrency market and its impacts on accounting, in addition to encouraging reflection on the deficiencies of current accounting practices. This reflection may be of interest to investors, analysts, preparers of financial reports, auditors and, above all, to regulators, given the current absence or insufficiency of accounting standards.

The maritime transport infrastructure is important for Brazil's economic integration, as the country has 35 public ports. Law No. 9.277/1996 authorized the Federal Government to delegate the administration and operation of ports to municipalities, states, and the Federal District. Thus, public ports can be classified as federal or delegated. Delegated ports are public ports where the Federal Government has transferred the responsibility for administration and operation to other public entities, such as states, municipalities, and public consortia. The aim of this study is to assess the existence of operational and financial efficiency differences between federal and delegated ports. Data from 2019 to 2023 were analyzed. For operational efficiency, infrastructure variables were considered, as well as performance variables such as gross cargo handled and the inverse of the average docking time. For financial efficiency, operational expenses, activity costs, gross cargo handled, and the number of dockings were considered. The efficiency analysis was conducted through Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) with variable returns to scale. Recently, there was the concession of public ports, which were also the subject of the study. In summary, delegated ports showed higher operational efficiency values when compared to ports under federal administration, through the Port Authorities (Companhias Docas). Delegated ports accounted for 60% of ports considered highly efficient, 62.5% in the medium efficiency group, and 30.7% in the low efficiency group. Regarding financial efficiency, federal ports were classified into medium and high efficiency categories, each with 50% of the ports; two delegated ports performed poorly, with low efficiency, and seven ports were classified as highly efficient. The Mann-Whitney test was conducted to verify the statistical significance of the efficiency values obtained. The Malmquist index analysis was performed to verify whether there were productivity gains or losses for each port during the study period.

The main objective of this research is to understand how economic, social, intangible, and political factors reveal the public educational value, exploring its relationship with fiscal austerity policies and the resulting impacts on the social well-being of Brazilian society. Mark Moore (1995) introduced the paradigm of public value, based on a theoretical framework that sought convergences from the private sector in public management. Moore argued that the construction of public value goes beyond rhetoric, giving meaning to the efforts of public managers to find creative and appropriate solutions. Since then, various theorists have addressed the concept of public value, highlighting its complexity and evolution. However, measuring public value, especially in education, faces challenges due to its complexity, requiring multifaceted approaches and consideration of indicators from different dimensions. In this sense, accounting has emerged as a science with a solid foundation to support the measurement of public value. Public administration has adopted new approaches, such as the New Public Service (NPS) and public value management, aiming to improve public governance and adapt to constant transformations, focusing on creating value in various scenarios. The research was conducted in two distinct parts: in the first, through confirmatory component analysis and the development of a measurement model, the economic, social, intangible, and political indicators reflecting on the public value of education were explored from 2015 to 2022 for the 27 Brazilian states. In the second stage, through a partial least squares structural equation model (SEM-PLS), with the assistance of SMARTPLS software, the analysis of the relationship between fiscal austerity policies, educational public value, and social well-being was conducted. The research results allowed for a deep understanding of the indicators that shape public value in Brazilian education, as well as a critical analysis of the impacts of fiscal austerity policies in this context. Additionally, the results contributed to the discussion of how the promotion of educational public value is directly related to social wellbeing. The research aimed to fill a gap in understanding the relationship between public value in education, fiscal austerity policies, and their impacts on social well-being. The relevance of this study is intrinsically linked to the importance of education as a fundamental public service for the development of a just and equitable society. Furthermore, the analysis of fiscal austerity policies and their impact on educational public value allows for a deeper understanding of the challenges faced by public managers in balancing budgetary constraints with the need to promote accessible and effective education. This is particularly relevant in changing scenarios, such as the challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic, for example. The connection between educational public value and social well-being adds a practical dimension to the research, highlighting the importance of quality education for sustainable development and improving the overall quality of life of society. Understanding how educational policies can impact social well-being allows for a more comprehensive analysis of the socioeconomic implications of government decisions. Moreover, the relevant role of accounting in providing a comprehensive view of the factors influencing the effectiveness of the educational system is emphasized, contributing to guiding public managers in the efficient allocation of resources and promoting quality education for all citizens. 

The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) had its second Conceptual Framework approved in 2010, when the standard was conducted in common agreement with the North American standard-setter Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB). Several studies portray the North American influence in the definition of international standards, some of them observe that the new standard approved by the IASB – FASB, included in the main objectives the figure of primary users (investor primacy) as those to whom financial reports should be addressed. targeted, excluding users who traditionally figured in these conceptual structures. Given this, the objective of the investigation was to understand how discursive narratives are mobilized around the hierarchization/marginalization of the definition of users of accounting information in the objectives of the Conceptual Framework of the IASB – FASB (2010). The theoretical and methodological platform of Critical Discourse Studies (ECD) articulated with Emancipatory Accounting was used to achieve the proposed objectives. Furthermore, technological tools were used to support text mining and analysis in accordance with critical discursive analysis. Through the analysis of the results, it was found that the positions of the participants in the public consultation were fragmented into discursive wings with more or less democratic tendencies. However, even the less democratic wings positioned themselves with reservations regarding the inconsistencies and ambiguities in the arguments supported by the standard-setter in favor of investor primacy. There is also evidence that the positions of standard setters, regulators and auditors tend to align, which reveals the influences of professional social practices in defining individuals' social preferences. The strategies mobilized to justify the standard-setter's positions to hierarchize/marginalize go through the processes of activating social actors (investors) and passivating (other) users. The discursive socio-environmental effects emerging from the discursive analyzes are influenced by restrictions/limitations attributed to social actors and policy definitions aligned with broader social interests, such as: agency cuts; control of agendas; and restrictions on understanding the public function of accounting. The sociocultural and historical-economic context exerted influences on the configuration of standards, with processes of detraditionalization and recontextualization of the assumptions of the liberal economic matrix of thought redefined in the norm. These findings reverberate in the erosion of democratic processes and have implications for the issue of social justice, which contribute to the maintenance of the conditions that structure regimes of social inequality and limit the understanding of the public function of accounting.

Fraud in financial statements brings enormous losses to organizations and society. Weakness in internal controls is identified as one of the main factors that provide opportunities for this type of fraud. Although, in recent decades, there has been greater concern with the structuring of an internal control environment, the emergence of several new cases of fraud has been

observed. This scenario highlights the need to investigate other factors that may be associated with fraud. The literature demonstrates that ethical, social and cultural factors can influence the decision to perpetrate fraud. That is, individuals' skills and abilities are important attributes that can induce the perpetrator's behavior. Furthermore, these skills and abilities can be investigated from a personality perspective, as it is possible to anticipate an individual's behavior based on their personality traits. Trait theory postulates that behavior can be associated with its respective personality trait, as well as being influenced by the environment. One of the personality structuring models is the Big-Five personality model. This model has five basic dimensions: Extraversion, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, Neuroticism (Emotional Stability) and Openness to Experience. These personality traits may indicate a behavioral profile with a higher risk of perpetrating fraud in financial statements, especially under the existence of weaknesses in internal control. Given this, it is important to move towards better understanding the fraudulent act, that is, investigating the personality traits (Big Five) in relation to the risk of fraud in financial statements, considering different internal control environments. To this end, experimental research (2x2) was carried out, with the creation of scenarios, aiming to capture the intensity of the choice of perpetration, considering different internal control environments. Descriptive statistics, the test of means (t test) and ordinal logistic regression were used to data analyze. The main results of the research indicate that being male, having a higher level of formal education, having academic training in accounting sciences, working or having worked in medium and large companies and having more experience are factors that contribute to a lower risk of perpetration of fraud in the financial statements. Furthermore, it was identified that the internal control environment weakness increases the risk of fraud in the financial statements, however, the variable that captures the perception of the internal control environment was positively associated with the greater fraud risk in the financial statements. There is evidence that increasing “Conscientiousness” and “Emotional Stability” reduces the chances of fraud risk, while “Agreeableness” increases them. Finally, greater “Extroversion” and “Openness to Experience” may signal a profile of financial directors with a higher risk of fraud. Regarding contributions, the study intended to contribute to the literature regarding the practice of fraud, advancing in relation to previous research by jointly addressing accounting aspects, personality traits and different internal control environments. The study brought more elements to compare results, especially regarding training in accounting sciences and its effects on reducing the chances of the fraud risk in financial statements. In the practical aspect, the study highlighted elements to model a more appropriate profile for the role of financial director, considering different contexts of internal control environment.

This thesis examines the effectiveness of public spending on municipal primary education in Brazil, using Public Choice Theory as its theoretical foundation. The research shows that educational and economic outcomes have not improved despite increased investments due to inadequate resource management. The first article applies the Common Pool Theory to explain the inefficacy of educational policies, demonstrating how competition for resources leads to underutilisation and inefficiency. An analysis of municipal spending from 2009 to 2019 confirms this theory. The second article addresses Baumol's cost disease, highlighting how increasing teachers' salaries without a corresponding rise in productivity drives up costs. The study suggests that per-student spending tends to decrease with increasing municipal population, except in the largest cities. The third article employs Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) to evaluate the effectiveness of educational investments in different municipalities, showing that the expansion of educational spending diverts resources from other essential areas, resulting in a loss of welfare for taxpayers. The article recommends reforming public policies to improve the efficiency and transparency in allocating educational funds. In summary, the thesis suggests reviewing the strategies for allocating and managing educational resources in Brazil to ensure that investments improve educational quality indicators and economic development in municipalities.

In this thesis, three studies address different topics on "The cost-benefit of aging from the perspective of financial well-being". My aim is to analyze the "main" factors that influence financial well-being outcomes: preparedness for retirement and resilience for the future. In study 1, the joint effect of self-control and confidence (PsyFactor1), as well as a lack of concern for social status in conjunction with an action orientation (PsyFactor2), were suggested as "key" psychological factors influencing better financial behavior. Also, grit and resilience for the future apparently improved the financial behavior/capability model of the older group. In addition, the attitude of maintaining private investments to ensure one's old age was related to preparedness for retirement, resilience for the future, and financial well-being in the young and mature groups but not in the older group. Study 1 also indicates that attitudes towards contributing to retirement were associated with high levels of preparedness for retirement. However, it seems that the retirement contribution variables were not considered as important for the older group as for the mature and young groups. In general, regardless of age, many believe that they will not have an adequate retirement income without a state pension or without working, and few maintain private investments and report contributing to a supplementary pension scheme to guarantee their own retirement. In addition to the objective measure of age, study 2 took into account the future time perspective and recognized that people's preferences are not due to age alone but to perceived limitations in time. I would highlight the relationship between future-oriented psychological factors with favorable long-term decisions and measures of financial well-being. Self-control was strongly related to less current stress in managing money and future time perspective to expected future financial security. Grit and psychological resilience were also relevant to preparedness for retirement and perceived financial well-being, and despite not being the main focus of the thesis, the grit metric proved to be better than psychological resilience in further analysis. The male gender variable is also noteworthy for its appearance in several of our results. It appeared as the only socioeconomic variable significantly related to expected future financial security and perceived financial well-being. Finally, in study 3, using an experiment that provided participants with the opportunity to think about their expectations of financial well-being and/or the concept of financial capability, the simple fact of drawing people's attention to financial capability and well-being altered their perceptions in relation to preparing for retirement, resilience for the future and financial well-being. Our results also contribute to the literature examining the relationship between wealth and insurance. The fact that the less wealthy have less preparedness for retirement, resilience for the future, and financial well-being might increase financial health disparities among individuals at older ages. In the face of a rapidly aging population, these results are important with regard to future financial protection. The results can inform financial institutions, policymakers, and individuals interested in making better financial decisions that are essential for old age.

African culture had an important influence on the way of life in different countries, in terms of food, music, clothing and religion. The objective of this thesis is to evaluate individuals' perception of the economic and cultural value of conserving the Ifá divinatory system. Considered an intangible cultural asset (religious belief), it does not have a market, with complexity regarding the valuation method to be adopted. Currently, the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) created the IPSAS 17 standard (property, facilities and equipment) and IPSAS 31 (intangible assets) to direct public bodies to recognize, measure and highlight such assets in accounting statements, but still there are doubts regarding the true and safe accounting treatment. In the present study, through field research and survey application, with Benin citizens living in Brazil and Brazilians; as well as Beninese citizens living in Benin, a survey was applied to obtain information on willingness to pay (contingent valuation method of assessment), as well as cultural values (aesthetic, social, symbolic, educational, political, historical and authentic) perceived by those. Exploratory factor analysis methods and logistic regression models will was used to analyze the explanatory factors determining the willingness to pay for the Ifá divinatory system. It is expected to contribute to the discussion related to accounting and religion, as well as methods for measuring intangible cultural assets.

The era of big data is having an increasingly significant impact on accounting practice and literature, providing technological tools for the application and production of new knowledge. Among its main advantages are increased transparency and improved quality of information, which can be extended more easily to data beyond numbers, enabling sophisticated analysis of non-financial data such as texts, videos, audios and images. This thesis focuses on the contributions of this phenomenon to behavioral research in accounting, provoking a reflection on how the growing application of data science in research can help in the more robust and reliable description and prediction of user behavior. The thesis is structured in three articles. The literature reviewed in the first article highlights the search in behavioral accounting research for an understanding of the individual subjective factors that interfere in reactions to environmental stimuli. It discusses the advances made by new technologies, which make it possible to measure internal factors in large non-invasive samples, simultaneously analyzing the interactions between the environment and individuals, based on various theories. The two subsequent empirical articles investigate the effect of a subjective internal factor - the achievement drive - on the accounting choices and management strategies adopted by executives. Using computer vision, an artificial intelligence tool, these behavioral characteristics were measured using facial images of directors from companies in different industries in the North American market.The results of the empirical articles indicate that both tax planning and earnings management are correlated with achievement drive, suggesting that this measure can influence risky corporate decisions.In addition to contributing to the understanding of the behavioral traits that shape managerial decisions, this thesis offers a robust methodological basis for expanding the use of new technologies in accounting and behavioral research.

Translated with DeepL.com (free version)

Abstract Fraud occurrences have increased significantly in recent years in many countries (PricewaterhouseCoopers, 2020). Probably, this has negatively affected the efficiency of capital markets, turning them into an environment of distrust, causing investment flight and hesitation in the entry of new investors. According to Hung et al. (2015), corporate fraud does not only affect creditors or shareholders of defrauding firms, but also it affects customers, suppliers, the financial market as a whole, the government; that is, the entire economy. According to Dyck et al. (2010), financial fraud in accounting reports is usually detected much later, after suspicions of the impacts of the crime. It turns out that post factum action (fraud detection) is not efficient in reducing or eliminating occurrences; in this sense, preventive action is relevant and necessary. There are several methods for preventing fraud in financial reporting, and this research aims to analyze the market reaction to fraud without and with its knowledge. For this, the study compared stock price behavior around the date the fraud was committed and around the date it was discovered. Secondly, the study analyzed the accuracy of the support vector machine (SVM) in predicting fraud in financial reports, considering financial indices and nonfinancial indices. The research used event studies methodology to achieve its first objective and SVM to achieve its second objective. Positive abnormal returns were found one day after and from the fourth to the tenth day after financial reporting fraud. Without knowledge of the fraud, the market reacts positively to the performance of fraud in financial reports, generating abnormal gains for the fraudsters. Probably, due to the time it takes for the suspected fraud to be judged by the Securities and Exchange Commission of Brazil (CVM), the market ignores the regulatory agency’s decision when officially recognizing the suspected practice or maneuver as fraudulent, for breaking the law. Sensitive variables to detect fraud risks were identified and the SVM polynomial model was capable to predict fraud risks in at least 64% of fraudulent financial reports. The findings contribute to the academy about the consequences of fraud in financial reports in the market and also encourage other research. The study also contributes to the work of auditors and regulators, recommending the SVM polynomial model to predict fraud in financial reports.

The objective of this work is to analyze which are the determinants (antecedents) of financial literacy in undergraduate students at the University of Brasilia. To achieve this purpose, the empirical-analytical method was used, focusing on three groups of explanatory variables: (i) respondents' profiles and histories, (ii) formal and non-formal learning and (iii) informal learning. 400 responses were collected from the application of a structured electronic questionnaire, consisting of 34 questions. The results of the empirical tests, in relation to group (i), revealed that men, students of engineering and applied social sciences, with a family income above 10 minimum wages, married and whose parents had at least higher education, had a literacy level superior to the others. Regarding group (ii), students who took accounting and finance classes in high school or college, as well as those who prefer the internet and financial planners as a source of knowledge, showed higher levels of literacy. Furthermore, students with a greater preference for traditional media had lower levels of literacy than the others. Regarding the analysis of group (iii), there is no statistically relevant relationship to corroborate the raised hypothesis. In the segmentation by students' proficiency level: those with an advanced level, 30.25% of the sample, had an average score about 1 point higher than the intermediate level, represented by 24.75% of the sample, and 3 points in relation to the level basic, represented by 45% of the respondents. Finally, this work contributes to the literature by filling gaps, pointed out by Goyal and Kumar (2020), in research on financial literacy in non-Western and/or developing countries. In addition, the proposal to analyze the literacy level of individuals considering the sources of knowledge and learning - in addition to meeting the OECD initiative to recognize not only formal learning, but non-formal and informal learning, also allows advancing the discussion of new perspectives for analyzing financial literacy.

This dissertation is part of the Accounting and Financial Market research line of the Postgraduate Program in Accounting Sciences of the University of Brasília (UnB).This research was developed on the credit risk classification of airlines by rating agencies: Study before and after the implementation of IFRS 16.The problem to be answered in this study was based on the credit risk classification of airlines by rating agencies: Study before and after the implementation of IFRS 16. The general objective was built on the analysis of how was the credit risk classification of airlines by the rating agencies: Study before and after IFRS 16. For this purpose we considered four specific objectives cancatenated with the research theme:1- Analyse how risk rating agencies treated leasing on airline balance sheets; 2- Evaluate the applicable criteria for leasing operations: before IFRS 16 and after IFRS 16; 3-Examine whether rating agencies use disclosed operating leases when assessing companies’ credit risk;4-Investigate whether risk rating agencies assign the same treatment as operational leases to finance leases when determing ratings.This is a quali-quanti research that, in qualitative terms, is concerned with deepening the understanding of a given phenomenon, focusing on aspects of the quantitative approach and a statistical tool was chosen for logistic regression. This methodological route sought to explain cocnceptual aspects of how the rating agencies evaluated the risk of airlines, before and after IFRS 16, since operating leasing was already considered as a financed asset of the balance sheets of airlines,according to the adopted factorial or constructive capitalization airlines by lessee companies.The statistical part includes the study bringing 38 airlines, with accounting data before and after the new leasing regulations, that is, IFRS 16/ CPC 06-R2.As a result, this research brought evidence that the rating agencies already considered operating leasing, using the factorial or multiple metric, in the classification of the credit risk of arlines.

The general objective of this research was to analyze the characteristics of the scientific production concerning the International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS) in national and international journals, through a systematic review of the literature, from a critical and bibliometric approach, under a time frame that comprised the years 2003 to 2022. In a first stage, the bibliometric networks referring to a sample of 226 articles, collected from the Scopus database, were analyzed based on indicators of coauthorship, co-occurrence, direct citation, cocitation and bibliographic coupling, measured using the VOSviewer software. From the results, it was evident the distribution of publications among the following thematic axes: (i) IPSAS antecedents, implementation and results; (ii) European Public Sector Accounting Standards; (iii) accrual accounting; (iv) Institutional Theory; (v) measurement and recognition in the public sector; (vi) country overviews; and, (vii) Brazilian studies. Of the thematic axes outlined, 93 articles were selected, which, after categorizing in terms of conceptual orientation, research method, country investigated and level of government, revealed that: 37.63% of the analyzed publications did not make use of a theoretical foundation, while 27.95% and 17.20% made use of the Institutional Theory framework and the New Public Management (NPM) approach, respectively; a large part of the research employed an empirical approach and document analysis techniques in their methods; and, most studies investigated a multiplicity of countries, from the perspective of the central government level. Moreover, from the complete reading of the 93 cited articles, it was observed the recurrence of issues related to the isomorphic pressures of coercive nature exerted by multilateral organizations and the recurrence of works that highlighted the heterogeneous processes of IPSAS implementation. Finally, considering the inherent limitations of the database and given the breadth of the investigated theme, it is suggested for future research: the comparison between samples belonging to more than one database and the analysis, individually, of the bibliometric networks related to each of the identified thematic axes.

The objective of the research is to evaluate the relevance of the new subtotals of the income statement proposed by ED/2019/07 in comparison to the current model provided for in Law 6,404/76 for Brazilian companies. Additionally, the research has the specific objective of comparing the relevance of the New Operating Result with the current gross, required by Law 6,404/76, in addition to assessing the relevance of Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization (EBITDA). The method chosen for data collection was the survey of economic and financial data, available at Economatica, from 206 companies in the special segments of B3, which held the annual information necessary to carry out the study in the period from 2010 to 2021. For analysis data, a reformulation of the current income statement was used to assess the accounting relevance of the new groupings arranged in the Exposure Draft. To assess the value relevance, the model by Ohlson (1995) adapted by Collins et al. (1997), which allows evaluating the explanatory power of the regression's R² . The results of the analyzes suggest that, even with the proposed changes, the current model provided for in Law 6,404/76 (R² = 0.719) has greater informational power than the new model proposed by the IASB (R² = 0.709). The same happens when analyzing the variables linked to operating activities, in which the Gross Result (R² = 0.717) is more relevant, followed by EBTIDA (R² = 0.707) and, finally, the New Operating Result (R² = 0.705). The study brings empirical evidence about the possible impacts of the new income statement, with practical implications, and how changing the way in which the income statement is presented can impact the quality of accounting information. In the social sphere, as it is a future standard that, by all indications, can be implemented in the coming years. In addition, this research contributes to the understanding of the benefits and impacts of the proposed changes, thus providing more information to accounting professionals, auditors and regulatory bodies.

Corporate operations have been increasingly frequent in recent years around the world. In Brazil, business combinations have reached record numbers. The financial reporting standards already provide for the form of recognition, measurement and disclosure of these operations, especially through IFRS 3 Business Combinations. However, the IASB identified that the lack of a specific IFRS standard for Business Combinations under Common Control-BCUCC has caused diversity in practice, in addition to providing little information about said combinations. In view of this, the Board presented the Discussion Paper DP/2020/2, with its preliminary opinions on the subject and made it available for contributions. After the consultation period, 102 comment letters were received. The objective of the present work is to analyze the opinions of these respondents. This is an exploratory study, of a qualitative nature, using the technique of content analysis. It was possible to analyze all comment letters forwarded in response to the Board's 12 questions. As a result, there was heterogeneity in the participation of different sectors, with a predominance of sectors most impacted by the norm. Countries classified according to Nobes & Parker (1995) in the Anglo-Saxon model represent 43% of respondents. As for the level of agreement with the questions proposed by the IASB, it was observed that 69% of respondents agree with the preliminary opinions exposed, and 29% of this percentage offered suggestions for improvement in relation to the topics addressed. It is concluded that, in general, there was a relevant participation of the different users of accounting information. Brazil appears in the spotlight, occupying second place in the number of respondents, which reveals great disposition in the debate. However, it is noted that the academy had low participation. This fact must be emphasized and disseminated worldwide, as it is important that teaching and research institutions monitor and participate in the IASB's normative process, due to the characteristics that are inherent to these institutions. This research contributes to the ongoing debate on Business Combinations under Common Control-BCUCC, by providing indepth analysis and providing input to IASB decisions and contributing to the improvement of financial reporting.

This study aimed to verify the influence of accounting and non-accounting variables on the issuance of reservations, as well as recommendations on the accountability of the President of the Republic in view of the convergence of Brazilian public accounting standards in the Federal Court of Auditors (TCU), having as a basis for analysis, the Prior Opinion issued by the TCU between the years 2016 to 2021. This is a descriptive, bibliographic, quantitative and qualitative research. For this data analysis, the IRAMUTEQ software was used as a support tool in text analysis. The results reveal a preventive role of the TCU by issuing a large number of recommendations regarding the number of reservations. It is possible to identify a direct relationship between the reservations and recommendations of the TCU with the convergence of public accounting, as the adoption of the accrual basis drives a search for greater comparability, transparency and accountability of accounting information. It also verified that accountability and legality are the fundamental pillars for the preparation of the prior opinion. Furthermore, it reinforces the importance of implementing a single chart of accounts and a system for consolidating public accounts.

This research examines the relationship between uncertainty about economic policy and conditional conservatism in the accounting of Brazilian companies. The explored relationship arises from the potential of political uncertainty to increase information asymmetry between management and other stakeholders, creating an opportunity for managers to transfer wealth to themselves, diverting attention from shareholder value creation. In this regard, conservative accounting helps control this asymmetry by reducing managers' ability to overstate cumulative changes in the company's value. In order to evaluate the relationship between conservatism and uncertainty about economic policy, a modification to Basu's (1997) model was proposed, adding variables that synthetically reflect the overall level of uncertainty, known as economic policy uncertainty indices. This study utilized two economic policy uncertainty indices, one developed by Baker et al. (2016) and another by Ferreira et al. (2019). The results showed significant differences depending on the index used. Models based on Baker et al.'s (2016) index confirmed the hypothesis that increased political uncertainty is statistically related to conditional conservatism. However, models based on Ferreira et al.'s (2019) index did not support this hypothesis, highlighting the importance of different methods in constructing uncertainty indicators for the results. Additionally, a graphical assessment was conducted to examine the relationship between increases in uncertainty indices and the years of conditional conservatism presence, and the results were consistent with the expected relationship between uncertainty and conservatism, even when using Ferreira et al.'s (2019) index.

The Loan Loss Provisions (LLP) is one of the main products of credit risk management in financial institutions, a significant accounting acruall and is one of the main tools that can be used for earnings management. This accounting metric is often used by investors in the capital market as one of the inputs for the construction of analysis that support investment decisions. Therefore, given its importance, it is expected that its disclosure contains informational value for the market. Extensive international literature indicates that, in general, disclosure of PCLD produces positive effects on stock prices and, consequently, on the market value of banking institutions, which shows that the increase in the cushion of protection against credit risk is received as “good news” by the market. In Brazil, academia has not addressed a similar issue. Therefore, the present work aims to investigate how investors react, positively or negatively, to the disclosure of the provision for losses associated with credit risk, by publicly traded Brazilian banks, and whether there is any kind of effect on the market price of it’s shares. To achieve this objective, after an extensive literature review on the topic of Value Relevance of accounting metrics in the Banking market, an adapted Ohlson (1995) model was used, with panel data regressions and application of the seemingly unrelated regressions (SUR) method, as well as the robust error correction method to verify whether the disclosure of accounting information, credit portfolio information and, especially, LLP (discretionary and non-discretionary) have a statistically significant relationship with the market value of the institutions. Data were collected on the Economática platform and on the Central Bank of Brazil (BCB) IF.DATA platform. The results indicated a positive and statistically relevant association between the total LLP (discretionary portion and mandatory portion) and the market value of the institutions studied, which corroborates the dominant trend in international research on the subject. On the other hand, contrary to expectations, the discretionary portion of LLP had lesser effects on the market value, when compared to the total LLP. Additionally, the assumptions of Ohlson's model (1995) in the Brazilian banking capital market were confirmed, in the sense that both equity and net income were relevant to explain part of the market value. The results allow to expand the literature produced nationally on the subject and can help investors in understanding the role of PCLD in market prices and the regulators in relation to a better understanding of the possible practical effects of accounting regulations related to LLP.

Judiciary Courts, as part of Public Administration, use public resources and are accountable to society. Therefore, they should seek efficiency and improvement in their performance. As organizations, they are embedded in institutionalized environments and need to adapt to social pressures in order to maintain their legitimacy. Thus, this research aims to analyze, from the perspective of Institutional Theory, the performance of the federal courts (Tribunais Regionais Federais) regarding investments in IT in the context of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic (COVID19). To this end, resolutions and other documents that disciplined the actions of the TRFs between 2018 and 2021 were collected. In addition, information on IT investments and data for calculating the net congestion rate during the years 2018 to 2021 were also collected. Documents underwent content analysis for evidence of institutional pressures on TRFs; while the quantitative data underwent statistical analysis in search of relationships between the study variables, namely: IT investments and remote work regime. It was observed that productivity and investments fell during the pandemic, despite being positively related. Furthermore, the implementation of remote work hampered the productivity of the TRFs, but opened the door for permanent changes in the work regime of the Judiciary bodies. The courts changed work practices under the justification of responding to institutional pressures, valuing the maintenance of their legitimacy to the detriment of efficiency (in a rational sense). Such factors denoted evidence of coercive isomorphism.

The New History of Accounting’s evolution reflects the ascendancy of the economic, political, social, organizational and cultural environment. From the industrial revolution until to the increase of the functioning of entities through digital environment, Accounting had to adapt to the new organizational demands. In this sense, this study analyzed possible environmental factors that might have influence this evolution, applying the actor-network theory. From this understanding, parallel to the detached historical context, the New History of Accounting’s evolution was boosted mainly by political, economic and cultural forces. And, consequently, it had reflects on the accounting thinking through history until nowadays. The results pointed to an Accounting directed to an adaptation conducted by the interests and needs of influential agents, at important moments in world history. This study highlights possible biases carry on the New History of Accounting in which influential factors might or not have proved beneficial to society and organizations. Despite the term New History of Accounting, this expression denotes much more an adaptability to the natural demands of organizations in continuous growth, that are following the evolution of rupestrian economies, globalization and increasingly advanced technologies. Through this understanding, parallel to the historical context, there are indications that the evolution of the New History of Accounting was marked not only by overcoming a market limited by traditional borders and technologies to more modern ones, but also by influences from the economic, political, social and cultural environment. Anyhow, considering the convergence of accounting standards, and the strengthening of the IASB and the CPC, in fact, the changes in the New History of Accounting occurred from the development of the capital market. In this sense, it is perceived that there is still a long way to go, towards not only an evolution, but an advance in the way of operating of the New History of Accounting. Consequently, it also implies the perception of a necessary evolution both in theory and in accounting practice. For example, entities and organizations, through human action, have increasingly reinvented themselves to adapt to the impulse of the environment in which they operate. This adaptation is reflected and represented in their Accounting, which comes from the New History of Accounting's evolution. Therefore, considering the primary role of accounting in presenting relevant, reliable and improved information, this study demonstrated that looking to the past, with present and future perspectives, can indicate how the influences of economic, political, social and cultural environments will be reflected in accounting. This is because, previously, such influences had already had their effects absorbed by entities and organizations.

O Interesse Público nas Parcerias Público-Privadas e a análise Value for Money

The audit opinion is a subject that has aroused the interest of academia, mainly because it indicates risk factors associated with the audited company. Despite the fact that the international literature has been discussing the topic for a long time, the results are far from conclusive (Habib, 2013). On the other hand, in Brazil, works are still scarce, especially with a focus on state-owned companies, which have been little explored. This research seeks to explore this gap in the literature, aiming to identify the variables that determine the modified audit opinion on the financial statements of brazilian state-owned companies.The research population of interest includes the 456 brazilian state-owned companies controlled by the federal, state and federal district governments (SEST 2021; STN, 2020). For this purpose, the Logit model was developed, in which variables related to the characteristics of auditing firms, audited companies and validity of auditing standards will be tested. Part of the data has already been collected, resulting in 633 observations (220 observations for the 44 federal state-owned companies and 413 for state-owned companies). The next steps include deepening the theoretical framework and research hypotheses, especially in light of the recommendations/suggestions of the examining board, completion of data collection, data analysis and final writing.

In recent times, international accounting standards have been heralded as a universal financial reporting language that is rapidly replacing national accounting standards. And after the convergence process starts, what happens to the internal users? Usually, the work of disseminating the norms is intense at the beginning, several specific standards are converged and put into use, over time specific issues arise for each public sector entity that are not covered by the existing standards. It is at this moment that questions begin in places governed by rules such as normative standards: “If I apply the concept contained in the conceptual framework, will internal audit question?”, “What are the acceptable risks in this audit work given that there is no specific rule?”, “What context was the accountant inserted in to make this decision to recognize or not a certain asset or liability?”, “As an auditor, how will I deal in the report with the differences between the Law and the essence of form?” Thus, the answers to these questions lead to a decision being made whether or not to use the general norm or to be based on the opinions or interests of the people involved in the process. Thus, it was observed that there are several unanswered questions that can help to understand the reasons that lead internal users to make decisions in an environment of conflict between using norms based on rules or standards based on principles. In this area, the objective of this thesis is to investigate whether the IPSASB's Conceptual Structure is capable of providing a cultural change, that is, an accounting based on principles instead of an accounting based on rules from the perspective of internal users. To achieve it, 24 semi-structured interviews were carried out, because the investigation seeks to understand the local cultural change of internal users in the face of the use of a generalist norm. The examination technique was content analysis in order to compare the responses collected in the interview with the dictates of the new institutional sociology. The results show, in the opinion of the group of interviewees, the use of a general norm, the IPSASB Conceptual Structure, can provide a cultural change in the local normative pattern and in the behavior of internal users over time, this is corroborated by the literature that it deals with cultural change stating that it does not happen overnight, but at a slow pace. The contributions of this research are: bringing academia closer to accounting practice, bringing to light the opinion of internal users, it collaborates by exposing the weaknesses and strengths of the local standardization process, it can serve as an example for other nations that intend to go through this process , favors the understanding of how the historical process of cultural formation of local internal users can be changed due to the use of a generic norm, also contributes by demonstrating that the convergence process may have occurred in Brazil in the search for external legitimation or on behalf of of the evolution of accounting as a profession and contributes to research on the process of accounting colonization, to research in the field of accounting standardization, to research on the process of convergence in accounting applied to the public sector and to studies of cultural change based on the new institutional sociology.

This research aims to analyze the influence of accounting disclosure in the accountability process, in the context of the rendering of accounts of the School Direct Funding Program (PDDE). Discussions permeate around the dimensions of accounting disclosure (“To Whom”, “What”, “How much”, “How”, “When”) and forms of accountability (Administrative, Democratic, Professional, Political, Personal). In addition to the theoretical approaches focused on disclosure, public governance, accountability, the perspective of the Actor-Network Theory was adopted as a strategy to observe and analyze the PDDE accountability process, based on the identification of networks, and their respective actors, and the information flows that run between them. It is argued that the better the quality of accounting disclosure, the better the occurrence of the form of accountability under analysis is characterized. This research seeks to advance, albeit in a positivist approach, towards interpretive research. This advance is due to qualitative data collected through semi-structured interviews. By indication of the Financial Director of the FNDE, after presenting the objectives of the research, representatives of the General Coordination of Accountability and of the General Coordination of Support to School Maintenance (Managers) were interviewed. In the executing instance of the PDDE, in turn, the interviews were carried out in the context of the Executing Entities (EEx). Through the Accountability Management System (SiGPC), it is possible to access those responsible for the rendering of accounts of the PDDE in each of the education departments of the states and the Federal District (EEx), identifying the name and email of those responsible. In this way, a total of eighteen interviews were carried out, which took place remotely, through digital communication platforms, of the interviewee's preference, the most used being "Google Meet". An analysis model was proposed to classify the accounting disclosure of the PDDE rendering of accounts. The results of this classification provided the necessary subsidies for characterizing the occurrence of the predominant form(s) of accountability, in this context. In order to evaluate and validate the analysis model, a Committee of Judges was constituted, which evaluated the following criteria, as well as attributed the average scores (1 to 5) presented in parentheses: understanding (5); relevance (5); applicability (4,6). The analysis, in turn, was supported by Content Analysis (CA), with triangulation of techniques, making use of manual instruments, in the organization of data, as well as automated instruments, from the free software called IRaMuTeQ (Interface of R pour les Analyzes Multidimensionnelles de Textes et de Questionnaires), which enabled different textual analyses, among them: classic lexical analyses, Descending Hierarchical Classification (CHD) and similarity analysis. From interviews carried out, it was verified, through the analysis of the dimensions of accounting disclosure, the predominance of Administrative Accountability. In general terms, the rendering of accounts by the PDDE is focused on meeting legal, regulatory and administrative obligations, with an emphasis on financial aspects, the operational process and the execution of resources. Administrative Accountability was the only form of accountability that satisfied all dimensions of accounting disclosure, thus evidencing its predominance in the analyzed context. When analyzing the dimensions of accounting disclosure, it is verified the existence of gaps in the rendering of accounts, which can be filled with answers to such dimensions, which involve, not only the direct actors participating in this process, but the professional bodies, the representations policies, social groups and citizens in general. It was also identified gaps in communication between the actors involved in the rendering of accounts of the PDDE, in the management of financial resources from the program, in the understanding and attendance to the different existing realities, as well as, in the recognition of the importance of these resources and the advances achieved in the accountability process. In addition to these direct contributions related to the accountability of the PDDE itself, of a more practical nature, this research, in the theoretical field, made it possible to bring together two areas of knowledge: Accounting and Public Governance. These reflections broaden the horizons for the development of new research, expanding possibilities and presenting new challenges.

The goal of this research is to verify that the economic policy uncertainty index increases predictive accuracy in multinomial mixed logit model that use accounting ratios, market and macroeconomic explanatory variables. This work starts with a 3-state formulation for nonfailed, insolvent and failed firms. The sample, with 43,608 observations from the United States of America’s market, with a time frame of 8 years (2012 to 2019). Base on the data of 5,451 firms listed, classification adequacy and predictive accuracy are compared using two models whose only difference is the American economic policy uncertainty index. The variable’s inclusion show that the model does not increase its predictive power and neither its significance to forecast the distress state of firms. Although the parameter’s signs are confirmed by the adopted theory. Tests were implemented to confirm indicator’s coherence and to classify firms as nonfailed, insolvent or failed with up to three years of anticipation. The results obtained were aligned with previous studies, alongside statistically significant variables, and similar coeficients’ signs as to those expected according to the literature. The prediction models developed have a public data foundation and indicate utility for administrators, investors, competitors, providers, employees, auditors, auditing firms and regulators.

This study investigates how the phases of a company's life cycle influence its future profitability in the context of countries in emerging markets. Initially, a systematic literature review was conducted, aiming to identify proxies in the empirical literature that could represent the phases of the company's life cycle in empirical studies. Five proxies were identified: (i) Dickinson (2011), (ii) Anthony and Ramesh (1992), (iii) Faff et al (2016), (iv) company age, and (v) DeAngelo, DeAngelo, and Stulz (2006). To explore the future profitability of companies, considering their various life cycle phases and the macroeconomic context of seven emerging countries (South Africa, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Egypt, Mexico, and Peru), descriptive and panel data analyses were employed. The results of the analysis revealed interesting and, at times, contradictory patterns in the relationship between the company's life cycle and its future profitability. The profitability of net operating assets, its variation, and the growth of assets are negatively correlated with future profitability, indicating a mean reversion pattern of future profitability in all countries analyzed. The relationship between the variation in asset turnover and future profitability was inconsistent among the countries, and for most of them, it was not statistically significant regardless of the life cycle proxy or the phase in which the company is in this cycle. The company's life cycle, in turn, presented controversial results, with different phases being statistically significant depending on the proxy used and the country analyzed. The maturity phase showed a positive and significant correlation with future profitability, while the interaction with the variation in asset turnover was not statistically significant. The relationship between the maturity phase and the profit margin on future profitability was significant for almost all phases and proxies, being positive in the maturity phase and negative in the other phases. The research offers valuable insights but also opens the door for future investigations that may explore even more deeply the complexities and challenges inherent in this vital relationship between the company's life cycle and its future profitability.

This study aims to identify the influence of factors on the perception of accountants and public agents on the adoption of the Integrated Report as the main model for the management report of public accounts. The specific objectives were used as a guide for analyzing the products of this research, namely: to analyze, within the scope of the federal public administration, the application of the Integrated Report as the main form of public accountability and to interpret the Normative Decision TCU 178/ 2019 in the light of Institutional Theory. The method chosen for data collection was the survey-type survey, through a structured electronic questionnaire, composed of 30 closed questions, in order to analyze the perception of public accountants regarding the demonstration of the set of accounting information through the Report of Management based on Integrated Reporting, with regard to the transparency, credibility and usefulness of public accounts and the modernization of control instruments, internal or external, of public administration. The social relevance is that, in practice, the present study contributes to a holistic view of the recent institution of Integrated Reporting in the Brazilian public context. The originality and relevance of the study appear in the institutional approach used to interpret the research results and considering that studies on Integrated Reporting in the context of the Brazilian Public Sector are still incipient in the literature. The main results of the study suggest that the sample tends to agree that the Integrated Report contributes to the quality of inspection and control of federal public management and to the inspection of legality, legitimacy, economy and application of public resources. On the other hand, evidence shows that the sample does not have an opinion on whether the Integrated Report is an attempt to meet social needs and/or if it is an attempt to legitimize organizational processes. In addition, by most non-accountants, opinions were unfavorable regarding the contribution of the Integrated Report to the improvement of materiality, reliability, connectivity and coherence of accounting information. The Occupation had a strong influence on the perception of individuals regarding the contribution of Integrated Reporting in measuring the impacts of State actions on society and the external environment. And, based on the analysis of the same variable, the sample tends to disagree that the Integrated Report contributes to the transparency of public accountability. 

The research aims to investigate the context of implementation of cost systems in the Federal Government, based on institutional theory, considering the influence of internal and external environments on organizations in the implementation of the system. In the theoretical framework, relevant aspects of cost accounting in the public sector, the relationship between costs and public governance, as well as institutional theory for research in accounting are highlighted. Through the bibliographic review, the state of the art of academic research that is related to the implementation of cost systems in the Federal Government is provided. During an empirical investigation phase, the elements collected for study and analysis originated from different sources of data, from primary documents such as normative acts and cost reports to an audience directed at public agents with experience in the subject within the scope of the Federal Government. In light of the new institutional sociology, the exciting results are strongly influenced by the external environment, which causes isomorphic behavior in organizations by normative, coercive and mimetic pressure. This finding serves as a warning to organizations, since it is necessary to transpose the scope of the complaint to the interested parties, so that the system can also effectively contribute as an instrument of public governance. In addition, under the lens of the old institutional economics, the findings of the investigation of the internal environment were fundamental for the understanding of cost accounting as a practice of an institutionalized routine, with the influence of human behavior and social relations in the organizational environment, determinants of success of an innovative initiative such as the costing system. In this sense, the survey also warns about good practices and pitfalls to be avoided, considering the psychological nature of internal factors, the degree of difficulty in generating information, costs with greater need for control, as well as the contribution of the Federal Government's SIC and from the new public accounting to the cost systems improved by organizations.

This dissertation focuses on the nature of accounting goodwill. Through a tetralogy of studies, I propose an alternative approach to the nature of goodwill, which considers an ontoepistemological inseparability between goodwill (intangible capital) and a firm’s physical capital. I call this the “entanglement effect”. It takes place through the “intra-action” between intangible capital and physical capital. My proposal is derived from concepts used in quantum physics, economics and psychology. I dialogue with these fields of knowledge to propose the nature of goodwill as being a set of forces (value drivers) acting in entanglement with other assets to create value for organisations. This set of forces does not exist either physically or economically separate from physical capital. In the first study, I rely on psychology-based factors to address the issue of failures in business combinations. In addition, I provide empirical evidence that suggests that only 15% of the goodwill reported by firms represents economic substance (core goodwill). The second essay is a theorybuilding exercise in which I provide a theoretical underpinning to the nature of goodwill. I dialogue with quantum physics and economics to explain the formation of economic residuals giving rise to goodwill (badwill). I hold that such residuals are generated by each managerial decision that occurs in the company’s daily life. In particular, I explore concepts from the theory of agential realism such as entanglement, intra-action and diffraction, and interrelate them with accounting goodwill. In the third manuscript, I empirically test the entanglement effect. Using an unbalanced panel with 161,966 firm-year observations from 1980 to 2020, covering 67 countries and encompassing ten sectors of the economy, I find that the entanglement effect has a statistically significant association with firms’ value creation. As the sample in the third essay has no available data for financial institutions, I then build the fourth article by testing the entanglement effect in the banking industry. The sample comprises 28,161 bank-year observations from 2002 to 2020, covering 122 countries. I also x find that the entanglement effect has a statistically significant relationship with banks’ value creation. I conclude that the entanglement effect represents the very nature of goodwill and that it is a real force in organisations, regardless of industry.