Evidence of how independent Brazilian auditors interpret four Brazilian accounting pronouncements

Abstract

The employment of an international standard for corporate financial statements worldwide has been increasingly required. However the concern some authors have as to effective comparability of information, depending on the possibility of disparate interpretations even with the use of identical standards, still persists. Thus, this study aims to identify how independent auditors of companies indexed in the CVM interpret four Brazilian Accounting Pronouncements, by means of a questionnaire adapted from Chand, Patel and Patel (2010). In addition, the research attempts to identify the association between the auditors' interpretations and four variables (the size of the undertaking; familiarity with IFRS; experience with auditing; and experience with IFRS-related activities). Analysis was done via Chi-square Test, Correspondence Analysis (ANACOR) and Homogeneity Analysis (HOMALS). The results show a lack of consensus among auditors in the sample. It was noticed that interpretations of the three Brazilian Accounting Pronouncements were statistically distinct in function: the size of the undertaking, familiarity with IFRS, and experience with IFRS-related activities. In light of these results, it can be inferred that, within the use of the same standard, there is a possibility that Brazilian professionals have different interpretations and, therefore, make decisions that will produce non-comparable accounting reports.

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