Syfte: Resultatmanipulering har visat sig förekomma hos såväl övertagande företag som hos målföretag vid situationer där ett företag tar över ett annat. Övertagandets karaktär (fientligt eller välvilligt övertagande) kan påverka hur målföretag tenderar att nyttja resultatmanipulering, eftersom incitamenten vid fientligt och välvilligt övertagande skiljer sig åt. Denna studie har syftet att undersöka förekomst och riktning (uppåt eller nedåt) av resultatmanipulation hos målföretag under året före ett välvilligt övertagande. Metod: Denna studie har ett positivistiskt perspektiv och en hypotetiskt-deduktiv ansats. Studien har utförts genom ett kvantitativt förfarande med en longitudinell design. Data har hämtats ur databaserna Thomson Reuters Eikon och Thomson Reuters Datastream, och data har analyserats med vedertagna statistiska metoder. Resultat och slutsats: Studiens resultat visar att målföretag tenderar att manipulera sina resultat i en nedåtgående riktning under året före ett välvilligt övertagande, vilket korresponderar med tidigare forskning. Även att manipulationen sker med målet att minska redovisade vinster är i linje med vad tidigare forskning har visat. Våra resultat visar även att potentiella skillnader hos redovisningsstandarder mellan USA och Europa inte tycks påverka förekomst eller riktning av resultatmanipulering hos målföretag vid välvilliga övertaganden. Förslag till vidare forskning: Vi har identifierat behov av vidare studier på följande områden: vi finner det motiverat att undersöka övertaganden där målföretaget är utomeuropeiskt men det övertagande företaget europeiskt. Vi finner det även motiverat att studera kassaflödesmanipulering istället för diskretionära periodiseringar eftersom en sådan studie kan ge en fullständigare bild av incitament och manipuleringens förekomst och riktning. Slutligen kan en jämförelse mellan länder med skilda redovisningsstandarder, och en studie som fokuserar på onoterade istället för noterade företag, tillföra ny information till litteraturen om resultatmanipulering. Uppsatsens bidrag: Denna studie bidrar på det teoretiska planet genom att fylla ett gap i forskningen om resultatmanipulering hos målföretag vid välvilliga övertaganden i Europa. Denna studie ger stöd för påståendet att incitament för användandet av resultatmanipulering samt dess riktning (uppåt eller nedåt) skiljer sig mellan fientliga och välvilliga övertaganden. På det praktiska planet kan våra resultat vara till hjälp för lagstiftare och yrkesverksamma inom redovisning eftersom en ökad insikt i hur resultatmanipulation används ger bättre förutsättningar att motverka att denna sker. / Aim:Earnings management has been shown to take place at the acquiring form and at the target firm in takeover situations. The character of the takeover (friendly or hostile)can influence how target companies tend to utilize earnings management since incentives to manipulate varies between the twodiffering attitudes. The aim of this study is thus to investigate whether earnings management is utilized by target companies during the year preceding the takeover. As a side effect the net direction (upward or downward) of the manipulation will be revealed. Method:This study is based in the positivistic philosophy with a hypothetical deductive mode of operation.The study isquantitative with a longitudinal design. The secondary data used islocated and complied using the Thomson Reuters Eikon and Thomson Reuters Datastream databases. These data arethen handled and analyzed through well-recognized statistical methods. Results & conclusions:The results of the study show that target companies tend to manage their earnings in a downward manner during the year preceding a friendly takeover. That earnings management occurs in this context corresponds with previous research. The finding that the earnings are managed downward also coincides with earlier research. Our results also show that the distinction between the Americanand Europeancontexts have no effect on the prevalence of earnings management by target companies in friendly takeovers. Suggestions for future research:We identified the need for future research in the following areas: a study with a sample in which only the target company is non-European, but the acquiring firm is European. We also find that a study with a focus on real activitiesmanagement, rather than discretionary accruals could provide additional contributions. A deeper look at the differences between countries with differing accounting standards and a greater focus on unlisted, rather than listed, companies could give additional contributions as well. Contribution of the thesis:On a theoretical level our results enrich the existing body of knowledge and fill a void in the current research. The results lend support to the assertion that the incentives for earnings management and the direction (upward or downward) it takes differs between friendly and hostile takeovers. On a practical level our results might prove useful to lawmakers and practicing accountants considering a greater understanding of earnings management give these actors a greater likelihood to prevent manipulation from taking place.

À la suite des derniers scandales financiers, des différents codes de bonnes pratiques et des multiples réformes institutionnelles, la question de la relation entre le renforcement de la gouvernance d’entreprise et son efficacité n’a pas été abordée empiriquement en France. Cette recherche contribue à ce débat en examinant l’influence des mécanismes de gouvernance d'entreprise sur la gestion du résultat.En se basant sur trois stades d’études complémentaires, cette recherche évalue les spécificités de la gouvernance française sur la qualité des états financiers à partir d’une analyse factorielle confirmatoire, d’une régression logistique binaire et des modèles discrétionnaires basés sur les « accruals », les seuils et les scores de manipulations. L’estimation des paramètres des modèles et la durée de l’étude ont été fixé après la vérification de la comparabilité des chiffres comptables après l’entrée en vigueur des normes IAS/IFRS. Les principaux résultats indiquent qu’il faut généraliser certaines pratiques de gouvernance d’entreprise en donnant un appui au législateur et aux partisans des réformes financières afin de garantir une meilleur qualité de l’information financière. / This dissertation investigates and empirically tests the relationship between corporate governance strength and corporate governance effectiveness on the quality of the reported financial statements. Despite, concerns about the strengthen of the corporate governance structure and its effectiveness on earnings management, the relation between corporate governance strength and corporate governance effectiveness is not empirically well developed in France.Using three stages of follow-up studies, this research estimates the specificities of the French corporate governance on the quality of financial statements from a factorial confirmatory analysis, a binary logistic regression and discretionary models based on "accruals", "revenues" and scores of manipulations. The estimation of the parameters of the models and the duration of the study were fixed after the check of the comparability of the accounting numbers after the adoption of the IAS/IFRS GAAP.The main results indicate that it is necessary to generalize certain practices of the French corporate governance, by giving support to both the legislator and the partisans of the financial reforms in order to enhance the quality of the financial information.

As relações entre investidores e executivos são abordadas pela Teoria da Agência que, entre outras tratativas, afirma que a remuneração executiva é um instrumento que investidores dispõem para controlar as ações de executivos. No entanto, há a assimetria de informações e os executivos possuem maneiras de gerenciar informações contábeis de modo a atingir as metas estabelecidas pelas políticas de remuneração e aumentar a própria riqueza em detrimento do aumento da riqueza do acionista. Neste sentido, esta tese investigou se a informação contábil influencia nos determinantes da remuneração executiva de companhias europeias para o período de 2008 a 2017. Para isto, lançou mão de três artigos independentes que juntos constroem esta tese. O primeiro uma revisão de literatura em que se traçou um retrato temporal, geográfico e temático das publicações acerca do problema de agência. Os dois artigos seguintes são empíricos e abordaram duas vertentes contábeis de suma importância para a sustentação de uma companhia: o resultado e o caixa. O segundo artigo investigou se os pacotes de remuneração executiva sofrem influência da qualidade do resultado e o terceiro artigo investigou acerca da influência do fluxo de caixa operacional sobre a remuneração executiva. A pesquisa utilizou dados secundários, tal que o estudo bibliográfico foi elaborado a partir de um levantamento bibliométrico e os dois trabalhos empíricos foram construídos a partir de dados coletados da base Thomson Reuter/s Eikon©. A técnica estatística aplicada foi a regressão com dados em painel. O estudo bibliométrico indicou uma lacuna no conhecimento preenchida pelos dois artigos empíricos. O primeiro identificou que as companhias não determinam os pacotes de remuneração a partir da qualidade do resultado. O segundo identificou uma bonificação paga ao executivo em função da geração de caixa operacional. A contribuição da tese se dá no alerta aos investidores acerca da determinação das políticas de remuneração executiva a partir de indicadores de desempenho de curto prazo e nenhuma relação destas compensações com indicadores que indicam qualidade da informação contábil e sustentabilidade de resultados no longo prazo / The relationship between investors and executives are addressed by the Agency Theory which, among other subjects, says that the CEO Compensation is an instrument that investors have to control the actions of executives. However, there is the asymmetry of information and executives have ways to manage accounting information to achieve the goals established by the remuneration policies and increase their wealth at the expense of growing shareholder wealth. In this sense, this thesis investigated whether the accounting information can influence the determinants of CEO Compensation of European companies for the period 2008 to 2017. For this, they have resorted to three independent articles that together build this thesis. The first is a literature review in which we drew a picture temporal, geographic and thematic of publications about the problem of agency. The following two articles are empirical and addressed two statements of paramount importance to sustain a company: earnings and cash. The second article investigated whether CEO Compensation packages are influenced by the earnings quality and the third article investigated the influence of cash flow of operating on executive remuneration. The research used secondary data, such that the bibliographic study was prepared from a bibliometric survey and the two empirical studies were constructed from data collected from Thomson Reuters Eikon©, companies established in countries of the European Union, for the period 2008 to 2017. The statistical technique applied was the regression with panel data. The bibliometric study indicated a gap in knowledge filled by two empirical articles. The first identified that companies do not determine remuneration packages from the earnings quality. The second recognized a subsidy paid to the executive in function of the cash flow of operating. The contribution of this thesis is on the alert for investors concerning the determination of CEO Compensation policies from performance indicators of short-term and no relation of these compensations with signs that indicate the quality of accounting information and sustainability of results in the long term

Bakgrund: Resultatmanipulering inträffar när bolagets ledning väljer att vilseleda intressenterna om bolagets ekonomiska ställning. När revisionsplikten för mindre bolag avskaffades 2010 valde övervägande del av bolagen bort revisor. Trots att forskning visar att revisorns granskning fyller en viktig roll för bolagets intressenter. Detta ledde till behovet av att förklara sambandet mellan resultatmanipulering och revisor. Syfte: Syftet med denna studie är att förklara sambandet mellan resultatmanipulering och valet att anlita en revisor i mindre bolag. Metod: Denna uppsats är en kvantitativ studie som utgår från en deduktiv ansats. En hypotes har sedan prövas genom våra observationer. Observationerna har samlats in genom årsredovisningar från mindre bolag. En tvärsnittsdesign har använts för att studera resultatmanipulering vid en given tidpunkt. Resultat: Studiens resultat visar att det inte finns något negativt samband mellan resultatmanipulering och revisor i mindre bolag. / Background: Earnings management occur when firm's reported economic performance by insiders to mislead stakeholders. When the mandatory audit was abolished in 2010, the majority of companies chose to not have an auditor. Although research shows that the auditor fulfills an important role for the stakeholders. This led to the need to explain the association between earnings management and auditor. Purpose: The aim of this study to is to explain the relationship between earnings management and the choice to hire an auditor in small limited companies Method: This quantitative study is based on a deductive approach, were we have derived one hypothesis that is tested by our observations. The observations are gathered through annual reports. Cross – sectional design is used to study earnings management at a given time. Results: The results indicate that there is not a significant negative association between the choice of having an auditor and earnings management in small limited companies

Sammanfattning Examensarbete, Civilekonomprogrammet Titel: Accounting Hocus-Pocus - En studie över de oberoende styrelseledamöternas påverkan på resultatmanipulering. Bakgrund: De principbaserade regelverk som börsnoterade företag tvingas följa, skapar utrymme för ledningen att manipulera redovisningen. Utöver dessa möjligheter kan ledningen dessutom genom manipulation av kassaflödet, justera företagets resultat. När dessa resultatmanipulationer används med fel avsikt riskerar de att minska informationsvärdet av företagets redovisning. Vi ställer oss frågande till hur styrelsens oberoende kan förklara resultatmanipulering. Syfte: Studien avser att förklara i vilken utsträckning resultatmanipulering i svenska företag påverkas av styrelsens oberoende. Metod: Genom användning av tvärsnittsstudie med en deduktiv ansats har studien granskat huruvida resultatmanipulering påverkas av styrelseledamöternas oberoende, samt av olika attribut som anses förstärka ledamöternas övervakande effekt. Studiens hypoteser formulerades med hjälp av teorier som PAT, Agentteorin och Stewardshipteorin som sedan testades mot data insamlad från företag på Stockholmsbörsen för år 2017. Slutsatser: Studien finner avvikelser mellan resultaten för redovisningsmanipulation och kassaflödesmanipulation. Resultatet visar att oberoende styrelseledamöter i svenska styrelser har en negativ relation till kassaflödesmanipulering, medan relationen till redovisningsmanipulation är positiv. / Abstract Master Thesis in Business Administration Titel: Accounting Hocus-Pocus - A study of the independent directors effect on earnings management Background: The principle-based regulation that listed companies are obliged to follow gives the management opportunities to manipulate the accounting with discretionary accruals, and thereby changing the reported earnings of the company.  The management could also manipulate the earnings through real activities manipulation. When these acts of earnings management are used with the wrong intentions it could reduce the information value of the company’s financial reports. We are questioning how different board dependence and -independence could explain earnings management. Purpose: The study aims to explain to what extent earnings management in Swedish companies is affected by board independence. Method: By using a cross-sectional study with a deductive approach our study has researched how earnings management is affected by board independence, and how different attributes is to enhance the independent board members monitoring. Hypotheses were formed through theories such as PAT, Agency theory and Stewardship theory which later was tested with data gathered from companies of the Stockholm stock exchange of the year 2017. Conclusions: Our study finds a difference between the results of manipulation through the discretionary accruals and real activities manipulation. The result show that independent directors have a negative effect on cash flow manipulation while they have a positive effect on accounting manipulation.

ABSTRACT Title: Do women's risk aversion have any effect on earnings quality and audit fees? Level: Student thesis, final assignment for Bachelor Degree in Business Administration Author: Josephine Jonsson and Josefin Lund Supervisor: Jan Svanberg Date: 2019 – june Aim: Due to the positive qualities women are considered to add to the boardroom and the countries' quota requirements for the proportion of women on boards, it is of great importance to examine the possible effect of an increased number of women on boards. The purpose of this study is to investigate whether there is a connection between external audit fees and the proportion of women on the board. A second purpose is to investigate whether a higher/lower audit fees associated with women on the board is related to higher earnings quality. Method: The study adopts a hypothetical-deductive approach with a positivistic perspective. Quantitative secondary data has been obtained from the Thomson Reuters Eikon. A longitudinal study has been designed and the selection has finally been analyzed in multiple regression analysis using the statistics program IBM SPSS. Result & Conclusions: The study's literature review gave reason to expect a connection between the proportion of women on the board and the companies' earnings management and audit fees explained by women's risk aversion. The study measures the companies' earnings quality with earnings management in order to seek answers to whether the audit fee can be explained by the earnings quality. The result shows no correlation and the study can thus not explain the companies' audit fees with women's tendency to act risk averse. Contribution of the thesis: From a theoretical perspective, the study contributes to business research through an increased understanding of the view of the female leader, as this study seeks out explanations other than risk aversion to the connection between audit fees and the female leader. The study's practical contribution is about clarifying the effect of appointing more women on boards, and the study provides valuable information to the companies' stakeholders due to the quota requirements of women on boards in certain countries. Suggestions for future research: Since the results in the study do not fall in line with previous research, future research should take an open perspective on whether women should be assumed to be risk averse. There may be many other explanations for the effects of women on leading positions. These effects should be investigated. It is also interesting to investigate how the quota of women in leading positions affects the companies' profitability, if the woman is hired because of her gender and not her experience and competence. / SAMMANFATTNING Titel: Har kvinnors riskaversion någon effekt på redovisningskvalitet och revisionsarvode? Nivå: Examensarbete på Grundnivå (kandidatexamen) i ämnet företagsekonomi Författare: Josephine Jonsson och Josefin Lund Handledare: Jan Svanberg Datum: 2019 – juni Syfte: Med anledning av de positiva egenskaper kvinnor anses tillföra i styrelserummen samt ländernas kvoteringskrav på andel kvinnor i styrelser är det av stor vikt att undersöka den eventuella effekt som kommer av ett ökat antal kvinnor i styrelser. Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka om det finns ett samband mellan externt revisionsarvode och andel kvinnor i styrelsen. Ett andra syfte är att undersöka om ett eventuellt högre/lägre revisionsarvode associerat till kvinnor i styrelsen är relaterat till högre redovisningskvalitet. Metod: Studien antar en hypotetisk-deduktiv ansats och ett positivistiskt perspektiv. Kvantitativ sekundärdata har inhämtats från databasen Thomson Reuters Eikon. En longitudinell studie har designats och urvalet har slutligen genomgått analys i multipla regressionsanalyser med hjälp av statistikprogrammet IBM SPSS. Resultat och slutsats: Studiens litteraturundersökning gav anledning att förvänta sig ett samband mellan andel kvinnor i styrelsen och företagens resultatmanipulation och revisionsarvode förklarat med kvinnors riskaversion. Studien mäter företagens redovisningskvalitet med resultatmanipulation för att söka svar på om revisionsarvodet kan förklaras med företagens redovisningskvalitet. Resultatet visar inget samband och studien kan således inte förklara företagens revisionsarvoden med kvinnors tendens att agera riskavert. Examensarbetets bidrag: Ur ett teoretiskt perspektiv bidrar studien till den företagsekonomiska forskningen genom en ökad förståelse på synen på den kvinnliga ledaren, eftersom denna studie söker andra förklaringar än riskaversion till sambandet mellan revisionsarvodet och den kvinnliga ledaren. Studiens praktiska bidrag handlar om att tydliggöra effekten av att tillsätta fler kvinnor i styrelser och studien tillhandahåller värdefull information till företagens intressenter med anledning av kvoteringskrav på kvinnor i styrelser i vissa länder. Förslag till fortsatt forskning: Då sambanden i studien inte faller i linje med tidigare forskning bör framtida forskning inta ett öppet perspektiv på huruvida kvinnan kan antas riskavert. Det kan finnas många andra förklaringar till effekterna som uppstår av kvinnor på ledande poster. Dessa effekter bör undersökas. Det vore även intressant att undersöka hur inkvotering av kvinnor i ledande positioner påverkar företagens lönsamhet, ifall kvinnan inkvoteras på grund av sin könstillhörighet och inte sin erfarenhet och kompetens.

Muito em função da dificuldade de se observar o dia-a-dia dos conselheiros nas empresas, acadêmicos e profissionais se questionam sobre a importância dessas estruturas de governança corporativa (GC) quando o assunto é propriedade dos números contábeis. Nesse sentido, esta tese, além de discutir extensivamente e traçar um panorama geral acerca da configuração desses conselhos no Brasil ao longo dos últimos cinco anos, estuda de que forma essas e outras estruturas de GC se associam com medidas de qualidade da informação contábil das firmas brasileiras. Diferentemente do que se encontra na literatura existente, a pesquisa em tela buscou compreender o ambiente dos conselhos de administração (CAs) e Fiscais (CFs) de modo mais amplo, avaliando de forma agregada 35 características estruturais, de remuneração e de composição desses órgãos, considerando suas inter-relações e implicações quando da associação destas com variáveis que medem as propriedades informacionais contidas no lucro. Para tanto, analisou-se, em média, cerca de 325 empresas por ano, compreendendo análise de 19.487 currículos de conselheiros de administração e fiscais efetivos no país, além da análise das outras variáveis de governança, tais como avaliação formal de conselheiros, frequência de reuniões, tipos de contrato de remuneração e outras. Posteriormente, utilizou-se a técnica de Análise Fatorial para estabelecer constructos subjacentes e não correlacionados entre si, de modo que os coeficientes estimados nas regressões posteriores fossem reportados de forma mais consistente do que se construídos com um número limitado de variáveis individuais. Cinco fatores representam mais de 80% da variância dos dados, sinalizando que características como idade, formação básica em administração, contabilidade e/ou economia, remuneração, board interlocking e tamanho do conselho formam um agregado parcimonioso de características que representam a maior parte da diversidade subjacente dos conselhos brasileiros. Destarte, após análise de simultaneidade dos modelos, testou-se as associações existentes entre as propriedades dos números contábeis e os fatores de GC por intermédio de modelos de regressão múltipla estimados pelo método OLS, e de modelos de regressão logística, controlados por setor, tamanho das empresas, adesão aos níveis diferenciados de governança, emissão de ADR, presença de CF permanente instalado, estrutura de propriedade e outros. Os resultados indicam uma associação inversa e significante entre a proporção dos membros que participam de outros CAs e os níveis de persistência, sinalizando que empresas com CAs formados por membros dedicados tendem a reportar, na média, lucros mais persistentes. A remuneração variável é positivamente relacionada com a persistência dos lucros reportados sugerindo que a remuneração dos conselheiros é influenciada pela substância econômica dos resultados divulgados e com o conservadorismo contido no lucro sinalizando para redução do conservadorismo contábil na medida em que a remuneração variável dos conselheiros aumenta. A idade também mostrou ser fator relevante para explicar os níveis de conservadorismo e de gerenciamento de resultados das firmas, sinalizando tendência de maior grau de conservadorismo e menor grau de gerenciamento de resultados por parte dos conselheiros mais velhos. Adicionalmente, não foi possível afirmar que o conselho fiscal afeta de forma positiva o monitoramento da qualidade dos lucros reportados no mercado de capitais brasileiro / In view of the difficulty of observing the day-to-day activities of members of oversight board and board of directors, academics and professionals wonder about the importance of corporate governance (CG) structures when the subject is the propiety of accounting numbers. In this sense, besides discussing extensively and tracing an overview of the configuration of these boards in Brazil over the past five years, I also study how these and other CG structures are associated with proxies of accounting information of Brazilian firms. Contrary to what has been found in the existing literature, I seek to understand the environment of the board of directors (BoD) and oversight board (OB) more broadly, evaluating in an aggregate way 35 variables of structural, remuneration and composition characteristics of these boards, considering their interrelations and implications when associated with variables that measure the informational properties contained in earnings. For that, I analyze, on average, 325 companies per year and 19,487 résumés of the members of these boards, in addition to analyzing other variables such as their attendance at meetings, compensation contracts, board interlocking and others. Later, I use factor analysis to establish underlying constructs not correlated with each other, so that the estimated coefficients in subsequent regressions are reported more consistently than if built with a limited number of individual variables. Five factors represent more than 80% of the variance of the data, signaling that characteristics such as age, basic training in business administration, accounting and/or economics, board compensation, board size and interlocking form a thrifty aggregate of characteristics that represent most of the underlying diversity of Brazilian boards. Thus, after analysis of simultaneity, I test the existing associations between the earnings quality and factors of CG through multiple regression models estimated by OLS and logistic regression models, controlled by sector, firm size, adherence to the different levels of corporate governance, issuance of ADRs, presence of a permanent OB, ownership structure and others. The results indicate a significant inverse association between the proportion of members who participate in other BoDs and persistence levels of earnings, signaling that companies with BoDs formed by dedicated members tend to report, on average, more persistent earnings. The variable pay for board members is positively related to earnings persistense suggesting that the board members compensation is influenced by the economic substance of the disclosed results and with accounting conservatism signaling a decrease in accounting conservatism when the remuneration of these members increases. The age of members also proved to be a relevant factor to explain the levels of conservatism and earnings management of firms, signaling a trend toward greater levels of conservatism and a lesser levels of earnings management of when these boards are formed of older members. Additionally, it was not possible to affirm that the oversight board has a positive effect on the quality of monitoring accounting information reported in the Brazilian capital market.

Die vorliegende Dissertation untersucht empirisch das Auftreten und die Konsequenzen von Bilanzpolitik deutscher nicht-kapitalmarktorientierter Unternehmen. Sie besteht aus drei separaten Forschungsarbeiten, in denen Jahres- bzw. Konzernabschlüsse nach der Umstellung der handelsrechtlichen Rechnungslegung auf den Stand des Gesetzes zur Modernisierung des Bilanzrechts (BilMoG) in den Jahren 2009 und 2010 analysiert werden. Die Arbeiten verdeutlichen, dass neben dem vergleichsweise gut dokumentierten Anreiz zur Vermeidung von Steuerzahlungen weitere bilanzpolitische Motivationen bei deutschen nicht-kapitalmarktorientierten Unternehmen einschlägig sind. Die Ergebnisse enthalten Evidenz dafür, dass von der Bundesnetzagentur für Elektrizität, Gas, Telekommunikation, Post und Eisenbahnen regulierte Gasnetzbetreiber Wahlrechte in Erlösobergrenzen maximierender Art und Weise ausüben. Darüber hinaus geben die Ergebnisse Hinweise darauf, dass Ergebnisglättung betrieben wird, Berufsmanager das Periodenergebnis maximieren und Unternehmen mit geringer Eigenkapitalausstattung gezielt ihr Eigenkapital erhöhen. / This cumulative PhD-thesis consists of three papers. Using the adoption of new German GAAP in 2009 and 2010 the three studies investigate earnings management of private firms in the absence of the well documented incentive to minimize tax payments. The results show that in regulated industries regulation mechanisms can be a main driver for earnings management. Furthermore, the studies indicate that (i) private firms engage in earnings smoothing, (ii) outside-managers use income increasing accounting methods, and (iii) firms with a higher likelihood to violate debt covenants use equity increasing accounting methods.

As instituições financeiras apresentam, como particularidade, a dependência de recursos de terceiros para o desenvolvimento de suas atividades, assumindo importância a realização de captações a baixos custos. Para tanto, é fundamental a manutenção de imagem de solidez financeira, eficiência de desempenho e boa reputação. Neste contexto, entende-se que a suavização de resultados (income smoothing) é prática de gerenciamento de resultados contábeis (GR) de especial interesse para os bancos. Isto decorre da relevância, no segmento bancário, de transmitir imagem de constância de resultados, evitando-se a apresentação de altas volatilidades nos lucros divulgados, as quais podem afetar negativamente a percepção dos investidores quanto aos padrões futuros de resultados e quanto aos riscos envolvidos nas operações da instituição. O presente trabalho investiga a utilização, pelas instituições financeiras (IF) em atuação no Brasil, da contabilização de operações de crédito, títulos e valores mobiliários (TVM) e derivativos para fins de GR. Questiona-se se os padrões contábeis vigentes no sistema financeiro nacional (SFN), nas três áreas mencionadas, estão sendo empregados com o propósito de suavização de resultados. Na pesquisa empírica, adotando-se as técnicas de correlação e regressão, foram avaliados dados contábeis semestrais das 50 maiores IF em atuação no Brasil, no período de junho de 2002 a dezembro de 2006, tendo em vista identificar a possível utilização da PDD (provisão para devedores duvidosos nas operações de crédito) ou de ajustes a valor de mercado de TVM ou do resultado com derivativos para a suavização de resultados. As análises são realizadas para o conjunto das 50 maiores instituições, com o objetivo de apreender o comportamento geral do SFN, não sendo propósito a identificação de comportamentos individualizados em termos de GR. Os resultados obtidos indicam o emprego das operações de crédito e derivativos na suavização de resultados contábeis e também dos ajustes positivos a valor de mercado de TVM. O efeito na suavização de resultados revelou-se mais forte no caso de operações de crédito, por meio da PDD, e derivativos, por meio do resultado com derivativos, nesta ordem de importância, tendo posição de menor relevância os ajustes a VM de TVM. Constatou-se que a PDD é o instrumento mais \"poderoso\" em termos de suavização de lucros bancários, seguido pelos derivativos; os ajustes positivos a VM de TVM também favorecem a suavização de resultados contábeis, mas desempenham papel menos relevante, não contribuindo de forma tão significativa como a PDD e o resultado com derivativos. Quanto aos derivativos, o efeito de suavização de resultados alinha-se com sua utilização como instrumento de proteção (hedge), de maneira a evitar maiores flutuações nos lucros contábeis das IF. Em suma, constatou-se o efeito de suavização no resultado contábil por meio das despesas com PDD (operações de crédito), resultado com derivativos e também, mas em menor intensidade, por meio das receitas com ajustes positivos a VM de TVM. As despesas com ajustes negativos a VM de títulos, por sua vez, não tiveram confirmada sua participação no processo de GR e de suavização dos lucros das instituições financeiras em atuação no Brasil. / Financial institutions present, as a distinctive feature, a dependence of financial resources from third parties for the development of their activities. This way, the obtaining of low cost funding becomes a major issue and in order to succeed in doing so, it is fundamental to sustain financial soundness, performance efficiency and a good reputation. In this context, income smoothing is perceived to be an earnings management (EM) practice of especial interest for banks. This derives from the fact that it is relevant - for the banking industry -, to transmit an image of constant earnings, thus preventing high volatilities in reported earnings, which could affect negatively investors\' perception concerning future levels of earnings as well as the risks taken in the operations carried out by the institution. This work investigates the employment of credit, securities and derivatives accounting by financial institutions in Brazil, for the purpose of managing results. The question is whether actual accounting standards of the Brazilian financial system (BFS) - in the three mentioned areas -, are being used so as to smooth earnings. In the empirical research, considering the period of June 2002 to December 2006, semiannual accounting data from the 50 greatest financial institutions in Brazil were analyzed so as to identify any pattern of income smoothing by means of loan & loss provision, unrealized gains or losses on securities or net gains (or losses) on derivatives. The analyses were conducted for the 50 greatest financial institutions taken as a whole, so as to grasp the general behavior of the Brazilian financial system. This way, individual behavior of any particular institution in terms of EM is not the purpose of this work. The results obtained in this work hints at the employment of credit and derivatives accounting as well as unrealized gains on securities in order to smooth earnings. The income smoothing effect proved to be more prominent in the case of loan & loss provisions derived from credit operations. Derivatives accounting were found to be next in importance, being unrealized gains on securities the less relevant source of smoothing. As for derivatives, the income smoothing effect is in accordance with their use as an instrument of hedging: they prevent great fluctuations (in terms of earnings) from happening. In short, this work indicates that the income smoothing is brought into effect by loan & loss provisions, gains (losses) on derivatives as well as via unrealized gains on securities (to a lesser degree). The unrealized losses on securities, however, had neither a role in the process of EM nor were they items that could account for income smoothing of financial institutions in Brazil, according to the estimates obtained from the correlation and regression analysis.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-25T18:39:44Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Bruno Alexandre Cruz.pdf: 581439 bytes, checksum: 8215e7f1a30c88eccca337c4da7f9bf3 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011-12-05 / Earnings management and its relationship with the adoption of changing the estimated useful life of long lived assets: a empirical research with the companies listed on IBOVESPA Under assumption of agency theory, accouting choice theory and premises of earnings management the objects of this research is to understand the relationship between earnings management by changing the estimated useful life of long lived assets and the introduction of the review of useful life of assets in Brazil under the CPC 27 Ativo Imobilizado and the ICPC 10 ( Interpretação Técnica 10 ) by the public companies in their issued financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2010. The foundations for the hypotheses considered in this research were based on: (i) if the companies listed on IBOVESPA that adopted the depreciation rates suggested by the Secretaria da Receita Federal (SRF) had boosted the main accouting performances and (ii) if the companies that adopted the revised depreciation rates under the ICPC 10 had boosted the main accouting performances. The univariate regression model was used empirically to estimate this discretionary Accruals, which are the proxy of changed discretionary value of accounting earnings. The study showed that Brazilian companies that adopted different depreciation rates, instead of the ones recommended by the Secretaria da Receita Federal ( SRF ), obtained increased financial ratios than the companies that adopted the SRF depreciation rates. In addition, the qualitative samples analysis demonstrated the intrinsic relation between earnings management and lower levels of corporate governance / Gerenciamento de resultados, e sua relação com a adoção da revisão da vida útil do ativo: Um estudo empírico com as empresas listadas no IBOVESPA. Sob a Teoria da agencia, Teoria da escolha contábil e premissas de gerenciamento de resultados, o objetivo da pesquisa é entender a relação entre o gerenciamento de resultados por meio de alteração na estimativa de vida útil do ativo imobilizado e ativo intangível de vida útil definida frente à introdução da revisão da vida útil no Brasil por meio do CPC 27 Ativo imobilizado e ICPC 10 (Interpretação técnica nº 10 ) nas empresas de capital aberto no Brasil que publicaram suas demonstrações financeiras na data base de 31 de dezembro de 2009 e 2010. As hipóteses consideradas nesta pesquisa estão fundamentadas basicamente em: (i) as empresas não financeiras listadas no IBOVESPA estão utilizando as taxas de depreciação recomendadas pela SRF, normalmente menores que as taxas apuradas por meio da revisão da vida útil como forma de obter melhorias nos indicadores contábeis. (ii) as empresas não financeiras listadas no IBOVESPA estão utilizando as taxas de depreciação após a avaliação da revisão da vida útil do ativo como forma de obter melhorias nos indicadores contábeis. Nesta pesquisa utilizou-se estudo empírico quantitativo e qualitativo no qual se utilizou modelos de regressão univariada para estimar as acumulações discricionárias, que são a proxy do valor discrecionariamente alterado nos resultados contábeis. O resultado da pesquisa indicou que as empresas não financeiras listadas no IBOVESPA estão utilizando as taxa de depreciação diferente do que é recomendado pela SRF, normalmente menores que as taxas da SRF como forma de obter melhoria nos indicadores contábeis, deflagrando assim gerenciamento de resultados com base nas acumulações discricionárias. Quando analisada as empresas que adotaram a taxa de depreciação igual a sugerida pela SRF, verificou-se que os indicadores financeiros destas empresas não foram superiores em relação as empresas adotaram a revisão da vida útil com taxas diferentes da SRF. Portanto existem indícios de que estas empresas não estariam gerenciando resultados