In 2009 Operation Clean Audit was launched with the objective that all municipalities must achieve a clean audit by the 2014 financial year. A clean audit is an audit opinion when the financial statements are unqualified; no adverse findings were identified on compliance with laws and regulations as well as on predetermined objectives. The overall aim of the programme is to clean up the governance of municipalities and to enhance service delivery. In both the public and the private sector internal control is crucial. It is seen as one of the key elements of good governance, it provides assurance of the rendering of reliable financial statements, of compliance with legislation and it also indicates how the organisation performs against its objectives. Budgetary control in local government can be used as an effective internal control method by legally limiting the authorised expenditure and to monitor the actual service delivery against the budgeted targets. If variances are identified in the budget or with regard to service delivery objectives, remedial action can be taken. If municipalities do not provide services to communities in a sustainable manner, it contravenes its constitutional mandate as stipulated in section 152(1)(b) of the Constitution of South Africa. The qualitative research method, in the format of a case study of the Tlokwe City Council, a local municipality in the North West Province, was chosen for this research. In the 2010 financial year, the Auditor General reflected that the Tlokwe City Council experienced deficiencies in the key fundamentals of internal control: leadership, financial and performance management, and governance which could directly be linked to the basis of the qualification of the financial statements, findings on predetermined objectives and compliance with legislation. The material underspending of the capital budget was also found to be affecting service delivery negatively. The purpose of this study is to benchmark the internal budgetary control systems of municipalities in South Africa, which have already achieved clean audit reports for consecutive years, to improve the internal budgetary control system of the Tlokwe City Council. This research was formulated in such a way that — through the findings obtained in the literature study with regard to the legislative framework regulating the budget formulation, internal and budgetary control of the local government sphere in South Africa, analysis of the internal budgetary control deficiencies at the Tlokwe City Council and the benchmarking exercise with the Swartland and Steve Tshwete local municipalities — a strategy can be developed to provide for effective budgeting and to improve the internal control system of the Tlokwe City Council. Potential benefits that can arise from the implementation of the recommended strategy to improve the internal budgetary control system of the Tlokwe City Council are the attainment of a clean audit opinion by the Auditor General and subsequently the enhancement of service delivery to the community. / MCom (Management Accountancy), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

Proper records management plays a significant role in the auditing process, risk management and wider corporate governance. Despite this role, in South Africa, many governmental bodies are issued with disclaimer reports every year by the Auditor-General of South Africa (AGSA) due to a lack of supporting documentation. This problem is exacerbated by the exclusion of records management from the criteria for a sound financial management infrastructure in many governmental bodies. The other dilemma is that some records such as financial records, personnel records and electronic records usually fall outside the jurisdiction of the organisation’s records manager. Utilising the King Report III as a framework, this study sought to develop a framework to embed records management practices into the auditing process in the public sector of South Africa, with a view to entrench a culture of clean audits. The study relied on mixed methods research (MMR), with the quantitative study conducted first through informetrics analysis of audit reports, while the qualitative paradigm was used to substantiate numerical data. Data collection adopted a multi-approach with four key sources of data: a questionnaire, interviews, literature review and publicly available data from the consolidated general reports of AGSA. The study revealed that most governmental bodies have established internal audit units, audit committees and records management units, which did not work in unison. In most governmental bodies records management did not form part of the audit scope and records management professionals were not part of the audit committees. As a result, most governmental bodies continued to receive negative audit opinions from AGSA. The study recommends that records management community should utilise auditing and risk management as a springboard to propel records management to the new heights. A further empirical study on the role of auditing and risk management in records management that embraces both the private and public sectors is recommended. / Information Science / D. Litt. et Phil. (Information Science)

近年來，由於經濟不景氣及市場上之不確定因素，使得投資不動產成為保險業資金投入的新興熱門標的。因投資不動產之行為涉及憲法所保障之財產權，如非有特殊事由不得加以限制。保險法第146條亦有規定不動產為保險業得投資之法定項目之一。惟於現行相關法規規範下，保險業投資發展空間受到限制。究監理機關於此所扮演之角色為何？監理目標為何？於現行法制下，相關法規是否妥適合理等問題，皆有待探求。又隨著不動產投資投入之資金日趨增加，保險業者受裁罰之案例亦較過去為多。究過去裁罰當中，主管機關之處分有無不妥適之處，以及保險業者於投資不動產之相關缺失中，是否有可改善之空間，為本文所欲探討之目標。 / In recent years, real estate has become an increasingly popular investment target for insurers’due to uncertainties in the market and the economic downturn. Legally, investing in real estate is a constitutional right to property and protected specifically by the Insurance Act, Article 146. It cannot be infringed upon unless for specific, legitimate reasons. However, current regulations put a fair amount of limitation on investment in real estate. The adequacy of these regulations, as well as the goals and roles of our supervision system, is to be discussed. In addition, there are a growing number of administrative sanctions as insurance companies put more and more funds in real estate. This article also attempts to investigate if these penalties were appropriate and if there’s room for improvement on the insurers’ part.

壽險業作為經營風險的特許行業，承擔著穩定社會、資金的聚集和供給，以及促進經濟成長等重要功能。近年來由於低利率、匯率變動及國內外經濟環境日益惡化，保險業的本業利潤逐年降低，壽險業的經營面臨重大的挑戰。 保險公司倒閉在國外並不是新鮮事，根據統計，1978～1994年，不到20年間，全球共有648家保險公司破產。導致保險公司破產的原因很多，其中美國在2000～2001年破產的公司大部份是準備金不足；日本保險公司的破產原因則多為投資損失。此外，一些無法意料的天災及人禍之理賠，例如美國911恐怖事件以及卡翠那風災，使得各國保險公司對於企業風險管理更加重視。標準普爾信用評等公司於2006年起，正式將企業風險管理（ERM）制度列入保險業的信用評等項目，更加速保險公司執行企業風險管理的速度。目前國內保險業風險管理制度之實施，則仍屬於起步階段。 保險業屬於高度競爭及高度監理之行業，因此，如何在保持領先的競爭地位及提供優質的客戶服務的同時，亦能恪遵法令、落實內部控制制度及企業風險管理制度，進而創造出屬於自身的藍海策略，以期追求穩定持續成長的獲利，實為壽險業者必須重視的議題。 本研究探討目前保險業所面臨的風險及挑戰，分析金管會對保險公司重大裁罰之種類，並描述及探討個案公司實施內部控制、沙賓法案及企業風險管理制度之狀況與歷程，以及其可能遇到的瓶頸與障礙。本研究結果對於國內保險業實施內部控制、沙賓法案及企業風險管理的過程，可提供助益。 / Life insurance industry conducts business that requires approval from its regulatory authority. The industry provides an array of functions, such as managing risks, maintaining social stability, pooling and supplying funds, etc. In recent years, life insurance industry has faced with serious challenges due to its decreasing operating profit margin caused by low interest rates, volatility of foreign exchange rates, and deteriorating economic environment around the globe. The bankruptcy among insurance companies is nothing new over the world. There were as many as 648 companies going bankrupt during 1978 to 1994. The causes of the aforementioned bankruptcy were many. For example, Japan companies became insolvent mostly due to investment losses; those in the U.S. were caused by insufficient reserves. Huge insurance claims for unpredictable natural or man-made disasters, such as 9/11 terrorist attack, hurricane Katrina, and the subprime mortgage crisis in the U.S., have attracted most companies’ attention worldwide to “enterprise risk management (ERM)”. Hence, Standard & Poor’s started in 2006 to apply the ERM analysis to its credit rating for the insurance industry, and this measure propels insurance companies into the implementation of ERM. Nonetheless, Taiwanese insurance companies are just at the inception of ERM. Insurance industry must comply with stringent regulations while confronting keen competition. An insurance company must take a lead in competition, provide quality services to its customers, abide by regulations, and implement internal controls and ERM in an integrated fashion. In doing so, an insurance company can develop its own blue ocean strategy and maintain sustainable growth and profit. This research probes into the risks and challenges faced by Taiwan insurance industry in dealing with various risks and challenges, including the serious sanctions by the Financial Supervisory Commission. We present a case study of local life insurance company with respect to its process of integrating internal control systems, compliance to Sarbanes-Oxley Act and implementation of ERM. A number of deficiencies, bottlenecks and obstacles were identified and analyzed, followed by related suggestions. Our results provide insights and helpful suggestions to the integration of internal controls, Sarbanes-Oxley compliance, and ERM for Taiwan insurance industry.

The thesis focuses on internal management and control systems in connection with operational risk management (ORM) process. The Basel II concept is outlined from the operational risk point of view, incl. methods for capital requirement for operational risk. Consequently, essential regulatory requirements and bank standards for effective management and control systems are specified. ORM tools that are potentially able to capture business environment and internal controls factors (to be regarded within AMA models) are disserted, specially concentrating on key risk indicators. Construction of this ORM tool is designed on a theoretical basis and also on an example related to payment systems. There is an evaluation of advantages, challenges and possible ways to use this method.

La thèse explore la question de l’efficacité des comités d’audit en France : les comités d’audit jouent-ils effectivement leur rôle ? La problématique de l’efficacité de ces comités dans le processus d’évaluation du gouvernement d’entreprise demeure importante dans le contexte français, où les textes (notamment les recommandations de la 8ème directive) restent très imprécis. Une première partie expose les critères d’efficacité et le fonctionnement général des comités d’audit à partir d’un état de la littérature et d’une étude empirique sur des données secondaires. Nous examinons de façon approfondie les principaux déterminants de la diligence d’un comité d’audit. Ce problème est examiné dans le cadre d’une relation d’agence et d’asymétrie d’information. Ainsi, notre étude dépasse le cadre de la simple existence d’un comité d’audit (purement formel), pour s’intéresser de plus près à la capacité de ces comités à protéger effectivement les intérêts des parties prenantes et ceci en renfonçant la qualité du contrôle interne et celle du processus de l’audit externe. / Corporate governance in France has developed considerably in recent years. The strengthening of governance procedures is illustrated by the creation of audit committees, which today exist in virtually all listed companies. However, the issue of the audit committee’s effectiveness in the corporate governance evaluation process remains significant in the French context, where the texts (particularly the recommendations of the 8th European Directive) continue to lack clarity. This thesis aims to contribute to our understanding of the “black box” of governance procedures by studying the way that the audit committee’s characteristics affect the extent of reporting on internal control and risk management procedures and on audit fees. It emphasizes that the mere existence of an audit committee is not sufficient; it also needs to be effective. To be effective it must have the necessary means (composition, diligence, and resources). This study therefore looks beyond the simple existence of the audit committee (purely formal) and focuses on attributes related to its composition, its diligence, and the diversity of its members in order to more closely examine the audit committee’s ability to protect stakeholder interests. To do this, we analyze 176 non-financial French listed companies during a period when establishing an audit committee was voluntary. The results obtained support previous works advocating that audit committees comply with best practice rules for expertise,independence, and diligence and be comprised of experienced and diverse members. Our results raise several questions on the scope of the transposition into French law of the 8th European Directive.

O risco de emitir uma opinião tecnicamente incorreta sobre demonstrações contábeis é a preocupação fundamental dos auditores independentes no Brasil e no mundo. Para cercar-se de condições que lhes assegurem um julgamento confiável e adequado sobre o objeto de seus trabalhos, os auditores independentes aplicam diversos procedimentos técnicos, em busca de evidências claras, precisas e suficientes. Dentre tais procedimentos, destaca-se, pela relevância, o estudo, conhecimento e avaliação dos procedimentos de controle interno da empresa auditada. Os procedimentos empregados pelos auditores para avaliação dos sistemas de controles internos e dos riscos de auditoria das demonstrações contábeis assumem papel preponderante, uma vez que determinam a natureza, extensão e a oportunidade da realização de todos os demais exames de auditoria. Esta tecnologia de auditoria, para permitir análise e julgamento quanto à consecução dos seus objetivos, deve ser aplicada de forma ordenada e sistematizada, através de uma metodologia de trabalho. Quais são as normas brasileiras e internacionais que orientam ou regulam esta matéria? Quem são os organismos normatizadores? Qual a profundidade e eficácia destas normas brasileiras, em comparação com as internacionais? O que os auditores independentes brasileiros têm disponível como guia em seus trabalhos, para avaliação de risco e controles internos? Este trabalho pesquisa as possíveis respostas a tais questões, acrescentando elementos que podem contribuir para um melhor entendimento, tais como: as definições e conceitos dos termos empregados, os motivos que definem a necessidade de avaliação do risco e quais controles internos são relevantes neste processo. Apresenta, ainda, de forma resumida, a metodologia de trabalho utilizada por duas empresas de auditoria atuantes nos mercados profissionais internacional e brasileiro para o assunto em tela, finalizando com a tentativa de mostrar um aparente conflito entre a teoria (normas) e a prática de auditoria (métodos de trabalho), em três casos recentes de insucessos empresariais no setor bancário ocorridos no Brasil e que guardam alguma relação com questões de controle interno e da auditoria dos mesmos. / The risk to render a technically incorrect opinion on financial statements is the main concern of independent auditors in Brazil and in the world. In order to ensure that they have managed to control all conditions necessary to forming a reliable and adequate judgement on the object of their work, independent auditors apply several technical procedures looking for clear, precise and sufficient evidence. Among such procedures it must be noted, due to its relevance, the study, knowledge and evaluation of the internal control procedures of the audited entity. The audit procedures carried out by the independent auditors in their evaluation of the internal control systems and of the audit risks underlying the financial statements play a key role in determining the nature, scope and opportunity of all other audit procedures. This audit technology, in order to permit proper analysis and judgement of the results it produces, must be oriented and supported by standards. On the other hand, in order to make it effective, it must be applied in an orderly and systematic manner, which may be achieved through an adequate methodology. Which are the Brazilian and international audit standards that orient or rule this matter? Who are the standard setters? How deep and effective are the Brazilian standards when compared to the international ones? What guidance is available to the Brazilian independent auditors in terms of risk and internal control evaluation? The present study researches the possible answers to such questions, adding elements that may contribute to a better understanding of the related issues, such as: definitions and concepts of key terms employed, the reasons that define the need to evaluate risk and which internal controls are relevant in this process. The study goes further and presents, in a summarized form, the audit methodologies used by two audit firms that are active in the professional Brazilian and international markets, as they relate to the subject under discussion. This work finalizes with the attempt to show an apparent conflict between theory (standards) and practice (method of work) in three recent cases of business failures in the Brazilian banking sector, which keep close relation with questions of internal control and its audit.

Dentre os atuais desafios do direito societário brasileiro, a estrutura da propriedade acionária das sociedades por ações de capital aberto e a identificação daqueles que as comandam merecem destaque. O aquecimento das transações realizadas via mercado de capitais e a consolidação dos segmentos especiais de governança corporativa no Brasil resultaram no chamado fenômeno de dispersão acionária, que evidenciou certa ruptura na tradicional estrutura de propriedade acionária exclusivamente concentrada, até então predominante nas companhias brasileiras. Diante desse cenário contrastante, de mudanças no perfil do poder de controle sobre as companhias brasileiras, o presente trabalho apresentará em seu capítulo terceiro, após breve análise das estruturas de capital identificadas em diferentes economias e de retrospectiva sobre a propriedade acionária das companhias brasileiras (a serem apresentadas em seu segundo capítulo), extensa pesquisa empírica realizada com o propósito de identificar a atual estrutura de propriedade acionária predominante entre as companhias brasileiras listadas no segmento especial do Novo Mercado da BMF&BOVESPA (Novo Mercado), e com o objetivo de averiguar a existência do chamado controle societário minoritário entre tais companhias, conforme detalhado nos apêndices desta dissertação. Referida pesquisa empírica representa, ainda, rico processamento da base de dados e informações divulgadas à Comissão de Valores Mobiliários (CVM) pelas companhias listadas no Novo Mercado, e serve de base para a avaliação da necessidade de eventuais mudanças nos conceitos adotados pelo Direito Societário pátrio, tendo em vista entendimento divergente identificado na doutrina e em julgados da CVM no âmbito da possibilidade de existência de um controle societário exercido por acionista ou grupo de acionistas não detentores da maioria do capital social votante, conforme detalhado no quarto capítulo deste estudo. Por fim, serão apresentadas, no quinto e último capítulo, as considerações finais à análise proposta, com destaque para as principais conclusões obtidas na elaboração dos capítulos terceiro e quarto descritos acima, dentre elas a existência do controle societário interno não majoritário (controle minoritário) entre companhias listadas no Novo Mercado, bem como os reflexos dessa constatação no âmbito da prática do Direito Societário. / Among the current challenges of the Brazilian Corporate Law, the structure of the capital ownership of the corporations and the identification of those who exercises control over it remains an important aspect to be taken into consideration when analyzing the main aspects of the Brazilian capital market. The heat up of the transactions carried out through the capital market, and the consolidation of the special corporate governance segments in Brazil resulted in the so called phenomenon of the dispersed ownership, which revealed a rupture from the traditional structure of extremely concentrated ownership, that was prevailing until now among the Brazilian corporations. Given such contrasting scenario of changes in the profile of corporate power over Brazilian corporations, these thesis, after describing, over its first two chapters, the structures of capital ownership existent in different economies and providing a retrospective on the capital ownership of Brazilian corporations, presents, in its third chapter, an extensive empirical research performed with the purposes of identifying the current structure of capital ownership prevailing among the Brazilian companies listed in the Novo Mercado, special segment of the Brazilian Exchange BMF&BOVESPA (the New Market), as well as ascertaining the existence of minority corporate control among such companies, as detailed in the appendixes hereto. The referred empirical research presents, furthermore, detailed data processing in connection with the information disclosed by such companies to the Brazilian Stock Exchange Commission, the Comissão de Valores Mobiliários (CVM), and is also used as basis for reviewing the need of eventual changes in the concepts embodied by the Brazilian Corporate Law, in view of the divergent understanding identified in the Brazilian doctrine and judgments issued by the CVM in connection with the existence of a corporate control exercised by a shareholder or group of shareholders owner of shareholding not representative of the majority of the voting capital stock, as detailed in the fourth chapter of these thesis. Finally, the fifth and last chapter of these study presents the final considerations in connection with the review proposed hereto, highlighting the main conclusions obtained through the elaboration of the third and fourth chapters described above, among them the existence of a not majority internal control (minority control) in companies listed in the New Market, as well as the effects of such conclusion in the light of the practice of corporate law.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-25T18:40:24Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Anderson de Oliveira Faria.pdf: 741679 bytes, checksum: 72bc1707d0be6fe35e7ed00c610e94ab (MD5) Previous issue date: 2007-06-21 / The derivatives are instruments used for companies management risks of loss related to exposition of price variation, exchange variation, interest and credit, which generate from operational activities. The complexity accounting treatment of these instruments generate difficult related to internal control and request an structure which the companies have to maintain in order to attend the correct accounts records of derivative transactions. The research has the objective to analyze the impact in practical application of International Accounting Standard number 39 related to internal controls and accounting records, through a case in Brazilian Company subsidiary of an European Company. The research started with a theoretical concepts of: internal controls, risks and derivative accounting records, which will be necessary to create a concept structure to analyze the information obtained on case study. The Company Objects of study has derivatives transactions with objective to hedge the risk exposure of exchange variation and commodities price variation. In the Company s organization, the financial and accounting departments have their own formal proceeds and internal controls which handle to the accounting departments the conditions the attend the International Accounting Standard number 39 , additionally the Company has a Risk Committee which develop management strategies, approve the transactions and monitoring the derivative transactions. The concept of Embedded Derivatives and Fair Value were implemented by IAS 39, are necessary to the correct accounting records of derivative transactions.The Management evaluated the Embedded Derivatives based on Contracts analyses. The Fair Value Concept has been used in the Company the derivatives accounting records. The valuation of the derivative, the Management uses a system which makes the future cash flow. When the derivative is a commodity, the value is based on Bolsa Mercantil de Futuros BMF quotation. To attend the IAS 39, the Management adopt proceeds of internal control which disclosure the intention of hedge when derivatives are contracted. The accounting records based on Brazilian GAAP do not disclose the intention of the Management in derivative transactions / Os derivativos são instrumentos utilizados pelas empresas para gerenciar riscos de perdas decorrentes de exposição a alterações de preço, variação cambial, taxas de juros e créditos, que são geradas das suas atividades operacionais. As complexidades do tratamento contábil destas transações geram dificuldades em relação aos controles e a estrutura necessária que uma empresa deve manter para que o correto registro contábil das transações com erivativos. O presente estudo tem como objetiva análise do impacto da aplicação prática da norma internacional de contabilidade IAS 39 nos controles internos e registros contábeis, através de um estudo de caso em uma empresa brasileira subsidiária de uma empresa européia. Inicialmente é efetuada uma pesquisa sobre a teoria: de controles internos, riscos e contabilização de derivativos, que servem como estrutura conceitual para análise das informações coletadas no estudo de caso. A empresa objeto do estudo de caso transaciona com derivativos com o objetivo de efetuar hedge (proteção) das exposições de risco de variação cambial e de preço de commodities. Em sua estrutura organizacional, os departamentos de finanças e de contabilidade, possuem procedimentos formais e de controles que possibilitem ao departamento de contabilidade efetuar os registros contábeis conforme determina a Norma Internacional de Contabilidade IAS 39, adicionalmente a empresa possui um Comite de Riscos que desenvolve as estratégias de gerenciamento, aprova as transações e acompanha as operações com erivativos. Os conceitos de derivativos embutidos e fair value que foram implementados pela norma IAS 39, são necessários para o correto registro das operações com derivativos. A administração da empresa avalia os derivativos embutidos através da análise dos principais contratos da empresa. O conceito de fair value é aplicado na empresa objeto no registro contábil das transações com derivativos. Para obtenção da valorização dos derivativos a administração da empresa objeto utiliza um sistema para efetuar o cálculo do valor presente dos fluxos de caixa futuros. Quando se trata de um commodity, o valor é obtido com base em cotações da Bolsa Mercantil & Futuros BMF. Para o atendimento a Norma Internacional de Contabilidade IAS 39, a administração da empresa objeto do estudo de caso adotou procedimentos de controles que evidenciam sua intenção de hedge ao transacionar com derivativos. Os registros contábeis de acordo com as Normas Contábeis Brasileiras não evidênciam a intenção da administração em transacionar com derivativos

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-25T18:40:44Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Valter da Silva.pdf: 1304368 bytes, checksum: f46419e89e3e812e5ba1f02df33d5b5f (MD5) Previous issue date: 2010-05-26 / Due to major scandals occurred in the financial market, mainly in America, the credibility of companies have become decisive to the operation of the stock market and every economic system worldwide. At the time of the scandals, the fragility of internal controls as well as the improper disclosure of information related to their financial reports became appallingly apparent. That led to the establishment of regulatory measures for corporate practices in order to obtain transparency regarding information disclosed to the public. The Sarbanes-Oxley Law is among those regulations. This Law, also known in business circles as SOX Law, is aimed to offer protection to investors against possible financial and accounting frauds. It affects especially open capital corporations that trade on the American stock exchange. That was one of the reasons for the research, that is to say, the fragility of the existing laws in Brazil and in the United States. Thus, the general objective of this study is to identify and analyze if the Sarbanes-Oxley Law improves internal controls of companies when compared to the Joint Stock Association Law, to the Brazilian Civil Code (6.404/76 up to date until 11.941/09 Law and 10.406/02) and to the Directions on Corporate Management of the Federal Securities Commission (CVM Brazil). When defining the initial methodology for this study, a decision to compose a review of the literature based on bibliographical findings and published articles, electronic media, thesis and dissertations, as well as documental analysis of the Laws was made aiming to theoretically support the research. In the second part of the methodology, a study was accomplished through a research about the perception of professionals in accounting and controlling areas, as to the improvement of internal controls in relation to the SARBANES-OXLEY Law. A questionnaire was prepared and submitted to some professionals from a company belonging to a multinational group in the automotive segment established in Brazil. That group was chosen because it has stocks traded at the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), thus it has to comply with the requirements of the SOX Law and Law 6.404/76 up to date until 11.941/09 Law, as well as with other laws required in Brazil. Survey and Escala Likert were the used methods. After gathering data from the questionnaires, they were systematized and analyzed in order to get to the results. Such results presented in this dissertation were found surprisingly positive. It was found that many Brazilian open capital corporations are already getting adapted to the good practices of Corporate Management established by CVM, and they are making use of standards of conduct well above those required by the referred law. Many requirements of the SOX Law are already active in Brazil, which leads to the conclusion that there are few changes to be made in order to promote the adaptation of the Law to the Brazilian scenery / Devido aos grandes escândalos ocorridos no mercado financeiro, principalmente, no mercado americano, a credibilidade das empresas passou a ser decisiva para o funcionamento do mercado de capitais e de todo sistema econômico mundial. Descobriu-se à época dos escândalos o quão frágeis se mostraram os controles internos, bem como a má divulgação de informações relacionadas aos seus relatórios financeiros. Com isso foram necessárias providências regulamentadoras das práticas corporativas para se obter transparência nas informações disponibilizadas, sendo uma dessas regulamentações a Lei SARBANES-OXLEY. Esta Lei, também conhecida em Negócios, como Lei SOX, tem como meta oferecer proteção aos investidores de possíveis fraudes financeiras e contábeis. Atinge, especialmente, as empresas de capital aberto e que possuem ações nas bolsas de valores americanas. Esta foi uma das motivações de pesquisa, ou seja, a fragilidade das Leis, existentes no Brasil e Estados Unidos. Assim, o objetivo geral deste estudo é identificar e analisar se a Lei SARBANES-OXLEY aperfeiçoa os controles internos das companhias, quando comparada à Lei das Sociedades Anônimas, ao Código Civil Brasileiro (6.404/76 atualizada até a Lei 11.941/2009 e 10.406/02) e às instruções sobre Governança Corporativa da Comissão de Valores Mobiliários (CVM). Na definição da metodologia inicial para este estudo optou-se por compor a revisão da literatura com levantamentos bibliográficos, em artigos, em meio eletrônico, em teses e dissertações, bem como análise documental das Leis buscando embasar teoricamente a pesquisa. Na segunda parte da metodologia é realizado um Estudo com a realização de uma pesquisa sobre a percepção dos profissionais das áreas de contabilidade e controladoria, sobre o aperfeiçoamento dos controles internos à luz da Lei SARBANES-OXLEY. Para tanto houve a elaboração de um questionário aplicado aos profissionais de uma empresa pertencente a um grupo multinacional do segmento automotivo instalado no Brasil. A escolha desse grupo se deu pelo fato deste possuir ações negociadas na Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), se enquadrando, desse modo, às exigências da Lei SOX e Lei 6.404/76 atualizada até a lei 11.941/09, bem como às demais leis exigidas no Brasil. Os métodos utilizados foram o Survey e a Escala Likert. Após a coleta de dados dos questionários, estes foram sistematizados e analisados para se chegar aos resultados. Tais resultados apresentados nesta dissertação são, de certa forma, surpreendentes, porque descobriu-se que muitas empresas brasileiras de capital aberto já estão se adequando às boas práticas da Governança Corporativa determinadas pela CVM e, fazendo uso de padrões de conduta superiores aos exigidos pela referida lei. Disso decorre que muitas das exigências da Lei Sox já estão em vigor no Brasil, o que conduz à conclusão que são poucas as mudanças a serem feitas para promover a adequação da Lei ao cenário brasileiro