The Big 4 global networks (Deloitte, Ernst & Young [E&Y], KPMG, and PricewaterhouseCoopers [PwC]) market themselves as providers of worldwide seamless services and consistent audit quality through their members. Under the current environment in which these auditors operate, there are three types of global network members: inspected non-U.S. affiliates (inspected affiliates, hereafter), non-inspected non-U.S. affiliates (non-inspected affiliates, hereafter), and inspected U.S. offices (U.S. offices, hereafter). The recent suspension of the China-based Big 4 affiliates from auditing U.S.-listed companies calls into question whether these global networks can deliver the same level of audit quality across all their members and whether those located in jurisdictions denying access to the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB or Board, hereafter) to conduct inspections may benefit from such inspections. This study examines the effect of being an affiliate and the effect of PCAOB inspections on perceived audit quality. I use earnings response coefficients (ERCs) as a proxy for perceived audit quality. / Includes bibliography. / Dissertation (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2015. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

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.

Submitted by Joana Azevedo (joanad@id.uff.br) on 2017-08-19T19:22:23Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissert Sabrina Sossai Fernandes.pdf: 1451929 bytes, checksum: 06f57c4e033853834d18e3f51d792641 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Biblioteca da Escola de Engenharia (bee@ndc.uff.br) on 2017-08-22T16:43:48Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissert Sabrina Sossai Fernandes.pdf: 1451929 bytes, checksum: 06f57c4e033853834d18e3f51d792641 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-08-22T16:43:48Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissert Sabrina Sossai Fernandes.pdf: 1451929 bytes, checksum: 06f57c4e033853834d18e3f51d792641 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017-02-22 / No Brasil, a década de 80 é marcada pela intensificação do processo de terceirização fazendo com que as empresas, a partir de então, passassem a dar maior importância à gestão de contratos. A atuação do fiscal de contrato torna-se essencial para que as organizações permaneçam competitivas através da contratação de empresas para implementar projetos nas mais diversas áreas. Para tanto, faz-se necessário que o fiscal de contrato esteja inserido em uma organização do trabalho flexível, permitindo ao mesmo adaptá-la a seus desejos e necessidades, conferindo-lhe autonomia a ponto de permitir realizar modificações no modo operatório e nas formas de gestão da atividade de fiscalização. Assim, o presente estudo tem por objetivo analisar a influência da organização do trabalho do fiscal de contrato de uma empresa de energia nos processos de construção de saúde e formação de competências. A metodologia foi adaptada a partir do modelo de instrução ao sósia, aplicada em dois profissionais que atuam como fiscais de contrato de uma empresa de energia. A análise dos dados consistiu na confrontação dos relatos oriundos das instruções ao sósia com a base teórica levantada e com as prescrições inerentes a essa atividade. Os resultados apontam que a atividade de fiscalização de contratos é extremamente prescritiva e o fiscal de contrato se utiliza dessa característica como mecanismo para evitar o processo de adoecimento. Além disso, o fiscal de contrato precisa de um coletivo de trabalho para compartilhar as responsabilidades e atribuições entre o coletivo de trabalho. Esse compartilhamento cria estratégias para a construção da saúde e proteção contra o adoecimento, assim como permite diluir um pouco sua carga de trabalho. / The 1980s in Brazil are marked by the intensified outsourcing, making corporations pay more attention to contracts management. The contract inspector’s work became essential for the organization to remain competitive by hiring firms to implement projects in several areas. To that, the contract inspector’s work organization must be flexible, adjusting it to his/her desires and needs and granting him/her autonomy enough to change the operations and ways of managing the activity of oversight. This paper aims to analyze the influence of the contract inspector’s work organization of an electric power company on the processes of health construction and competence building. The methodology was adapted from a model of instruction to the counterpart applied on two professionals that work as contract inspectors in an electric power company. Data analysis consisted in comparing the reports from the instructions to the counterpart with the theoretical grounds surveyed and the prescriptions inherent to this activity. Results suggest that the contracts oversight activity is extremely prescriptive, and the contract inspector uses this trait as a mechanism to prevent the diseasing process. Moreover, the contract inspector needs a work collective to share responsibilities and duties. This sharing entails strategies to build health and protect against diseasing, and also allows the inspectors to dilute their workload to some extent.

An F-1 academic visa is required for foreign students studying at academic institutions in the United States. While requirements for acquiring the F-1 visa are a matter of federal policy, some of the principles regulating orientations, host families, and home-stays do not align with best practices found at the university level, which include quality student orientations and thorough trainings with a vetting process for host families and home-stays. This lack of regulation may place visiting students at risk in terms of personal safety and wellbeing and have negative impacts for program credibility and lost revenue. Using Stone's regime theory as the foundation, the purpose of this multiple case study of orientations and home-stay experiences of F-1 visa students under the Student and Exchange Visitor Program, was to explore from the perspective of program participants, ways to increase safety and quality assurance of these programs. Data were collected through in-depth interviews with six former student participants. These data were inductively coded and subjected to a thematic analysis procedure. A key theme of this study is that participants perceived that additional training to host families including vetting and monitoring processes and student orientations in acculturation and communication would enhance the experiences of F-1 visa holders. The implications for positive social change include recommendations to schools and study abroad organizations to implement policy changes regarding the requirements for students and host families, sponsors, and home-stay monitoring and orientation components for students and host families to promote more effective and safer home-stays for F-1 high school students.

No description available.

Abstract This thesis focuses on the oversight mechanism used by congress to supervise the intelligence department, mainly through examining the historical development of the oversight mechanism that the U.S. Congress uses over the Central Intelligence Agency, CIA, as well as evaluating the mechanism¡¦s successes and failures, in order to find a suitable direction for establishing an oversight mechanism for our country¡¦s Legislative Yuan over the National Security Agency, NSA. First of all, the inceptive backgrounds and historical developments of the CIA and the NSA are introduced. After establishing an understanding of the special backgrounds and developments of the two agencies, the writer, using the Institutional Process Theory, analyzes and discusses how the U.S. Congress¡¦ oversight mechanism over the CIA has progressed, thereby determining the key to the successes and failures of the U.S. Congress¡¦ intelligence oversight mechanism. Having analyzed the intelligence oversight mechanism of the U.S. Congress, the writer brings up suggestions as to how our country¡¦s Legislative Yuan can develop an oversight mechanism over the NSA in the future. Lastly, from these discussions, the writer addresses the contributions, propositions, and limitations of this research and hopes that these research and discussions can assist the Legislative Yuan in institutionalizing a comprehensive intelligence oversight mechanism over the NSA.

No description available.

Many external parties such as investors, creditors, and regulatory agencies, use a company’s financial statements in their decision-making. In doing so, they rely on audit opinions on whether financial statements are fairly stated. However, evidence suggests that there are factors in the audit environment that influence auditor judgments. For example, nondiagnostic client information dilutes auditor judgments when compared to judgments based on diagnostic information alone, especially for less experienced auditors (Hackenbrack 1992; Hoffman and Patton 1997; Glover 1994; Shelton 1999). High time pressure conditions mitigate this effect by refocusing auditor attention toward relevant client information, therefore reducing the impact of nondiagnostic information (Glover 1994, 1997). This research study examines other common audit environment factors to determine if they too influence audit judgment results. An online questionnaire of 149 auditors, CPAs and other accounting professionals indicate that the inclusion of nondiagnostic client information results in a significant change in auditor judgments. The direction of this change follows a theorized pattern; risk assessments that were initially high are reduced, while those that were initially low are increased. Significance was not consistently found for a workload and PCAOB effect on auditor judgment. However, a comparison of the absolute value of dilution effect means across conditions reveals some trending for the proposed unwanted effect of high workload, and the beneficial effect of PCAOB guidance. These results have important implications for auditing research and practice. It extends previous archival research on workload effects and uses a unique questionnaire design to reexamine workload pressures in a behavioral setting. The results of hypothesis testing on workload pressure and PCAOB guidance, although lacking consistent statistical significance; exhibit trends that agree with proposed theoretical relationships. Tests on the effects of nondiagnostic information show strong statistical support for previous studies in the area of psychology and audit. This study’s greatest contribution suggests that audit pressures do not produce equivalent effects on auditor judgment; time pressure improves audit judgment, while workload pressure does not (Glover 1994, 1997). These results can be explained by examining the relationship between stress and audit judgment performance (Choo 1995, Yerkes and Dodson 1908). Different types and different degrees of audit pressures may correspond to different levels of audit pressure. Low to moderate levels of audit pressure, such as the level of time pressure used in Glover’s (1994, 1997) study improve audit performance. Higher audit pressures, such as high workload during an auditor’s busy season, may lower audit performance.

Submitted by Paulo Junior (paulo.jr@fgv.br) on 2011-04-27T19:06:46Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Carina C. Coelho.pdf: 619431 bytes, checksum: 399cdc20dd245e1b67336c5680daaa97 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Paulo Junior(paulo.jr@fgv.br) on 2011-04-27T19:07:15Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 Carina C. Coelho.pdf: 619431 bytes, checksum: 399cdc20dd245e1b67336c5680daaa97 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2011-05-03T12:52:12Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Carina C. Coelho.pdf: 619431 bytes, checksum: 399cdc20dd245e1b67336c5680daaa97 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011-02-11 / This study aimed to analyse the potencial and obstacles of the adoption of the Regulatory Impact Analysis and the oversight body in the Brazilian context. For this, we carried out a field research with representatives of institutions involved with AIR, such as regulatory agencies and Civil House, as well as experts with publications on the top. Twelve semi-structured interviews were conducted around questions compiled from the previously explored in the theoretical knowledge of the work. It was concluded that from an environment of concern for regulatory quality in Brazil, both the central administration and regulatory bodies investigated have undertaken efforts to achieve a more effective regulatory system. However, there is a long way to go and many hurdles to overcome. Concerning the RIA and the oversight body, the strength, technical expertise, institutional design are some of the obstacles that must be overcome to reach the Brazil actually an improvement of regulatory quality. / Esta pesquisa teve por objetivo analisar a potencialidade e obstáculos da adoção da Análise de Impacto Regulatório e do órgão supervisor no contexto brasileiro. Para isso, realizou-se uma pesquisa de campo com representantes de instituições envolvidas com a AIR, com as agências reguladoras e a Casa Civil da Presidência da República, além de especialistas com publicações relativas ao tema. Foram realizadas assim, doze entrevistas semi-estruturadas em torno de perguntas previamente elaboradas a partir dos conhecimentos explorados no referencial teórico do trabalho. Concluiu-se que a partir de um ambiente de preocupação com a qualidade regulatória no Brasil, tanto a esfera mais central da administração – a Casa Civil como os entes reguladores investigados, têm empreendido esforços em prol de um sistema regulatório mais eficaz. Entretanto, há um longo caminho a ser percorrido e diversos obstáculos a serem ultrapassados. Com relação à AIR e ao órgão de supervisão, a resistência, a especialização técnica, o desenho institucional são alguns desses percalços que deverão ser transpostos a fim de que o Brasil alcance de fato uma melhoria da qualidade regulatória

Submitted by Jamile Barbosa da Cruz (jamile.cruz@ucsal.br) on 2017-07-27T18:58:46Z No. of bitstreams: 1 MARQUES, CAS-2017.pdf: 2254762 bytes, checksum: 88a18abb5e68bf5f636120b1480f60d1 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Rosemary Magalhães (rosemary.magalhaes@ucsal.br) on 2017-07-28T16:12:46Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 MARQUES, CAS-2017.pdf: 2254762 bytes, checksum: 88a18abb5e68bf5f636120b1480f60d1 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-07-28T16:12:46Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 MARQUES, CAS-2017.pdf: 2254762 bytes, checksum: 88a18abb5e68bf5f636120b1480f60d1 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017-03-21 / A cidade de Salvador, assim como outras metrópoles brasileiras, enfrenta sérios problemas de mobilidade urbana. O aumento expressivo do número de veículos, o baixo investimento em infraestrutura viária e em meios alternativos de transporte coletivo levaram aos congestionamentos cotidianos e a graves problemas de mobilidade urbana que afetam todos os trabalhadores, em especial, os Agentes de Fiscalização de Trânsito e Transporte. Objetivos: Conhecer e analisar as condições em que se realiza o trabalho dos referidos Agentes, os riscos nele presentes e a repercussão dessas condições sobre esses profissionais quanto à saúde e à satisfação com o trabalho. Método: Trata-se de uma pesquisa exploratória e analítico-descritiva, adotando como procedimentos a pesquisa documental e o estudo de campo, com levantamento de dados de uma amostra da população selecionada – 12 agentes de fiscalização trânsito e transporte –, mediante a aplicação de entrevista semiestruturada. Resultados: Os agentes têm vivenciado processos de desgaste biopsíquico, devido às condições precárias de trabalho e ao deficit de recursos humanos e materiais, fatores estes resultantes das mudanças políticas e de planejamento governamental que inviabilizam o desenvolvimento adequado de suas tarefas. Os agentes, por executar seu trabalho na rua, em local aberto, distantes da instituição, estão expostos às intempéries climáticas, ao contato direto com o usuário ou cliente, fator que tem se revelado propício a agressões, além da violência urbana. Conclusão: Paralelamente, verificou-se que há um ambiente de trabalho favorável às vivências positivas entre os agentes, pois as relações interpessoais ainda estão preservadas, manifestando-se como facilitadoras do processo de saúde, fortalecimento da categoria profissional e como elemento importante de satisfação com o trabalho. / Salvador city, like many other Brazilian metropolises, faces serious urban mobility issues. The expressive rise in the number of vehicles, the low investment in road infrastructure and alternative ways of mass transit have caused daily traffic jams, and serious urban mobility issues that affect all workers, especially the Traffic and Transportation Oversight Agents. Objectives: To know and analyze the conditions in which the work of these agents is done, the risks presented in it and the repercussion of those conditions on these professionals regarding their health and work satisfaction. Method: As to the objectives, it’s about an exploratory, and analytical and descriptive research, adopting the documentary research methodology and field study as procedure, with data collection of a selected population sample - 12 traffic and transportation oversight agents -, through the application of a semi-structured interview. Results: The agents have been experiencing a process of biopsychosocial impairment, due to the precarious work conditions and the deficit of human resources and instruments, factors that are the fallout of political shifts and governmental planning that make the proper development of their tasks unfeasible. The agents, due to performing their work on the streets, in open spaces and away from the institution, are exposed to the weather, to direct contact with the user or client, factors which have shown to be conductive to aggression and urban violence. Conclusion: Parallel to that, it’s been noted that there is a work environment that is favorable to the positive experiences between agents, since the interpersonal relationships are still preserved, manifesting as a facilitator in health development, strengthening of the professional category and as an important element of their work satisfaction.