Os efeitos das book-tax-differences anormais na qualidade dos resultados contábeis em empresas de capital aberto listadas no Brasil

Abstract

The differences in the verification of Financial Profit and Tax Profit, known as Book-Tax Differences (BTD), have became a discussion topic and relevant issue in the end of the 1990’s and in the early 2000’s, especially in the United States and in Europe. With its evolution, there was the expansion and the academic interest on this theme in many countries. The scholars noted that the BTD had an informative role for the companies and this finding made it possible to many studies relate the BTD with the earnings quality. These researches considered that BTD reflected only regulatory differences in relation to accounting and tax rules, that is, temporary and permanent differences. However, Tang (2006) enlarged that finding and argued that the BTD were built by two elements. According to the author, besides regulatory differences, BTD are composed by discretion of managers in the companies, contemplating practices and opportunistic behaviors to the management of financial and tax results. Tang (2006) called the regulatory differences Normal BTD and the practices of results manipulation Abnormal BTD. The separation of these components is the focus of this thesis, especially the Abnormal BTD, in order to analyze their effects on the earnings quality in publicly traded companies. This study is justified by the premise that Abnormal BTD are instruments used by the managers in order to manipulate the company’s results. With these attitudes, there are possible evidences of informational asymmetry, showing that there are differences between the reported results and the real results in the publicly traded companies that were analyzed. Having this in mind, the present research had the objective to analyze the BTD influences, caused by the management practices of financial and tax results, in the earnings quality in the publicly traded companies listed in Brazil. The Brazilian context is appropriate for this study, because there were events that motivated BTD variations, such as: IFRS adoption and the continuation of the tributary law. Besides, there are concrete evidences of accounting results manipulation practices, aggressive tax planning and high tax evasion inside companies. Thus, the present thesis defended that Abnormal BTD decrease the earnings quality in publicly traded companies listed in Brazil. In order to make this study concrete, in terms of methodology, 290 companies listed at BMF&Bovespa were considered, in the period from 2002 to 2015. As thesis innovation, a model was operationalized in order to estimate Abnormal BTD in the Brazilian context and this research was also original because it related the Abnormal BTD to earnings quality of companies listed in Brazil. For accounting results quality, the dimensions of the persistence of financial and tax results were considered, as well as earnings management, value relevance, and accounting conservatism. As additional perceptions, the study analyzed the associations between Abnormal BTD and earnings quality before and after the adoption of IFRS. To ensure the consistency of this study estimates, a dynamic data panel model with GMM technique was applied. The results were significant and corroborated the proposed thesis. First, the study estimated a consistent measure for the Abnormal BTD in the Brazilian context, with significant relations with the earnings management and tax planning. Second, the findings in this research indicate a decrease in earnings quality with Abnormal BTD influence. The hypotheses were mostly accepted, and they highlighted financial results for the less persistent companies, conservative and relevant due to the Abnormal BTD effects. Furthermore, it was showed that this kind of BTD encourage discretionary accruals and decreases the quality of accruals. The results also showed that the Abnormal BTD effects on the earnings quality were more significant after the adoption of IFRS. These observations may indicate more discretionary allowed to the managers and the possible raise of BTD with those international standards. Supplementary tests proved the adequacy of Abnormal BTD measure with more pronounced effects that the Normal BTD, relations with the agency costs and variations throughout the company’s life cycle. In summary, this study provides findings additions to the national and international literature. The thesis was innovative as it proposed the Abnormal BTD measure in Brazil and original when it related Abnormal BTD with earnings quality, with new dimensions that contributed to international research. On the whole, this study reinforced that BTD must be considered by their elements, with the discretionary causing information asymmetry and affecting the earnings quality for companies. Moreover, the research potencialized with information the recurrent debate around the countries about the Book-tax conformity in the companies.