AUDIT COMMITTEE CHARACTERISTICS PROPOSED IN THE CORPORATE GOVERNANCE CODE IN BRAZIL AND OTHER COUNTRIES

Authors

  • Ilse Maria Beuren Professor at Universidade Federal do Paraná – UFPR
  • Simone Nass Universidade Regional de Blumenau – FURB
  • Viviane Theiss Universidade Regional de Blumenau - FURB
  • Paulo Roberto da Cunha Professor at Universidade Regional de Blumenau – FURB

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.17524/repec.v7i4.989

Keywords:

Corporate governance. Board of administrators. Audit committee.

Abstract

Corporate governance is expected to watch over the transparency of the accounting information that is presented to the public. In that sense, corporate governance codes propose the creation of the board of administrators and, for support, the audit committee. This study aims to compare the proposed characteristics of the audit committee in the corporate governance code of Brazil and other countries. A qualitative research was undertaken through content analysis of the corporate governance laws of 17 countries that report audit committee characteristics. In addition, the application of the audit committee characteristics proposed in Brazil by the Brazilian Corporate Governance Institute (IBGC) was analyzed in companies from the State of Santa Catarina whose stock is traded on the São Paulo Stock Exchange. The results show similarities in the proposed audit committee characteristics among the countries under analysis, particularly in the composition, qualification of the members and responsibilities. What the implementation of the proposed audit committee in the companies from Santa Catarina is concerned, the majority presents a fiscal council instead of an audit committee. In conclusion, despite the similarities in the characteristics of the audit committees identified in the corporate governance codes, further research is needed to create a pattern for regulatory entities to propose to the companies.

Author Biographies

Ilse Maria Beuren, Professor at Universidade Federal do Paraná – UFPR

Ph.D. in Controllership and Accounting (FEAUSP)

Simone Nass, Universidade Regional de Blumenau – FURB

B.Sc. in Accountancy from Universidade Regional de Blumenau – FURB

Viviane Theiss, Universidade Regional de Blumenau - FURB

M.Sc. in Accountancy from Universidade Regional de Blumenau - FURB

Paulo Roberto da Cunha, Professor at Universidade Regional de Blumenau – FURB

Ph.D. in Accountancy and Business Administration (FURB)

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Published

2013-09-21

How to Cite

Beuren, I. M., Nass, S., Theiss, V., & Cunha, P. R. da. (2013). AUDIT COMMITTEE CHARACTERISTICS PROPOSED IN THE CORPORATE GOVERNANCE CODE IN BRAZIL AND OTHER COUNTRIES. Journal of Education and Research in Accounting (REPeC), 7(4). https://doi.org/10.17524/repec.v7i4.989