Corporate Governance and Properties of Accounting Numbers in Brazil

Abstract

This chapter analyzes 30 variables of the boards of directors (BDs) and oversight boards (OBs) of 325 Brazilian companies from 2011 to 2015, including examination of 19,487 resumés of their members. With support from factor analysis, the authors performed empirical tests considering the relations between the underlying factors of BDs and the properties of Brazilian accounting numbers, controlling for ownership structure, differences in corporate governance levels, issuance of ADRs, type of auditor, presence of an OB, size, and leverage. Factors like age, board interlocking, and variable compensation arrangements are the main characteristics associated with the variations in the accounting information properties of the firms analyzed. On the other hand, characteristics such as gender diversity, existence of a controlling shareholder chairing the board, board independence, and other characteristics considered relevant in the international literature tended to lose strength when the spectrum of variables analyzed increased.