Accounting estimates and earnings quality: sectoral analysis in Brazil

Abstract

Several studies have been performed abroad and more recently in Brazil in order to better understand the behavior and the relationship between accruals, net profit, cash flows and f book earnings quality. Because of its usefulness for different purposes, profit and its quality as a parameter for measuring performance have received increasing attention from users of accounting information. Thus, this study aims to analyze accruals, as a proxy for the earnings quality, of the various sectors of the Brazilian economy and to check the impact caused by sector accruals in market perception. Therefore, two research hypothesis were formulated and tested through an empirical-analytic study. The sample was composed of time series of accounting variables and stock prices in the period 2003-2006, from 133 companies listed on Bovespa, the eight sectors. The results obtained show that levels of accruals are different for some sectors of the Brazilian economy and that the market reacts negatively to changes in the levels of accruals for most of the sectors analyzed. However, it was not found any statistical significance in this relationship.