Convergence to IFRS standard and smoothing results in electric power companies

Abstract

The objective of this research is to analyze if there has been an increase in earnings management level (GR) using the income smoothing method in the electricity sector companies listed on the B3 with the adoption of the accounting standards of the IASB. The proposal is timely, since, due to the greater flexibility of the rules, there is the possibility of a greater GR. On the other hand, it is a heavily regulated industry, prompting, in turn, the possibility of this factor inhibiting such practices. Were analyzed the financial statements from 2003 to 2007 as the preconvergence period, and 2010 to 2014 as the post-convergence period. As GR proxy, the variance of waste equation proposed by Chen et al. (2010) and Barth et al. (2008) was considered, with adaptations, where a smaller variability in net profit is seen as practice for greater smoothing results and higher GR. The research findings show a reduction in the level of income smoothing after the adoption of IFRS (International Financial Reporting Standards). In fact, the findings indicate that the adoption of international standards for companies in that sector can improve the quality of accounting information and therefore reduce the earnings management levels, mainly due to the demand for greater disclosure and quality of financial reporting, corroborating with the results of the researches of Barth et al. (2008), Iatridis (2010) and Chen et al. (2010).

Keywords: income smothing, electricity sector, international standards.