Indícios de Expectation Gap em serviços tributários prestados na Cidade de São Paulo

Abstract

The aim of this research was to investigate whether, in the hiring process of tax professionals, there is a gap of expectation between the contracting motivations and the contractors’ perception. Disagreements between the contracting client's wishes and/or the service provider's wishes regarding the scope may compromise the execution of the work and, consequently, the client´s satisfaction. Without empirical investigation of clients and professionals´ perceptions of the key motivations that encourage clients to hire tax preparers, the understanding of this mismatch is limited. There is little empirical literature on (1) tax professionals' perceptions of their clients in general, or (2) what preparers think about their clients' expectations of tax preparation services. Therefore, this analysis will contribute to researches on tax expectation gap in Brazil, based on the quality of services offered to tax professionals’ clients, because, in this country, there are only fractional studies on clients' expectations regarding tax professionals work. In this sense, this research aims to identify what are the signs of expectation gap in tax services provided in São Paulo city. If the findings prove the existence of a tax expectation gap, the research may serve as a basis for further studies to investigate the reasons for any alleged difference in expectation. The findings may provide guidelines for actions aimed to develop the profession, since the tax service is one of its attributions.