O papel do controller no Brasil

Abstract

Organizations have operated in competitive and constantly changing environments. In this context, both the Controllership, and more specifically the Controller, have also been required to monitor the evolution of organizations and environments in which they operate. Controllers are expected to play more strategic roles and get involved in decision making through acting as business partners, which represents an evolution of the traditional role of Controller more focused on operational activities. Data were collected from questionnaires developed by both Fourné et al. (2018) and Rieg (2018) and adapted to the context of Brazilian professionals. This empirical study evalated the activities performed by Controllers who work in Brazilian companies listed on the São Paulo Stock Exchange B3, through electronic questionnaire apllied via social media network LinkedIn, to understand whether the roles played by Controllers and how they are impacted by contingency factors. In addition, this study assessed how Controllers self perceive their roles compared to the frequency of reported day-to-day activities. The sample consists of 72 Controllers who work in Brazilian companies listed on the São Paulo Stock Exchange B3. Data were analyzed through exploratory analysis. Descriptive statistics showed results that indicate that Brazilian Controllers have a hybrid role for having reported a high frequency of both operational and strategic activities. Second, the result of the multiple linear regression indicates that there was no association between the roles played by Brazilian Controllers and the selected contingency factors utilized in this paper. Furthermore, the results indicate that the variables male gender, Controller position and lato sensu postgraduate educational level are significant to explain the role of business partner played by Controllers who work in Brazilian companies. Additionally, the results also indicate that the Controller position and company size variables are significant to explain the role of Scorekeeper played by Controllers who work in Brazilian companies.