Investigações independentes sobre fraudes corporativas em companhias abertas brasileiras:a percepção de usuários e investigadores

Abstract

Independent investigations have become a standard response by Brazilian government-owned companies in relation to allegations of corporate fraud from regulatory authorities, shareholders, independent auditors, among others. In Brazil, an increase in independent investigations has been observed after measures to combat corruption were initiated in 2014. According to available literature, the existence of qualitative attributes related to independency, objectivity, authority to investigate, expertise and experience in independent investigations is essential to provide credibility. Considering this, we undertook research to understand the perception of investigators and users of independent investigations in relation to the relevance and fulfillment of the qualitative attributes of these investigations in corporate fraud of Brazilian government-owned companies. As a recent phenomenon in Brazil, this is unprecedented research into a relatively unexplored topic, as there is currently a gap in the available literature. To analyze this phenomenon, a semi-structured interview script was prepared based on the available literature. This script was submitted to two pre-tests before its application. After the script was validated, 15 investigators and users were interviewed, using the theoretical saturation model, which produced a similar pattern of answers observed in the pre-test results. The results showed reasonable symmetry in the perception of users and investigators regarding the relevance and fulfillment of qualitative attributes in independent investigations. In general, the perception of users and investigators is that the attributes are of relevance in independent investigations. These attributes must be present mainly in corporate fraud investigations involving allegations of fraud in financial statements, acts of corruption and misappropriation of assets involving senior management. The fulfillment of these attributes is closely linked to the determination of the investigation governance structure and the investigation team. This study contributes to the academic literature as instruments were developed for this research that can be replicated in independent investigations of fraud of another nature. The study also allowed the preparation of guidelines, based on best practices informed by users and investigators, to set and independent investigations on corporate fraud in public companies, thus respecting the qualitative attributes observed in this research. Furthermore, it is suggested that future studies, in light of the findings from this research, analyze the maturity of the corporate governance structure of Brazilian government-owned companies and its correlation with independent investigations