Efeito da publicação do relato integrado na qualidade de auditoria: evidências empíricas

Abstract

This research was motivated by the finding that, although there are studies associating audit quality with ESG practices, such as the works by Wang et al. (2022), Freitas (2022), and Pereira et al. (2021), investigations relating to or seeking to understand the connection between Integrated Reporting disclosure and audit quality are still scarce. Thus, the objective of this study is to examine the relationship between the publication of the integrated report and audit quality, based on a sample of B3-listed companies that disclosed this report between the years 2020 and 2023. To examine this relationship, the linear regression technique was used, with audit quality, the dependent variable, measured based on the Modified Jones Earnings Management Model, as proposed by Kothari, Leone, and Wasley (2005). The regression results indicate that there is no sufficient statistical evidence to state that Integrated Reporting disclosure positively impacts audit quality. In other words, it was not proven that companies that choose to publish the integrated report exhibit superior audit quality, which led to the rejection of the formulated hypothesis. Nevertheless, the findings are concluded to contribute to the academic literature on the topic, especially as this approach is still relatively unexplored in the Brazilian context.