Conhecimento dos alunos do curso de ciências contábeis acerca das funções do controller: uma investigação na Universidade Federal da Paraíba, Campus I, João Pessoa

Abstract

Given the importance of the Controller for organizations, it is imperative that future accounting professionals know their roles and the responsibilities inherent in their work. In this context, the aim of this research is to verify the knowledge of the students of the course of Accounting Sciences of the Federal University of Paraíba, Campus I, João Pessoa, in relation to the functions of the Controller. The basics of the exploratory and quantitative research were used as theoretical and methodological assumptions, with data collected through a semistructured questionnaire and field research, with a sample of 185 students, corresponding to 25% of the total number of active students of the institution. The results showed that 60.69% of the students questioned did not know how to differentiate the functions performed by the Controller from other accounting assignments, mainly auditing, while only 39.31% knew how to differentiate these functions, however, this result can not be generalized because the sample collected does not represent the total or approximate quantitative of the total. Among the 82 students who have completed some of the disciplines related to Controllership, 54% have not been able to differentiate the functions that the Controller exercises, which shows that the knowledge acquired during the academic life was not enough to discern such functions. Among the main difficulties in understanding the role of the Controller in organizations, it can be mentioned the difficulty of differentiating between the functions of Audit and Controller, as well as the lack of a better use and understanding of the curricular components already completed. Thus, the results demonstrate the need for a better understanding of the subject, since Controller's role is one of the most important in the accounting area and of great importance in organizations, thus requiring professionals who are aware of their role and with appropriate qualification.