Determinantes dos honorários de auditoria independente: um estudo sob a perspectiva dos estágios de ciclo de vida organizacional

Abstract

This study aimed to analyze the relationship between the fees paid to independent auditors in each of the stages of the life cycle of the Brazilian companies studied. For this, the theoretical model of the organizational life cycle determined by Dickinson (2010) was chosen, which distinguishes the five cycles (birth, development, maturity, turbulence and decline) according to the behavior of the company's cash flows. A documentary research was carried out based on the Independent Auditors' Reports, the Cash Flow Statements and the Reference Forms disclosed by the cyclical consumption companies listed in B3, for the 2018 fiscal year, whose sample totaled 65 companies. The data were treated using descriptive statistics and showed that the stage of the organizational life cycle with the largest number of companies was Maturity, totaling 25 companies, which presented fees with the second highest average in the sample. However, in the 12 companies located in Nascimento's life cycle stage, the highest average and the highest standard deviation of the audit fees paid by these companies was found, these being the most expensive fees in relation to the other stages, also presenting the higher audit fee, as well as higher Audit Delay found in the sample. In relation to companies located in the other stages, Development, Turbulence and Decline, there were smaller standard deviations and lower amounts of fees paid, with Decline being the stage that paid the lowest fees in the sample. These results suggest that there is evidence of the relationship between independent audit fees and organizational life cycles.