Disclosure of information in audit reports

Abstract

This study aimed to determine if the level of information included in audit reports was related to the average stock value of companies as listed in the Brazilian capital market. Of 255 companies, 44 financial entities were excluded because they operate in regulatory and competitive environments that are different from the other studied companies. The selected companies had at least one audit report over a 5-year period (2005 to 2009), which resulted in a final sample of 33 companies and a total of 165 observations. The study first analyzed the information content in the audit reports, and statistical analyses were then performed to compare the data. The results showed that the disclosure of accounting practices has a positive explanatory effect on the average share price variance.