Valor justo e custo histórico: diferenças no nível de mensuração em demonstrações contábeis no Brasil

Abstract

International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) adoption in Brazil has brought modifications in assets and liabilities measurement criteria having some balance sheet items altered considering such criteria; whether only in the initial measurement or a subsequent measurement. Many criticisms have been raised relating to the fair value utilization, mainly to the subjectivity inherent to the use of levels 2 and 3 of the fair value measurement and the possibility of its opportunistic utilization. The study aims to investigate fair value measurement effect relating historical cost measurement in Brazilian financial statements. In Brazil, the numbers produced by fair value measurement are assumed to significantly reduce shareholders’ equity in face with numbers produced by historical cost. Such possibility can be explained by Prudence attribute, in force at that time, and by NBC TG 00 (2008) concepts; thus, the lower value adoption for assets and higher for liabilities will create by consequence reduced values for equity. The sample contains assets and liabilities of 559 companies which presented, in 2008 and 2010, partial and full IFRS implementation with account information both measured by historical cost and fair value criteria. The sample was submitted to means difference, by paired samples T-student and Wilcoxon tests, comparing account, fair value hierarchy level of estimation, accounts groups and industry. . Furthermore, ANOVA analyses were carried out with the differences resulting between the measurement at fair value and historical cost having as factors the following: level, account and account groups; Tukey’s multiple comparison post-hoc tests between groups were applied too. Research findings conduct to reject the established hypothesis which states that accounting valuation produced at fair value would be significantly lesser than the valuation based on historical cost. The tests, however, demonstrated positive asymmetry between fair value measures and historical cost figures, rejecting the hypothesis. Notwithstanding, it was documented a shareholders’ equity increased by 26% when adopted the fair value concept. Thus, it was inferred that identified differences between figures measured at historical cost and fair value may have resulted from lack of actualization by historical cost usage causing measurement lag due to high inflation levels in Brazilian economy along the years. Firms have applied legislation changes to update assets and liabilities values. Thus, it is also observed that higher the subjectivity level (levels 2 and 3) in fair value concept, greater the differences at historical cost and fair value valuations. However, wasn’t conclusive whether such adjustments refer solely to time inflation gap or to mathematical techniques employment, barely disseminated in Brazil, or even to earnings management decisions. Finally, identified that fair value measurements tend to concentrate at most subjective level (2 and 3), which might be due to the incipient active markets for evaluated assets.