GUIDANCE CHARACTERISTISCS IN MAJOR PUBLIC COMPANIES IN BRAZIL

Abstract

The guidance consists of a business practice of voluntary disclosure of projections about future performance. The present study aims at getting to know the main characteristics of the guidance which is released by companies listed on the BM&FBovespa. Based on Institutional Theory and voluntary disclosure, it has been assumed that the guidance evidenced by Brazilian companies receives institutional influences. The analysis comprehends 96 out of 100 major open Brazilian companies in terms of market value in the year 2011 and employs content analysis, descriptive analysis and non-parametric association tests. The results indicated that 44.8% of the companies evidence projections. 38.5% also assess projections referring to past periods. It has also been detected that the practice of guidance is more common among companies listed on the segment known as “Novo Mercado†and in the sectors of construction, transportation, and non-cyclical consumerism. The statistical tests indicate that the evidence projections are of predominantly quantitative nature, annual frequency, and focused of the short term. The projected indicators are estimated in absolute or interval value. They are of diverse nature with a highlight on operational, economic-financial and investment aspects. These results show that the practice of guidance is still scarcely adopted by major Brazilian listed companies, and that the evidenced projections follow a specific standard, which hints at the presence of isomorphism.