Fatores determinantes do nível de transparência de mantenedoras de instituições privadas de ensino superior no Brasil

Abstract

The objective of this study is to identify the factors that explain the level of transparency in the financial statements disclosed by private HEI trustee in Brazil. We analyzed the financial statements of a sample of 39 trustees of private non-profit HEI and 6 trustees of for-profit private HEI, which were published between 2011 and 2016. The data of the sample were analyzed through descriptive statistics and multiple linear regression tests, seeking to identify associations between the levels of disclosure and characteristics of the private HEI trustees, as explanatory factors of transparency in mandatory disclosure. The Indices of Mandatory and Voluntary Transparency of each private HEI trustee where analysed separately by administrative category of the trustee (either for-profit or non-profit). The findings point to a partial compliance with mandatory disclosure. For non-profit HEI trustees, the mandatory transparency index indicates the average 77.32% of compliance with accounting standards and the voluntary transparency index, points to an average of 13.26% of compliance with voluntary requirements. Regarding for-profit HEI trustees, the mandatory transparency index reaches 82.55% of mandatory disclosure and the voluntary transparency index reaches 16.94% of disclosure items required. Regarding the determining factors, the mandatory transparency model of the non-profit HEI trustees indicates that the larger ones, in terms of granted scholarships and which are audited by a BigN, tend to be more transparent in disclosing accounting information. As to the for-profit HEI trustees, a positive and significant influence of size and BigN audit on a higher level of mandatory transparency was confirmed. Regarding voluntary transparency, the study points to a positive and significant effect of the variable scholarship grants as a potential influence on the higher level of transparency of non-profit HEI trustees. Regarding the for-profit HEI trustees, the variable size and locality indicates the highest levels of voluntary transparency. The determining factor of mandatory transparency of private HEIs turned out to be the audit by a BigN, which was significantly associated with the dependent variable in the two mandatory transparency models used. The study reveals that private HEIs providers partially meet mandatory and voluntary requirements and use financial statements primarily to meet accounting standards.