Title: Similarity of management reports of Brazilian firms

Authors: Ludmila De Melo Souza; César Augusto Tibúrcio Silva

Addresses: University of Brasilia, Campus Darcy Ribeiro, Prédio da FACE, Asa Norte, 70910900, Brasília, DF, Brazil; University of São Paulo, Avenida Professor Luciano Gualberto, 908, Butantã, São Paulo/SP, 05508-010, Brazil ' University of Brasilia, Campus Darcy Ribeiro, Prédio da FACE, Asa Norte, 70910900, Brasília, DF, Brazil

Abstract: Management reports (MR) are used as companies' communication tool for broadcasting a message or image to its shareholders. This study presents an investigation of the structure of MR with the purpose of verifying if there is a repetition of data. The aim of the study was to identify which variables explain the similarity between the MR that were published by companies listed in the Brazilian stock market. The results signalled that most of these companies had only specific modifications at their reports. The fact that other independent variables were not shown as explanatory at the obtained model may suggest that the maintenance of similar reports' structures is a usual practice, regardless of their characteristics.

Keywords: management reports; similarity; communication; disclosure; business narratives; Brazil; data repetition; report structures.

DOI: 10.1504/IJMDA.2016.081079

International Journal of Multivariate Data Analysis, 2016 Vol.1 No.1, pp.43 - 60

Received: 20 Apr 2016
Accepted: 20 Apr 2016
Published online: 20 Dec 2016 *