Complexity in financial disclosure: the role of the characteristics of hiring firms

ABSTRACT The main purpose of this research is to analyze the relationship between characteristics of hiring firms and the perception of auditors/accountants that provide services to them regarding complexity in the elaboration/disclosure of sensitivity analyses and risk management. We seek to analyze whether characteristics of firms that have a better level of disclosure could also be associated with the complexity perceived by the professionals that provide services to such firms concerning the information to do with sensitivity analyses and risk management. Information about risk management arouses considerable debate in the area of accounting and finance; nevertheless, how it is addressed, from the point of view of the professionals, still deserves more attention. The results of this study may lead to an improvement, or even a revision, of the standards related with sensitivity analyses and risk management involving financial instruments. The study sample was composed of respondents from South America, namely accountants and auditors from Brazil and Chile. The perception of complexity was evaluated through a structured questionnaire, which was applied using electronic forms. Regarding the explanatory variables, the quantitative model considers the following characteristics of hiring firms: auditor type; firm size; industry; listed firms; transparency; exporting firms. The main advancement provided by this research lies in it revealing that some characteristics of companies usually associated with better levels of disclosure are not necessarily reflected in the perception by accountants/auditors of lower levels of complexity in the elaboration/disclosure of sensitivity analyses and risk management.