Comparability between BR GAAP and U.S. GAAP results: evidence from Brazilian companies listed on North American stock exchanges

Abstract

This research assesses the materiality of the reconciliation differences in profits reported by Brazilian companies. Given the non-existence of IFRS compatible accounting statements for Brazilian companies, the sample was composed of enterprises that publish the result according to Br GAAP and U.S. GAAP on the 20-F Form filed at the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). By means of an exploratory - in function of its objectives - and documentary research - due to the data collection method - Gray's Index of Comparability (Gray, 1980) was applied to the differences evidenced for 30 Brazilian companies between 2000 and 2005. The results indicate a representative number of enterprises with materially incomparable results, being three for a materiality margin of 5%, six for 10%, while only 21 of the 30 companies present comparable profits for 15%. Analyzing the reconciliations of 10 companies in the year 2005, the adjustment referring to the business combination was what affected the largest number of enterprises; as for the revaluation of assets, characteristically appointed as a practice that requires frequent adjustments to U.S. GAAP, reconciliation was not observed for the majority of companies. Additional studies are suggested to identify specific differences for a bigger number of enterprises and years.