Uniformity and comparability: an analysis of the relevance for the Brazilian capital market

ABSTRACT This research aimed to analyze the relationship between the characteristics of uniformity and comparability and the fundamental qualitative characteristic of relevance of financial reports for the Brazilian capital market, discussing the possibility of a trade-off between comparability and relevance, the importance of considering both comparability and relevance to maximize the utility of financial statements, and the gaps regarding the “effectiveness” of uniformity and achieving comparability to the detriment of relevance. It is important to investigate the “effectiveness” of uniformity in terms of the utility of the decision due to the confusion that exists between the concepts of uniformity and comparability. The results will encourage regulatory bodies to reflect on the confusion that exists between uniformity and comparability and on fulfilling the characteristics of relevance and comparability, indicating what the relationship is between these from the viewpoint of the capital market. Uniformity is identified by means of the earnings covariance measure and comparability via the accounting function similarity measure. The relevance models are assessed using panel data regressions covering the period from 2013 to 2018. The sample includes companies from the B3S.A. - Brasil, Bolsa, Balcão belonging to sectors classified in the Level 2 North American Classification System (NAICS) that comprise at least two companies. The results indicated that uniformity is not relevant for the Brazilian capital market, even when it contributes to comparability. These can be explained by the possible production of superficial comparability. They also revealed that comparability is relevant and positively related to the share price. However, the inclusion of this variable led to a decrease in explanatory power, which may indicate the achievement of comparability to the detriment of relevance. Finally, it is revealed that the Brazilian capital market distinguishes between the concepts of uniformity and comparability when evaluating companies.