Purpose -This paper seeks to identify factors that influence the voluntary disclosure of intangibles information in annual reports of Portuguese listed companies. Design/methodology/approach -An index of the voluntary disclosure of intangibles is constructed based on analysis of the Management Report and Chairman's Letter of all 56 companies listed on Euronext Lisbon at 31 December 2003. Several hypotheses about associations between that index and eight firm-specific variables are tested. Findings -The voluntary reporting of intangibles is found to be influenced significantly by size, ownership concentration, type of auditor, industry and listing status in univariate analysis; and by size, industry, type of auditor, and ownership concentration (and listing status to a lesser extent) in multivariate analyses.Research limitations/implications -This study focuses on annual reports only, and is cross-sectional. The use of content analysis and the subjective judgment involved in constructing the index cannot be view uncritically. The small sample size is inevitable because of the small Portuguese capital market. Practical implications -Accounting regulators will be better able to understand the factors that explain the voluntary disclosure of intangibles by firms and use this in developing future recommendations. Originality/value -The paper validates some previous research and also provides insights to the firm-specific factors that explain voluntary disclosure of intangibles by companies operating in the small share market of a European country in which capital market fund raising is not regarded to be an important source of financing.

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PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to analyse voluntary disclosures of intellectual capital (IC) items in the sustainability reports of Portuguese companies. The paper aims to highlight the level, pattern and determinants of IC disclosures in those sustainability reports; and the potential for sustainability reports to be a medium for IC disclosures.Design/methodology/approachAn index of voluntary disclosure of intangibles is constructed and deployed to analyse IC disclosures in the sustainability reports for 2006 of Portuguese firms, published on the web site of the Portugal's Business Council for Sustainability Development. Four hypotheses are tested about associations between that disclosure index and firm‐specific variables.FindingsDisclosure of information about IC is more likely in sustainability reports of firms that have a higher level of application of the Global Reporting Initiative framework, and are listed companies.Research limitations/implicationsThis study is cross‐sectional. Subjective judgment is involved in constructing the disclosure index.Practical implicationsThe observed level and pattern of disclosure of IC information suggests that the preparation of a sustainability report is an opportune starting point for the development of IC reporting.Originality/valueThe study highlights the determinants of IC disclosures in sustainability reports; the high incidence of such disclosures; and points to the enhancement of legitimacy and reputation as potential incentives for firms to engage in such practice.

Early draft, please do not cite or quote without the authors' permission.Abstract -Organisations can symbolically manage their activities through organisational communication, thus this study assumes that organisations are not passive agents and have a choice when pressured by the institutional environment in which they operate. This paper adopts Oliver's (1991) and Elsbach's (1994) theoretical frameworks to examine organisational strategic responses to the pressures and institutional expectations provided in the CEO communications in the media. This analysis was developed through an interpretative case study of EDP -Energias de Portugal, S.A., the largest Portuguese group in the electricity sector during the period from 2010 to 2014, which includes the Economic and Financial Assistance Programme (EFAP) to Portugal. The results show that through the CEO communications in the media, EDP attempted to influence stakeholders' perceptions and to legitimate organisational behaviour. The case study demonstrates that the CEO used subtle ways to introduce positive bias, thus demonstrating that organisations do not blindly conform to the expectations of the institutional environment but adopt complex responses involving active agency and organisational interests. Finally, the study demonstrates that like self-interest and power, the constituents' expectations play an important role in determining the specific strategic responses to the institutional environment.

Purpose This paper aims to explore the role of storytelling and impression management (IM) through the president’s letter in legitimizing the practices of an electricity company with regard to controversial issues during a period of change. Design/methodology/approach Drawing on a qualitative case study, this paper examines annual report letters from 1995 to 2013 using a methodological interpretative approach. Findings By promoting a success story using IM, the presidents give sense to particular actions related with controversial issues and attempt to influence expectations on strategic changes. The findings demonstrate that organizational actors use the flexibility of the president’s letter to tell the story and emphasize its self-laudatory nature. The study highlights that storytelling in these documents can be used to alleviate the tensions created by the inherent contradictions of social structures. Practical implications This research is useful for regulatory authorities, users of annual reports and academic researchers, making them attentive of the narratives companies may adopt to protect their legitimacy. The findings shed light on the need to evaluate the credibility of accountability mechanisms and can help stakeholders to develop a more critical view of the president’s letter. Originality/value This paper makes a contribution to research on communication issues by expanding literature on accounting and organizational storytelling. By demonstrating how presidents use sensegiving as a means of legitimacy-claiming, this study adds to the literature on legitimating accounts. In doing so, this paper bridges the gap between theories about organizational legitimacy, storytelling and IM. To sum up, the findings serve as an incremental step toward understanding the nature of accountability reporting.

Purpose -In most European code-law oriented Latin countries, the publication of a CEO's letter to shareholders in a company's annual report is a fairly recent phenomenon. In this paper, the authors seek to determine the characteristics that explain why companies in one such country, i.e. Portugal, published a CEO letter. Design/methodology/approach -The paper's holistic theoretical framework draws on elements of agency theory, institutional theory and signalling theory. To understand the characteristics of Portuguese holding companies that published CEO letters, the authors used a logistic regression model to explore 266 observations over the years 2006-2011. Findings -The publication of a CEO letter becomes more likely if a firm is audited by a Big 4 accounting firm; has a higher level of profitability; and has a high number of foreign subsidiaries. Other findings are that finance companies are slightly more likely to publish a CEO letter than non-finance companies. The number of CEO letters increased to a peak in 2008, and then declined. Practical implications -The increasing number of companies now publishing a CEO letter raises the concern for regulatory authorities of whether the content of the CEO letter should be audited, since any numbers presented in the management report have to be audited in Portugal. Originality/value -To the best of the authors' knowledge this is the first empirical exploration of the characteristics that explain why companies publish a CEO letter. Mimetic and normative isomorphism is revealed to be a potentially important influence, since there is a tendency of companies audited by Big 4 accounting companies, and with foreign subsidiaries, to publish a CEO letter.

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3325-6825 RESUMO: as nações desenvolvidas têm promovido o avanço de metodologias de gestão que otimizem o desempenho da Administração Pública, cujos alicerces são a direção, o controle e a accountability das organizações. Neste contexto, e tendo por base a concepção de instituições internacionais das áreas da Administração, Contabilidade e Auditoria, o objetivo deste artigo é analisar a adequabilidade dos Sistemas de Controle Interno Organizacional (scio) em funcionamento nas Unidades Gestoras (ug) do Comando da Aeronáutica (comaer) do Brasil, valendo-se das percepções dos seus agentes responsáveis. Constatou-se que os scio do comaer revelam uma aderência moderada às boas práticas internacionais de controle interno, embora se conclua que, nalgumas áreas, essa aderência permaneça ainda num estágio inicial.PAlAvRAS-ChAvE: accountabilitily, Administração Pública, Brasil, controle interno, governança corporativa. IntroduçãoAs reformas da Administração Pública no âmbito da New Public Management (npm) provocaram um efeito cascata, que influenciou a Contabilidade, a Auditoria, a accountability bem como o processo de governança corporativa Gestión Pública lA AdECUACIón dEl COntROl IntERnO En El COMAndO AéREO: UnA PERCEPCIón EndógEnA RESUMEn: el desarrollo de metodologías de gestión para optimizar el desempeño de la administración pública, cuyo fundamento es la dirección, el control y el accountability de las organizaciones, es el enfoque de los países desarrollados. Este artículo analiza la adecuación de los sistemas de control interno (sci) que funcionan en las unidades de gestión (ug) del comando aéreo (Comaer) de Brasil, en comparación con los modelos preconizados por instituciones internacionales de las áreas de administración, contabilidad y auditoría. Sobre la base de las percepciones de los agentes responsables de su funcionamiento dentro de las ug ejecutoras del Comaer, los resultados sugieren que los sci de este órgano están en un proceso de adhesión progresivo de los modelos de instituciones internacionales, aunque en algunas áreas dicho proceso se encuentra en un estado inicial.PAlAbRAS ClAvE: accountability, administración pública, Brasil, control interno, gobierno corporativo. IntERnAl COntROl AdEQUACY In COMAER: An EndOgEnOUS PERCEPtIOnAbStRACt: The improvement of management methodologies able to optimize the performance of public administration, whose groundwork is the direction, control and accountability of organizations, is the focus of developed nations. In that sense, this paper studies the adequacy of the Organizational Internal Control Systems (oics) operating in the Management Units (mu) of the Brazilian Aeronautical Command (comaer), compared to the models recommended by international institutions in the areas of Administration, Accounting and Auditing. Based on perceptions of the agents responsible for their operation within the executing mu at comaer, results suggest that oics are moderately adhering to the best international practices of internal control, although t...

Este estudo analisa o grau do cumprimento das divulgações da International Accounting Standard 16 "Ativos Fixos Tangíveis" no Anexo às demonstrações financeiras consolidadas das empresas cotadas na Euronext Lisboa, no período de 2005-2010, bem como sua evolução e determinação dos potenciais fatores corporativos explicativos desse grau de cumprimento.Utilizando um índice de cumprimento, constatou-se um grau de cumprimento médio intermédio dos requisitos de divulgação da IAS 16 (67,3%). A experiência na aplicação das normas apresentou um impacto positivo, apesar de ligeiro.Atendendo à revisão da literatura e aos argumentos da teoria da agência, teoria dos custos políticos, teoria da sinalização e teoria da necessidade de capital foram desenvolvidas seis hipóteses explicativas do grau de cumprimento mencionado. Os resultados evidenciam que o tamanho da empresa e o montante de ativos fixos tangíveis são fatores corporativos explicativos do grau de cumprimento dos requisitos da divulgação previstos na IAS 16.