Análise da preferência dos peritos contadores quanto à escolha do método de avaliação de sociedades em perícias de apuração de haveres com base na Análise Hierárquica (AHP)

Abstract

Generating useful information is among the objectives of accounting when it comes to decision-making. This information can be presented not only in the form of financial statements or managerial and cost analyses, but also as a result of measuring the economic value of organizations. In order to carry out this measurement, one uses procedures and methodologies based on the finance theory and on the framework of the equity valuation and profit theory. However, it is not uncommon for one to verify the existence of judicial discussion about values calculated in these assessments or, even, in the determination of indemnities for the quotas of leaving or deceased partners. In order to measure the fair value of the enterprise, accounting contributes to the gathering of evidence or evaluations supported by neutrality, reliability and verifiability, by means of audit to inventory assets. In these types of actions, the legal valuation of companies is normally carried out as an inventory of assets. In order to calculate the value of the enterprise object of the lawsuit, the expert accountant should use methods to business valuation that conform to the theoretical assumptions and to the characteristics and the attributes of the entity. One highlights that, according to theorists, there is no absolute method to be employed for all types of companies and in all contexts. The use of certain methods will depend on the features, predictions and attributes of the assets, as well as on the continuity condition of the enterprise. The expert accountant should be aware of the tools that one can use to fulfill their task, bearing in mind the conditions and restrictions regarding assessment methods. There are also qualitative aspects included in these processes, for example, quality of bookkeeping and conditions of the fixed asset of the society, which also influence the choice of valuation method to be employed. One used the Analytic Hierarchical Process (AHP) as a tool for the disclosure and measurement not only of the most important methods for accounting experts, but also of the criteria inherent to inventory of assets. This method aims to assist decision-making processes that involve multiple criteria analysis. Based on the logic of the agent that generates the information (i.e. the expert accountant), AHP was employed in this research to quantify what were the accountants priorities in the choice of methods to assess companies and criteria presented, such as continuity of the enterprise, revenue, accounting information quality, fixed assets and debt. One attempted to quantify the extent to which these criteria influenced the choice of the method to business valuation and inventory of assets, among other aspects approached. This descriptive-nature research was based upon the inductive method and was characterized as a quali-quantitative approach, since one used the procedure of the Analytic Hierarchical Process (AHP) as well as interviews with accountant experts in business valuation in judicial processes of inventory of assets. These experts lived in the city of Belo Horizonte / MG, Brazil. The use of AHP was able to solve the problem of this research and one observed that the experts preferred Special Balance Sheet with Discounted Cash Flow (ABDFC), with 62.66%, followed by the Special Balance Sheet with Goodwill (ABDG), with 29.22%, finally followed by Book Value Assessment (ABV), with 8.12 %. Among the criteria for the choice of the method of business valuation, the accountant experts considered that the most important is continuity with 46.13%, followed by profitability with 16.54%, revenue with 10.83%, indebtedness with 10.60%, bookkeeping quality with 8.29%, and fixed assets with 7.61%. Concerning the qualitative aspects collected in the interviews, it was observed that all expert active accountants had at least a lato sensu specialization and three of them also had a Masters degree in Accounting. Regarding the average time of professional exercise, the respondents reported an average of 20 years in the practice of the profession. With regard to the Discounted Cash flow Method, the absolute majority of respondents considered that its use was relevant in business valuation in forensic accounting. Based upon the facts evidenced and the percentages obtained, one considered that the AHP could establish not only what were the most important approaches for the experts in terms of criteria used in the evaluation of the context of the inventory of assets, but also in what scale one perceived the option for different methods of business valuation.