Readability of Management Reports in the Brazilian Public Sector

• Autor(a) principal: Alves, Mariana Azevedo
• Data de Publicação: 2023
• Outros Autores: Bonfim, Mariana Pereira, Silva, CésarAugusto Tibúrcio, Soares, José Mauro Madeiros Velôso
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: eng; por
• Título da fonte: Contabilidade, Gestão e Governança
• Texto Completo: https://revistacgg.org/index.php/contabil/article/view/3016
• topic: Relato Integrado; Setor Público; Relatório de Gestão; Prestação de Contas; Legibilidade; Integrated Report; Public sector; Management report; Accountability; Readability

Objective: Evaluate the readability of the Management Reports of the Brazilian public sector, from the years 2016 to 2019, with the structural change from the adoption of the Integrated Reporting (IR) model, in 2018. Method: Using the R software, readability was calculated using the Flesch Readability Index of 3,720 reports issued by 930 institutions over the years. Results: The research data indicated a decrease in the general readability of the Management Reports over the years analyzed, and more expressively in the years between 2017 and 2018. It was also verified that the adoption of the IR, while structuring the Management Report, influenced its conciseness, reducing pages, words, syllables and sentences. Originality/Relevance: This is the first study that analyzes the readability of reports from all Brazilian public institutions, especially considering the context in which the Integrated Reporting model was adopted. Theoretical/Methodological contributions: The data indicate that, in the public sector, the IR cannot yet be pointed out, in fact, as an instrument of public governance since it is still deficient in the sense of transparency from the perspective of readability. It is understood, however, that the concept of IR, and, even more, its insertion in the Brazilian public sector, is recent, therefore needing some time to consolidate. Social/Management Contributions: The study provides a diagnosis to preparers on how reports have been presented, in terms of readability, in comparison with the orientation of being readable, and helps to improve the document as an instrument of social control.