DETERMINANTS OF THE ADOPTION OF THE AUDIT COMMITTEE IN BRAZILIAN COMPANIES LISTED ON B3

The present study aimed to analyze the determinants of the adoption of the audit committee in Brazilian companies listed on B3. For this, the methodology adopted was descriptive, documentary and quantitative. The sample of the study corresponds to 534 observations of companies in the period from 2010 to 2015. For the data analysis we used descriptive statistics to characterize the variables and logistic regression (SPSS software). The findings showed that larger companies with better stock returns and growth opportunities tended to adopt the audit committee in their organizational structure, while companies audited by leading global audit firms, the Big Four, Deloitte, Ernst & Young, KPMG and Price water house Coopers PwC, were more closely associated with the absence of the audit committee. These results reveal the tendency of companies that have complexity in their structure, which are well-traded in the market and that are expanding in the market, have controls formalized through the audit committee to continue in the market in an efficient way. Thus, the stock return results reveal that companies with high returns from their shares are under pressure from investors to have good practices and effective internal controls to continue trading, which has an influence on the company's decision to formalize the audit committee, even in those with no legal obligation to do so.