THE INFLUENCE OF THE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS, AUDIT COMMITTEE AND FISCAL COUNCIL ON AUDIT DELAY2

Corporate governance is a set of measures that aims to increase the likelihood that the investor will guarantee his return, an incentive and control mechanism is needed to minimize the presence of losses caused by conflicts of interest between managers and investors. Examples of corporate governance mechanisms include the Board of Directors, the Audit Committee and the Fiscal Council, which is an independent supervisory body of the Board of Directors and the Board of Directors. The role of corporate governance mechanisms is important in disclosing company information in a timely manner, as financial information plays a relevant role in relation to the market and investors, and the delay compromises reliability in the organization. Therefore, this research aimed to verify the relationship between audit delay and the char0acteristics of the Board of Directors, Audit Committee and Fiscal Council of companies listed in B3. It consists of a descriptive study, of documentary character and quantitative approach. Performed in the listed companies that have an Audit Committee, in the Novo Mercado segments, Levels 2 and 1, from 2014 to 2016. The results showed a negative relationship between the audit delay and the number of members of the Audit Committee, the existence of a Fiscal Council, the profitability of the asset and the size of the company.