Effects of the Pandemic and Governance on the Timeliness of Financial Reports of Brazilian Public Companies

Abstract

This study aimed to verify whether there is a significant difference in the timeliness of companies' financial reports in relation to the level of corporate governance and the beginning of the pandemic. 575 companies were selected, with quarterly data between 2019 and 2020, totaling 3447 observations. Wilcoxon's nonparametric test of the sum of ranks was used, due to the absence of normality. The results indicated that companies: started to publish more timely reports after the beginning of the pandemic; at different levels of governance, they present more timely reports; with differentiated level of governance during the pandemic provided more timely reporting. Additionally, there was no change in the timing of companies listed in traditional governance levels when compared to before and after the beginning of the pandemic.