Influence of qualitative characteristics of accounting indicators in microfinance institutions in Latin America and the Caribbean/Influencia de caracteristicas qualitativas nos indicadores contabeis de instituicoes microfinanceiras da America Latina e Caribe

• Published in: RC&C. Revista de Contabilidade e Controladoria Vol. 5; no. 3; p. 83
• Main Authors: Santos, Ana Lucia Carvalho, D'Souza, Marcia Figueredo, De Lima, Gerlando Augusto Sampaio Franco
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: Portuguese
• Published: Federal University of Parana 01.09.2013
• Subjects: Accounting; Analysis; Technique
• ISSN: 1984-6266; 1984-6266

The main motivation to carry out this study was to evaluate the existence of influence of qualitative characteristics of types of institutions, area of operation and size of the assets on the accounting information of the Microfinancial Institutions--MFIs in Latin America and the Caribbean. The studies on microfinance are based on the theories of financial intermediation, on the theory of the welfare state and on the institutional theory. This research lies in the field of the analysis of the accounting indicators of financial institutions. The financial statements of a MFs look like those of any financial institution, however, there are some specificities in this type of organization, mostly, when it comes to the type, which is very diverse. To the validation of the methodological hypothesis that accounting indicators of MFIs in Latin America and the Caribbean are influenced by their qualitative characteristics, an empirical-analytical study was carried out, making use of the statistical tools Analysis of Cluster and Analysis of Correspondence--ANACOR. The data were collected from the Microfinance Information Exchange-MIX website, which provided secondary information with qualitative (type, region) and quantitative characteristics (accounting indicators). According to the results, although in different magnitudes, all the qualitative characteristics significantly influenced on the Clusters formed on the basis of similarity of accounting indicators. Key-words: Microfinancial Institutions. Accounting Indicators. Multivariate Analysis. A motivacao principal para realizacao do presente estudo foi avaliar a existencia de influencia de caracteristicas qualitativas de tipo de instituicao, local de atuacao e tamanho do ativo nas informacoes contabeis das Instituicoes Microfinanceiras (IMFs) na America Latina e Caribe. Os estudos sobre microfinancas se baseiam nas teorias da intermediacao financeira, na teoria do Welfare State e na teoria institucional. Esta pesquisa se situa no campo das analises acerca dos indicadores contabeis de instituicoes financeiras. As demonstracoes contabeis de uma IMF se assemelham as de qualquer instituicao financeira; no entanto, ha algumas especificidades neste tipo de organizacao, sobretudo, no que se refere ao tipo, bastante diversificado. Para validacao da hipotese metodologica de que os indicadores contabeis de IMFs da America Latina e Caribe sao influenciados pelas suas caracteristicas qualitativas, fez-se um estudo empirico-analitico, utilizando-se das ferramentas estatisticas Analise de Cluster e Analise de Correspondencias (ANACOR). Os dados foram coletados no site da Microfinance Information Exchenge-MIX, a qual disponibiliza dados secundarios com caracteristicas qualitativas (tipo, regiao) e quantitativa (indicadores contabeis). De acordo com os resultados, embora em magnitudes diferentes, todas as caracteristicas qualitativas tiveram influencias significativas nos Clusters formados a partir da similaridade dos indicadores contabeis. Desse modo, a hipotese metodologica foi confirmada. Os achados da pesquisa sinalizam que estudos futuros, bem como acoes e/ou politicas voltadas para IMFs, que utilizem indicadores contabeis, devem observar essas caracteristicas. Palavras-Chave: Instituicoes Microfinanceiras. Indicadores Contabeis. Analise Multivariada.