Relationship Between Deferred Tax Assets and Audit Fee in Brazilian Banks/Relacao Entre Ativos Fiscais Diferidos e Honorarios de Auditoria nos Bancos Brasileiros

The objective of this study is to verify whether the relevance of Deferred Tax Assets (DTAs) in the equity structure of Brazilian banks impacts the remuneration of the independent auditors. The premise considered is that because DTAs are permeated with subjectivity and represent a relevant portion of the banks' equity, they would be considered audit risk drivers and, consequently, impact the auditors' fees. The empirical tests comprised the estimation of panel data models using data from 22 banks listed on B3 between 2009 and 2019, applying two audit fee dimensions: the nominal value of the remuneration in reais, measured by its natural logarithm; and the relative value, represented by the remuneration per monetary unit of the audited total asset. The results show a positive relationship between DTAs and the independent auditors' remuneration, both in nominal and relative terms, thus suggesting the hypothesis that DTAs are perceived as a risk factor by independent auditors. The empirical evidence revealed by the study contributes to the development of the literature that seeks to identify the variables that influence the formation of independent audit remuneration in several ways: as a filling of the gap regarding the way the representativeness of DTAs is perceived by auditors; and as a reinforcement of the evidence documented in the literature that the relevance of DTAs in the banking industry is perceived as a risk by economic agents--in this case, the paper documents that auditors are added to the list of agents with concern about it. Keywords: Deferred Tax Asset. DTA. Audit Fee. Independent Auditors. Banks. O objetivo do estudo e verificar se a relevancia dos Ativos Fiscais Diferidos (AFD) na estrutura patrimonial dos bancos brasileiros impacta na remuneracao profissional dos auditores independentes. A premissa considerada e que por serem permeados de subjetividade e por representarem parcela relevante do patrimonio dos bancos os AFD seriam considerados direcionadores do risco de auditoria e, por consequencia, dos honorarios dos auditores. Os testes empiricos compreendem a estimacao de modelos com dados em painel, utilizando dados de 22 bancos listados na B3, entre 2009 e 2021, usando duas formas de mensuracao dos honorarios de auditoria: o valor nominal da remuneracao em reais, medida pelo logaritmo natural; e o valor relativo, representado pela remuneracao por unidade monetaria de ativo auditado. Os resultados demonstram relacao positiva entre os AFD