ACCOUNTING CONSERVATISM AND THE EFFECTS OF THE PANDEMIC ON PERFORMANCE INDICATORS IN THE IT SECTOR

Abstract

Based on the importance of the information technology sector for the technological evolution and adaptation of companies during the pandemic, this study aims to analyze the impact of the pandemic on the market-to-book index and on traditional accounting performance indicators, represented by the net margin, return on equity (ROE) and return on assets (ROA), in information technology companies in Brazil. The research is classified as quantitative in terms of approach, descriptive in terms of objectives and documental in terms of methodological procedures. The sample consists of four companies in the information technology sector in Brazil, with shares traded on the Stock Exchange (B3). The data for the net margin, ROE and ROA indicators were obtained through the analysis of the financial statements of the companies in the sample, in the period from 2018 to 2021, while the market-to-book index was obtained through calculations, observing the number of shares, shareholders' equity and unit value of shares, found on B3 and in Status Invest's (2023) quote history. Data analysis was performed using the Mann-Whitney test to compare two studied samples, the first consisting of the indicators obtained in the years 2018 and 2019 (pre-pandemic), and the second by the indicators obtained in the years 2020 and 2021 (pandemic). The statistical programs Statistical Package for Social Science for Windows (SPSS) and JAMOVI were used to test the hypotheses. The results indicate that there was a significant variation in the net margin indicator, while for the market-to-book, ROA and ROE indices, it was not possible to identify large variations. It is concluded, therefore, that accounting conservatism did not cause significant changes in performance indicators in relation to the analyzed periods.