Diferenças de expectativas em auditorias independentes: estudo comparativo sobre expectation gap, em cenário globalizado

O presente estudo objetiva analisar as características das diferenças de expectativas entre o público geral e os auditores independentes, no que diz respeito às demonstrações contábeis. Para isso, incorreu-se em uma pesquisa de artigos científicos em que os autores investigam o problema, cada um em determinado país, e as causas de sua ocorrência. Essa análise da literatura permitiu verificar as similaridades e sugestões para reduzir o fenômeno, em cenário globalizado, e compará-las. Os principais achados demonstram que, de maneira geral, os problemas são globalmente relacionados, assim como as sugestões, e que se torna essencial medidas para amenizar o problema. Tanto os auditores independentes quanto os usuários das demonstrações contábeis tem conhecimento da existência dessa diferença de expectativa, sendo uma ameaça para o bom andamento de uma economia capitalista o desconforto dos usuários caso ocorra à manutenção dessa diferença de expectativa. Dessa maneira, uma mudança na estrutura do cenário atual das empresas de auditoria independente torna-se fundamental.

Effect of microstructure of TiO2 thin films on optical band gap energy

TiO2 coatings are prepared on fused silica with conventional electron beam evaporation deposition. After annealed at different temperatures for four hours, the spectra and XRD patterns of TiO2 thin film are obtained. XRD patterns reveal that only anatase phase can be observed in TiO2 coatings regardless of the different annealing temperatures, and with the increasing annealing temperature, the grain size gradually increases. The relationship between the energy gap and microstructure of anatase is determined and discussed. The quantum confinement effect is observed that with the increasing grain size of TiO2 thin film, the band gap energy shifts from 3.4 eV to 3.21 eV. Moreover, other possible influence of the TiO2 thin-film microstructure, such as surface roughness and thin film absorption, on band gap energy is also expected.

Modelling the entrainment and motion of particles in a gap: Application to abrasive wear

The microscale abrasion or ball-cratering test is being increasingly applied to a wide range of bulk materials and coatings. The response of materials to this test depends critically on the nature of the motion of the abrasive particles in the contact zone: whether they roll and produce multiple indentations in the coating, or slide causing grooving abrasion. Similar phenomena also occur when hard contaminant particles enter a lubricated contact. This paper presents simple quantitative two-dimensional models which describe two aspects of the interaction between a hard abrasive particle and two sliding surfaces. The first model treats the conditions under which a spherical abrasive particle of size d can be entrained into the gap between a rotating sphere of radius R and a plane surface. These conditions are determined by the coefficients of friction between the particle and the sphere, and the particle and the plane, denoted by μs and μp respectively. This model predicts that the values of (μs + μp) and 2μs should both exceed √2d/R for the particles to be entrained into the contact. If either is less than this value, the particle will slide against the sphere and never enter the contact. The second model describes the mechanisms of abrasive wear in a contact when an idealized rhombus-sectioned prismatic particle is located between two parallel plane surfaces separated by a certain distance, which can represent either the thickness of a fluid film or the spacing due to the presence of other particles. It is shown that both the ratio of particle size to the separation of the surfaces and the ratio of the hardnesses of the two surfaces have important influences on the particle motion and hence on the mechanism of the resulting abrasive wear. Results from this model are compared with experimental observations, and the model is shown to lead to realistic predictions. © IMechE 2003.