International Journal of Business and Social Science Vol. 4 No. 11; September 2013 161 Corporate Information versus Regulatory Information: Relevance of Accounting Information in the Brazilian Electric Sector Janilson Antonio da Silva Suzart USP - FEA - Departamento de Contabilidade e Atuária Av. Prof. Luciano Gualberto, 908 - Prédio: FEA3 – Zip Code: 05508-900 Cidade Universitária - São Paulo – SP, Brazil Valdiva Rossato de Souza Universidade do Estado de Mato Grosso Anderson de Souza Carvalho Universidade de São Paulo Enrico Dalla Riva Universidade de São Paulo Eliseu Martins Universidade de São Paulo Bruno Meirelles Salotti Universidade de São Paulo Abstract In 2010, the adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards Interpretations Committee (IFRIC) 12 and the Brazilian Electricity Regulatory Agency (ANEEL, in Portuguese) Resolution no. 396/2010 resulted in changes to the accounting model for concessionaires in the Brazilian electric sector. According to corporate regulation, the accounting model replaced granted fixed assets by operation rights, which are represented by a financial asset and/or intangible assets. According to electric sector regulation, the accounting model kept the record of the infrastructure as granted property, which was revaluated at a replacement cost for each tariff review. We identified whether there were significant differences between the return on equity and return on assets for Brazilian electric sector concessionaires and, if so, the degree of difference. We analyzed the corporate and regulatory accounting from 62 companies that adopted IFRIC 12 and published regulatory statements for the years 2009 and 2010. We also analyzed the returns of 20 of these companies from 2000 to 2010. The test results and regressions indicated that regulatory profit was less than corporate profit on average that corporate and regulatory shareholder equity and total assets were statistically equal on average, and that corporate regulation had more effect on returns. Keywords: Return on equity; Return on assets; IFRIC 12; Brazilian utilities; Electricity sector. 1 Introduction Minimizing state control of economic sectors received much attention in the last decades of the twentieth century. Proponents of minimization claim that the state should operate only typical state functions (e.g. justice, security, national defense) and that the private sector should operate other public services (e.g. gas, electricity, telecommunications, transportation, cargo services). In the 1990s, Brazilian law was amended to abolish state monopolies and privatize some public services. The legal procedures used to transfer operation of a public service to a private company include authorization, permission, and concession.