THE INFLUENCE OF THE ANONYMOUS REPORTING CHANNEL AS AN INSTRUMENT FOR THE PREVENTION OF COMPLIANCE RISKS

Objective: This study aims to analyze if the availability of an anonymous complaint channel affects the intention of the professionals to communicate conformity problems in the Brazilian scenario. Rationale: The study draws on the theory of behavioral and organizational issues in control systems, with the premise that organizations, regulators, and academia discuss the adoption, risks, and benefits involved in using internal complaints as a control mechanism, primarily in identification and reporting of compliance issues. Method: An experiment was carried out, with two groups, submitted to a scenario in which a compliance problem is reported, having as treatment variable the presence of the anonymous reporting channel in the experimental group. With professionals working in the public and private areas with the objective of increasing the explanatory potential of the study and, in a subsidiary way, to verify a possible influence of the segment of action in the decision to denounce the professional in the presence of an anonymous channel. Results: The results did not indicate statistically significant differences in the intention to report when the anonymous channel was present, nor between the treatment and control groups, even when segmented by area of performance (public or private). Contributions: The findings may reflect the incipient dissemination of the complaint channel as a control action in the country, which does not give the professionals of the two sectors the experience or knowledge on issues related to the risks and benefits involved in the decision making process, making the anonymity factor, already internationally disseminated as a protection apparatus, irrelevant in its decision.