Práticas de controle interno nas operadoras de saúde suplementar do Estado de Pernambuco

Abstract

The present research aims to identify the characteristics of internal control practices applied in supplementary health care providers in the state of Pernambuco, verifying the characterization, functions and activities of internal control, including from the perspective of the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission- COSO. This is justified by the possibility of internal controls directly influencing the improvement of a company's results, providing a greater efficiency and efficiency of the organizational operation, consequently reaching the organizational objectives, and the solvency of the supplementary healthcare operators of the State of Pernambuco. To reach the objective, a methodology was used in a descriptive way, using as a data collection instrument the questionnaire. The universe of the research was 17 supplementary health care providers but, of these, only 10 were available to contribute to the development of this research, answering the questionnaire. To analyze such responses, descriptive and inferential statistics were used using Microsoft Office Excel 2013 software and Stata Statistical Software, version 2014. It was observed that 50% of respondents were over 50 years of age and were experienced in the company. It was verified in 100% of the operators the non existence of an established internal control body; and although they do not have the sector / department of internal controls, the functions and activities now addressed by their majority (84.85% of agreement) are being executed. A significant degree of importance was shown by the concordances between management and internal control, and it was found that internal control practices from COSO's perspective are being applied in the majority, 77.1%. In the analysis of the correlations, the most closely related component was the monitoring activity, whose lowest significance ratio was 0.89; it was also evidenced the existence of a relationship between the profile of the operators, as to the size and characteristics of their internal controls. Based on the aspects considered and verified, it is observed the relevance of internal control practices in the management of supplementary health care providers in the State of Pernambuco, which can contribute to an efficient and effective operation.