摘要：The objective of this study is to examine what is the relation between the level of corporate governance and dividends payment regularity in traded companies listed on BM&FBOVESPA, over 2001 to 2010. Companies listed on stock exchange composed three samples, segregated according to (i) payment of dividends to common stockholders, (ii) preferential or (iii) total of dividends paid by the company. Coefficients of variation (CV) of the series of dividends payment from companies in the analyzed period were used as a metric to represent regularity. About the levels of corporate governance, were assigned two metrics: a simple (NG), giving 1 point per year that the company was framed at some level, which considers them in accordance with the time of framing; and another balanced (NGP), giving a point per year framed at Level 1 (N1), 2 points per year at Level 2 (N2) and 3 points per year in the New Market (NM), which considers the time of framing in the governance and the kind of level. In the analysis was used Pearson correlations to examine what is the type of relation between CV and NG and between NG and NGP, both for the three samples. The results indicate that the time of framing in some level of governance, except the traditional one, seem to be inversely related to the regularity of dividends payment, reaffirming possible income managements (income smoothing) in not framed companies or in companies that have been framed recently. It was also found that the kind of corporate governance level is related only with the regularity of dividends payment to preferential stockholders.
