This study aims to contribute to understanding the process of supervision of the Federal Council of Public Relations (Conferp), whether it is oriented to ethical aspects of PR practice or to defend the legal exercise of the profession, to infer a possible relationship between inspection activity and professional registration. Gonçalves, Pereira, and Toniolo (2019) found that Conferp plays an activist role, which goes beyond overseeing compliance with the Code of Ethics, because, through its strategic communication and argumentative power, it proactively acts in defense of the ethical practice of PR in Brazil. In the context of practicing the PR profession, as reported by Gonçalves et al. (2019), Conferp instituted registration as a mandatory condition and, theoretically, the lack of registration by individuals or legal entities with PR functions is an infraction punishable by the Brazilian Penal Code and Conferp normative resolutions. However, the reality is different. Regarding the number of registered professionals, Ferrari (2006) observed that this number did not follow the growth of higher education courses in PR in Brazil. According to data from December 2018 provided by the municipality, throughout Brazil, there were 19,043 professionals registered as individuals and 690 as legal entities. Of the former, only 5,629 were active, and of the latter, only 341.
This research aims to answering the following research question: Would the activities of the Permanent Inspection System (SPF) be focused on ensuring compliance with the Code of Ethics or more committed to curbing the irregular practice of PR as a regulated profession? As a research method, we will use document analysis and in-depth interviews. To this end, we will focus on data from the Conrerp / 4th SPF, which covers the states of Rio Grande do Sul and Santa Catarina, and which has the largest number of active registrations throughout Brazil (1,171 individuals and 72 legal entities).