USO DAS DEMONSTRAÇÕES CONTÁBEIS PARA TOMADA DE DECISÃO NO MERCADO FINANCEIRO

Abstract

Financial statements are reports that present economic and financial data, enabling the analysis and assessment of a company's financial health. Regarding investments, analyzing financial statements can be crucial for decision-making, as this data allows for an in-depth analysis of a company's economic performance. Accordingly, this study aims to examine investors' perceptions regarding the use of financial statements for decision-making in the financial market. This is a quantitative, descriptive study that gathered information via an online questionnaire administered to investors. The results show a significant proportion of female investors (65%) and indicate that the primary motivation for investing is income growth (50%); the study identified moderate (45%) and conservative (40%) investor profiles, with most possessing intermediate knowledge of the financial market (45%). It was found that financial statements serve as technical support (70%) and are used in decision-making due to the trust and security they provide, as well as their recognition as effective tools (60%). The Income Statement is the financial statement most frequently used for decision-making, followed by the Balance Sheet. Thus, this research contributes to broadening the discussion on the importance of accounting as a decision-support tool—not only within the corporate environment but also in the context of financial market investments.