Alfabetização financeira e gestão financeira empresarial : um estudo com Microempreendedores Individuais de Sergipe

Abstract

Individual microentrepreneurs often face financial challenges because they generally operate alone in running their businesses. In this context, this study aimed to understand how financial literacy affects the financial management of these microentrepreneurs. In this way, we sought to detect evidence about their financial knowledge, behaviors and attitudes, and how these influence the way they manage the finances of their microenterprises. The method used was a multiple case study, characterized by its qualitative and descriptive nature. The sources of evidence used were semi-structured interviews with four microentrepreneurs from the state of Sergipe, as well as the documents used for financial records. The results showed that the lack of knowledge related to inflation influences the way they deal with situations involving the value of products/services, as well as that they have greater difficulties when faced with financial contingencies because they do not practice the habit of saving. As a result, the lack of financial planning and financial tools that would allow them to project their finances were the consequences. Furthermore, they do not separate company and personal accounts. It was also found that the lack of understanding regarding interest and risk interferes with the lack of investment analysis, as well as the lack of risk management. Furthermore, those with good financial knowledge do not necessarily perform good financial management, since attitudes such as impulsiveness or external factors can influence decision-making. In this sense, the study served as a contribution to reveal that it is not enough to have financial knowledge alone, highlighting how important it is to separate personal and corporate accounts, determine the pro labore as a fixed cost to monitor costs, maintain the habit of saving and achieve a balance between knowledge, attitude and financial behavior, to establish financial literacy, culminating in good practices in the financial management of the business.