INTEGRATED FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT IN SMALL ENTERPRISES: PRACTICES, INFORMATION AND SUSTAINABILITY

Abstract

Financial management is a relevant dimension for the administration and sustainability of small enterprises, involving practices related to planning, cash flow, working capital and the use of financial information. This study aims to analyze how these different practices are articulated in the management process and how their integration is related to corporate sustainability. This is a bibliographic research, with a qualitative approach, developed from the analysis of national and international studies on financial management, planning, financial information, working capital, financial literacy, performance and sustainability of small businesses. The results indicate that financial practices perform distinct but complementary functions. Planning guides the use of resources, cash flow monitoring allows for the evaluation of cash flow, working capital management interferes in the support of operations and financial information subsidizes evaluation and decision-making. The analysis also shows that the relationship between financial management and sustainability does not necessarily result from an isolated practice, but from the ability to articulate different instruments and knowledge in the decision-making process. It is concluded that integrated financial management is a relevant perspective to understand the sustainability of small enterprises, especially when planning, control, information and decision are treated as related dimensions of business management.