Linking decision and utility theories to financial information usefulness and company performance: A study applied to Portuguese's certified accountants

Abstract

The role accounting plays in decision-making in business is a broad topic that has driven academics. This paper is grounded on decision and utility theories. It investigates the Certified Accountants' perception of financial information (FI) usefulness and the company's performance. Based on data collected through a survey applied to certified accountants, this study develops and evaluates an original theoretical model using the Structural Equations Model (SEM). The results reveal that manager's gender and academic qualifications influence the perception of FI utility. Non-owner managers and older companies also attach more significance to FI in decision making. The managers who attribute the most usefulness to FI in decision-making are those of companies with higher performance. Additionally, the results show that the FI usefulness is a mediator variable in the relationship between the characteristics above and company performance. This research helps all stakeholders improve decision-making, studying past events with FI to predict future results and consequently increase the company's success.