Análise da utilização da demonstração do fluxo de caixa como um instrumento de gestão financeira nas sociedades anônimas de capital aberto do Estado do Rio Grande do Sul

The purpose of this work is to verify whether Cash Flow Statement has really been employed as a tool for financial management by open capital corporations in the State of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. In procedural terms, in order to accomplish the purpose of this research a questionnaire was created and sent to open capital corporations in the State of Rio Grande do Sul. Also a documental analysis of accounting and financial statements of those corporations was conducted. The analysis of questionnaire answers shows that the Cash Flow Statement has only been employed as a tool for financial management by a small number of open capital corporations in the State of Rio Grande do Sul, and that this Statement has mainly been employed as a complementary statement, which sometimes provides some contribution for the management.