What is Importance of Information

The purpose of this chapter is to identify the importance, use, and level of implementation of cost accounting in Brazil's public sector and its relationship with the features of user's professional experience. The research is positivistic and quantitative, carried out through a survey to the employees of the accounting and internal control departments from the municipalities, states, and of the executive branch of the union. A total of 344 answers were obtained, and the analysis was performed only in 320 respondents from the executive branch of the Brazilian's public sector. The results show the users' belief in the importance of cost information for the public sector, but in spite of this belief, there is a low use of information that can be motivated by the lack of cost system implementation or by the primacy of the use of financial and budgetary information in decision making. The results show that the importance level of cost information is not significantly different independent of a low, high, or moderate experience in accounting or management experience.