EBITDA: POSSIBLE IMPACTS ON BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

Abstract

The objective of this is to analyze the potential and limitations of using EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest, Tax, Depreciation and Amortization) as a long-term financial indicator that affects management control, identifying its possible impacts on organizational planning and control if used as a single and prioritized indicator. Specifying the analysis, we chose the mobile phone sector in Brazil, an economic segment that received significant investments in the 1990’s which, due to its fixed cost structure and the maturation process of the investment, is assessed in terms of cash production. In this analysis, from the perspective of management control, i.e. internal to the company, we consider the financial statements of three leading companies in the Brazilian market, demonstrating that this indicator neither attends to its proposed goals, in terms of reflecting operational cash generation, nor provides indications adequate enough to allow managers to take a position in company management. We suggest some additional indicators as a form of recommendation to companies that, for corporate reasons, cannot ignore EBITDA in their relation with shareholders. Keywords: EBITDA. Management control. Financial indicator. Operating cash flow. Mobile phone.