The economic downturn has led to a variety of challenges for higher education institutions, including budget cuts and a heightened focus on efficiency and effectiveness. Performance-based budgeting is gaining traction as a means of more efficiently allocating resources, and Chinese public universities are not an exemption. The main purpose of this…

This article addresses how and why introductory management accounting courses could contribute to sustainable literacy. Drawing on pragmatic constructivism we develop a course design. We base our discussions on teaching experience from two Business Schools. The proposed course design discusses sustainability around five common themes; (i)…

This study investigates the use of digital transformation for teaching management accounting through the implementation of training with a simulation in an authentic professional environment. Technology makes it possible to bring professional reality into the classroom, thereby enhancing the work-integrated experience of students. The authors…

This case exposes students to contingent liabilities, a complex topic they must grapple with in practice, via introduction of the problem of accounting for vacation pay earned but untaken. The case has been tested with both undergraduates and graduates. It is appropriate for students in an intermediate accounting course and can be completed either…

The aim of this study is to bring under the spotlight the need for a broader public sector accounting education plan that would facilitate the development of participatory citizens. The study develops a conceptual framework that links citizens' government accounting literacy with various community-related decisions and in particular citizens'…

In this paper, a model and tool is proposed to assist universities and other mission-based organisations to ascertain systematically the optimal portfolio of projects, in any year, meeting the organisations risk tolerances and available funds. The model and tool presented build on previous work on university operations and decision support systems…

The investment environment of the past 15 years has challenged endowed nonprofit institutions, which have struggled to balance the claims of current constituencies with the need to preserve their endowments' future purchasing power. In the fall of 2011, I undertook a survey of chief financial officers at about two dozen liberal arts colleges to…

This paper argues for a new approach to accounting textbook budgeting material. The business environment is not stable. Change is continuous, for large and small business alike. A business must act and react to generate shareholder value. The rolling forecast provides the necessary navigational insight. The traditional annual static budget does…

Although virtually all universities have accounting systems that track every dollar in accordance with the accounting rules required by auditors, these systems are not adequate to inform their leaders or the public about the profit and loss, productivity, or efficiency of their activities. Instead, they obscure the different revenue sources on…

With most school districts all over the country scrambling to cover educational funding shortfalls and increasing class sizes, at least one state governor is publicly questioning why all school districts don't contract custodial services. School district administrators are facing the increasing budget cuts pressure to consider (or reconsider)…

This research compares the status of managerial accounting practices in public four-year colleges and universities and in private four-year colleges and universities. The investigators surveyed a national sample of chief financial officers (CFOs) at two points in time, 1998-99 and 2003-04. In 1998-99 CFOs representing private institutions reported…

This handbook has been designed as the national standard for state and local education agencies to use in tracking and reporting financial data for school districts to use in preparing their comprehensive annual financial reports (CAFRs). The purpose of the handbook is to ensure that education fiscal data can be reported in a comprehensive manner.…

This paper presents the U.S. Department of Education's Fiscal Year (FY) "2010 Annual Performance Report" (APR). This report provides detailed information on: (1) the status of strategic goals, and (2) the outcomes of the strategic performance measures identified in the Department's "FY 2007-2012 Strategic Plan" and updated previously in the "FY…

The United States Department of Education's "Annual Performance Report" (APR) for fiscal year (FY) 2009 provides detailed information on how the outcomes of the strategic performance measures identified in its "FY 2007-2012 Strategic Plan" and updated in the "Fiscal Year 2008 Performance and Accountability Report"…

This reference guide presents the basic accounting concepts, terminology, and definitions used by colleges and universities. The guide, a companion to the National Association of College and University Business Officers' (NACUBO's) online self-study course of the same name or a standalone reference, compares college and university accounting…