Financial accounting methods fall short of fully accounting for the relative sustainability of college and university operations. Management of social, environmental, and economic performance will be aided by changes to and new developments in financial accounting practices to complement other indicators of sustainability.

Stresses the importance of common understandings of cost definitions and data collection in order to create reliable databases with optimal utility for inter-institutional analysis. Examines definitions of common expenditure categories, discusses cost-accumulation rules governing financial reporting, and explains differences between direct costs…