A discussion of costing methods for colleges and universities, common in the United States, looks at their first use in a major Latin American institution, the University of Monterrey (Mexico). Differences in costing methods for the university's seven colleges and potential for savings emerging from the analysis are examined. (MSE)

Discusses the problems of applying quality methods to jobs that are not directly involved with manufacturing such as sales, merchandising, law, health care, accounting, and food service. Presents a model for nonmanufacturing organizations. (JOW)

Modifications to current methods of calculating and reporting financial ratios are outlined for college managers. The modified ratios, felt to be more realistic, are illustrated with applications in three areas: (1) student revenues; (2) endowment and other investment income; and (3) public and private gifts, grants, and contracts revenue. (MSE)

The project accounting system used by the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign School of Chemical Sciences exchanges financial data with the campus' central accounting system and allows integration of this information with user-entered data to produce an easily read, fully obligated project accounting statement for the budget and period…

A college or university thinking of leasing out facilities for an auxiliary activity on campus should consider including a percentage rent provision in the contract, to benefit from increased sales. Issues to consider include definitions and reporting of gross sales, audits of reported sales, and auditing procedures and reporting. (MSE)

Analysis of questionnaires returned by 16 of 450 accounting faculty found that (1) experience is inversely related to the amount of effort allocated to research alone and to the aggregate of teaching, research, and service; and (2) a significant positive relationship was found between rank and administrative activity. (SK)

Surveys English accounting, its origin, its development, and its first books (1553-1680) to provide insight into the shift from orality to textuality in English society. (SR)

Responses from 35 of 79 accounting-accredited business schools, 63 of 148 accredited in business only by the American Association of Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB), and 88 of 205 non-AACSB accredited schools indicated minimal coverage of fraudulent financial reporting in course content. Accounting-accredited schools had greatest breadth of…

Elements in the effort to make the annual Nova University (Florida) audit more time efficient included gaining agreement with the auditors for a specific closing date; coordinating efforts of various departments involved; identifying and eliminating major obstacles; streamlining procedures when needed; and continuous coordination and monitoring of…

A study involving 124 university accounting students (84 males and 40 females) suggests that students who change their answers on multiple-choice tests (as demonstrated by erasure marks) tend to improve their performance, with a net gain in scores. Students predominantly underestimated the benefits of their own answer-changing behaviors. (SLD)

A South Carolina school district changed food service from a financial loss to a profit. Recommends that food service managers record meal revenues and expenses when they occur and study the profitability of each program. Selling meal tickets in advance provides some control over the number of students who purchase meals. (MLF)

The purpose of an unreserved fund balance is to provide funds for expenditures not included in a district's budget or to make up for revenues anticipated but not received. A model developed to determine the appropriate size of the unreserved fund balance for school districts was tested with simulations in 498 Pennsylvania school districts. (MLF)

Presents examples of algebra from the field of accounting including proportional ownership of stock, separation of a loan payment into principal and interest portions, depreciation methods, and salary withholdings computations. (MKR)

Total cost management, an innovation useful in higher education, is best implemented in the institution's support services. Total cost management is the practice of analyzing and improving an institution's financial and qualitative performance when producing a particular product or service, paying attention to the complete work process and all…

Financially troubled districts could benefit by investing in a school business manager's salary. This article discusses how business managers can save districts money or increase revenue by streamlining cash management, fiscal accounting and reporting, financial planning and budgeting, grantsmanship, construction management, insurance and risk…