A national study of the status of managerial accounting practices in higher education administration as perceived by the chief financial officers

The purpose of this study is to determine the status of managerial accounting practices in higher education administration as perceived by chief financial officers in four-year institutions of higher education. The study compares differences in managerial accounting practices by: (a) the nature of institutional control, public and private; (b) the presence or absence of financial distress in two or more of the last five years, as evidenced by an operating deficit; and (c) Carnegie classifications of research, doctoral, comprehensive, and liberal arts institutions.; The methodology for this study involved the use of a survey instrument to collect data from the chief financial officers. The survey instrument consisted of 14 questions, four of which had subordinate parts, addressing specific managerial accounting practices. Responses to these questions were requested on a seven point Likert scale. In three additional questions respondents were asked to report functions outsourced by their institutions, additional managerial accounting practices observed at their institutions, and their perceptions of the most important issues in higher education finance. A random sample of 582 institutions, stratified by control and Carnegie classification of institutions, yielded a response of 310 chief financial officers.; Analysis of variance procedures reveal that there are significant differences in the chief financial officers' perceptions of the status of managerial accounting practices based on the nature of institutional control. No significant relationship is found between managerial accounting practices and institutional financial distress, nor is a significant relationship identified between managerial accounting practices and Carnegie classification. Dining operations are outsourced most frequently by respondent institutions. Technology issues are identified as the most important matter in the finance of higher education for the next five years.