What is good university financial management?

Abstract

In the current and foreseeable harsh UK higher education environment, aspiring to best- practice financial management will be key to ensuring the prosperity – and indeed the survival – of any university. In this article I argue that good university financial management should provide stability to the institution, allow for investment as well as renewal and the exploitation of opportunity, be transparent enough to facilitate accountability and good governance, and ensure that the institution allocates resources efficiently in the context of its strategic plan. I explore in detail the issues relating to this fundamental definition of good financial management, including the role of financial management in inducing stability, short-term solvency and reserves, managing financial risk, capital expenditure and long-range planning, developing a diversified funding base, embedding good financial management in university culture, the relationship between financial planning and strategic planning, and financial accounting and control

Digital transparency and public accountability in Spanish universities in online media

“…Internationally, since the end of 1990s, the higher education sector has undergone a profound change (Salter and Tapper, 2002; Taylor, 2013a, b; Hordern, 2013; Middlehurst, 2013; Ntim et al , 2017) that has increased the competition among universities and forced them to adopt innovative tools for managing, measuring and disclosing their results, to the detriment of other lower-performing competitors (Elena and Warden, 2011; Dearlove, 2002; Kim, 2008; Trakman, 2008; Parker, 2011; Middlehurst, 2013; Parry, 2013; Rowlands, 2013). As a joint effect of these events, universities have been increasingly required to provide stakeholders with a wide spectrum of information, where IC plays a crucial role (Sánchez and Elena, 2006).…”

“…The international higher education environment has had to assume important challenges in recent years (Shattock, 1998, 1999; Dearlove, 2002; Middlehurst, 2004; Kim, 2008; Trakman, 2008; Melville-Ross, 2010; Parker, 2011; Parry, 2013; Rowlands, 2013). These challenges have brought greater emphasis on financial imperatives, the need for operational efficiency, strong internal governance and heightened discourses of “accountability” and “transparency” (Hordern, 2013; Middlehurst, 2013; Parry, 2013; Rowlands, 2013; Taylor, 2013a, b). Transparency and accountability are the focus of the discussion about the transformation of public administrations in the society (Kass, 2005; Gandía et al , 2016; Kim et al , 2005; Justice et al , 2006; Detlor et al , 2013).…”

Multiple institutional logics and their impact on accounting in higher education

“…Over the past decades, Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) – considered to be key drivers in the knowledge economy (Parker, 2012) – have experienced rapid changes and been subject to various reforms (e.g. Broadbent et al , 2010; Taylor, 2013), often involving a decrease in public funding (Parker, 2013). Prior studies in the higher education (HE) context have noted that many of these changes and reforms have been imposed on HEIs by government regulatory bodies (Broadbent et al , 2010; Narayan et al , 2017; Ntim et al , 2017).…”

Tracing accountability in higher education

“…Improving performance (Burke and Minassians, 2002) and operations (Varghese, 2004) as well as justifying costs and keeping tuition levels as low as possible (Lahey and Griffith, 2002) were the focus of the early period this study covers. Later, the focus shifted to include providing greater value (Hoffman 2013; Huisman and Currie, 2004) and improving financial management (Taylor, 2013). Efficiency of administrative areas as facilities and information technology was emphasized, not least because accreditation agencies enforce standards that require universities to assess administrative routines (Kniola, 2013).…”