The effect of some contingent variables on universities’ accounting systems and performance Management

Abstract

Many external factors have affected Governmental Universities of Iran in the past six years. Decentralization in terms of delegation of authority, budget constraint and competitive position for better quality and higher performance in teaching and research are the main factors. According to Contingency Theory in accounting, there is no identical management accounting system or control system to fulfil the needs of all organizations in every situation (Chenhall, 2003, Otley, 1980).This study investigates the effects of the aforementioned variables on the accounting systems and performance management of Iran’s state Higher Education Institutions. Based on the Contingency Theory literature a theoretical model has been developed and empirically tested. Data were collected from the Governmental Universities in Iran during the latter part of 2009 through a postal questionnaire. All 126 Governmental Universities in Iran were sent the questionnaire and responses were obtained from Financial, Education, and Research Departments in each university. Fully completed questionnaires were collected from 246 Departments (65.1 per cent response rate) and Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) was used as the main data analysing technique to provide an understanding of the proposed model used in Iranian universities for Accounting Systems and Performance Management Systems. The results confirm most of the related propositions of Contingency Theory, however the priority of budgeting practices, particularly participative budgeting, over other accounting aspects is supported. In addition, importance of employing comprehensive performance measures as well as use of accounting information in PM was revealed, although amendment and improvement in their reward system is not at expected level.

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