Comparing the Applications of Management Accounting between Vietnamese Public Universities by the Degree of Autonomy

Oanh Thi Tu Le,Phong Thi Thu Tran

doi:10.46281/ijfb.v4i1.545

Abstract

This study was conducted based on a survey of 53 public universities in Vietnam to evaluate the applications of management accounting in universities according to the following metrics: (i) Cost classification; (ii) Conducting and evaluating budgets; (iii) Management responsibility; and (iv) Using information to make short-term and long-term decisions. The results showed that public universities have some interest in management accounting information, especially responsibility accounting. However, management accounting information which has not been used much in Vietnamese universities includes controllable and uncontrollable costs and variance analysis between actual results and estimates. Regarding the degree of autonomy, fully or partially autonomous universities tend to apply management accounting more than non-autonomous universities in terms of the cost per student, the fees for repeat classes, and management responsibility. The research results showed the need to use management accounting information when universities increase their autonomy. JEL Classification: M40, M41, M49.

Highlights

The system of public universities plays an important role in the economics of each country by the higher education system development
Research Results 4.1 Cost Classification Identifying the type of cost is always an important content of management accounting since it is the basis for evaluating and analyzing the effectiveness of cost control and providing information for managers to make decisions
The survey used the Yes/No questions to investigate the current situation of cost classification of universities based on th e following classifications: (1) Variable and fixed costs; (2) Direct and indirect costs per student; (3) Direct and indirect costs per faculty or department; (4) Cost factor; (5) Controllable and uncontrollable costs

Summary

Introduction

The system of public universities plays an important role in the economics of each country by the higher education system development. Along with the international integration trend, higher education is changing rapidly in all ways. University autonomy is inevitable for the development of education and training. Universities in general and public universities in particular need to constantly improve the quality of training and branding. Public universities are state-owned training institutions which are funded by the state budget to establish, finance operations. The activities of public universities must comply with the principles of authorized state agencies (Vu, 2017)

Methods

Results

Conclusion