Silvia Cantele

Gli atenei italiani e gli strumenti di pianificazione e controllo: a che punto siamo?

Universities all over the world are experiencing a great push towards managerialism; this process is the result of the application of New Public Management principles and practices, but also the request of national law and regulation: modern universities are expected to manage institutional activities in the light of effectiveness, quality and efficiency. The debate on the appropriateness of management tools for universities is placed in this context and is described in the literature with reference to the typical components of management control systems: information and accounting system, organizational structure and control process. The article presents the results of an empirical research on management control systems in Italian universities; the analysis of collected data demonstrates a low dissemination and development of management control tools; in particular it shows that a high percentage of universities is presently implementing only two tools together, and these tools are predominantly generic, while the use of those considered more advanced (e.g. variance analysis and dashboards) is very low. These evidences suggest that the successful introduction of management control systems could not abstract from an adequate development of corporate culture.

Do accounting standards affect PMS tools? The case of IAS/IFRS adoption in Italy

The objective of this project was to investigate the impact of the adoption of international accounting standards (IAS/IFRS) on a companys performance measurement system (PMS). This study was conducted through a questionnaire sent to Italian companies that drafted a financial statement adopting the new accounting standards. Our analysis showed that in most cases the companies made only gradual upgrades and changes to their PMS, limiting the introduction of new accounting tools to manage the switchover to IAS/IFRS standards. At the same time, there was little impact on company organisation and the span of control of the PMS caused by the shift to IAS/IFRS.