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The purpose of this paper is to analyze the changes in higher education under the new configuration of resources based on the income structure of universities located in the Central Federal District (CFD). Particular focus is given to the changes in the structure of public financing of higher education, considering the explicit priorities of increasing teaching staff salaries and promoting research. The study also assesses regional differentiation in financial resources for the maintenance of university property and the accumulation of funds from extra-budgetary sources.

Using statistical and economic analysis methods, the research reveals the main trends of structural changes in public funding of higher education in Russia as a whole, and the regional peculiarities of financial support in the universities of the CFD.

The results of this investigation of universities in the CFD point to inertia in the development of universities in the regions, and problems transitioning to new business models. Groups of universities in the region often lobby for the “previous rules of the game.” The results evidence a change in financial support from different income sources and in cost structures at the university level. These are the result of higher education reform and university support programs aimed at enhancing the academic and research capacity of the leading Russian universities and developing a competitive national education system.

A costs optimization policy has led to polarization of universities and reduced development opportunities for a significant proportion of regional universities. In order to maintain their properties in good condition, they have to make active efforts to seek non-budgetary funding sources against a fall in effective demand from the population.

Budgets are commonly viewed as a central component of management control systems (MCS). The beyond budgeting literature argues that managers can develop other controls to replace budgets. The purpose of this paper is to examine the MCS package of an organisation which has never in its history had a traditional budget.

The authors carry out an ethnomethodology informed case study at Mainfreight, a large multinational logistics company headquartered in New Zealand. Data were collected from interviews with managers and accountants, internal company documents, published corporate histories, a company presentation, the corporate Web site and site visits.

The authors found that Mainfreight’s MCS package was explicitly designed based on cultural and administrative systems which supported the planning, cybernetic and reward systems managers used to monitor key drivers of short-and long-term performance with a focus on profitability.

The implication of the finding is that a more holistic view of the MCS package is necessary to understand how control is achieved within organisations that have moved beyond budgeting.

The authors show that organisations can operate without traditional budgets and still maintain a high level of control by developing appropriate cultural and administrative control systems that are internally consistent with their planning, cybernetic and reward systems.

The scarcity of organisations that have never had budgets limits opportunities to investigate an MCS package intended to function without budgets. This unique case setting reveals the design of an integrated non-budgeting MCS package.

The purpose of this paper is to specify the conceptual foundations of educational cooperation of universities and companies of Industry 4.0 for maximizing its efficiency.

For determining the efficiency of educational cooperation of universities and companies of Industry 4.0 in modern Russia, the authors use the information and analytical materials on the results of monitoring of effectiveness of the activities of educational organizations of higher education in 2018. They use the indicators of the number of cooperation agreements and efficiency of cooperation – employment of graduates and the share of non-budget assets in revenues from the educational activities. These indicators are studied with the help of the method of regression analysis. The objects of the research are the flagship universities of the Central and the Southern Federal District of the Russian Federation.

Low efficiency of the educational cooperation of universities and companies of Industry 4.0 in modern Russia is observed. The authors show by the example of the flagship universities of the Central and Southern Federal Districts of the Russian Federation in 2018 that multiple agreements on their cooperation with the companies of regions in which they are located do not ensure high values of the indicators of employment of their graduates and the share of non-budget assets in revenues from the educational activities.

An algorithm of developing the educational cooperation of universities and companies of Industry 4.0 and a model of educational cooperation of universities and companies of Industry 4.0 are offered. The authors’ recommendations specify the conceptual foundations of the educational cooperation of universities and companies of Industry 4.0, as they orient the participants of this cooperation at achievement of specific formalized results and show the mechanism of achieving them.

This paper aims to investigate the emergence of the enabling characteristics of new budgetary practices and their implications for the role of controller.

The longitudinal perspective of this qualitative case study is based on interviews of controllers and managers involved in budgetary work. This study monitored the four enabling characteristics of management control, namely, repair, internal transparency, global transparency and flexibility (Adler and Borys, 1996), related to the new budgeting practices in one global paper company.

The findings of the study demonstrate that the implementation of rolling forecasting was a major attempt at “repair” to remedy the incompleteness of accounting information, which made controllers experts in producing and delivering more realistic forward-looking information in the organization. The increasing internal and global transparency of new budgetary practices enabled controllers at various levels of organization to develop new competences, which helped controller network to build a holistic view of the totality of control and supply more relevant information in organization. Moreover, the inherent flexibility of the system was a major condition for improving organizational effectiveness in budgetary work. However, the study shows that the controller’s attitude towards enabling formalization is not necessarily positive if the system is not aligned with professional mindset and competence.

This study adds to the understanding of the complementarity between new developments of budgeting and controller role by addressing the enabling uses of management control systems, which have the potential to enhance the controller role change.

Takes an exploratory approach to the development of an accountability framework for environmental performance of the Australian Commonwealth public sector. Explains that the aim of the environmental performance accountability framework is for the various stakeholders to understand the actions of Commonwealth public sector organizations and consequences of those actions for ecological systems; to become familiar with the trends and changes in trends in public sector environmental performance; and to place stakeholders in a position to promote change when performance is not acceptable. Examines three interrelated strands of literature. Identifies key institutional stakeholders in the Commonwealth public sector. Synthesizes the literature related to public sector transformation, and reviews the flourishing literature on environmental accounting and reporting, and links it to the concept of environmental accountability. Drawing on this literature, explores interrelationships between three characteristics of environmental performance at the federal level in the Australian public sector: criticality of natural capital; information uncertainty; and regulatory response. Examines environmental accountability dimensions of each of these characteristics. Concludes by making three policy recommendations: first, measurement of environmental performance should focus on criticality of natural capital and informational uncertainty as bounded by the precautionary principle; second, the measures of criticality of natural capital and informational uncertainty should determine the extent of direct accountability to parliament for each public sector organization’s environmental performance; and, finally, a third party attestation of reported information is needed. Also makes some suggestions for extending this exploratory research.

In a departure from the usual questionnaire‐based survey, this study attempts to understand the capital budgeting process of large U.S. firms by examining capital budgeting manuals that Fortune 500 companies use to explain their respective capital budgeting policies and procedures. The paper presents some general observations regarding the capital budgeting process in a three‐stage framework: planning, appropriation, and audit.

This paper aims to provide an overview of education system reform in China since 1978, and its practical implications.

Data were collected from literature review and interview. An overview of education system reform and its practical implications was found through data analysis.

There has been two types of education system reforms in China since 1978. The first type is school education system reform, and the second is education management system reform.

A point arising is how to reform the education system at the national level.

This is the first time the researcher has studied education system reform and its characteristics in China since 1978, and it can help people to understand education system reform in China systematically.

This study explores the use and effects of citizen participation in city budgeting. Interviews were conducted with budget directors in 28 midwestern cities. Participation was found to affect budget decisions, but the public hearing remains the primary formal opportunity for input in most cities. Technology is increasingly being used to expand the budget information available to the public. Budget complexity and citizen disinterest were cited as the major barriers to participation. However, a number of cities have successfully used participation mechanisms in the budget development process that can serve as models for other cities.

Finance for longer‐term investment continues to be identified as a problem in the small and medium‐sized enterprise market. Recently the finance gap has been attributed to the use of capital gearing as a lending assessment technique. Income gearing, which would take account of the borrower′s expected future income flows may help to close the finance gap. Using a postal questionnaire and in‐depth interviews, information was gathered from companies about their forecasting procedures. The findings show that many companies have the necessary infrastructure to forecast income flows. However practice and culture need to change if lending based on income gearing is to become a reality. Company forecasts lack depth, and the time horizon chosen is too short especially in relation to capital expenditure budgets. In the small and medium sector the relationship between budgets and strategic planning is not yet understood.

This study aims to analyze management innovations developed by a homegrown Chinese hotel company aimed at sustaining its growth and reveals some unorthodox management practices in the lodging industry in China.

A theoretical sampling process was used to choose 7 Days Inn as a single case study. Semi-structured in-depth personal interviews of 15 informants with varying responsibilities were conducted to obtain organization-specific insights. Content analysis of the transcripts was performed to analyze interview data. Secondary data and interviews of managers in competing hotels were also used to support the findings.

This study identified seven major innovative management practices developed by 7 Days Inn. Most of these innovations arose from the company’s idiosyncratic collective mindset. The company created a different approach to thinking about the basic issues regarding business and management – including managerial roles, mistakes and change – that constituted the cornerstones of its management innovations.

Owing to the limitations of case method, the findings may not be generalizable to other Chinese hotel companies.

As little is known about innovative management practices by homegrown hotel companies in China, this study sheds new light on a creative and distinctive management system in the Chinese hotel industry. Introducing management styles that differ significantly from those of Western companies will benefit both management researchers and practitioners.

This study extends previous findings in management innovation by uncovering indigenous innovation influenced by traditional Chinese cultural values in China’s hospitality industry.