Statistical analysis of the information suitability of cost accounting for strategic and operative management in higher education

A drop in permanent income, higher education reform, rising salary costs, competitive pressure, the struggle to keep the balance between quality and tuition fees and other numerous challenges That higher education is facing, imposes the need for more sophisticated management models and innovative cost accounting models, such as activity-based costing (ABC). The concept of activity-based costing provides relevant information on costs and cost drivers of all higher education institution activities, thereby helping the institution develop its strategy based on high-quality activities while reducing operational costs, as well as define organizational policies to plan, control and evaluate efficiency and effectiveness of its operational activities. The general objective of this paper is to test the correlation between the selected variables using the appropriate statistical methods and to review the attitudes of employees in financial departments of higher education institutions in the Republic of Serbia regarding the knowledge, advantages and disadvantages that activity-based costing can bring.