Accounting as an engine for the re-creation of strategy at a university

Abstract

This paper examines the role of accounting in the strategy re-creation of a university. Drawing on Donald MacKenzie's theoretical notion of performative engines, our field study of an Australian university reveals how accounting, through various calculative practices, fuelled change and steered people into strategic action, leading to the formation of a new strategic plan. We contribute to the existing accounting and higher education literature on university strategising by illustrating how accounting, when convincing and accepted by decision-makers, can function as an engine for the transformation and financialisation of universities’ strategies.