Measuring the financial Sustainability of government universities in the Kurdistan Region - Suggested model

Abstract

The study aims to present a proposed model for
measuring the financial sustainability of government
universities in the Kurdistan Region, which includes a
number of financial and non-financial indicators that fit the
nature of the activities of government universities and cover
the dimensions of their financial sustainability. It
contributes to predicting the extent of its ability to provide
the necessary funds to meet its financial obligations and
provide services at present and in the future. Government
universities in Iraq in general and in the Kurdistan Region
in particular face a set of financial challenges due to the
accumulation of renewable financial and academic needs,
with the decline in government funding, and the weak
economic climate prevailing in the country, which makes
the provision of financial resources and the creation of new
sources of income at the level of the university institution
more difficult than it was in the past, which requires it to
develop its structure and infrastructure, and formulate its
strategies, to ensure its financial stability and long-term
sustainability, enabling it to achieve its functions and
objectives and continue to deliver its educational mission.
The Study concluded with a set of conclusions, the
most important of which is, “The application of the
proposed model in measuring and disclosing financial
sustainability according to its three dimensions will provide
the presidency of universities with additional information,
which will help it to clear deviations and identify areas in
which action should be taken to correct the contradiction.
Especially since it depends heavily on the allocations of the
general budget. And because the government periodically
changes the allocation rules and uses new ones.
Accordingly, the study presented a set of recommendations,
the most important of which are: the necessity of shifting
government universities in the Kurdistan Region from
accounting on a cash basis to accounting on an accrual
basis, and preparing financial statements in accordance with
the requirements of the International Public Sector
Accounting Standards IPSAS, to provide the requirements
for measuring their financial sustainability.