Original scientific paper
https://doi.org/10.51650/ezrvs.19.1-2.4
Application of Management Accounting in Public Healthcare in the Republic of Croatia: Case Study
Ivana Dropulić
orcid.org/0000-0003-3128-706X
; Faculty of Economics, Business and Tourism, University of Split., Split, Croatia
Abstract
The aim of this study is to determine the status of the development and application of management accounting in the public healthcare sector in the Republic of Croatia. Furthermore, due to the progressive use and presence of information technology in the economy, it is necessary to examine its influence on the application of management accounting in public health care institutions. The research was conducted using a questionnaire distributed to public healthcare institution in the Republic of Croatia in March 2025. Due to the complexity of the public healthcare sector and in order to conduct a more detailed analysis of the state of development of management accounting, the research focused on single healthcare facility categorized as a healthcare center. 15 respondents from the finance and accounting departments participated in the research, as the respondents from these departments have the relevant knowledge and best insight into the application of management accounting practices within the institution. The results show that management accounting is well established in the organization surveyed. As expected from previous research, the most prominent areas are the development and control of management's business plan, followed by internal management reporting and the collection of data used for the purpose of internal management reporting. The influence of information technology is most evident in the collection of data used for internal management reporting and least evident in the involvement of employees who participate in internal reporting. Although management accounting techniques and methods are used to a considerable extent in the observed public healthcare organization, there is still room for further improvement - especially in the area of applying modern management accounting methods and collecting and reporting non-financial business indicators.
Keywords
manmagement accounting; information technology; public healthcare institution; the Republic of Croatia.
Hrčak ID:
333193
URI
Publication date:
5.7.2025.
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