“The impact of the Italian University reform on management systems of each individual University”

English version The goal of this paper is to go beyond a simple analysis of the studies and of Italian and foreign universities in order to suggest some principle for the planning and the working of performance measurement systems devoted to universities management. This goal is pursued by the development of five steps: 1)Looking over the latest evolution of the laws related to the Italian university system, paying a particular attention to those rules that, due to their implication with autonomy, evaluation and planning of the activities, have a remarkable impact on the information needs of the Institutions that can be partly satisfied by the economic measurement system we intend to deal with. 2)Facing the problem of the dividing of university global outcomes into partial outcomes (departments, faculties, degree courses etc.), aimed to a survey of the economical conditions of individual partial productive combinations and economic responsibility centers (cost, profit and investment centers). These ones are an indispensable condition aimed to the dissemination of the accountability culture at several management levels, in the perspective of overcoming the cost centers authorization and financial logic. 3)Suggesting an integration between the Responsibility Accounting and Budgeting traditional systems and activities evaluation based systems i.e. -Activity Based Costing and Activity Based Management- as well as procedure related systems i.e. -Activity Based Budgeting. It may be useful to introduce cost strategic management tools aimed to cost reducing and qualitative improvement of the services. 4)Completing the view of the steps suggested above by the definition of some reporting structures able to support systematic monitoring procedures of the Institution global and partial outcomes (departments, faculties, research and training centers, degree courses etc), trying to outline the view of an ideal management control system which every Institution should rely on in order to inspire the governing organs with the awareness of economic choices according to their autonomy. 5)Comparing, at the end, control and management systems of some Italian university, paying attention, both to financial and cost accounting systems and managerial control systems. All that is suggested in this paper raise from the belief that the introduction of university economic management logic and tools, can not be delayed, not only to estimate the efficiency of central and devolved choices for what public investments are concerned of, but also, primarily, to drive each individual university towards a competitive deal aiming to the improvement of the whole system’s performances.