The performance measurement of public museums: and accounting dilemma - ISSN 2223-90-14

According to New Public Management principles, all sectors of public administration must be able to measure their annual performance multi-dimensionally, in order to evaluate the socio-economic impact of their activities. Public museums - state, municipal, university, etc. - are frequently part of the administration so, from an accounting point of view, this measurement process is difficult. In particular, the accounting data and, consequently, the final accounts are mixed with those of the museum’s public owner. This situation has a double negative effect. On the one hand, it is not possible to exactly quantify the resources that the government - state, local government, university, etc. - transferred to the museum and that were used to run it. On the other hand, it is impossible to correctly measure the annual economic, financial and assets performance of the museum. The paper aims to identify a methodology for quantifying the resources transferred by the public owner to the museum and the annual financial, economic and assets results of the museum. The research method is mainly deductive, with subsequent application of the theoretical model in a business case. The paper begins with an analysis of the mainstream theories and techniques for performance measurement and ends with a critical analysis of the theoretical model tested on a case study. However, as this is an exploratory research, the paper also aims to fuel discussion of the doctrine and to set a base for further future research.