Accounting practices and accountability at community universities in Rio Grande do Sul

Abstract

The article seeks to understand the transformative / conservative nature present in the university environment, when verifying, if following this path, it is the approach or distancing of the university towards the community. This concern gains relevance in investigations that seek to understand accounting practices: Social Balance, Social Report, Activity Report, preparation and dissemination of Reports, of how accounting professionals' lenses work, especially their dialogues with accountability. The objective of this research was to explore the operational practices that result in the necessary information for the Accountability at Community Universities in Rio Grande do Sul. The methodological path relies on a qualitative approach, with the objective of exploratory, descriptive and explanatory research. The research verifies, a theoretical set, based on science, as well as, it counts on the field research, with the accountants. The results of the research revealed that the Universities develop a permanent, fertile dialogue for accountability, as well as cultivating, a strategic planning work, in academia and with the most diverse sectors of society, where accounting practices are present, where the thinking of accountability is not just a mechanical instrument, but a reflective process based on academic practice, giving meaning to those who produce, at all levels, whether in the collection and measurement of results, in the standardization of information, in the choice of indicators, in dissemination of the Reports, in processes that are not only instrumental technicians, but of a qualitative nature, which challenges further studies in the field of accountability, as well as in community experiences and its repercussions on development processes.

Keywords: Accountability. Social Balance. Community Universities. Regional evelopment.