New Standards for University Cost Accounting: Proof of Grants and Collection Every Two Years

The Federal Minister for Women, Science and Research has comprehensively amended the Ordinance on Uniform Standards for Cost and Performance Accounting at Universities (KLRV Universitäten). The amendment BGBl. II No. 281/2026 was promulgated on September 17, 2026, in the Federal Law Gazette for the Republic of Austria, Part II, and its core provisions will enter into force at the beginning of the 2027 financial year. Cost and performance accounting thus explicitly serves to demonstrate compliance with European state aid law.

Legal Basis and Issuing Authority

The amendment is based on § 16 Para. 2a of the Universities Act 2002 (UG), BGBl. I No. 120/2002, most recently amended by BGBl. I No. 68/2025, and is issued in agreement with the Federal Minister of Finance. The basic ordinance BGBl. II No. 69/2017, most recently amended by BGBl. II No. 176/2025, is being amended. The promulgation is signed by Holzleitner.

State Aid Law as the New Standard

The new § 2 Para. 2 stipulates that the terms “economic” and “non-economic” are to be interpreted in accordance with the European Commission’s Union framework for state aid for research, development, and innovation (2022/C 414/01) in conjunction with Article 107 Paragraph 1 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU). Accordingly, cost and performance accounting serves as the basis for proving compliance with European state aid law as well as for proving the proportion of economic activities. Additionally, § 24 Para. 5 provides for a joint validation process between the universities, the Federal Ministry for Women, Science and Research, and the Federal Ministry of Finance to ensure data quality and the comparability of cost data.

Performance Time Shares at Least Every Two Years

§ 20 is recast:

• Performance time shares must be collected at least every second calendar year during odd-numbered calendar years.
• The estimate is generally to be carried out for the personnel categories according to § 7 Para. 1 Item 1 to 4; employees primarily active in administration are excluded.
• The collection is carried out by the affected employees or the heads of the organizational units.
• The distribution of the effectively paid total working time must be collected, at least, across the performance areas of teaching and research/EEK; medical universities and universities with a medical faculty must additionally collect the percentage shares for patient care.
• Alternatively, the results according to Annex 2 Point 3.6 of the R&D Statistics Ordinance, BGBl. II No. 396/2003, may be used.

Data Reporting, Space Costs and Entry into Force

According to § 22 Para. 3, the key figures derived from the raw data must be transmitted to the Federal Minister for Women, Science and Research via the interface in the university upload portal by August 31 of the following year; the same applies to the indicators for active students in examinations, degree completions, and personnel categories. The key figures are published per university via the higher education statistical information system unidata. § 19 Para. 2 regulates the offsetting of costs for the hospital operator; for the Medical Faculty of the University of Linz, the agreement pursuant to Art. 15a B-VG between the Federation and the State of Upper Austria applies.

Annex 1 evaluates room categories with weighting factors:

• Living and common rooms, offices and meeting rooms, storage and archives, other use: Factor 1
• Classrooms and libraries: Factor 2
• Workshops and laboratories: Factor 3
• Medically equipped rooms: Factor 4

The standard costs per square meter per year are determined by November 15 of the previous year at the latest and published via the university upload portal; the index adjustment utilizes the CPI forecast values published in September by the Austrian Institute of Economic Research. Usable areas and costs of the University for Continuing Education Krems as well as the Medical Universities and Faculties remain excluded. Annex 2 defines the KLR discipline groups; the assignment of fields of study according to ISCED-F-2013 and the branches of science and art according to ÖFOS 2012 is determined by November 15 of the current financial year. Parts of the amendment apply upon expiry of the day of promulgation, the core provisions from the 2027 financial year, and § 23 Z 4 from October 1, 2028.

Significance

For the universities, medical universities, and medical faculties, the amendment means a closer coupling of budget and grant practices: cost accounting becomes a verification instrument for the European Union, the collection of performance time shares is subject to mandatory scheduling, and the data reporting to the Ministry is newly regulated. The initial application from the 2027 financial year requires adjustments in cost center and personnel cost accounting.

Source: Federal Law Gazette for the Republic of Austria, Part II, No. 281 of September 17, 2026, pp. 1–5 (official reference: BGBl. II No. 281/2026).