Performance Measurement and Accounting: Museums in Austria

In 2002, Austria's eight national museums became responsible for their own budgets. The ministry, which still owns the objects in the museums, relinquished operational control but continues to require the museums to report a number of key figures to measure their performance. In this article, various performance measurement practices are analyzed in the museum environment context with its strong focus on expert knowledge and art. Based on 15 interviews with experts, including museum managers, curators, artists and government officials, about their experiences, conclusions on the functions and dysfunctions of performance measurement are drawn.