Abstract The financial reporting landscape in higher education institutions is undergoing a significant transformation driven by digital and technological advancements. This study employs a bibliometric analysis to explore the evolution of financial reporting in universities within the broader context of digitalization. By analyzing academic publications, citation patterns, and research trends, we identify key themes, influential works, and emerging directions in this domain. Using data from the Web of Science database, the systematic literature review applies primary and secondary search tags, resulting in a dataset of 721 open-access publications from 2015-2024. To process this data, we utilized VOSviewer, employing bibliometric techniques such as co-occurrence analysis, keyword mapping, and clustering. Our findings highlight the increasing intersection between financial management, higher education policy, governance, and digital transformation. Notably, clusters related to “Higher Education Policy,” “Governance,” “Management,” “Impact,” and “Performance” demonstrate strong linkages, reflecting the growing emphasis on transparency, efficiency, and accountability in university financial reporting. The study underscores the critical role of artificial intelligence, blockchain technologies, and big data analytics in enhancing financial reporting accuracy and security while addressing challenges related to regulatory compliance, data privacy, and standardization. Our research contributes to existing literature by identifying key trends, gaps, and future directions in digital financial reporting for Higher education institutions. The findings offer valuable insights for policymakers, university administrators, and researchers aiming to optimize financial management and governance in the digital era.
Spiridon et al. (2025) studied this question.