Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Anmar Nouri Dawod Author-Name-First: Anmar Author-Name-Last: Nouri Dawod Author-Email: anmmaraa6@gmail.com Author-Workplace-Name: Phd Student ŲŒDepartment of Accounting Isf. C., Islamic Azad University, Isfahan, Iran Author-Name: Reza Gholami-Jamkarani Author-Name-First: Reza Author-Name-Last: Gholami-Jamkarani Author-Email: reza.gholami@iau.ac.ir Author-Workplace-Name: Associate Professor, Department of Accounting, Qo.C., Islamic Azad University, Qom, Iran Author-Name: Ibrahim Abed Mousa Alsabary Author-Name-First: Ibrahim Author-Name-Last: Abed Mousa Alsabary Author-Email: dr.ibrahemabedmoosa@uomus.edu.iq Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Accounting, College of Administrative Sciences, Al-Mustaqbal University, Babylon, Iraq Author-Name: Afsaneh Soroushyar Author-Name-First: Afsaneh Author-Name-Last: Soroushyar Author-Email: a.soroushyar@khuisf.ac.ir Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Accounting, Isf. C., Islamic Azad University, Isfahan, Iran. Title: The Academic Specialization of Administrative Officials as a Principal Determinant of Mental Accounting in Expenditure Decision-Making Abstract: The research seeks to explore the role of mental accounting in spending decisions made by administrators in higher education in Iraq. The quantitative analytical approach used data obtained from 200 administrative personnel from 4 universities and 50 technical colleges to explore the association between academic specialization, experience, the institution environment, and cognitive aspects of financial decision-making. The analysis indicates that mental accounting had a significant effect on the rationality of spending decisions, accounting for nearly 59% of the differences in expenditure deviation. Administrative personnel who showed cognitive fund segregation had relatively higher deviations from planned expenditures, particularly for the Higher Education Fund, where the propensity for discretionary spending was the greatest. Academic specialization and experience moderated the impact of cognitive fund segregation by increasing analytical reasoning capacity, and decreasing behavioral bias. Analyses of regression and ANOVA confirmed that behavioral factors, when combined, have a statistically significant influence on financial decision outcomes. The results support the conclusion that while formal financial processes guide expenditure management, the judgment of expenditure is often grounded in cognitive and experiential dimensions of decision-making. The study closes by arguing that to improve financial rationality in public organizations requires behavioral remedies (e.g., training based on academic specialization, cognitive awareness programming, and institutional openness) meant to align mental accounting processes with good administration. Classification-JEL: JEL Keywords: Academic Specialization; Administrative Officials; Mental Accounting; Expenditure Decision-Making; Iraq Journal: International Journal of Resistive Economics Pages: 40-47 Volume: 12 Issue: 4 Year: 2024 Month: October DOI: 10.22034/oajre.2025.559811.1163 File-URL: https://www.oajre.ir/article_234244_9b1d1c29f28ea86cd156cf333c3ba424.pdf File-Format: Application/pdf File-Function: Full text File-URL: https://www.oajre.ir/article_234244.html File-Format: text/html File-Function: Abstract page Handle: RePEc:trd:journl:234244