Extent and gaps in intellectual capital disclosure in the Indian industry

Abstract

The aim of the paper is to examine the current status of intellectual capital (IC) disclosure by firms in India in terms of extent and quality of information disclosed as well as to assess whether any gap exists between stakeholder expectations and actual disclosure practices being followed by industry. For achieving the objective, a mixed methods approach was applied which had qualitative and quantitative elements. The findings indicate that the disclosure level of IC in the annual reports of Indian firms is low and a gap exists between the actual practices and stakeholders expectations as regards disclosure. The category of external capital was the most reported category followed by internal capital and human capital.