Human Capital Disclosure Research Articles

External Reporting of Human Capital in Malaysia

Human capital information which is vital for effective management of resources is usually only accessible internally within an organization. However, information regarding human capital or human resource investments and the return on these investments are currently not presented in the annual reports systematically and consistently. This paper examines the extent of the disclosure of human capital in the annual reports of Malaysian top companies based on the concept of Human Resource Costing and Accounting (HRCA) and other relevant human capital elements or measures. A content analysis using word count was conducted to determine the extent of human capital disclosures. The findings reveal that the concept of HRCA is still distant to human resource managers in Malaysia. The human capital items which are most commonly disclosed are information on training, human resource development, employee skill, knowledge and competence. Return on human resource investment is not reported in the annual reports.

Intellectual capital disclosure: high‐tech versus traditional sector companies

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to compare the level of intellectual capital disclosure (ICD) of firms in the high technology and traditional sectors of the economy.Design/methodology/approach – In order to provide a framework to evaluate the level of disclosure of the different categories of intellectual capital (IC), the author develops an IC model based on an integration of the resource‐based view (RBV) of the firm, the knowledge management, and IC literature. The model is called the RBV IC model. Content analysis was conducted using the SEC Form 10‐K annual reports of 143 high‐technology companies (HTCs) and 141 traditional sector companies (TSCs) US publicly traded firms for fiscal year 2000 and 2004. The components of IC as delineated in the RBV IC model are the subject of the analysis with the frequency of disclosure being used as the measure of disclosure.Findings – HTCs had a higher frequency of disclosure of customer capital, organizational capital, human capital, and intellectual propert...

Human capital disclosures and management practices

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate the association between annual report human capital (HC) disclosures and HC management practices.Design/methodology/approachThe paper used two sets of data. Disclosure data were collected from annual reports. Data on management practices was collected by e‐mail questionnaire. Sixteen of the most traded companies on the Stockholm Stock Exchange (SSE) were included in the study.FindingsResults indicated that there is limited association between the two sets of data. Even though the association was significant on an aggregate level, more detailed testing showed no systematic associations. There was, however, a significant association between internal management practices and companies' perceived importance of disclosure, even though this was not reflected in actual disclosure.Research limitations/implicationsThe most important limitations of the study are that it was based on a small non‐random sample of companies from only one country and used annual report disclosures from a single year. Also, the study focuses on quantity rather than quality of disclosures.Originality/valueA feature of previous research is that it tends to focus on HC (intellectual capital) from either an external or internal perspective. This study is the first that links HC annual report disclosure and internal HC management practices.

REMOVED: Motivations behind human capital disclosure in annual reports

REMOVED: Motivations behind human capital disclosure in annual reports

An explanation of human capital disclosure from the resource‐based perspective

PurposeAlthough the importance of human capital (HC) in firm value creation is firmly established in the literature, the level of emphasis placed on human capital disclosure (HCD) by preparers of financial statements and sell‐side analysts is minimal. The purpose of this paper is to address this dilemma by critically analysing the conceptualisation of HC in disclosure literature and introduce a more suitable explanation.Design/methodology/approachThe paper begins by reviewing the literature on intellectual capital disclosure (ICD) to examine the level of HCD in various company media and the use of such information by the capital market. It then critically analyses the conceptualisation of HC in those studies with a view to forming an opinion about the adequacy of that conceptualisation. Then the resource‐based view is justified as providing a more appropriate conceptualisation of HC to meet demands of the capital market.FindingsSubstantial ICD literature conceptualises HC using HC theory as a collection of knowledge and competences possessed by employees individually and collectively in firms. This has resulted in HC disclosure scores being considerably low compared to external and internal capital disclosure and does not portray HC in a way that is useful to the capital market. A resource‐based perspective enables HC to be depicted in a way that closely resembles the value creation potential of firms' employees.Practical implicationsGuidance is provided for future HCD and ICD studies to operationalise HC and to reflect its value creation potential by encompassing not only the firm specific stock of knowledge and capabilities of employees, but also the strategic HC management practices. Thus the corporate culture and the idiosyncratic systems and practices of the firm which are in place are enabled in to reaping the benefits of these.Originality/valueICD literature portrays HC as the least important intellectual capital subcategory. However, anecdotal evidence suggests otherwise. This study is the first attempt to clarify and provide an explanation to this dilemma.

An Explanation of Human Capital Disclosure from the Resource Based Perspective

Though the importance of human capital (HC) in firm value creation is firmly established in the literature the level of emphasis placed on human capital disclosure (HCD) by preparers of financial statements and sell-side analysts is minimal. The purpose of this paper is to address this dilemma by critically analysing the conceptualisation of human capital in disclosure literature and introduce a more germane explanation.

Intellectual capital disclosure and corporate governance structure in UK firms

This paper investigates the relationship between intellectual capital disclosure and corporate governance variables, controlling for other firm‐specific characteristics, for a sample of 100 UK listed firms. Intellectual capital disclosure is measured by a disclosure index score, supported by word count and percentage of word count metrics to assess the variety, volume and focus of intellectual capital disclosure respectively. The independent variables comprise various forms of corporate governance structure: board composition, ownership structure, audit committee size and frequency of audit committee meetings, and CEO role duality. Results of the analysis based on the three measures of intellectual capital disclosure indicate significant association with all the governance factors except for role duality. The influence of corporate governance mechanisms on human, structural and relational capital disclosure, based on all three metrics, is also explored.

Motivations behind human capital disclosure in annual reports

Although much has been discussed about voluntary disclosure of human capital in annual reports there has been limited examination of the motivations behind such disclosure. This study uses the perspective of the political economy of accounting to understand motivations. Using the method of content analysis, this paper examines human capital disclosure practices in annual reports of a sample of firms in Sri Lanka, a developing nation. Eleven case study interviews from the sample explore the motivations behind the disclosure practices of firms. Findings reveal that firms use disclosure to reduce tension between firms and their constituents, in the interest of further capital accumulation.

Human capital value creation practices of software and service exporter firms in India

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to explore the human capital (HC) value creation practices of knowledge‐based software and service exporter industry in India.Design/methodology/approachThe study used HC disclosure attributes as a tool to the contents of the annual reports for the year 2003‐2004, to evaluate the type and amount of HC disclosed by the software firms. The study also conducted semi‐structured interviews with the heads of human resources (HR) of 14 software firms to obtain a greater understanding of the similarities between reporting and managed HC practices.FindingsThe study identified most reported and least reported attributes of HC using content analysis and explained their reporting of value creation using interviews and resource‐based view. The findings suggest that the HC reporting practices were consistent with interview findings. The frequency of HC attributes reported followed the extent of the management's perception of HC value creation to the firm.Research limitations/implicationsThe limitations of the study are: first, it is a cross‐sectional study; second, the findings may be applicable exclusively to the software and service industry in India and cannot be generalised to other industries in India or software industry in other countries; third, the assertions by the HR heads are assumed to faithfully reflect the firm's HC practices; fourth, the study assumes that annual reports are the primary documents available to public (stakeholders) requiring information on the firms.Originality/valueThis study provides an insight into the HC reporting practices of the nascent software and service exporter industry in India that is experiencing an economic boom that is positively influenced by the information technology software industry. This study throws light on the utilization of HC for value creation by the top software firms. This may help countries having tie‐up with Indian firms to understand the value creation process of these firms to sustain growth. The study would enable other software firms to understand HC reporting practices of the industry, and could use a framework that is similar to the framework used in this study.

Market performance impacts of human capital disclosures

This paper examines the market valuation and performance impacts of human capital-related information disclosures. Following a labor economics approach and using the annual reports of a sample of United States public companies, we construct human capital productivity and efficiency indicators and test for their informational content and value relevance following a portfolio performance approach. Results indicate that on average, firms with higher labor cost disclosures outperform their low labor cost counterparts. Estimated labor productivity and efficiency indicators also appear to be value-relevant since firms with higher value marginal products of labor, and higher marginal productivity relative to average labor costs, outperform their counterparts with lower values of both measures. We conclude that labor cost voluntary disclosures might be potentially useful in assessing human capital asset management and performance which could be relevant to market participants particularly for firms in knowledge-based industries.

Labor cost voluntary disclosures and firm equity values: Is human capital information value-relevant?

This study examines the market value relevance of labor cost voluntary disclosures using a valuation model relating firm market values to book values of equity and to disclosed human capital information, such as labor costs, net pension liabilities (NPLs), and estimated average and marginal labor productivity and efficiency indicators. Results indicate that labor cost disclosing companies command higher equity market values in general, and that labor productivity and efficiency measures appear to be undervalued. Both findings suggest that there might be market opportunities for firms with valuable human capital to differentiate themselves from their industry peers, which might encourage further human capital disclosure in the future. More refined measures of human capital assets and investments are needed to assess firms’ human resource management decisions and performance impacts in the capital markets more adequately.

The role of human capital cost in accounting

The purpose of this research is to deal with the human capital disclosure issue of present accounting systems. Many companies nowadays derive their competitive advantages mainly from human capital. However, under generally accepted accounting principles, all human‐related expenditures are treated as expenses, which are deductions of revenues, thus misleading decision‐makers into inappropriate judgments. This paper provides an alternative way of measurement and disclosure of human capital items in financial statements. The paper defines and classifies the human capital of a company in line with a theoretical framework provided by the authors, sorts out company's human capital investments according to cost development stages in human resources, isolates human capital from expenses and finally suggests disclosure in financial statements.

Capital Formation by Education

Capital Formation by Education