Intellectual Capital Accounting: Practices in a Developing Country (Routledge Studies in Accounting)

213 Pages·2007·0.79 MB·English

by  Indr Abeysekera

Intellectual Capital Accounting
‘This book recognises the significance of intellectual capital matters and
explores in depth organisations’ practices and understandings about its
value. An excellent piece of work.’
Professor James Guthrie, Faculty of Economics and Business,
theUniversity of Sydney
This book examines and explains the intellectual capital reporting practices,
with a human capital focus, of firms located in the developing nation of
Sri Lanka. The study ascertains the following: first, to what extent the industry
groups, based on the number of shareholders, differ in their ICR practices; and
second, to what extent firms in Sri Lanka differ from counterparts in other
nations in their intellectual capital reporting practices.
An important aspect of this book is looking at the practices from a critical
perspective to provide a more balanced view of ‘good’ and ‘bad’ effects of intel-
lectual capital. The book meticulously outlines an extensive literature review,
research methods, the theoretical perspective, findings with an engaging discus-
sion, and concluding remarks. Indra Abeysekera’s fine research project is an
impressive contribution to an emerging area of interest throughout academia and
industry.
This book will be of great interest to students and researchers engaged with
intellectual capital reporting and can be used as an excellent resource for the
relevant literature in this field.
Indra Abeysekera is Senior Lecturer in Accounting at the University of
Sydney.
Routledge studies in accounting
1 A Journey into Accounting Thought
By Louis Goldberg
Edited by Stewart Leech
2 Accounting, Accountants and Accountability
Postructuralist positions
Norman Belding Macintosh
3 Accounting and Emancipation
Some critical interventions
Sonja Gallhofer and Jim Haslam
4 Intellectual Capital Accounting
Practices in a developing country
Indra Abeysekera
Intellectual Capital
Accounting
Practices in a developing country
Indra Abeysekera
First published 2008
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada
by Routledge
270 Madison Ave, New York, NY 10016
This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2007.
“To purchase your own copy of this or any of Taylor & Francis or Routledge’s
collection of thousands of eBooks please go to www.eBookstore.tandf.co.uk.”
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2008 Indra Abeysekera
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or
utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now
known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in
any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing
from the publishers.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
A catalog record for this book has been requested
ISBN 0-203-93761-9 Master e-book ISBN
ISBN10: 0-415-43754-7 (hbk)
ISBN10: 0-203-93761-9 (ebk)
ISBN13: 978-0-415-43754-7 (hbk)
ISBN13: 978-0-203-93761-7 (ebk)
To the People of Sri Lanka

Contents
List of illustrations viii
Foreword ix
Preface x
Acknowledgements xi
List of abbreviations xii
1 Introduction and overview 1
2 Literature review of intellectual capital reporting
with a human capital focus 10
3 Political economy of accounting reporting theory 23
4 Forces shaping intellectual capital reporting in Sri Lanka 36
5 Research method 47
6 Hypothesis development and data interpretation 94
7 Results of hypotheses analysis and discussion 103
8 Interpretation of results 145
9 Conclusions 172
Annual reports used for reference 177
Bibliography 178
Index 197
Illustrations
Figures
5.1 Total variables analysed in the data set 60
5.2 Research methods used in the study 67
Tables
1.1 Research objectives and outcomes 6
2.1 Research objectives and outcomes 22
3.1 Research objectives and outcomes 34
4.1 Research objectives and outcomes 46
5.1 An introduction to companies in the sample 52–53
5.2 The intellectual capital coding framework used for this study 56–59
5.3 Firms interviewed by industry sector 63
5.4. Research objectives and outcomes 69
6.1 Industry group classification based on the number
of shareholders 96
6.2 ICR elements 99
6.3 Basis of interpretation of hypothesis one 101
6.4 Research objectives and outcomes 102
7.1 ICR elements between industry groups 105
7.2 IC elements managed but not reported 106
7.3 IC elements reported but not managed 106
7.4 Research objectives and outcomes 107
8.1 HumC reporting analysed by PEA theory 151–152
8.2 ExtC reporting analysed by PEA theory 159
8.3 IntC reporting analysed by PEA theory 163
8.4 Research objectives and outcomes 170
Charts
5.1 Top 30 firms percentage of market capitalisation 68
7.1 Average ICR frequency of industry groups 104
Foreword
Dr Indra Abeysekera has produced an interesting book from his studies into
intellectual accounting practices in developing countries. I highly recommend
this book as it is groundbreaking in that it provides detailed case studies and a
theoretical argument about intellectual capital management, measurement and
reporting in developing countries. This book recognises the significance of intel-
lectual capital matters and explores in depth organisations’ practices and under-
standings about its value. An excellent piece of work.
James Guthrie