This study reports the results of an empirical examination of Australian annual reporting of intellectual capital. The findings suggest that the development of a model for reporting intangibles is piecemeal and not widely spread. The outcomes of our exploratory investigation are threefold. First, the key components of intellectual capital are poorly understood, inadequately identified, inefficiently managed, and not reported within a consistent framework when reported at all. Second, the main areas of intellectual capital reporting focus on human resources; technology and intellectual property rights; and organisational and workplace structure. Third, even in an Australian enterprise thought of as``best practice'' in this regard, a comprehensive management framework for intellectual capital is yet to be developed, especially for collecting and reporting intellectual capital formation. In conclusion, Australian companies do not compare favourably with several European firms in their ability to measure and report their intellectual capital in the annual report.

Increasingly, researchers in the field of intellectual capital (IC) need to be able to justify the specific research methods they use to collect the empirical data that they examine to support and test opinions regarding the merit of different approaches to managing and reporting IC. Of the various methods available to researchers seeking to understand intellectual capital reporting (ICR), content analysis is the most popular. The aim of this paper is to review the use of content analysis as a research method in understanding ICR and to offer some observations on the practical utility of the method. Further, the paper examines several research method issues relating to the use of content analysis that have been discussed in the social environmental accounting literature, but not as yet in the IC literature, which we believe are relevant to investigations underway in the field of ICR. This paper reports on several developmental issues we have confronted when using content analysis to examine the voluntary disclosure of IC in annual reports by various organisations. The paper also suggests two theoretical foundations for further investigation into the voluntary disclosure of IC by organisations, and suggests why content analysis is well matched to both these theories as a means to collect empirical data to test research propositions.

No abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present a method for a structured literature review (SLR).\ud An SLR is a method for examining a corpus of scholarly literature, to develop insights, critical\ud reflections, future research paths and research questions. SLRs are common in scientific disciplines\ud dominated by quantitative approaches, but they can be adapted in accounting studies since\ud quantitative and qualitative approaches are commonly accepted.\ud Design/methodology/approach – A literature review, as a piece of academic writing, must have a\ud logical, planned structure. The authors also argue it requires tests based on qualitative and\ud quantitative methods. Therefore, the authors describe ten steps for developing an SLR.\ud Findings – The SLR method is a way that scholars can stand “on the shoulders of giants” and\ud provide insightful and impactful research that is different to the traditional authorship approaches to\ud literature reviews.\ud Research limitations/implications – Traditional literature reviews can have varied results\ud because of a lack of rigour. SLRs use a process that, through a set of rules, potentially offers less bias\ud and more transparency of the execution and measures and techniques of validation and reliability.\ud Practical implications – SLRs provide an approach that can help academics to discover underinvestigated\ud topics and methods, nurturing, therefore, the development of new knowledge areas and\ud research approaches.\ud Originality/value – The paper presents accounting researchers with an opportunity to develop\ud insightful and publishable studies, and also serves as a basis for developing future research agendas in\ud the accounting field. The authors advocate the SLR method especially to higher degree research\ud students and emerging scholars as a way of potentially developing robust and defensible research\ud agendas and questions.\ud Keywords Citation analysis, Validity, Reliability, Structured literature review, Critique,\ud Traditional authorship literature revie

This paper reviews the field of integrated reporting () to develop insights into how research is developing, offer a critique of the research to date, and outline future research opportunities. We find that most published research presents normative arguments for and there is little research examining practice. Thus, we call for more research that critiques ’s rhetoric and practice. To frame future research we refer to parallels from intellectual capital research that identifies four distinct research stages to outline how research might emerge. Thus, this paper offers an insightful critique into an emerging accounting practice

This study examines the annual reports of each of the top 30 firms listed on the Colombo Stock Exchange in the period 1998/1999 to 1999/2000, using the 'content analysis' method. The findings indicate that the most reported accounting category during this period was external capital and the second most reported was human capital. There was an increase in the frequency of intellectual capital reporting over the 2 years, which this paper explains using political economy of accounting theory. Interestingly, the individual intellectual capital items of each capital category reported by firms in Sri Lanka differed from those found in other countries. It is hoped that the findings of this pioneering study can be used as a benchmark for future studies in Sri Lanka and in other developing countries. AbstractThis study examines the annual reports of each of the top 30 firms listed on the Colombo Stock Exchange in the period 1998/1999 to 1999/2000, using the 'content analysis' method. The findings indicate that the most reported accounting category during this period was external capital and the second most reported was human capital. There was an increase in the frequency of intellectual capital reporting over the 2 years, which this paper explains using political economy of accounting theory. Interestingly, the individual intellectual capital items of each capital category reported by firms in Sri Lanka differed from those found in other countries. It is hoped that the findings of this pioneering study can be used as a benchmark for future studies in Sri Lanka and in other developing countries.

Purpose This paper aims to explore the linkages between integrated reporting (IR) and organisations’ internal processes, specifically focusing on investigating the internal mechanisms of change that can lead organisations to adopt IR disclosure and how this impacts on integrated thinking internally. Design/methodology/approach The paper draws upon previous analysis and insights provided in the IR academic literature, as well as analysing several directives, policy and framework pronouncements. The study also draws on the management accounting change literature, using it as a lens to observe early adopters’ practice. In addition, it provides detailed case studies considering the internal processes of change in five early adopters of the integrated reporting framework (<IRF>) and whether the adoption leads to internal “integrated thinking”. Five Italian public sector organisations are analysed, and the authors make use of official documents, press releases and in-depth semi-structured interviews with the major internal actors. Findings The research highlights that the processes of change in organisations adopting IR is their adoption of a way of thinking, that is, integrated thinking, as a result of the process of internalisation. Research limitations/implications Given the short history of IR, this sample is small due to the small number of early adopters. Originality/value The paper provides academics and policymakers with insights into the process of change to be considered while adopting the <IRF> and responds to calls in the IR literature for further field-based studies on IR’s impact on internal processes. Also, the paper highlights that the European Directive on the disclosure of non-financial and diversity information (2014/95/EU) has the potential to increase environmental, social and governance disclosures amongst European companies.

No abstract