ABSTRACT

The world economy and the organizations that comprise it have witnessed significant transformation. The old economy was manufacturing-based and heavily relied on tangible assets as determinants of value, while the present-day economy is knowledge and information driven. This shift induced significant investments in humans and triggered off enquiries for the development of accounting tools for measuring and reporting Human Resource Costs as Assets. The purpose of this study is to assess the utility of capitalization as a new procedure for accounting for human resource costs and to evaluate the effect which such treatment could have on the profitability of firms, value of firms and investment decision. Survey data were obtained from 125 respondents to researcher designed instrument. Panel data on Profit Before Tax (PBT) and Net worth of Intercontinental Bank Pc were also extracted for the period 2004 to 2008, and their Human Resource Costs for the same period capitalized in line with the methodology adopted Otter (2007). Data were analyzed using Descriptive, Correlation, Regression, Chi-Square, and Paired Sample T-test. Our results reveal that accounting for Human Resource Costs as human asset provides future benefits and suggests that such treatment has relevance in decision-making. Despite identified ideological and practical challenges to Human Resources Accounting, the work canvasses for the adoption of Human Resources Accounting by entities in Nigeria, and recommends policy actions to be taken by supervisory and regulatory bodies in accountancy profession and stakeholders of corporate entities in Nigeria to improve the reliability and information content of financial statements in line with changes in our operating environment.