ABSTRACT

This study examines causal link between human resource accounting and financial performance of listed firms in Nigeria. The study employs ex post facto research design. Data on acquisition cost, director’s remuneration, profit after tax, return on asset and return on equity were obtained from the published financial reports of 15 firms in Nigeria covering a period of 5 years (2014 to 2018). Acquisition cost (AC) and director’s remuneration (DR) represents the independent variables while profit after tax (PAT), return on asset (ROA) and return on equity (ROE) represents the dependent variables. Secondary method of data collection was used to collect the data from the annual reports of the listed firms. The multiple linear regression technique was used to analyze the data generated. Findings from the study reveal that human resource accounting have significant effect on profit after tax but are not significant on return on assets and return on equity. The study conclude that human resource costs in firms positively contribute to increase in profit after tax but not in return on assets and return on equity and recommend the employment of highly qualified workforce should be the bedrock of recruitment exercise among firms and proper training and re-training of staff should be carried out frequently to continually enhance the working capacity of staff and profitability of the organization.