The study uses content analysis to explore the relationship between board features, audit committee and ownership structures on intellectual capital (IC) disclosure whilst controlling for firm specific characteristics such as firm-size, profitability, leverage and type of auditor. This study also attempts to provide empirical evidence on the influence of corporate governance on voluntary IC information in a developing nation drawing from both the agency and institutional theories. It was found that ownership structure

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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.

Purpose -Though intellectual capital (IC) has received much attention for more than a decade, there is a lack of consensus on its components and definition. IC is a multi-disciplinary concept and the understanding of it varies across different business-related disciplines. This paper seeks to propose a grouping of IC items based on empirical evidence in the form of managers' responses to questions about the availability of information about IC inside their companies. Design/methodology/approach -A postal questionnaire was implemented across 520 companies listed on the main board of Bursa Malaysia. The empirical grouping of IC derived by factor analysis is compared with a priori groupings constructed from the IC literature. Findings -It is found that the conventional three a priori categories -namely human capital, customer capital and structural capital -expand into eight facets. Nevertheless, there is remarkable consistency between literature-based expectations and empirical groupings.Research limitations/implications -The paper takes a broad scope perspective and in this rapidly evolving field, is based on information in place in 2005. In addition, the usual limitations of postal questionnaire surveys apply. Extension of this research approach to other cultures may reveal a different set of groupings and such research is encouraged. Practical implications -Managers and designers of information systems may use the findings as a benchmark against which to evaluate their own systems or proposals. More significantly, the eight-factor model facilitates conceptualisation, measurement and management of IC and the preparation of IC reports. Originality/value -This evidence-based confirmation of the broad three-category model, together with the empirical identification of more detailed facets, makes a contribution to the as yet largely normative literature on the classification of the components of intellectual capital.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore several contingency variables, namely environmental uncertainty, business strategy, technological advancement, market to book ratio, size, profitability and industry type in the context of management accounting and the availability of internal intellectual capital (IC) information.Design/methodology/approachA questionnaire was developed and posted to the managers of Malaysian companies. A multiple regression statistical technique was employed to analyse the data.FindingsIt is found that business strategy and technological advancement of customer service relate positively to the availability of internal IC information in Malaysian companies.Research limitations/implicationsThe relatively small response of usable replies to the questionnaire survey is a limitation of this paper. The finding implies that companies with more internal IC information are more likely to be those of product differentiators and those who have undergone technological advancement of customer service. Malaysian companies tend to have a strong customer orientation and place great emphasis on managing customer capital (CC). Future research can investigate the types of IC information used by Malaysian managers to manage their CC.Originality/valueThis paper contributes to the literature as it examines the relationship between context and IC within a contingency theory framework. Unlike other research which relates to external IC disclosures with firm‐specific variables, this research links contingency factors to internal IC information from related fields (management accounting and external IC reporting).