Intellectual Capital Disclosures in India

Abstract

This study examines the annual reports of the top 20 information technology companies listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange with a view to evaluate the prevailing practices of recording and reporting of intellectual capital. The content analysis of the annual reports makes it amply clear that intellectual capital recording by the Indian IT companies is very low and that intellectual capital reporting has not got any preference or priority for the mentors of Indian corporations. The average number of items reported by the companies is deplorably low and only a small percentage of the total firms studied have actually reported intellectual capital in their annual reports. The reporting of intellectual capital is not consistent and the study also finds that a range of different types of reporting formats have been used for communicating intellectual capital information in the annual reports. There is no established financial reporting framework for the disclosures of intellectual capital and there are no guidelines on the reporting of intellectual capital from the worldwide accounting bodies and the accounting profession.