Users' Perception of Human Resource Disclosures - A Comparison of Annual Report Users of Two Corporations

Abstract

This paper is concerned with users’ perception of human resources disclosure in corporate annual reports. The disclosure of intangibles and human resource disclosure in particular, are often described and thought of as problematic due to the researchers’ limited understanding of such information. The debate about the insufficient understanding and the resulting information gap is taken by this study as a starting point. In the centre of attention is to analyse and compare users' perception of voluntarily disclosed information on human resources that is made available in corporate annual reports. Thus, it is aimed to establish a picture about users’ perception of human resource disclosures in annual reporting practice. Until now, there is no study available offering a multifaceted illustration on human resource disclosure. Consequently, the primary purpose of this research is to describe users’ perception of voluntary information on human resources in corporate annual reports. Therefore, the results from this study will contribute to a better understanding of users’ perception of voluntarily disclosed human resources information. Accordingly, this study will contribute to the knowledge about corporate voluntary disclosure practices that may assist to reduce possible deficiencies between providers and users of voluntary human resources disclosures as well as between companies.