Disclosure of Intellectual Capital in Annual Reports: An Empirical Study of the Listed Companies in Bangladesh (Published)
As the world economy is experiencing a transition from industrial to knowledge economy, intellectual capital (IC) has become a prominent feature of business transactions and discourse. Interest in IC and IC disclosure is rising in developed and developing countries. At present, Intellectual Capital Disclosure (ICD) is done voluntarily by very few leading corporations all around the world. Omission of ICD may adversely influence the quality of decisions made by users of accounting information or lead to material misstatements. Hence, rising importance of IC has necessitated insightful studies. With this background in mind, the study of 25 Bangladeshi knowledge based companies listed in Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) from Information Technology considered to be highly knowledge intensive has been undertaken in order to find out the disclosure level of recording and reporting of intellectual capital through content analysis of their corporate annual reports. It is evident from the study that level of intellectual capital reporting in the Bangladeshi companies is negligible and intellectual capital reporting has not received any preference or priority for the mentors of these corporations. On the basis the findings, the study recommends national and international accounting regulatory bodies to develop specific and uniform standard on identifying, measuring and reporting IC.
Keywords: Information Technology, Intellectual Capital, Knowledge-based Economy, Tangible Assets
Asset Management Practices as a Boon for a Successful Business: A Case of Kenya’s Businesses (Published)
Business whether large, small, formal or informal contributes largely to the country’s economy through increasing trading, provision of employment and livelihood opportunities. Kenya through major support of entrepreneurship has tried to ensure that the businesses become the source of development. Thus, there is need that these businesses are going concerns so as to fulfil this dream. However, many businesses in Kenya are being faced with the challenge of identifying and valuing their assets. The study thus endeavored to determine asset management practice in the business as a solution. Guided by competitive advantage theory by Michael Porter, the researcher purposely dwelt in the concept of asset management in Kenya’s business. Library design led to collection of secondary data in August 2015 that was qualitatively analyzed. From the findings, the study integrated the management techniques for both tangible and intangible assets. However, the study recommends more scholarly works to be done on ways to automate the asset management practices in the business and also on intangible assets. This is because these assets are as a result of rapid technological changes.
Keywords: Asset Management System, Intangible Assets, Tangible Assets