The Case for Human Resource Accounting in Kenya
Abstract
This study investigates whether providing human
resource. accounting information together with conventional
accounting information would change investment
decision It also investigates whether certain
selected background variables and belief statements
would explain investment decision when BRA
information is provided
To answer the questions raised, Companies were
sampled and data obtained from them so as to value
human resources of each of the Companies
asset statements were t.hen prepared by adjusting
the conventional ones provided., Out of these, two
Companies were selected and their financial statements
were given to 54 third year Bachelor of Commerce
students doing finance course. They were also given
. two other hypotneticaI Company financial statements ~
The students were to make investment decisions first
with coventional financial statements and later
with human asset statements. Comparison of t.be two
decisions was used to measure whether there was a
significant'change in the investment decision or not
Results revealed that BRA information caused a
significant change in investment decision when given
together with conventional accounting information
Though real Company data users tended to give different
results, it would be argued that the position arose
due to problems and limitations that were inherent
in the real Company financial statements. Results
also 'showed that none of the six variables investigated
had any association with investment decision when
human resource information is provided to the respondents
The variables investigated included age, number of
accounting courses done, length of working experience,
number of articles on human resources read, type of subject
preferred and second year GoP.Ae The overall conclusion was
that it was human resource accounting information itself
which caused differences in investment decisions. These
favourable results, therefore, obtained from a
laboratory experiment justify further research in the
area to afford generalisations to real financial decision
makers
Citation
Master of Business AdministrationPublisher
University of Nairobi School of Business, University of Nairobi