The Need for Inclusion of Human Resources Accounting in the Balance Sheet

Abstract

For many years, the concern of management was neither for technical values, human values nor the welfare of employees. The workers were considered little more than machines and were considered less worthy of attention because the machines were more expensive to replace hence a total neglect of human resources assets on the balance sheet of  organizations. Today, increased attention is being focused on the keeping of an up-to-date inventory of current manpower stock in terms of skill, sex etc. for effective human resources planning, control and management. Besides, human resource accounting helps the human resource  Manager/Director to place appropriate values on our physical resources so as to maximize utilization of human assets. This paper has attempted to bring the views of different researchers on the concept of human resource accounting into focus and the practicability of this concept, peruse the  objectives of human resource accounting, different valuation methods from various literature emphasizing the need to show human asset in the  balance sheet and finally sensitizing professional accountants to an  in-depth look at the balance sheet and for professional bodies to bring up Accounting Standards to back up adequate treatment of human assets in the balance sheet.