Voluntary Reporting of Human Capital in the Corporate Annual Reports: A Comparative Study of Bangladesh, India, and Malaysia

The general purpose of the study is to examine the nature and extent of Human Capital Reporting (HCR) practices in the corporate annual reports in Bangladesh, India, and Malaysia. The present study uses the comprehensive content analysis framework of theme/item (HC index), form, amount, and location to measure the nature and extent of voluntary HC reporting in the annual reports of 60 leading listed companies of Bangladesh, India, and Malaysia. Results show that Malaysian companies report HC to a greater extent in their annual reports than Bangladeshi and Indian companies do, although the overall difference among the three countries is very insignificant. The highest reported item in the corporate annual reports of all three countries is ‘training and development’, whereas the least reported items are ‘separate HRA statement, and ‘educational index of employees’. The HC disclosure index formulated in this study can be used as a model by the companies of emerging economies to improve their HC reporting practices.