Nature of Human Resource Disclosure Practices by Companies Listed in Indian Stock Exchanges

Abstract

This study attempts to examine and analyse the nature of human resource (HR) disclosure practices in corporate annual reports in India. The study is based on annual reports of 50 companies selected from the top 500 listed companies on Stock Exchanges of India. Using a HR disclosure index of 76 HR information items, the study has revealed that human resource information reported by the sample companies is mostly non-financial and descriptive in nature. Most of the information items are found to be in narrative form. In some cases, pictorial method has been used to present human resource information. The location of disclosure in the annual reports differs from company to company. The study reveals that many important HR information items such as employee turnover rate, information about hazards, accidents and injuries, etc. have not been reported by a large number of companies. More than 50% of sample companies have not disclosed majority information items contained in our disclosure checklist. Findings of the study suggest that scope exists for improvement in corporate disclosure of HR information in India, in terms of quantity and quality both.