Intellectual Capital Disclosure in Canadian Corporations

Abstract

There has been increased attention and focus on the importance of intellectual capital disclosure. Several Scandinavian companies have ventured forward by publishing intellectual capital statements. However, despite the global appeal and changing beliefs surrounding the value of intellectual capital, it continues to be excluded from Canadian corporate annual reports. This paper outlines a study in which content analysis was conducted on the annual reports of 10,000 Canadian corporations. A list of intellectual capital related terms was searched within the annual reports yielding a significantly small number of instances in which intellectual capital disclosure took place. A major recommendation for corporations who are concerned with their relationship with the capital markets is to develop strategic and tactical initiatives that provide for voluntary disclosure of intellectual capital. These initiatives may initially be used for internal management purposes only, however, an external stakeholder‐focus report will more than likely should be the ultimate goal.