The Transparency In The Reporting Of Intellectual Capital: Between The Management Responsibility And The Stakeholders' Requirements

The increasingly ample orientation of the companies towards the intellectual capital is based on the rediscovery of this resource with (almost) unlimited potential, generating economic benefits for a company. Given its importance, the information needs of stakeholders on this line have increased. Thus, in this context, it was put the issue of reporting information related to intellectual capital and the transparency of information published by companies, given that its reporting is not currently regulated. The objective of this paper is to establish an answer to a question: Up to what limit should be made public information related to this capital, given that stakeholders want as much information, and managers only publish information that favors the company\'s image? In addressing this issue, the point of departure is the intellectual capital structure, most commonly found in the literature, namely human capital, structural capital and relational capital. With this structure, the paper establishes, as a first step, a series of relevant indicators relating to the three components from three different perspectives: resources, management achievements and future expectations. At first observation, the indicators are divided into two categories: financial and non-financial, the first ones targeting the company\'s performance in relation to the components of intellectual capital, and the latter ones having a pronounced social touch. Based on these indicators, the paper analyses whether a company is willing to publish information, particularly those with social influence, especially in the current conditions of intensely requested social responsibility. In addition to documentary research, we also consider the most important findings based on existing reporting arrangements of the companies, especially from the reports published by them, depending on different criteria, such as social engagement, financial and accounting criteria etc. Given the lack of clear regulations in this respect, it is up to the companies the amount of information publicly provided about this topic, although the benefits of social responsibility have an important impact on the intellectual capital and its components. In this context, accounting helps stakeholders by proposing a valuation model of intellectual capital, based on accounting figures. This financial assessment of intellectual capital, although very useful, is limited and not sufficient in reflecting the image of a company in public reports. This paper aims to present intellectual capital reporting valences, its two sides, financial (which includes the performance of the intellectual capital) and non-financial, including scoring the issues that underline the importance of such reports, from the perspective of the stakeholders and the accountability of the managers in relation to them.