Chapter 1 Introduction and overview

• Date: 31 December 2010
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/S1479-3512(2011)0000021009
• Published date: 31 December 2010
• Pages: 11-15
• Author: Indra Abeysekera

CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION AND OVERVIEW

1.1. INTRODUCTION

This chapter introduces intellectual capital and intellectual capital disclosure

and provides an overview of the subsequent chapters of the study. Section 1.2

outlines the relevance of intellectual capital in the presentcontext. Section 1.3

explains the motivation for undertaking a study investigating revenue

growth reputation and intellectual capital. Section 1.4 explains the aims

and objectives of this study. The last section provides an introduction to and

overview of the following chapters.

1.2. INTELLECTUAL CAPITAL

The accounting profession has moved from its previously normative stance

to a more ref‌lexive and creative one in order to ref‌lect upon the drive of

f‌irms towards competitive advantage. This seems an appropriate direction,

as accounting for intellectual capital practices is not only an accounting

issue but a vital one as well. Development in this direction of accounting

information increases management’s appreciation of the economic value

of f‌irms in setting performance indicators, although such performance

indicators relating to intellectual capital practices bear little resemblance

to conventional accounting numbers (Roslender, 1997;Roslender &

Dyson, 1992).

We can conceptualise intellectual capital held by a f‌irm as a form of

‘unaccounted capital’ in the contemporary accounting system. Unaccounted

capital represents the knowledge-based equity supporting the knowledge-

based assets of a f‌irm. The traditional accounting system essentially looks at

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