Thesis (MBA)--Stellenbosch University, 2004. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: As the world's economic landscape undergoes a fundamental shift from industrial economy in which plant and equipment are the core assets, to the 'new' economy which places a high premium on people and intangible assets traditional accounting systems are becoming less effective. Intellectual Capital has become the indispensable component of corporate value. The significant rise in the market-to-book ratio of listed companies is testimonial of this fact. By focusing on physical and cash assets, and remaining oblivious to Intellectual Capital, conventional accounting methods are missing a very crucial point. The exclusion of Intellectual Capital from financial performance reports results in information deficiency for both internal and external stakeholders of organizations. Measurement and reporting of Intellectual Capital has thus become imperative. However, it is the Human Capital component (of Intellectual Capital) that should be the prime concern of business leaders and other stakeholders. People are the true agents in business; all the other assets, whether tangible or intangible, are the result of human actions and ultimately depend on people for their continued existence. Measurement and reporting of Human Capital is therefore of the essence. Measurement of Human Capital is not simple and straightforward. Development of methodologies for valuation of Human Capital is a daunting challenge. In spite of its difficulty, measurement of Human Capital has to be vigorously pursued; the stakes are just too high for the challenge to be shunned. This study proposes a system for valuation of Human Capital. "Valuation" may conjure expectations of financial measurement; however, despite concerted efforts by the accounting profession, currency-based valuation of people has received very little, if any, appreciation in industry. The model put forward here, is a non-monetary Human Capital Index. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Met die fundamentele verskuiwing van die ekonomiese landskap van die wêreld, vanaf 'n industriële ekonomie met produksie-aanlegte en toerusting as primêre bates, tot die nuwe ekonomie wat 'n hoë premie op mense en ontasbare bates plaas, het konvensionele rekeningkundige stelsels toenemend ondoeltreffend geraak. Intellektuele kapitaal het 'n onontbeerlike onderdeel van korporatiewe waarde geword. Die betekenisvolle premie wat die markwaarde bo die batewaarde van genoteerde maatskappye geniet, lewer bewys van hierdie tendens. Deur te fokus op fisiese en monetêre bates, en nie intellektuele bates in ag te neem nie , verontagsaam konvensionele rekeningkundige stelsels 'n kern beginsel. Die uitsluiting van intellektuele kapitaal as deel van prestasie verslagdoening lei tot 'n gebrekkige inligtingsbasis vir beide interne en eksterne belangegroepe van die organisasie. Meting van, en verslagdoening oor intellektuele kapitaal, het dus 'n noodsaaklikheid geword. Dit is egter die menslike hulpbron komponent van intellektuele kapitaal wat die primêre oorweging by sakeleiers en ander belanghebbendes behoort te wees. Mense is die werklike rolspelers in organisasies. AI die ander bates, tasbaar of ontasbaar, is die gevolg van menslike aktiwiteit, en hang uiteindelik van mense af vir hul voortgesette bestaan. Daarom is dit van die uiterste belang dat daar 'n proses is wat menslike bates evalueer en verslag doen. Die meting van menslike kapitaal is nie eenvoudig en voor die hand liggend nie. Die ontwikkeling van metodes om menslike kapitaal te assesseer is 'n besondere uitdaging. Ten spyte van die probleme moet die assessering van menslike kapitaal daadwerklik nagestreef word; hierdie saak is te belangrik om te ontwyk. Hierdie studie stel 'n model voor om waardebepaling van menslike kapitaal te doen. So 'n waardebepaling mag verwagtinge van 'n finansiële metingsbasis skep; tog, ten spyte van doelgerigte pogings deur die rekeningkundige professie, het 'n monetêre waardebepaling van mense weinig, indien enige, aanvaarding in die sakewêreld ontvang. Die model wat hier voorgestel word, is 'n nie-monetêre menslike kapitaal indeks.

With the current strain on the world's material resources and the increase in their cost, a constant pressure is building to increase the productivity of human resources. Adding, to the strain is the increasing demand of society for a higher quality of life through more meaningful work. Responding to both of these pressures requires decisions that simultaneously meet the goals of organizations and the needs and values of employees. To make the kind of decisions demanded by this dual priority of human effectiveness and improved quality of life, information is needed to: 1. Improve understanding of the nature and scope of human resource expenditures; 2. Improve selection, retention, and motivation of employees; 3. Allocate money spent on human resources; 4. Overhaul the approach to communication among managers, between managers and other employees, and between the organization as a whole and outside parties; 5. Expand the scope of internal and external reports to deal with social as well as financial accomplishments. The ultimate objective of this research is to develop a human resource model and a heuristic for developing empirical support which can be useful to businessmen seeking to increase human effectiveness and improve the quality of life. The model merges several previously unrelated theories dealing with human resources and in the process contributes some new concepts.

The purpose of this study was to analyse personnel expenditure of the Directorate Veterinary Service in the North West Province and how it impacted on service delivery. Literature on personnel expenditure and its influence on service delivery, particularly in the field of Veterinary Services is still in its infancy. Financial condition was referred as a tool to evaluate trends and patterns in how personnel budgets increases over a period of time as a fraction of the total budget affected the ability of the directorate to deliver services to the citizens of the province. Financial condition uses a percentage change to analyse changes in the budget over time for the Directorate. Budget reports (2000-2002) collected from the Provincial Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Environment was analyzed in terms of a split between personnel and operational. This analysis was then used to elucidate patterns over time for the Directorate as a whole, which were then compared between the regions (using cost centers) to determine any bias in terms of resource allocation. The percentage change was also done per standard budget item used in the Province. From the study it is evident that there was deterioration in financial condition for the financial year 200112001. This deterioration in financial condition is shown by a drop in budget but also in terms of a bias towards personnel. This phenomenon was however reversed in the following year of 2002/2003. This study has identified a negative correlation between personnel budget and other expenditure,:, needs for the Directorate Veterinary Services that had negative consequences for service delivery. To this extent it recommends a regular monitoring process to be put in place and the use of public partnerships where practical as a solution to rising personnel costs.

The purpose of this study was to analyse personnel expenditure of the Directorate Veterinary Service in the North West Province and how it impacted on service delivery. Literature on personnel expenditure and its influence on service delivery, particularly in the field of Veterinary Services is still in its infancy. Financial condition was referred as a tool to evaluate trends and patterns in how personnel budgets increases over a period of time as a fraction of the total budget affected the ability of the directorate to deliver services to the citizens of the province. Financial condition uses a percentage change to analyse changes in the budget over time for the Directorate. Budget reports (2000-2002) collected from the Provincial Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Environment was analysed in terms of a split between personnel and operational. This analysis was then used to elucidate patterns over time for the Directorate as a whole, which were then compared between the regions (using cost centers) to determine any bias in terms of resource allocation. The percentage change was also done per standard budget item used in the Province. From the study it is evident that there was deterioration in financial condition for the financial year 200112001. This deterioration in financial condition is shown by a drop in budget but also in terms of a bias towards personnel. This phenomenon was however reversed in the following year of 2002/2003. This study has identified a negative correlation between personnel budget and other expenditure needs for the Directorate Veterinary Services that had negative consequences for service delivery. To this extent it recommends a regular monitoring process to be put in place and the use of public partnerships where practical as a solution to rising personnel costs. / (M.B.A.) North-West University, Mafikeng Campus, 2004

Knowledge workers are an important resource for the typical modern business firm, yet financial reporting ignores such resources. Some researchers contend that the accounting profession has stressed reliability in order to make the accounting appear objective. Others concur, noting that accounting is an insecure profession and adopts strict rules when faced with uncertainty. Accountants have promulgated a strict rule to expense human resource costs, although many know that such resources have future benefits. Some researchers suggest that any discipline must modify its language in order to initiate change toward providing useful social ameliorations. If accounting theorists extend this idea to the accounting lexicon.s description of investments in human resources, investors and other accounting user groups might gain greater insight into how a firm fosters and nourishes human capital. I tested three hypotheses related to this issue by administering an experiment designed to assess financial analysts. perceptions about alternative financial statement treatments of human resources in an investment recommendation task. I predicted that (1) analysts' perceptions of the reliability (relevance) of the information they received would decrease (increase) as the treatment of human resources increasingly violated GAAP (became more current-oriented), (2) analysts exposed to alternative accounting treatments would report a lower likelihood of recommending that their clients invest in the company in the task, and (3) financial analysts who ranked reliability (relevance) as a more important information quality would be less (more) likely to recommend that their clients buy the stock represented in the case because the treatment of human resources on the financial statements violated GAAP (was more current-oriented) as compared to analysts who ranked reliability (relevance) as being lower (higher) in importance. Analysts receiving financial statements with accounting treatments of human resource costs that violated GAAP judged such information as less reliable and were also less likely to recommend that their clients buy the stock in the task than analysts receiving financial statements that conformed to GAAP. Also, analysts who perceived reliability as a more important information quality reacted more negatively to a replacement cost approach to accounting for human resources than participants who perceived reliability as being less important. A potential confounding explanation of the results is the varied language used in the audit opinions included with the treatment financial statements. Whether explained by the audit opinion language or the actual differences contained in the financial statements, the results suggest that an important user group, financial analysts, may be subject to the aura of objectivity suggested by Porter in 1995.

Text in Afrikaans / The purpose of the research is to compare the quantity and quality of reporting on the employees of companies with the profitability and size of the top 100 companies over a four year period. The research is limited to the availability of quality information on employees in the financial statements of companies. A literature study is followed by an emperical inquiry into a comparison of the reporting on employees with the profitability and size of companies. The results reflect the following: * the quantity and quality of reporting on the employees of companies does not inevitably show an increase; * a significant relationship exist between the size and profitability of companies; * the role of reporting on the employees of companies is significant with regards to profit determination; and * some of the companies performed uniquely with regards to the quantity and quality of reporting on the employees of companies. / Accounting / M.Comm.(Accounting)

Text in Afrikaans / The purpose of the research is to compare the quantity and quality of reporting on the employees of companies with the profitability and size of the top 100 companies over a four year period. The research is limited to the availability of quality information on employees in the financial statements of companies. A literature study is followed by an emperical inquiry into a comparison of the reporting on employees with the profitability and size of companies. The results reflect the following: * the quantity and quality of reporting on the employees of companies does not inevitably show an increase; * a significant relationship exist between the size and profitability of companies; * the role of reporting on the employees of companies is significant with regards to profit determination; and * some of the companies performed uniquely with regards to the quantity and quality of reporting on the employees of companies. / Accounting / M.Comm.(Accounting)