Human resources information in the Management Report of the top Spanish companies

Abstract

Since 2005 in Spain it has been mandatory to include information about human resources in the Management Reports, provided it is relevant to understanding business evolution. We study the human resources (HR) disclosure practices of the companies listed on the IBEX-35 for the period 2005-2009, using a structured content analysis which takes as a reference the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) harmonization project. The overall result of this analysis is the poor quality of the information disclosed by the firms, in terms of relevance and comparability. In order to improve disclosure practices, both the Spanish authorities and those of other countries should recommend, if not require, the implementation of the Practice Statement – Management Commentary issued by the IASB in 2010, as well as the establishment of appropriate enforcement mechanisms.