ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the trends in IC disclosure in Australian firms. The sample used for this study is based on 574 firm-year observations of Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) 200 listed firms from year 2012 to year 2015. The study finds that IC disclosure has increased from year 2012 to year 2015. Reporting human capital appears to be more in favour, followed by external capital, while reporting internal capital seems to be less in favour compared to the other two categories. The emphasis on human capital may arise from the increasing awareness of safety issues, know-how, and employee diversity. Alliances and other forms of collaborative arrangements are important in Australian firms as Business collaborations was the most reported IC item. Although reporting internal capital seems to be less in favour compared to the other two categories, however, Network systems, Technological processes, and Information systems, under the internal capital category, have increased significantly from year 2014 to year 2015, which suggests that in recent years, Australian firms have tended to adopt the growth of the new economy to apply more efficient technology systems.
