Using Intellectual Capital Disclosure As a Framework for Nonfinancial Disclosures: The Danish Experience (Report‪)‬

INTRODUCTION It is widely accepted that the financial reporting model as it currently exists is seriously flawed. The Jenkins Committee (AICPA, 1994) recommended that financial reporting in the US move toward a model of business reporting that includes financial and nonfinancial information, management's analysis of this data, and forward looking information. Among the suggestions are product quality, cycle time, innovation and employee satisfaction (page 143). Research has demonstrated that intangible value drivers have an effect on financial outcomes at both the firm and market level (see Ittner and Larcker, 1998; Ashton, 2005 for a review of this literature). The Financial Accounting Standards Board documented voluntary disclosures companies were currently making (FASB, 2001). Included in these disclosures was information about intangibles that are not currently recognized by traditional financial statements. Finally, Eccles, Herz, Phillips and Keegan (2001) documented a large reporting gap between what non-financial measures are desired by managers, analysts, and investors, and what is provided. Included in these non-financial measures are intellectual capital measures.