Management and Communication of the Companies' Knowledge; Guidelines for Intellectual Capital Statement

Abstract

This paper aims at analyzing the development of guidelines on Intellectual Capital Statement, providing a comparison of them and presenting their importance within the knowledge management process of the today's companies. We entered the Knowledge Era in which the basic economic resources are no longer financial capital, physical resources, or labor, but knowledge, called also intellectual capital (IC). Many analysts and investors demand for more information and they highlight the gap that exists between the information found in companies' annual reports and the financial information regarding intangible part of the company requested by the market. Knowledge of the company should be measured and the effects should be communicated, as measurement without any further action has no sense. Intellectual capital statement seems an appropriate tool for that and becomes an integral part of the knowledge management of the modern enterprise. This kind of statement emphasizes the role of IC in relation to the value creation and communicates how knowledge resources are managed in the firms within a strategic objectives. This paper compares different approaches to IC statement preparation: underlines similarities and differences concerning the scope, methodology and terminology used and ensuing consequences. It raises significant implications for managers of the companies, researches and policy makers