Personnel Today has presented your feedback to the government calling for meaningful HR data to be included in company reports.
Acting deputy editor, Martin Couzins, presented a petition of more than 400 names to the Department of Trade and Industry last week, demanding a change in the proposed Operating and Financial Review (OFR) regulations, which all but ignore employee information.
The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) lent its weight to our campaign and submitted its response to the Accounting Standards Board (ASB) consultation. It warned of the danger of missing the opportunity to improve UK productivity and competitiveness and to enhance the quality of information for investors.
Angela Baron, CIPD organisation and resourcing adviser, said in a modern, knowledge-based economy, people are often the most valuable and important form of capital an organisation needs if improved long-term performance is to be delivered.
“The ASB has failed to reflect the secretary of state’s [Patricia Hewitt] intention to embed in law the concept of enlightened shareholder value,” she said.
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“If companies are not required to report on human capital, investors will lack one of the most important sources of information to guide their decisions, and the country as a whole will lose out.”
She added: “These standards will do little to encourage businesses to develop their understanding of the most valuable, flexible, and, in many cases, largest pool of capital available to them.”
