Abstract
M.Comm. (Financial Management)
The basic function of Accounting is to supply the user with useful quantitative financial
information on the economic and social activities of the enterprise, as to help them achieve their
goals in decision making. Employee activity is included in the above-mentioned activities. The
conventional accounting approach to an asset has until now prevented accounting for the Labour
Force as an asset in financial statements. This has the effect that the activity of the enterprises'
most important asset is uncontrolled and unaccounted for.
The purpose of this paper is to prove the importance of controlling and uniform accounting of
the Labour Force, with specific reference to management controls, labour relations and
productivity. Management control methods and audit procedures were investigated to grant
credibility to the employee report.
In chapter 2 the qualitative characteristics and requirements of information (financial statements)
are investigated and in chapter 3 it is concluded that the Labour Force is indeed an asset. There
is a definite need for information on the Labour Force. Regulation by means of to the manpower
function is investigated and a possible audit program is proposed. In examining the current
practice of disclosure it was found that no guideline exists and therefor no uniformity iri
disclosure. This influences the usefulness of information as disclosed. Information is of no use
if it is not comparable. To grant creditworthiness to the information an audit program and an
audit report are proposed.
Based on the usefulness of financial statements, a guideline on the disclosure of information on
the Labour Force, should be established. No asset may remain unaccounted for and in our
current political situation, education can benefit if information is disclosed regarding its
employees. However the proposed guideline should concentrate on uniformity in disclosure. To
enhance the credibility of such an employee report the enterprise may consider to subjecting it
to auditing.