세무와회계저널 | A Study on the Historical Development of Human Resource Accounting and…

The purpose of this paper is to provide a history of HRA and suggestions for future direction in Korea. We adopt Flamholtz et al.'s classification of periods；however, they describe papers only in chronological order for each period. Thus, we try to reclassify research papers and we also complement research papers after 2002 and add evaluations for contributions of authors per each period. The first stage is the period when basic HRA concepts were derived. Hermanson suggested a model to measure human resource value in external financial reports. Research during the second stage was characterized by a period of basic academic research to develop and assess the validity of models. The term "Human Resource Accounting" was used for the first time. The third stage was characterized as a period of rapid growth of interest in human resource accounting. The American Accounting Association published reports on the development of HRA. Research during this period is expanded focusing on three areas. The fourth stage was characterized by a decreased interest in HRA. The final stage is characterized by the increasing interest for HRA among researchers internationally and the beginning of new approach to HRA. Recently, a human resource liability approach in the measurement model was proposed and HRA is examined in the context of as one of intellectual capital disclosures and balanced scorecard There has been little HRA research activities in Korea and very little HRA application cases from Korean firms. It would be highly appropriate for researchers and firms in Korea to cooperate for developing HRA disclosure cases associated with external reporting and internal decision making. Voluntary disclosure efforts of firms are also necessary to increase the understanding level of HRA. And, interdisciplinary efforts including accounting, human resources management, and finance are necessary to derive disclosure rules of HRA.