HUMAN RESOURCE ACCOUNTING IN INDIA: EMERGING TRENDS, CHALLENGES, AND FUTURE DIRECTIONS
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.55955/Keywords:
Human Resource Accounting, Ind-AS, Intangible Assets, Human Capital Efficiency, BRSR, HR Valuation ModelsAbstract
The transition of the Indian economy from an agrarian-industrial hybrid to a knowledge-intensive service economy has fundamentally altered the determinants of corporate valuation. Yet, conventional financial reporting frameworks continue to treat human capital expenditures as period costs rather than long-term investments. Human Resource Accounting (HRA), which seeks to quantify the economic value of employees, remains a voluntary and non-standardized practice in India. This paper conducts a longitudinal analysis of HRA practices among Indian corporations, evaluates the impact of digital transformation and regulatory shifts on human capital measurement, identifies persistent structural and epistemological barriers, and proposes an integrated reporting framework for the future. The study argues that while traditional capitalization models have failed to gain accounting legitimacy, the convergence of HR analytics, ESG mandates, and artificial intelligence offers a new paradigm for non-financial human capital disclosure.
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