Voluntary disclosure of intellectual capital information by deposit money banks in Nigeria

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the extent and quality of voluntary intellectual capital disclosure (ICD) by deposit money banks (DMBs) in Nigeria. Design/methodology/approach Data were collected from a survey of 271 informants and content analysis of the annual reports of 12 DMBs in Nigeria. The data collected were analysed using factor analysis,t-test, Friedman test for related sample and Wilcoxon signed-rank test. Findings The findings of this paper indicate that the extent of ICD is significant and higher than the quality of ICD, which is insignificant, with the extent of disclosure highest in the relational component of intellectual capital. It also shows that a significant difference exists amongst the extent of human capital, structural capital and relational capital disclosures, with the significant difference traced to the difference between the extent of disclosures of relational capital and human capital. Research limitations/implications The results can be interpreted across the target sample where the study covers a five-year period and 12 DMBs in Nigeria. However, the study provides a robust empirical basis for policymakers and regulators to develop future ICD regulatory guidelines for banks and push for improvement in the quality of ICD by DMBs. Originality/value No previous studies of voluntary ICD have considered the extent and quality of ICD by DMBs in Nigeria. Further, this study shed the light on a new human capital item related to "employee health and mental state"; therefore, it extends and supports the previous empirical literature on ICD.