THE ROLE OF HUMAN RESOURCE ACCOUNTING IN INFLUENCING INVESTMENT DECISIONS IN NIGERIA

Abstract

This study assessed how human resource accounting is utilized by investors and their investment choices. Precisely, it investigated the role of human resource accounting in influencing decisions made by investors in Nigeria. The staff acquisition and development costs served as the proxy for human resource accounting while the investment decisions were dismantled into dimensions of earnings per share, returns on investment and dividends per share. The study adopted the ex post facto research design in gathering data from the audited financial statements of the listed industrial firms in Nigeria spanning a period from 2015 to 2024. The panel regression technique was used in analysing the generated data. From the results, it was revealed that staff and development costs had a significant and positive influence on both the earnings per share and returns on investment, whereas it showed a weak and negative impact on dividend per share. To this end, the study suggested that mandatory disclosure of human resource accounting information in financial reports should be strictly enforced by regulatory bodies and firms should rigorously prioritize staff development as a sine qua non for increased rate of investments.