First, the necessity of establishing human resource accounting in China
The wave of high-tech revolution in the world has pushed the competition of world economy from the competition of material resources to the competition of human resources, and the development, utilization and management of human resources will be the key restrictive factors of human social and economic development. In this process, a lot of human resource information is needed, which can not be separated from human resource accounting. In China, a country with a large population and relatively poor population quality, it is more necessary to carry out human resource accounting.
1 is the need of scientific and technological progress and productivity development. The rapid development of science and technology has promoted the rapid development of productive forces. With the development of the world economy to the era of knowledge economy, and with the emergence of knowledge economy in China today, whether an enterprise is competitive and has development prospects is not limited to the size of its business scale and the amount of property, but depends on whether it has rich human resources and whether it continuously invests in human resources. The higher the level of economic development, the greater the role of human resources in economic development. Talent has become the most important factor in economic resources and the real symbol and source of enterprise wealth. Therefore, it is an inevitable requirement of the times to regard human resources as the assets of enterprises and use accounting methods to confirm, measure and report them to meet the needs of enterprise managers and external stakeholders for enterprise information.
2. The need of national macro-control. With the continuous improvement of the market economic system, human resources have more economic characteristics, which requires confirmation of the cost and value of human resources. By studying and analyzing the economic benefits of human resources development, the state can grasp the present situation of human resources development and maintenance in various enterprises through human resources accounting reports, so as to take corresponding macro-control measures, promote the balance between supply and demand of human resources, determine the direction of human resources development, guide the rational flow of human resources, and optimize the allocation of human resources on a macro level.
3. It is the need for enterprises to improve efficiency. Under the market economy, whoever wins reasonable high-quality talents will be invincible in the market economy. In this case, in order to obtain better talents, enterprises have increased investment in human resources, including improving material welfare, improving interpersonal relationships, providing good working conditions and providing on-the-job training. Investment benefit is a concern of enterprise management. Accordingly, it is necessary to calculate the income and cost of human resources in accounting and investigate its economic benefit. With the continuous improvement of China's economic system and employment system, the motivation of accounting human resources will gradually increase.
4. financial accounting principles's request. In fact, only considering the accounting principles, there are many problems in the current human resources accounting treatment. On the one hand, counting human resources investment into current expenses violates the accrual principle. The investment expenditure of enterprises on human resources investment often has a return period of more than one accounting period, which belongs to capital expenditure and should be capitalized first and then amortized in installments. However, the current accounting records all these as current expenses. On the other hand, the expensization of human resources expenditure will inevitably make the profit and loss reports of each period untrue, leading to decision-making mistakes. At the same time, when the enterprise lays off a large number of employees, the unamortized human resources investment expenditure should be included in the current expenses as the loss of human resources flow, but the current accounting can not reflect this loss, which is not conducive to the correct decision-making of operators. Therefore, from the perspective of following accounting principles, it is also necessary to implement human resource accounting.
Second, the recognition and measurement of human resource accounting
(A) the confirmation of human resources accounting
When it comes to human resource accounting, we must first make clear a prerequisite, that is, whether human resources can be used as accounting assets. This point has always been the focus of debate among accounting scholars. Because this problem is the key to the existence of human resource accounting, the author thinks it is necessary to discuss it.
According to the conclusion of the Financial Accounting Standards Committee, the so-called assets must have the following three elements: (1) must be economic resources that can provide income in the future; (2) Owned or controlled by an enterprise; (3) Its value can be measured by money. Below I will analyze whether human resources can be used as assets from these three aspects.
First of all, human resources are people-oriented, and their value can be reflected through production activities. Human resources can create economic value for enterprises and provide future benefits. Some scholars believe that the future benefits provided by human resources for enterprises are difficult to be reasonably predicted and determined like fixed assets, so human resources are not assets. In my opinion, the certainty of providing future benefits is not a necessary condition for economic resources to be recognized as assets. In fact, the economic benefits brought by intangible assets cannot be accurately determined in advance, but we still regard it as an asset. Why can't we treat human resources equally?
Secondly, human resources can be measured by money. As an economic resource, human resources need to be acquired, developed and used by enterprises. Acquisition and development need corresponding costs, and use needs to form resource consumption, which can be measured by money.
Finally, human resources can also be actually controlled by enterprises. Scholars who hold opposing views believe that human resources are laborers' labor ability, and their ownership belongs to laborers, while enterprises cannot own laborers' ownership, so they cannot own and control human resources. The ownership of human resources belongs to individual workers, who are mobile. However, once a worker is employed by an enterprise as an employee, the enterprise obtains the right to use the labor ability resources during the employment period, and the enterprise does not need to own the individual ownership of the worker. Therefore, human resources can be owned and controlled by enterprises.
To sum up, the enterprise's investment in human resources, which is the carrier of human resources, is an investment that can be measured by money, the power to obtain the expected return, and the power that the enterprise can control and use, so it can be defined as an asset.
(B) the measurement of human resources accounting
Capitalization of human resources involves the value evaluation of human assets. There are two main views on the value evaluation of human assets: the first view is that human assets should be accounted for according to all the actual human resources investment expenditures in the process of acquisition, maintenance and development of human resources, because these expenditures are real, so accounting is more objective and convenient, which is called cost method; Another method holds that human assets should be accounted for according to their actual value, not according to their expenditures, because the expenditures in the process of acquiring, maintaining and developing human resources are often inconsistent with the actual value of human assets, and human assets should be accounted for according to their actual values. This method is called value method. After years of development, the above two viewpoints have become two branches of human resource accounting-human resource cost accounting and human resource value accounting. The following two branches are introduced respectively.
1, human resource cost accounting
The characteristic of human resource cost accounting is that by measuring the recruitment, selection, placement and training costs of human resources respectively, the costs related to the acquisition and development of human resources are capitalized to form human assets, which are then converted into expenses according to the benefit period. There are three main methods to measure the cost of human resources, which are introduced below.
(1) historical cost method
This method is based on the actual cost of human resources acquisition, development, resettlement and demobilization, and capitalized. The historical cost method is simple, accurate, objective and verifiable. However, the actual economic value of human resources is far from the historical cost. The appreciation or amortization of human resources is not directly related to the actual production capacity of human resources, and employees with the same production capacity may share different historical costs such as recruitment and training, thus weakening the comparability and authenticity of human resources valuation to some extent. This method is suitable for general enterprises.
(2) replacement cost method
This method is a pricing method to measure the cost of replacing the personnel currently in use under the current price conditions. It includes two parts: first, the current cost caused by the departure of existing employees; The other is the cost of acquiring and developing its substitutes. The information provided by this method is more relevant in decision-making, but the criteria for determining what the same human resources are and how much the replacement cost is are too subjective, which limits its application scope.
(3) opportunity cost method
This method is a valuation method based on the economic losses suffered by enterprises due to employee turnover. This pricing method is close to the actual economic value of human resources, but it is far from the traditional accounting model, resulting in a large amount of accounting work. It is suitable for law firms, accounting firms and other enterprises with high staff quality, high mobility and easy access to opportunity cost.
2. Value accounting of human resources
Human resource value accounting mainly takes output value rather than input value as the measurement basis of human resource value. This makes it impossible to measure the value of human resources absolutely accurately, but only through calculation. At present, the commonly used measurement methods are economic value method, goodwill evaluation method, wage discount method, auction price method and so on. But no matter which method, it is either subjective judgment and estimation, or obscure, time-consuming and laborious. For example, the future salary discount method is used to determine the value of human resources. Salary is only the compensation value of human resources, which is not equal to the value of human resources in quantity. The ratio of expected salary expenditure to efficiency is completely subjective. In addition, the value of human resources is also influenced by many factors, such as the quality of working conditions and the attitude of employees. Therefore, in addition to monetary measurement, a large number of non-monetary measurement methods are needed to measure more accurately.
The basic contents of human resource cost accounting and human resource value accounting are introduced above, so what is their corresponding relationship in accounting practice? Personally, I think that under normal circumstances, the capitalization of human resources should adopt the method of human resource cost accounting. This is because, on the one hand, the cost method is more convenient to obtain data, and the obtained data is more objective, which can prevent managers from using the subjectivity of processing methods to tamper with data and whitewash statements; On the other hand, accounting follows the principle of conservatism, and human resource value accounting contains many subjective factors, and the results vary from person to person. Moreover, under the condition of market economy, the price of human resources formed through fair competition can be closer to the value of human resources to a greater extent. In addition, human resource accounting needs to be incorporated into the current accounting system. According to the current accounting system, intangible assets are measured according to the actual acquisition cost, and human resources belong to intangible assets and should also be reflected according to the actual cost. However, human resource value accounting is not without its merits. It can avoid the disadvantage that cost accounting underestimates the value of human resources, and at the same time, it can also urge enterprise management authorities to pay more attention to the development and investment of human resources. Therefore, human resource value accounting is more widely used in financial evaluation and business decision-making than human resource cost accounting.
Third, establish China's human resources accounting system.
(A) human resources accounting principles
1, the principle of importance. Human resources are important economic resources of enterprises, which should be paid attention to, especially those irreplaceable information and huge training programs.
2. The principle of proportionality. When the amount of human resources is large and involves multiple accounting periods, its value should be amortized reasonably according to the matching principle.
3. The principle of historical cost. All human resources expenditures such as recruitment, training and development of talents are regarded as human assets and costs, and their data are collected according to the original amount.
4. The principle of relevance. As one of the main functional departments of an enterprise, the personnel management department depends not only on the salary, but also on how to rationally allocate human resources, so the information provided by human resource accounting should reflect the principle of relevance.
5. The principle of benefit and cost. Human resource accounting has played a great role in many aspects, but it should also be considered that those accounting items with high accounting cost and little significance for decision-making cannot be revealed.
6, the principle of dividing capital expenditure and income expenditure. Capitalize employee training fees in deferred assets, employee education funds in expenses, large training fees, recruitment advertising fees, loss of rare talents, etc., and include expenditures with balanced amounts in each period into income expenditures.
(2) Setting of human resources accounting subjects.
1, the subject of "Human Assets" generally reflects the increase or decrease of human assets. Its debit reflects the increase of human assets, the credit reflects the decrease of human assets, and the balance is generally in the debit, reflecting the historical cost and replacement cost of existing human assets. This course sets detailed accounts according to employee categories.
2. In the subject of "Cumulative Amortization of Human Assets", the lender reflects the amortization amount of human assets calculated at a certain amortization rate, the borrower reflects the cumulative amortization amount of employees who quit the enterprise due to retirement, resignation and other reasons, and the balance represents the cumulative amortization amount of existing human assets. This course should set up corresponding detailed accounts according to the corresponding human assets subsidiary ledger.
3. The account of "Acquisition Cost of Human Assets" and the account of "Development Cost of Human Assets" are transitional accounts of cost accounting nature, which are used to classify and collect enterprises' investment in human assets. The debit reflects the actual amount of investment expenditure, the credit reflects the amount transferred to the account of "Human Assets", and the ending balance is the debit, indicating the investment in employees who are still in the acquisition and training stage.
4. The subject of "Human Capital" is used to reflect the source of investment when employees are transferred out of the company for free, and as the corresponding subject of "Human Assets", when employees leave the enterprise, they should be transferred out at the same time. This account belongs to the owner's equity account, and it is credited to human resources when the value is assessed, and debited to human resources when the value is assessed. The ending balance of this course is in the credit, indicating the existing human resources share of the enterprise owned by other parties.
If you feel that the account of "human capital" is not easy to understand, you can also use the account of "capital reserve" instead, and set up a detailed account of "human resources" under "capital reserve" to calculate the value of human assets increased by donating high-tech talents for free and evaluate the appreciation of human assets.
(C) human resources accounting report
I think human resource accounting report should be divided into two parts: internal report and external report. The following points are described.
1, foreign newspaper. At present, there are two views on how to list human assets in financial statements: one view holds that human assets should be listed after deferred assets; Secondly, human assets should be listed between long-term investment and fixed assets. I prefer the second view. Due to the listing of human assets, managers should pay attention to the value of human resources and design and implement the best management decisions to improve human resources. Human assets are formed by investing in human resources, and the term is often longer than one year, which is generally shorter than the economic life of some fixed assets. Considering its liquidity, it should be listed between long-term investment and fixed assets. Amortization of human assets is listed after human assets, reflecting the net value of human assets, and human capital items are listed after paid-in capital, fully reflecting the owner's rights and interests of enterprises.
On the other hand, the situation of human resources should be revealed in detail from both dynamic and static aspects in the notes. From the dynamic point of view, we should reveal the total amount, investment direction and proportion of human resources investment in the current period. From the static point of view, we should report the proportion of human resources in the total assets of the enterprise, the educational background composition and professional titles of employees, so as to show the whole picture of human resources in the enterprise.
2. Internal report. The content of the internal report should be divided into two parts. One part is non-monetary information, mainly about the composition, distribution and utilization of human resources in enterprises, especially for some important talents introduced at high cost. The other part is monetary information, mainly the present value of human resources in each responsibility center of the enterprise and the input-output ratio of human resources. For some important talents with high cost, it is necessary to analyze their costs and benefits respectively and determine their return on investment.
(D) the financial ratio of human resources
1, human assets ratio. Its formula is the ratio of human assets to all assets of the enterprise. This index is used to reflect the importance attached by enterprise managers to human investment and the development potential of enterprises.
2. Profit rate of human assets. Its formula is the ratio of total profit to human assets. This indicator is used to reflect the profits created by enterprises occupying one yuan of human assets. We can't simply think that the bigger the financial index, the better, because it may indicate that the enterprise has no stamina.
3. Growth rate of human assets. Its formula is the ratio of the difference between the ending human assets and the beginning human assets to the beginning human assets. This index can be used to evaluate the contribution of enterprises in improving the quality of human resources.
Four. Application of human resource accounting in enterprise management
Although many people in the theoretical circle have painstakingly studied human resource accounting, in practice, human resource accounting has not received due attention and development in China, which makes its application in enterprise management unsatisfactory. What help can human resource accounting provide for enterprise managers, especially personnel directors? The author tries to talk about this kind of problem.
(A) on the flow of personnel
From the management point of view, moderate personnel flow can promote the competition among employees and enhance the vitality of enterprises. However, the high turnover rate has also brought negative effects to enterprises. Under the current personnel management mode and accounting mode, the high turnover rate only reflects the low satisfaction of employees with the enterprise and the low morale of employees, and can not let the personnel manager see the economic essence and results of frequent turnover of personnel. In addition, at present, the total supply of labor exceeds demand, and enterprises are more likely to be replaced. Therefore, it is very obvious that the high turnover rate of employees in enterprises has not attracted much attention. Human resource accounting can help enterprise managers from two aspects: (1) disclosing the economic losses caused by personnel turnover; (2) explain how much compensation should be claimed to avoid or reduce the losses caused by personnel changes.
For example, in order to obtain a suitable financial supervisor, a company incurred the following expenses: the acquisition cost is 200,000 yuan, the training cost is 1 10,000 yuan, the initial value is 6,543,800 yuan, the expected term of office is 5 years, and the annual salary is 6,543,800 yuan. Assuming that all expenses are amortized by the straight-line method during the term of office, the capital value of each year during the term of office is as follows: the base year is 6,543.8+250,000 yuan, the first year is 6,543.8+300,000 yuan, the second year is 6,543.8+400,000 yuan, the third year is 6,543.8+500,000 yuan, the fourth year is 6,543.8+600,000 yuan and the fifth year is 6,566.
It can be seen that if the manager resigns after one year's term of office, it will bring a loss of 6.5438+0.3 million yuan to the company's human assets. If he resigns voluntarily, he will not only pay the unpaid 200,000 yuan, but also bear the resulting vacancy cost, that is, the indirect cost caused by the unfinished resignation task, whose value depends on the specific situation.
(2) About salary
How much should an enterprise pay for recruiting talents in order to attract outstanding talents without making the cost of human resources too high? In a normal and mature talent market, the salary of all kinds of talents, that is, the use price of human resources, is determined by the market. The value of human resources is determined by the value of the means of subsistence necessary for the production, development, maintenance and continuation of the labor force.
At present, the value measurement of human resources mainly adopts monetary measurement, the most representative of which is the "future salary discount model" based on wages, that is, the value of human resources is the discounted value of total wages from initial service to retirement or death. However, this model has at least three limitations: (1) it is the result of ex post calculation; (2) ignoring the possibility of employees quitting the enterprise and changing roles except death or retirement; (3) It is not considered that the difference of enterprise income is caused by the difference of human resources. Its biggest limitation is to reverse the relationship between the value of human resources and wages, and think that the discounted value of wages determines the value of human resources, which is as puzzling as the price of goods determines its value. Moreover, wages are disturbed by many non-economic and non-market factors, and the difference between high and low is very large, which makes the value extremely uncertain.
Therefore, the author thinks that the historical measurement mode of human resource value should be changed from output method to input method, the relationship between value and salary should be straightened out, and a new mechanism of determining salary by value should be established. In other words, a person's economic value is determined by the price of various means of subsistence, investment in medical care, investment in education and training, and giving up income. This has formed his current level of knowledge and skills. Its wage income, especially basic wage income, should be determined by the sum of different items that constitute the value of human assets after conversion in different periods. Take the above-mentioned financial manager as an example, assuming its initial value is 6,543,800 yuan, including 600,000 yuan for living materials and medical care and 400,000 yuan for professional training. Because the former will play an active role for a long time in the future, it may take a long payback period (for example, 30 years), and then it will recover 20 thousand yuan every year. For the latter, because professional knowledge needs to be constantly updated, there is a cycle problem. Assuming that the renewal period of financial knowledge is 10 years, and 40,000 yuan should be recovered every year, then its basic annual salary is 60,000 yuan.
(C), on the nature and status of the human resources department
In the traditional concept, the human resources department only spends money without creating profits, and its status is extremely low, even dispensable. In fact, this is extremely wrong. Although the performance of human resources department is mostly intangible, such as improving staff morale and recognizing the company's business philosophy and corporate culture, it is reflected in higher labor productivity than other employees in the same industry, which indirectly creates huge profits for the enterprise. We can often find such examples. Two enterprises with the same business variety, the same scale and similar employees may have great differences in operating performance. The same employee, who is mediocre in one enterprise or creating negative effects, may become the most efficient star in another enterprise. The secret is that man is not a machine, but a living resource, and his work efficiency is greatly influenced by the way of organization and management. A good mechanism may make him create more than 100 times of work performance, and the core of a good mechanism is an effective incentive mechanism. This depends on the manager's understanding of employees, the design of salary and the establishment of assessment system, which is also the work content of human resources department.
With the development of economy, enterprises have developed from operating technology and capital to operating various resources, such as information resources and human resources. In this sense, the human resources department should not only become a profit center, but also an investment center with greater responsibility. Its assessment indicators can be: human assets ratio, human assets profit rate, human assets growth rate, etc. In addition, we can also qualitatively analyze the non-financial indicators such as employees' psychology, physical quality, technical level and satisfaction with enterprises, and comprehensively evaluate the work performance of human resources departments.
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