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Intellectual Capital: Acquisition and Maintenance: The Case of New Zealand Banks

Abstract

The new knowledge economies have highlighted the importance of intellectual capital (IC) and the imperative need to measure and manage their associated costs and benefits. Banks and financial institutions, which are rich in IC (human, customer, and social capital), are in danger of becoming subject to ‘IC walkouts’ if they resist accounting for the hidden value that exists in IC and its constituent elements. This paper discusses how New Zealand banks incur the cost of acquiring IC and realize the need to recognize related cost drivers. For banks in New Zealand, one of the most important sources of revenue or interest income is from mortgage business. This investigation looks at the value added by mobile mortgage managers (MMMs) and a possible model for measuring the IC vested in MMMs. Some of the issues and concerns explored should be of importance to accounting (management) academics. A number of potential problems that are identified suggest the need for more diversified research to develop an effective model for IC valuation that includes social networking and political underpinnings, in this age of globalization and value creation.

Kiran Sahrawat

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