There´s no accounting for skills

It is frequently remarked by senior company representatives that their company´s greatest asset is its staff. How they know this is a mystery as there is no evidence of it in the company´s accounts. Indeed, if there was then perhaps downsizing would not be so popular: the shareholders would object to the assets being jettisoned in that cavalier fashion. Companies do not feel that they can put a monetary value on their staff or, more precisely, on their staff skills, nor does current accounting practice appear to provide a way to put this asset into the accounts. What is proposed in this article is one method of overcoming these difficulties, to the benefit of the shareholders and the staff alike, and to provide a monetary incentive for staff training.