Intellectual capital in Spanish public universities: stakeholders' information needs

Purpose – This paper aims to demonstrate the need for universities to include information on intellectual capital in their accounting information system. Design/methodology/approach – An empirical study was conducted to discover the extent to which the different users of university accounting information are now demanding information concerning intellectual capital in order to make the right decisions. To this end a questionnaire was designed and sent to all the members of the Social Councils of Spain's public universities. Findings – The findings show the opinion of university accounting information users regarding the need for universities to publish information on their intellectual capital in order to make the current model of university accounting information more relevant. Practical implications – The results of this research show the intangible elements about which universities should provide information in order to satisfy their users' new information demands. Originality/value – No previous research in this area has been conducted for Spanish universities. This paper brings new expertise regarding the traditional information supplied by universities, which needs to be extended to include information on intellectual capital. Giving users access to a type of information that is relevant for good decision‐making constitutes a healthy exercise in transparency for universities.