Is an employee an asset?

No, an employee is not an asset. By definition, an asset is something that a company has control over, and while an employee works for a company, they are not controlled by the company. This means that, by definition, employees are not assets.

Companies often say phrases such as "our employees are our greatest asset," and while employees provide lots of valuable skills, they are not assets. An employee can choose to leave a position and take all their knowledge with them. That action of choice and decision makes them not qualified to be assets under the accounting definition of an asset.