IIARD International Institute of Academic Research and Development

WORLD JOURNAL OF FINANCE AND INVESTMENT RESEARCH (WJFIR )

E-ISSN 2550-7125
P-ISSN 2682-5902
VOL. 8 NO. 4 2024
DOI: 10.56201/wjfir.v8.no4.2024.pg89.104

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Corporate Governance and Timeliness of Annual Reports of Companies in Nigeria

Tonye Ogiriki, Ph.D & Mr. Dennis F. Adire

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Abstract

This study examines the influence of corporate governance variables on the timeliness of annual reports among industrial goods companies in Nigeria. The study adopted the ex-post facto research design, and data was obtained from the annual report of ten (10) selected industrial goods firms listed in the Nigerian Exchange Group (NGX) with data spanning from 2018-2023, with the annual reporting lag (ARPLAG) as the dependent variable. The independent variables are board independence (BIND), audit committee size (AUDSZ), and audit meeting frequency (AUDMT). Using panel least squares regression, the results show that board independence has a negative and insignificant effect on annual reporting lag. Audit size also has a negative and insignificant effect on annual reporting lag, suggesting that the size of the audit committee does not significantly impact report timeliness. However, frequency of audit meetings has a positive but insignificant effect on annual reporting lag. The study concludes that corporate governance has an insignificant effect on the timeliness of annual reports of companies in Nigeria. This indicates that other factors may influence the timeliness of financial reporting. Recommendations include enhancing board independence, optimizing audit committee size, improving audit meeting effectiveness, and reviewing internal processes to identify and eliminate delays in report preparation and publication.

keywords:

Corporate governance, audit committee, annual reporting lag, board

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