Corporate Governance Characteristics and Sustainability Reporting of Listed Food and Beverage Firms in Nigeria: An Empirical Discourse
Ighosewe, Enaibre Felix PhD
Department of Accounting, Banking & Finance, Delta State University, Asaba Campus, Asaba. Delta State.
Uyagu, David Benjamin PhD
Department of Accounting, Nigerian Defence Academy, Kaduna.
Iheonkhan, Samuel Iyere PhD
Department of Accounting, Nasarawa State University Keffi, Nigeria.
ABSTRACT
This study investigated corporate governance characteristics and sustainability reporting nexus, with a focus on listed foods and beverage firms in Nigeria. The repressors are bored size, board composition, foreign directorship, and female directorship, while the regressed is sustainability reporting index. The study adopted the ex-post facto design. Panel data were sourced from 12 out of the 14 listed firms in the industry from 2009 to 2018. The study outsourced data from the annual financial reports of the sampled firms through content analysis based on the global reporting index (GRI) 2013 criteria. Four formulated hypotheses were tested using multiple regression techniques. The findings revealed that board size, board composition and foreign directorship have positive and significant effect on sustainability reporting of listed foods and beverage firms in Nigeria. Also, female directorship had a positive but insignificant effect on sustainability reporting. The study recommended inter alia that management of listed foods and beverage firms should be retaining a good number of board sizes, board composition and foreign directors in order to enhance their sustainability reporting. It also recommended that the number of female directors on the board of listed foods and beverage firms should be increased to boost sustainability reporting in Nigeria.