We examine the effect of corruption perception and institutional quality on the performance of firms based on the extracted data for 135 listed companies in Nigeria with timeframe 2013–2017. We first use the Transparency International Corruption Perception Index for the baseline analysis, which evaluates the public officials and politicians’ corruption practices. To capture institutional quality, which depicts the level of law enforcement to curb corruptive practices of the public officials, we use the first component via Principle Component Analysis of six governance indicators extracted from World Bank Governance Indicators. We then use the Generalized Method of Moment (GMM) for the analysis. We find that corruption is negatively related to the market value (TobinQ) and accounting value performance (ROA). Similarly, institutional quality is negatively related to TobinQ and ROA. The results suggest that corruption and institutional quality weaken the market and accounting performance firms in Nigeria. We further compare the extent of corruption and institutional quality on performance between financial and non-financial institution. We find that both corruption and weak institutional environment tend to impair the market and accounting-based performance of non-financial firms, which could be traced to the less regulatory body in such institution compared to the financial institution. We suggest that Nigeria needs more effective and strong mechanisms proactive to curb corruption practices and weak institutional quality.

Purpose This study aims to examine the association between corporate governance and sustainability reporting quality of listed firms in Nigeria. Design/methodology/approach The authors measure corporate governance using board governance variables (board size, board independence, board gender diversity and board expertise) and audit committee attributes (audit committee size, audit expertise and audit meeting). The authors measured sustainability reporting quality using a scoring system, which ranges between 0 and 4. The highest score is achieved when sustainability reporting is independently assured by an audit firm. The lowest score refers to the absence of sustainability reporting. The study emphasizes 120 listed firms on Nigeria Stock Exchange using the ordered logistic regression technique. Findings The results indicate that board governance variables (board size, board gender diversity and board expertise) and audit committee attributes (audit committee size, audit expertise and audit meeting) are significantly associated with sustainability reporting quality. Additional analysis reveals that external assurance contributes to the quality of sustainability reporting through corporate governance characteristics. Research limitations/implications This study is restricted to a single country. Future studies should consider a cross-country study, which may help to establish a comparative analysis. Likewise, the future study could consider other regression techniques using a continuous measurement of the global reporting initiative in measuring sustainability reporting quality. Practical implications This study’s findings have important implications for policymakers and practitioners, especially the corporate executives and top management. Companies are encouraged to restructure their board to enhance better monitoring and support towards better sustainability reporting. Social implications Disclosure on sustainability reporting helps corporate organizations advance the issues of sustainability both nationally and globally. Originality/value This current study adds to accounting literature by examining how corporate governance contributes to sustainability reporting practices within the Nigerian context. Drawing from the result, the study provides strong interconnectivity between the corporate board and audit committee in driving sustainability reporting quality within an organizational context.

Purpose This study aims to examine the impact of corporate attributes on integrated reporting quality of top 100 listed firms in South Africa. Design/methodology/approach With a sample of the top 100 listed firms in South Africa, this paper drew insights from the legitimacy and stakeholder theory to examine the impact of corporate attributes on integrated reporting quality. This paper measured integrated reporting quality based on the International Integrated Reporting Council framework of 2013. Corporate attributes were determined taking into consideration three broad perspectives (board committee attributes, firm attributes and audit committee attributes). This paper analyzed the data using content analysis, ordered probit regression and logistic regression method. Findings Results indicate that board committee attributes, firm attributes and audit committee attributes have a positive and significant relationship with integrated reporting quality. Additional analysis reveals that external assurance contributes to the quality of integrated reporting. The findings empirically revealed that most South African firms have intensified efforts toward the quality and full disclosure of integrated reporting framework. Research limitations/implications The study was limited to a sample size of 100 firms, which is country-specific, however, it sets the tone for future empirical research on the subject matter. This study provides an avenue for future research in the area of corporate attributes and integrated reporting quality in other emerging countries, especially other African countries. Practical implications The result of this study provides practical implications in the areas of good corporate governance, corporate reporting and integrated reporting. The empirical approach used in this study emphasizes the need for corporate organizations to introduce integrated reporting practices into their reporting cycle. The finding implies that non-compliance with integrated reporting by corporate organizations may have an adverse effect on corporate growth, corporate sustainability and corporate reputation in the long run. Originality/value The work extends prior research on the subject of integrated reporting in South Africa. Also, this study broadens the application of legitimacy and stakeholder theory in influencing corporate organizations to disclose relevant information that could aids stakeholders’ interest.

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This study investigates the influence of CFO roles on the implementation of ERM initiatives in a sample of Nigerian financial institutions (between 2013-2017). We develop three distinct factors representing the CFO roles namely CFO power, CFO experience and CFO knowledge using principal component factoring. Like prior work, we measure ERM components simultaneously to capture the extent of sophisticated ERM system. Our findings pose that the CFO involvement in ERM implementation remains minimal while the CRO is solely responsible for ERM implementation, which could undermine cost-benefit effectiveness. Our empirical evidence reports that the sophisticated ERM only promote the market evaluation while the accounting performance is undermined. The result then contravenes the expectation that effective ERM enhances accounting performance by mitigating risk exposure. While the sophisticated ERM is significantly positive with leverage, which reveals that ERM implementation does not necessarily reduce the firm risk. This indicates that the ERM implementation remains ineffective to mitigate risks, where the CFO involvement in the ERM initiative is limited. We then advocate that CFOs should be allowed to contribute strongly on some specific aspects of ERM initiatives namely identification and analysis of key risk indicators, the financial implication of risks and integration of ERM into traditional finance activities.

Despite the growing evidence on the determinants of sustainability reporting, there exist limited and inconclusive studies on the impact of board expertise on sustainability reporting. This study investigates the influence of environmentally sensitive, certified or educated board members on the disclosure of sustainability report. Based on the static panel data regression estimators for 10 Nigerian Deposit Money Banks over the period of 2014-2016, the study revealed that highly educated directors have an altogether constructive influence on the sustainability report disclosure while controlling for corporate administration and firm-level qualities. In addition, we find that the executive and non-executive directors have low experience in environmental issues resulting in an insignificant effect on the disclosure of sustainability reporting. This paper suggests that firms should allow more directors with environmental background, who have a lower motivation to boost transient returns since they are likely to influence environmental performance.

This study assesses the relevance of mobile phone technology in complementing gender inclusive education (i.e. primary, secondary and tertiary) to promote public accountability (i.e. involving horizontal, vertical and diagonal accountability dynamics). The study utilizes the generalized method of moments (GMM) technique to establish the empirical evidence based on 48 Sub-Saharan African countries for the period 2005-2018. The following findings are documented from the linkages between mobile phone technology, inclusive education and public accountability. First, the interactions between mobile phone technology and inclusive education promote public accountability. Second, with regard to net effects, while unexpected negative signs are established, the corresponding positive interactive effects indicate that enhancing the penetration of mobile phone technology beyond some critical thresholds ensures positive net effects. Hence, policy makers should ensure that mobile phone technology penetration exceeds the established thresholds in order for gender inclusive education to positively affect public accountability.