Corporate board attributes and environmental accounting disclosure of oil and gas firms in Nigeria

Abstract

There is growing concern for corporate entities to disclose information in respect of their environmental practices as an addition to conventional economic reporting. This study explores the influence of corporate board physiognomies on environmental accounting disclosures (CEADs). The study examines the data of 13 oil and gas companies for the period of 2014 to 2020. Pool regression was used to analyse the data. The key findings of this research show that the EAD Among Nigeria’s publicly traded oil and gas firms is substantially influenced by the board financial expertise, audit committee (AC) independence and AC financial expertise. This supports the stakeholder’s theory which suggests that the board of directors as environmental representatives, protect the shareholders’ objective since more EADs will increase their reputation, appeal prospective investors and customers. While the EAD of these enterprises was unaffected by by-the--the-board independence. The study exposed the need for the regulatory agency to come up with empowering laws that can ensure that listed Nigerian oil and gas companies cuddle CEAD regardless of their size and profitability. Finally, the Global Environmental Disclosure Index (GEI) should be recognised as the most palatable benchmark for evaluating environmental accounting in Nigeria.