CORPORATE GOVERNANCE AND FINANCIAL REPORTING QUALITY OF BANKS IN NIGERIA

ABSTRACT

The study examined the influence of corporate governance mechanisms on financial reporting quality of Nigerian banks. Conclusions can now be drawn, even though it is only suggestive in terms of pointing out some issues, which are important topics that unquestionably calls for more investigation. Four (4) research questions were raised for the study and all were formulated into hypotheses and tested. Consequently, related literature on the conceptual review, theoritical frame work and empirical review of corporate governance mechanisms and financial reporting quality in respect to board size, board independence, foreign executives on the board and audit commitee size were also discussed adequately in chapter two. The ex-post facto research design was used for the study. The instrument used for the collection of data was annually published audited financial statements of banks. The yearly reports from the bank's website for the years 2013-2022 were used to gather secondary data. The data collected for the research questions were analyzed using descriptive statistical tools such as mean and standard deviation, while the hypotheses were analyzed using Pearson Correlation and Ordinary Least Square Regressions and was tested at 0.05 level of significance. The findings of the study revealed that in Nigeria board size has a significant negative effect on financial reporting quality. Also while there was a significant positive relationship between board independence and foreign executives on the board on financial reporting quality, Audit Committee Size has a non-significant negative relationship with financial reporting quality of the appraised banks. It was recommended that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) should carry out regular and spontaneous supervisory functions/checks through different regulatory agencies on banks in Nigeria to ensure that financial reports are prepared and reported in compliance with accounting standards and guidelines with greater focus on corporate governance indicators so as to bring about global standards financial reporting.