Accounting and Finance

The objective of this study is to examine the relationship between audit committee characteristics and financial reporting lag in Nigeria. Specifically, this study examines the significant relationship between audit committee independence, audit committee meetings and audit committee gender diversity with financial reporting lag. It adopted ex-post facto research design and used panel data collected from top 20 performing firms in the Nigeria Stock Exchange for a period of ten years from 2010 to 2019. The data was analysed using descriptive statistics, regression and correlation analysis through E-view 9. The findings of the study show that a significant relationship exists between audit committee meeting and audit committee independence with financial reporting lag, while a non-significant relationship exists between Audit committee gender diversity and financial reporting lag. The recommendations of this study are: only executive directors that are independent are appointed as audit committee members and that they should meet more often than not as this will significantly affect the financial reporting lag of the firm.

This contemporary world of economy driven by information and communication technology (ICT) has at its heart the dynamic force of knowledge and human capital development, pivotal to a standard capital market of a world class, has become a very vital and precious asset to organisations. This study examined the effect of Intellectual Capital Efficiency on Firm's Value in Some Selected Listed Firms on Nigerian Exchange Group. Data for the study were extracted from annual reports and accounts of thirty one selected companies for the period 2016-2021. Data for Intellectual Capital Efficiency proxy by Modified Value Added Intellectual Coefficient (M-VAIC=HCE,SCE,RCE and CEE) and Firm's value estimated by Market to Book Value(M/BV), Earnings Per Share (EPS) and Tobin Q (TQ) were extracted from the annual reports and accounts of selected companies. Three research hypotheses were formulated and tested adopting both descriptive statistics and simple regression techniques (OLS) with the aid of Stata 13.0 software. The findings revealed that M-VAIC have positive and significant effect on M/BV,EPS and TQ of Some Selected Listed Firms. Also, the introduced control variable (firm size) has a positive relationship and significant effect M/BV,EPS and TQ of Some Selected Listed Firms in Nigeria. Consequent upon this study, it was recommended that the importance of the intellectual capital should not be undermined and the mechanism, through which intellectual and human capital flow should be developed, maintained and improved; Since ICE has been shown to be the key driver of value creation, deliberate efforts should be made to grow IC of firms by first recruiting very competent staff, train and motivate them. Companies must strategically and deliberately train and retain staff for a long time to avoid losing the intellectual assets possessed by them, which could stimulate better future value and firms should invest in knowledge capital (that is intellectual capital), information technology (ICT) that can help they increase in their structural capital by harnessing information technology.

There has been perceived weakness deeply rooted in corruption in the accountability of government fund as experienced in all facets of Nigeria public sector and consequential waste of national resources, loss of human capital and decay of economic infrastructure within the economy. It is evident that the people (electorates) are in a bad position and suffering socioeconomically because of the lack of integrity and accountability in governments around the world, Nigeria in particular. This study empirically analyse the effective performance and accountability reporting challenges in the public sector of the Nigerian economy. 138 questionnaires were administered to the respondents but only 125 were returned (comprising 24 Directors and 55 Accountants/Auditors of Finance and Account from Ministries/Ministerial departments (79) and 46 Accountants/Auditors from LGAs), thereby representing ninety percent (90.6%) of the population and the data generated for this study were analysed using simple percentages, Z-test and Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient via the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS, 20.0) version. The result shows that accrual basis of accounting significantly promote more effective performance and accountability reporting in Nigeria Public Sector and that there is significant relationship between improved accountability and performance reporting in Nigeria Public Sector and professional accounting bodies. The study concluded that the

This work examines the concepts of diligence and independence of committees of corporate boards and assesses their effects on earnings quality of firms. By adopting a systematic elimination and stage wise sampling method, 62 firms were purposely sampled, and secondary data were carefully extracted from their financial statements over 10 years period (2011-2020). The data were panel in nature and both the random and fixed effect analyses were conducted alongside the Hausman test for endogeneity as applicable. Regression outcome proved that the diligence of all board committees jointly influences earnings quality of firms. In the same way, independence of board committees significantly reduces accruals and real activities manipulation thereby improving earnings quality of firms. The study lucidly recommends among others that regulations that mandates the inclusion of reasonable number of independent directors in respective board committees should be made and enforced by regulators.

All-encompassing corporate governance structure in firms especially the
existence of diligent and independent nominating/governance committee is key to the
overall wellbeing of organisations. This study uses 76 sample firms and a holistic earnings
management model to assess the effects of the nomination/governance committee's qualities
(diligence and independence) on the management of earnings for listed non-financial
enterprises on the Nigerian Exchange Group from 2012 to 2021. Using Stata 13.0 software
for both descriptive statistics and simple regression methods, two study hypotheses were
created and tested (OLS). The findings showed that measures of nomination/governance
committee diligence exert positive significant influence on earnings management of listed
firms on Nigerian Exchange Group while nomination/governance committee independence
exerts negative significant influence on earnings management of listed firms on Nigerian
Exchange Group. Also, the introduced control variables (sales growth and market
capitalisation) have a negative relationship and significant effect earnings management of
Some Selected Listed Corporations in Nigeria. Subsequently it was recommended upon this
study that management of companies should not emphasis too much on the role of
nomination/governance committee especially in the areas of diligence (frequency of
meetings) but on the independence of nomination/governance committee in relation to
earnings management and regulatory bodies should shift emphasis on how financial
estimates prepared can be devoid of earnings management.

This study evaluates how the characteristics of RMC (independence and diligence) impacts on listed companies' earnings quality with 70 firms for ten year (2012-2021) using a comprehensive earnings quality model. It emphasizes the necessity of creating a separate and stand-alone subcommittee aside from the board entrusted with the responsibility for the setting and implementing firm's risk overall policies including appetite and limit. According to the OLS analysis used to analyse the hypothesis, RMC characteristics have no appreciable impact on the listed firms' profitability reporting. Conclusively, The absence or near absence of effective risk policy, planning and determination of company’s risk appetite and tolerance, regular performance of risk assessment and monitoring is detrimental to the growth and survival of firms and can lead to poor staff remuneration,  unemployment, loss investments by investors in case of corporate failure resulting from board’s blindness to opportunities and rewards; and recommends that Management of companies and/or regulatory bodies should lay emphasis on the kind of people that make risk committee as it relates to earnings quality and continue to maintain reasonable standards in line with the current practices of companies within the sector.

Business landscape is becoming increasingly competitive and more intense each day and as such, every company, owners and management strives to better their performance and this has created tendencies geared to realizing a premeditated target through any means possible within the acceptable accounting standards either from real activities or accruals and/or both. This study, as a result, intends to investigate whether corporate profitability level, corporation magnitude, and corporate board magnitude have significant influence on determinants of a holistic earnings management practices among the sampled non financial firms for years 2011-2021. Ex-post facto research design was employed and data extracts obtaind were analysed using the multiple regression. Findings made showed that Corporate Profitability level, and Corporate Board Magnitude exert significantly but negative influence on efforts targeted at Holistic Earnings Management (p-values 0.019 and 0.000 < 0.05; z-statistics-1.31 and =3.61 respectively) while Corporation Magnitude does not exert statistically significant influence on efforts targeted at Holistic Earnings Management (p-value 0.295 > 0.05) though it maintained a strong but negative influence (z-statistics-1.05). The study therefore concludes that an increase in corporate profitability level; corporation magnitude; corporate board magnitude and revenue growth leads equivalently to the non-likelihood of sampled firms engaging in holistic earnings management. This implies that where corporate board magnitude is not sufficiently large and equipped to effectively implement management team control, corporate firms already suffering from market capitalization dwindling or fluctuating profitability levels, are exposed to the risk of managing earnings holistically. The study therefore recommends among others that the historical performances of the firms be critically examined especially as it determines the current and future quality of its financial reports.

This study critically analyses the nexus between political regimes/government policies, corporations' magnitude and profitability level and accrual, real or holistic earnings management among corporations in Nigeria. With this objective, a sample of 1173 observations was collected from 51 corporations for 23 years from 1999 to 2021. Adopting the ex-post-facto design, three hypotheses formed three models analysed with the manova and mvreg. The result showed that political regimes/government policies are evidently statistically significant and determine the extent to which corporations engage in either accrual, real or holistic earnings management. It further showed that corporation magnitude (corpmagt) influence is negative and statistically significant across all the dependent variables; accrual earnings management (accrmgt), real earnings management (realmgt) and holistic earnings management (hoengmgt) while corporation profitability level (cproflev) is positive to accrmgt and negative to both realmgt and hoengmgt. In line with the aforementioned result, it was recommended, amongst others, that CEOs and shareholders of corporations should tighten their supervisory roles by carefully scrutinising all management actions with respect to their reporting policies, choice of accounting treatment and full disclosure.

The relationship subsisting between board structure of corporate organizations and earnings management has attracted several concerns particularly to regulatory agencies, management, accounting practitioners and researchers alike. Therefore, this study, examined the extent to which board independence and size influence the level of earnings management of publicly quoted Nigerian firms. For this purpose, the adoption of the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) and the age of firms were introduced as mediating variables. Secondary data were however pooled from the financial statements of ninety-two (92) firms cutting across ten (10) industrial sectors from 2007–2018 (12 years). The regression analysis amidst other relevant statistical techniques was adopted to analyze the collated pooled data. Evidence from our result indicates that with the introduction of IFRS adoption and firm age as mediating variables, the Fcal obtained was 1.72 (p-value = 0.1424), thus indicating t...