Impact of corporate characteristics in mitigating financial reporting delays in Nigerian listed companies

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to investigate the impact between corporate characteristics in mitigating financial delays reports in Nigeria listed companies. This study states the relationship between corporate size, institutional ownership, board financial expertise and timeliness of financial reports with Return on Assets as a control variable. The population of the study is listed companies in Nigeria Exchange Group (NGX) which was 162 as at 31st of December 2020. The study employed ex post facto research design, and used secondary data extracted from the annual reports of 10 non-financial firms listed on the NGX covering the period of 12 years from 2012 to 2023. Sectors in the manufacturing, oil and gas, food and beverages were used as the sample size. Panel data regression techniques were used in the data analysis. The result revealed that company size, board financial competence has effect on timeliness of financial reports, but there is no significant effect between institutional ownership and the timeliness of financial reporting. The study recommends the board composition should have more professionals with competence and experience in accounting; smaller firms should improve on their internal economies and accounting activities as this would facilitate the swift availability of information.