Corporate Governance Attributes and Financial Reporting Lag of Consumer Goods Firms in Nigeria

Abstract

This study aimed to examine the effect of corporate governance attributes on financial reporting lag of consumer goods firms in Nigeria. The study used panel data from 50 firm-year observations covering 2019–2023, making this an ex-post facto study. The data used for the study came from 10 consumer goods companies listed on the Nigerian Exchange Group, whose audited annual financial statements were used. Financial reporting lag was subject to an empirical cumulative distribution function (CDF) analysis and descriptive statistics. In addition, a Fixed Effects Model (FEM) was used for regression analysis after being validated through the use of Redundant Fixed Effects and Hausman tests. The study used EViews 9.0 statistical software to analyse the data. Although the entire regression model was determined to be statistically significant, the results of the research showed that neither the size of the board nor the audit committee had a statistically significant effect on financial reporting lag. These results support the study's conclusion that among the studied firms, there was no significant effect of board size and audit committee on the timeliness of financial reporting. As a result, organisations should put more emphasis on the professional competence, independence, and meeting frequency of their board members and committees than on the quantity of board or committee members themselves.