Corporate Governance and Earnings Quality of Quoted Consumer and Industrial Goods Companies in Nigeria

Abstract

This study investigates the impact of corporate governance on earnings quality of quoted firms in Nigeria. Corporate governance was indicated by board size, board diversity and the number of female representatives on the board while earnings quality was measured by the earnings per share and net assets per share. The study employed the expo facto research design and was anchored on the Agency Theory. The population of the study was Consumer and Industrial Goods firms listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange. The researcher employed the purposive sampling technique to select a total of twenty out of the thirty companies as sample for the study. Secondary data was sourced from the companies’ annual reports for the period of 2015 – 2020 and was analyzed using descriptive statistics, correlation and multiple regression techniques. The results basically indicate that there was an inverse and non-significant relationships between board size and earnings quality (EPS and NAPS). The study also revealed a positive and significant relationships between board diversity and both EPS and NAPS. It was recommended that board size should not be increased since it has negative and insignificant effect on earnings quality; but board diversity should be encouraged due to its positive and significant effect on earnings quality of listed firms in Nigeria.