EFFECT OF BOARD CHARACTERISTICS AND OWNERSHIP STRUCTURE ON SUSTAINABILITY REPORTING OF LISTED CONSUMER GOODS COMPANIES IN NIGERIA

Abstract

The study examined the effect of board characteristics and ownership structure on sustainability
reporting from 2011 to 2020. Board characteristics are measured by board independence, board size
and board gender diversity while ownership structure is measured by managerial ownership
and institutional ownership and sustainability reporting is measured by the disclosure content of
the item required in the annual report such as financial and non-financial information of the
companies. This study adopted ex-post facto research designs and panel multiple regression was
used for the analysis. The study found that all four firm attributes (board independence, board size,
board gender diversity and institutional ownership) significantly affect sustainability
reporting. In contrast, managerial ownership has no significant effect on the sustainability reporting of listed
consumer goods firms in Nigeria. The study recommends that small board size is to be encouraged
in sampled consumer goods firms. However, we recommend that the maximum size of the board
should be 8 members whilst the small board should consist of 5 members on the board. Also,
women directors should be in certain strategic positions on the board, there should be at least two
and four for small and big boards respectively since the percentage of women directors have a positive
influence on sustainability reporting.