Accounts Payable Turnover and Firm Performance of Quoted Manufacturing Firms in Nigeria

Abstract

Purpose: The objective of this study is to ascertain the nexus of accounts payable turnover and firm performance of quoted manufacturing firms in Nigeria. Research methodology: This study adopted an ex-post facto research design. The sample comprised seventy-five non-financial firms quoted on the Nigerian Exchange Group (NGX). The study purposively selected all available non-financial firms during the study period: 2010-2019. This study utilized secondary sources of data, i.e., computed financial ratios from annual financial statements downloaded from the MachameRatios® database. The data were analyzed using multiple regression techniques. Results: There is a non-significant positive effect of the accounts payable turnover ratio on ROA (p=0.9729) and ROE (p=0.2669); and; a significant negative effect of the accounts payable turnover ratio on Tobin’s Q (p=0.0140). Limitations: The limitation of the study is the failure to account for endogeneity concerns in firm performance studies. Contribution: The study contributes to the working capital management literature and specifically to the credit management axiom. It also showed a differential effect of APT on various firm performance proxies which have significant implications for managers, e.g., finance officers in corporations that intend to utilize the accounts payable turnover as a strategy to grow the performance of the firm in the short and long term. Practical implication: The practical implication of this research is that managers can alter their firm performance from responsible accounts payable turnover management. Novelty: The study uses a unique dataset of non-financial firms within a framework of robust control variables to examine the relationship between APT and firm performance proxies.