Effect of Board Attributes and Ownership Structure on Financial Reporting Timeliness of Listed Consumer Goods in Nigeria

Abstract

The study examined effect of board attributes and ownership structure on financial reporting timeliness of listed consumer goods in Nigeria. The research design was Ex post facto research design. This study used the entire 20 listed firms of consumer goods quoted on Nigeria’s equity market as at 31st December 2020 as its population. The study made use of purposive sampling technique. The sample size used is eleven (11). The period of the study was from 2011 to 2020. This study used panel data because the observations contain both time series and cross sectional units. Hence, panel multiple regressions. Findings revealed that board size, board meeting, foreign ownership and managerial ownership have positive but statistically insignificant effect on financial reporting timeliness of listed consumer goods in Nigeria. While, board of directors’ diversity and board independence have positive and statistically significant effect on financial reporting timeliness of listed consumer goods in Nigeria. The study concludes that both board of directors’ diversity and board independence have effect on financial reporting timeliness, while board size, board meeting, foreign ownership and managerial ownership have no effect on financial reporting timeliness of quoted consumer goods in Nigeria. The study recommends the mandatory presence of nonexecutive directors in the composition of board of directors, most importantly in limited liability companies.