The impact of corporate governance attributes on intellectual capital disclosure: A longitudinal investigation of Nigerian banking sector

Abstract

The main objective of this study is to examine the role of corporate governance and ownership structure attributes in intellectual capital (IC) disclosure practices of Nigerian banking sector, following the recent restructuring and regulatory changes in the banking sector. A longitudinal investigation over a 4-year period (2006–2009), a period following the regulatory changes, has been undertaken. Using a disclosure checklist to measure the overall and the subcategories of IC disclosures of the banks, a total of 80 annual reports were subjected to content analyses. Corporate governance attributes comprise board size, independent non-executive directors and board meetings, whereas ownership structure patterns include director and government ownership. The results revealed that all the corporate governance and ownership structure patterns, except board size, have a significant positive association with the overall amount of IC disclosures. The results also showed that the governance and ownership structure variables had significant impact on at least one of the IC disclosure components of internal, external and human capital. Size, as a control variable, has further shown a strong positive association with the IC disclosures. This article, which examines the relationship between IC disclosures and corporate governance attributes, following the introduction of a mandatory code on corporate governance for the banks, implies that corporate governance mechanisms play a key role in dissemination of IC information. The article also provides an empirical support to previous cross-sectional studies that documented a similar strong positive association between governance attributes and IC disclosures in several other countries.