Corporate Governance Disclosure Index Research Articles

Bank sustainability, climate change initiatives and financial performance: The role of corporate governance

This study elucidates the interrelationships among corporate governance disclosure index (CORPGOVDISCIN), bank sustainability characteristics (BSCs), bank-based climate change initiatives (BCCIs) and financial performance (FP) through the lens of multi-theoretical framework. Based on a panel dataset of 2785 observations (220 banks) from 16 Sub-Saharan Africa countries between 2007 and 2022, we observe that bank sustainability reporting framework (BSRF) and board sustainability committee (BSCOM) are positively related to increased levels of BCCIs. Second, the study shows that the BSRF-BCCIs and BSCOM-BCCIs associations are positively moderated by CORPGOVDISCIN, indicating that these relationships are contingent on the quality of the bank's corporate governance mechanisms. Third, the study then provides evidence that BSCOM is positively related to FP, but BSRF has no effect on FP. Fourth, we also observe that BCCIs disclosure has positive impact on FP, but actual BCCIs investments do not seem to improve FP. Fifth, the study detects that the association between BCCIs and FP is significantly moderated by CG mechanisms. We identify CG disclosure as the possible channel through which BCCIs and FP are interlinked. Finally, we show that the predicted relationships vary across banks' operating periods. Our findings are robust to endogeneity and selection bias concerns.

Revealing the contribution of corporate sustainability practices to financial performance: Case of BIST Sustainability 25 Index companies

The purpose of the paper is to study the impact of corporate sustainability practices on the financial performance of companies included in the BIST Sustainability 25 Index. To assess the efficiency and quality of corporate sustainability, general (ESG Disclosure Index) and partial (Environmental Disclosure Index, Social Disclosure Index, and Corporate Governance Disclosure Index) indices were used, calculated based on content analysis of sustainability reports. Based on the two given types of indices and four types of financial performance indicators (return on assets, return on equity, assets turnover ratio, and Tobin’s Q), two types of regression models (GEN models and PART models) were built, and eight analytical models were examined. Company size and leverage were included as control variables in each model. The regression analysis results were contradictory, partially confirming the conclusions of some scientists and refuting the findings of others. A study of GEN models revealed that companies implementing more effective general corporate sustainability practices have a significant positive impact only on return on equity; as for other measures (return on assets, assets turnover ratio, and Tobin’s Q), an insignificant relationship between them and ESG Disclosure Index was found. Results of the PART models analysis revealed a significant positive effect of the Social Disclosure Index on return on equity and assets turnover ratio and a negative relationship between the Corporate Governance Disclosure Index and assets turnover ratio. Using control variables for the two types of models showed a significant negative effect of company size on Tobin’s Q. AcknowledgmentThis study was supported by the Ministry of Education and Culture of Ukraine within the project “Development of a mechanism for the sustainable development of economic systems in the conditions of military operations and post-war recovery of the economy” (Registration number of the project: 0124U000463).

Nexus between corporate governance disclosure and firm performance

The paper intended to evaluate the extent of corporate disclosure compliance and its effect on the financial performance of Bangladeshi pharmaceutical companies listed on the DSE during a twelve-year period, from 2007 to 2020. The study explored the affinity between the Corporate Governance Disclosure Index (CGDI) and firm financial performance employing econometric techniques, such as fixed effect and random effect models. The study calculated the disclosure scores as a percentage of a given firm's overall score to the probable score it could achieve. The CGDI of the sample companies showed a positive and substantial effect on company performance as an accounting measure ROA and an insignificant effect as a market measure Tobin’s Q. The study also revealed that sample firms followed the BSEC guidelines partially. These findings have implications for companies that fail to comply with the full disclosure principle, which holds that a company must disclose all material information in its financial statements in order to touch the reader's comprehension of those statements. In addition, these results imply that the code of CG requires a thorough examination to make essential modifications.

Bank climate change initiatives, ownership structures, and corporate governance mechanisms: Evidence from emerging economies

AbstractMotivated by the growing attention on climate change acceleration, we examine the interrelationships among corporate governance disclosure index, bank ownership structures, and bank climate change initiatives through the lens of a multi‐theoretical framework. We conduct a fixed‐effects and dynamic two‐step system generalized method of moments models over an extensive dataset. Based on panel data of 220 banks (2,785 observations) from 16 Sub‐Saharan Africa emerging economies between 2007 and 2022, the study observes that banks with higher levels of corporate governance disclosure index engage in more climate change initiatives. The study shows that ownership by institutional and foreign investors is associated with more bank climate change initiatives, while government ownership reduces climate change initiatives. Further, we document that director ownership has no impact on climate change initiatives. The study documents that the association between bank ownership structures and bank climate change initiatives is positively moderated by the extent of the corporate governance disclosure index. This moderating impact improves for banks with high corporate governance mechanisms. Finally, we show that the bank ownership structures‐climate change initiatives linkage and the moderating effect of corporate governance mechanisms on this nexus vary significantly across banks' operating periods. We identify corporate governance disclosure as the potential channel through which bank ownership structures and climate change initiatives are interlinked. Our findings call for banks to adopt and implement good governance disclosure to improve climate change initiatives. The findings make significant theoretical and regulatory contributions.

Board Effect and the Moderating Role of CEOs/CFOs on Corporate Governance Disclosure: Evidence from East Africa

Synopsis The research problem This study examines the effects of board size and board independence, as well as the interaction effect between board independence and CEOs/CFOs on corporate governance disclosure practices. Motivation Despite corporate governance (CG) reforms around the world, research evidence indicates that the levels of corporate governance disclosures (CGDs) in developing countries remain poor due to weak institutions and corporate governance systems. In particular, the corporate boards as a key mechanism of CG and the board nomination processes in East Africa remain largely opaque and dominated by majority shareholders, chief executive officers, and chief finance officers (CEOs/CFOs), giving rise to opportunistic behaviors that may be detrimental to firm value. The distinctive feature of the board nomination process/CG system in East Africa has implications for monitoring and corporate governance disclosure practices and compliance and calls for systematic research in this under-explored subject. Hypotheses H1: The association between board size and corporate governance disclosure will be positive. H2: The association between board independence and corporate governance disclosure will be positive. H3a: The presence of the CEO on the nomination/remuneration committee will negatively moderate the relationship between board independence and corporate governance disclosure. H3b: The presence of the CFO on the nomination/remuneration committee will negatively moderate the relationship between board independence and corporate governance disclosure. H3c: The presence of the CEO and CFO on the nomination/remuneration committee will negatively moderate the relationship between board independence and corporate governance disclosure. Target population Stakeholders including firm managers, practitioners, regulatory authorities, policymakers, and investors. Adopted methodology Ordinary least squares (OLS), fixed-effects model, and system generalized method of moments (GMM). Analyses Using a large and hand-collected dataset comprising 1000 firm-year observations from 2007 to 2017 in East Africa, this study develops a corporate governance disclosure index (CGDI) of East Africa consisting of 164 provisions. To test our hypotheses, this study adopts three analytical approaches, namely OLS and fixed-effects (FE) regressions and the two-stage system GMM to address the endogeneity concerns. Findings We find that large boards and independent directors are associated with greater disclosure of CG information. Our analysis suggests that CEO/CFO power negatively moderates the link between board independence and corporate governance disclosure, unlike those environments with stronger institutions and corporate governance systems. Thus, firms whose CEO and CFO are involved in remuneration or nomination committees disclose less CG information. The combined effect of the CEO and CFO on selection and remuneration committees and an independent board in reducing corporate disclosure appears more pronounced for the post-financial crisis period compared with the crisis period.

Corporate Governance Disclosure in Banking Sector: Some Observations from Dhaka Stock Exchange

Purpose: All stakeholders in a corporation extensively rely on corporate governance disclosures (CGD) because they help the concerned parties make financial decisions concerning the business itself. In Bangladesh, the Company Act 1994 and the Banking Company Act 1991 set specific rules and regulations regarding corporate governance, and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) of Bangladesh advocates for the listed companies to abide by those statutes to guarantee fair and reliable corporate governance disclosures. The paper intends to be familiar with the checklists for CGDs in Bangladesh’s banking industry and clearly understand the same accordingly. Methodology: In conducting this study, the researchers adopted mixed method approach (both quantititative and qualitative method). Findings: The study finds insignificant practices of disclosing corporate governance information by Bangladeshi business institutions. Despite not being up to par, these practices are growing daily, and more Bangladeshi companies are following suit. Practical Implications: The current study can significantly help reduce financial scams in various industries, not just the banking industry, by determining the corporate governance disclosure index level. Originality: Although similar studies have been done previously, the present study sets the cornerstone work extension by highlighting the banking sector’s corporate governance disclosure index. Research Limitations: The present study’s focus is limited only to the banks listed with DSE. Based on the CG and its requirements, e.g., the BODs, CS, CFO, and IAH, and the fact that the external auditor and the audit committee can not assume specific roles, sample banks (30) have been contraste.

Advancing SDG No 16 via Corporate Governance Disclosure: Evidence from Indonesian and Malaysian Fintech Companies’ Websites

The aims of this paper are: (1) to examine the extent of corporate governance disclosure on the websites of Indonesian and Malaysian FinTech companies using the coercive isomorphism tenet, and (2) to determine whether variation in the extent of corporate governance disclosure is influenced by the country and type of FinTech services. The websites of 148 Indonesian and 159 Malaysian corporations were subjected to content analysis using a Modified Corporate Governance Disclosure Index (MoCGOvDi). The MoCGovDi was constructed using the ASEAN Corporate Governance Scorecard and previous research. The level of corporate governance disclosure is higher among Malaysian FinTech companies, possibly due to stronger coercive pressure by government regulation in Malaysia. Overall, the level of corporate governance disclosure is low in both countries (7 and 9 items out of 50 total items for Indonesia and Malaysia, respectively), which may delay the achievement of SDG No 16. Several implications are provided in this paper to advocate the corporate governance disclosure of FinTech companies in Indonesia and Malaysia to achieve SDG No 16.

The Influence of Good Corporate Governance on Banking Financial Performance Period 2016-2020

Good Corporate Governance (GCG) is a company management and control system to maintain a balance between the authority and responsibility of the company. The implementation of GCG in the company is a concept used to maintain consistency and public trust in the community. Therefore, the presence of GCG has now become an essential need that goes beyond the needs of investors and corporate governance. This study was conducted to determine the effect of the implementation of GCG on financial performance. The research sample is banks listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) for the 2016-2020 period with a sampling target. This research uses descriptive quantitative method and simple regression method. The variables of Corporate Governance Disclosure Index (CGDI), Return on Assets (ROA) and Return on Equity (ROE) were analyzed using SPSS 21. The results showed that Good Corporate Governance (GCG) had a significant positive effect on Return on Assets (ROA) and Return on Equity (ROE) at banks listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange for the 2016-2020 period.

MNEs’ corporate governance disclosure: a strategic response to corrupt environments

PurposeThis study aims to examine how corruption influences the voluntary disclosure of corporate governance (CG)-related information by developed country multinationals (DC-MNEs) and emerging market multinationals (EM-MNEs) investing in six Latin American countries.Design/methodology/approachThe study uses information from 300 MNEs included in the 2018 ranking of the 500 Largest Latin American companies (America Economía, 2018). Each MNE’s final annual report for the financial year ending 2018 was examined and coded to obtain the corporate governance disclosure index. Fractional probit regression was applied to test the hypotheses of the research.FindingsDC-MNEs disclose more CG-related information in corrupt environments than EM-MNEs. This differentiated behavior occurs because DC-MNEs face higher legitimacy pressures in corrupt environments than EM-MNEs and because EM-MNEs are more experienced than DC-MNEs in dealing with such corrupt environments.Practical implicationsWhile both EM-MNEs and DC-MNEs need to continue investing in corrupt countries to grow, they need to disclose CG-related information as a strategic tool to manage the legitimacy issues triggered by corruption in the markets they operate.Originality/valueDespite corruption being pervasive in emerging markets, its implications for firms’ strategic behaviors are still under-researched. This paper extends the scope of corporate governance and international business fields by studying how MNEs respond to relevant dimensions of the macro environment. This research shows that voluntary disclosure of CG-related information is a strategic response of the MNEs to gain legitimacy in corrupt environments.

Sustainable banking initiatives, environmental disclosure and financial performance: The moderating impact of corporate governance mechanisms

AbstractThis paper contributes to the sustainable development in business literature by examining the impact of a broad corporate governance disclosure index on sustainable banking initiatives and, subsequently, determines the extent to which the sustainability‐for‐performance sensitivity metric is moderated by corporate governance mechanisms. Based on data collected from 220 banks in 16 Sub‐Saharan Africa countries over the 2007–2018 period (i.e., making over 2027 bank‐year observations), the findings of the study are as follows: Firstly, the study finds that corporate governance mechanisms have positive impact on sustainable decisions, as captured by environmental disclosures and sustainable banking initiatives. Secondly, the study finds that sustainable banking initiatives improve the financial performance of banks in the Sub‐Saharan African countries. Finally, the study detects that the relationship between sustainable banking initiatives and financial performance is significantly moderated by corporate governance mechanisms, revealing that the sustainability‐for‐performance sensitivity metric is mainly positive, and improves in banks with quality corporate governance mechanisms. This indicates that the sustainability‐for‐performance sensitivity is contingent on the quality of the bank's corporate governance structures. The findings have key implications for banking practitioners, environmental activists, regulators and policymakers.

Effect of Corporate Governance Disclosure Index, Economic Value Added, Financial Performance on Earnings Management

This study was conducted with the aim of examining the effect of the Corporate Governance Disclosure Index, Economic Value Added, Financial Performance on Earnings Management in food and beverage manufacturing companies listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) for the 2015-2020 period through purposive sampling method and multiple linear analysis. by using the SPSS in the number of samples used as many as 14 data in a 6-year study period, so that the total data that has been researched is 84 data for manufacturing companies in the food and beverage sub-sector. In this study, it is stated that the Corporate Governance Disclosure Index, Economic Value Added, Financial Performance have a simultaneous effect on Earnings Management. The Corporate Governance Disclosure Index has a significant negative effect on Earnings Management. Value Added Economy holds a positive influence on Earnings Management. Return On Assets (ROA) has a positive influence on Earnings Management. Working Capital Turnover (WCTT) has a positive influence on Earnings Management.

Executive compensation, environmental performance, and sustainable banking: The moderating effect of governance mechanisms

AbstractThis paper contributes to the extant business strategy and sustainable development literature by investigating the effect of a broad corporate governance disclosure index on executive compensation and, subsequently, determines the extent to which the pay‐for‐sustainability sensitivity is moderated by corporate governance mechanisms. Employing data collected from 16 Sub‐Saharan Africa countries over the period from 2007 to 2018, the findings are as follows: First, we report that better‐governed banks pay lower compensation packages to their executives. Second, we find that executive compensation increases sustainable banking disclosures in the countries. Third, the findings show that executive compensation is negatively associated with environmental performance. Finally, we detect that the association between executive pay and sustainable banking performance is significantly moderated by corporate governance mechanisms, revealing that the pay‐for‐sustainability sensitivity is mainly positive and improves in banks with high corporate governance quality. This implies that the pay‐for‐sustainability sensitivity is contingent on the quality of the bank's internal governance mechanisms. Our findings have key implications for banking practitioners, regulators, environmental activists, and policy‐makers.

Corporate governance and financial performance of state-owned enterprises in Kenya

PurposeThis paper aims to report the results of an investigation into the effect of aggregate and individual corporate governance factors on the financial performance of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) in Kenya.Design/methodology/approachThe paper uses balanced panel data regression analysis on a sample of 45 SOEs in Kenya for a four-year period (2015–2018).FindingsThe panel data analysis results show that board meetings, board skill and gender diversity individual provisions of corporate governance are significantly and positively associated with capital budget realization ratio (CBRR). Moreover, the study finds that aggregate corporate governance disclosure index, board sub-committees, board size and independent non-executive directors are positive but insignificantly related to CBRR.Research limitations/implicationsThe current study is based on secondary data, other methods of knowledge inquiry such as interviews and questionnaires may provide additional insights on the effectiveness of corporate governance on financial performance.Practical implicationsOverall, the results imply that corporate governance influences the performance of SOEs in Kenya. The results suggest that Mwongozo Code of Corporate Governance provisions should be changed to increase the number of women representations on board and the number of directors with doctoral qualifications because of their positive impact on the financial performance of SOEs in Kenya. Also, policymakers with remit over SOEs should re-evaluate why other corporate governance appear not to have an impact with a view of making the necessary changes.Originality/valueThe paper contributes to the dearth of literature on the efficacy of corporate governance on the financial performance of SOEs in developing countries.

Corporate Governance Disclosure and Financial Performance of Deposit Money Banks in Nigeria

Given that a key mechanism of corporate governance is corporate disclosure, this study, anchored on agency theory and stakeholder theory, examined the effect of corporate governance disclosure on the financial performance of deposit money banks quoted on the Nigeria Stock Exchange. Based on the provisions of the Code of Corporate Governance for Public Companies in Nigeria, 2011 and the Code of Corporate Governance for Banks and Discount Houses 2014, the study developed a disclosure checklist and employed content analysis method to extract corporate governance from 78 annual reports of thirteen Nigerian deposit money banks from 2011 to 2016. The study categorized corporate governance disclosure into three – corporate governance disclosure on board of directors, corporate governance disclosure on risk framework, and corporate governance disclosure on whistle blowing policy. It constructed an overall corporate governance disclosure index as well as sub-indices corresponding to the three categories of corporate governance disclosure. The study formulated ten hypotheses and ranked ordinary least square methods of multiple regressions to explore the relationship between corporate governance disclosure and the financial performance of deposit money banks in Nigeria. The result showed a positive and significant association between overall corporate governance disclosure and the financial performance of deposit money banks in Nigeria. The result of the OLS regressions also supported a positive effect of corporate governance disclosure on board of directors and whistle blowing policy on the financial performance of the deposit money banks in Nigeria. Contrary to expectation, the study failed to document a significant association between corporate governance disclosure on risk framework and financial performance of deposit money banks. This study has contributed empirically to the body of knowledge by providing broader understanding of the effect of corporate governance disclosure on the financial performance of a critical sector of the Nigerian economy. Methodologically, the study is one of the few that developed disclosure checklist based on the provisions of both codes of corporate governance of Securities and Exchange Commission and Central bank of Nigeria and employed ranked OLS.

Impact of Corporate Governance on the Performance of Selected Banks in Nigeria

The impact of corporate governance on the performance of selected banks in Nigeria has become a wide-reaching truism that the quality of corporate governance makes a significant difference to and has a chief effect on the performance of banks. Effective corporate governance requires a clear understanding of the respective role of the board and of senior management and their relationships with others in the corporate structure.This study aim to examine the relationship that exists between corporate governance and banks performance of selected commercial banks in Nigeria. Using regression analysis of 5 years ranging from 2014 – 2018. The stock performance being the response variable was captured by Market price per share (MPS) while the explanatory variables included Board Size (BS), Corporate Governance Disclosure Index (CGDI), Non-Executive Director (NED) and Number of Female Director (NUM) are the regressors used in achieving this objective. Descriptive analysis was used to ascertain the mean (1.64141; MPS, 2.658831; BS, 2.145323; NED, 1.127043; NUM 0.933143; CGDI) median, Maximum, Minimum. Correlation was carried out and a positive and strong relationship were generated.Post estimation diagnostic test of Hausman test and redundant fixed effect test were adopted in selecting the most appropriate model to capture the impact of corporate governance characteristics on stock performance of banks. The test indicated that random effect is not an appropriate model and non-normality of the variables will not encourage the use of ordinary effect, therefore, in estimating the parsimonious model of the variable, fixed effect will be an appropriate assumption. 86.78% of the stock performance of banks was accounted for by the explanatory variables.The work suggests that efforts should be made to improve corporate governance focus on the stock performance of deposit money banks since the stock performance is a measure of the wealth of shareholders. Also, the Central bank of Nigeria and other relevant authorities should also try to ensure that steps are taken for mandatory and absolute compliance with the code of corporate governance. Also, an effective legal framework should be developed that specifies the rights and obligations of a bank, its directors, shareholders, specific disclosure requirements and provide for effective enforcement of the law. Keywords : Performance, Corporate Governance, Banks, Measure and Shareholders. DOI: 10.7176/RJFA/11-16-12 Publication date: August 31 st 2020

The Effect of Corporate Governance Disclosure on Banking Performance: Empirical Evidence from Iran, Saudi Arabia and Malaysia

A series of corporate failures and financial crises have raised attention to organizational governance issues, especially for financial institutions. In the banking system, corporate governance further plays a unique role because of the uniqueness of the banking organizations. Therefore, this study aims to examine the effect of corporate governance disclosure on bank performance by building a corporate governance disclosure index (CGDI) for 10 Islamic banks operating in Iran, Saudi Arabia and Malaysia. The data used in this study are secondary data taken from annual reports and sourced from the official websites of each banks include Iran Exchange, Stock Market Quotes and Financial News, and Bursa Malaysia. This study uses content analysis of the annual bank report within five years (2014-2018). The results show that Islamic banks comply with 72.4% of the attributes discussed in the CGDI. The most frequently reported and disclosed elements are board structure and audit committee. The regression results provide evidence that Islamic banks with a higher level of corporate governance disclosure reported high operating performance measured by ROA. In contrast to the expectation, the financial performance of ROE and Tobins'q are not significantly related to the disclosure of sharia bank governance.

Corporate Governance and Risk Disclosures: A Comparative Analysis Between Bangladeshi and Malaysian Islamic Banks

Corporate governance provides a fundamental framework to oversee corporate conduct and ensures transparency of institutions like banks. In case of Islamic banks, it adds additional importance as the profit sharing (with the depositors) system enhances the chance of agency problem for such institutions. Again, risks are inherent in institutions like Islamic banks, which necessitate the investors to get proper information about the risk encountered by the banks in which they invest. Thus, corporate governance and risk disclosures bear utmost importance. Since Malaysian banking industry has already experienced a favorable growth of Islamic banking and Bangladesh is observing a rapid growth of popularity of Islamic banking, a comparative study has been undertaken between Malaysian and Bangladeshi Islamic banks regarding corporate governance and risk disclosures in annual reports. Content analysis technique has been applied to facilitate the comparison. Both quantity and quality of risk reporting of the sample companies have been evaluated. A corporate governance disclosure index has been developed by following the guidelines provided by Bangladesh Security and Exchange Commission (BSEC) and the principles laid down in the ‘Guidelines on Corporate Governance for Licensed Islamic Banks in Malaysia’ to explore and compare the degree of good corporate governance and relevant disclosures in the annual reports. It is hypothesized that corporate governance and risk disclosure will vary between Malaysian and Bangladeshi Islamic Banks. It is also argued that the corporate risk disclosures will be positively associated with the quality of the firm’s corporate governance mechanisms. Results are generally supportive of hypotheses. At the end, implications for theory and practices are discussed in the study.

Corporate Governance Disclosure Index–Executive Pay Nexus: The Moderating Effect of Governance Mechanisms

This paper first employs principal component analysis technique to develop and introduce an alternative UK corporate governance disclosure index to the US‐centric ones. Second, we then investigate whether this new corporate governance disclosure index can determine the level of executive pay (including CEOs, CFOs, and all executive directors) in UK listed firms, and consequently ascertain whether the governance mechanisms can moderate the pay‐for‐performance sensitivity. Employing data on corporate governance, executive pay and performance from 2008 to 2013, we find that, on average, better‐governed firms tend to pay their executives lower compared with their poorly‐governed counterparts. Additionally, our findings suggest that the pay‐for‐performance sensitivity is generally positive, but improves in firms with high corporate governance quality, implying that the pay‐for‐performance sensitivity is contingent on the quality of internal governance structures. We interpret our findings within the predictions of optimal contracting theory and managerial power hypothesis.

Preface to the Volume 2 Issue 4 of Indian-Pacific Journal of Accounting and Finance

Preface to the Volume 2 Issue 4 of Indian-Pacific Journal of Accounting and Finance

Corporate Governance Disclosure: The Evidence from Nigeria

This study centres on the investigation of the level of compliance with the Nigerian Corporate Governance Code's recommendations by the six selected oil companies from 2004 to 2012. Two stages of compliance level with the Corporate Governance Disclosure Index (CGDI) were developed from 43 specific corporate governance issues based on the Nigerian Code's provisions and analysed. Firstly, the study demonstrates the degree of compliance with the CGDI for the selected companies over the survey period (2004-2012). This allows the testing of the continuous progress of the level of conformity with the Nigerian Code's provisions. Second, it measures the level of compliance with the CGDI that existed over the 2004-2009 and 2010-2012 periods respectively. The motive is to find out whether the level of compliance with corporate governance has increased over the two periods since the creation of the Nigerian Code in late 2003. The findings indicate a remarkable improvement with the compliance with the Nigerian Code over the periods by the selected companies.