CORPORATE GOVERNANCE AND VOLUNTARY DISCLOSURES IN ANNUAL REPORTS: EVIDENCE FROM NIGERIA

Abstract This study aims to provide empirical evidence on the influence of corporate governance on voluntary disclosure in the annual report using some prominent corporate governance mechanisms such as board size, board independence, CEO duality, audit committee independence, and ownership concentration on voluntary disclosure, as well as different categories of VD after controlling the effect of some firm-specific factors for Nigerian firms. The study selects 25 non-financial and non-service firms listed on the Nigeria Exchange Group as of 2018 over five years. Data are drawn from all 25 companies from 2018–2022. The audited annual reports of the firms were scored on the extent of overall and four specific types of voluntary disclosures made. An appropriate panel data regression model is applied to examine the influence of CG on VD. The study’s findings show that voluntary disclosures among the firms are moderate even after adopting IFRS. Generally, corporate governance attributes such as board size, board independence, and ownership concentration are significant determinants of the extent of voluntary disclosures made by firms. However, CEO duality and auditor independence significantly negatively affect voluntary disclosures. Notably, no corporate governance mechanisms under consideration positively and significantly influence the social and board disclosure category. JEL Codes: G38, M4, M5, G34, M21 Keywords: Nigeria, Corporate governance mechanisms, categories of voluntary disclosure, asset disclosure, Voluntary disclosure index