THE ROLE OF CORPORATE GOVERNANCE IN ENSURING TIMELY FINANCIAL REPORTING AMONG NIGERIAN LISTED FIRMS

The objective of a corporate report is to provide information useful for predicting, comparing, and evaluating firms earning power and growth. A delay in publication of the report can reduce its value. Investors are skeptical about the authenticity of financial reports of firms that waste more than the expected time in publishing their audited financial reports. This study examined the effects of corporate governance attributes on the financial reporting timeliness of listed companies in Nigeria. Specifically, the study examined the governance attributes (board independence, board size, and board gender diversity) on financial reporting timeliness. The study adopted the ex post facto research design. The population of the study consisted of all the consolidated companies listed on the Nigerian stock exchange within the period 2012-2021. However, only 64 firms were sampled. Balanced panel data were extracted from the financial statements of 64 companies in Nigeria for the period 20122021. The financial reporting timeliness was measured using audit report lag. The logistics regression result revealed that board independence and board size have significant effects on timeliness while board gender diversity has no significant effect on the financial reporting timeliness of listed companies in Nigeria. The study concluded that corporate governance is a determinant of financial reporting timeliness among listed companies in Nigeria. This study recommended that the board of the listed companies should continually ensure a financial report is prepared timely so as to attract both current investors and potential investors to continue to invest in their organisations. Also, the Financial Reporting Council should encourage firms that disclose accounting information timely through incentives and impose penalties through rebuttal on firms that fail to provide timely financial reports.