RISK OVERSIGHT EFFECTIVENESS AS A MEDIATOR OF AUDIT COMMITTEE FINANCIAL EXPERTISE AND ENVIRONMENTAL DISCLOSURE

This study examines the mediating role of risk oversight effectiveness (ROE) in the relationship between audit committee financial expertise (ACFE) and environmental disclosure (ED) in 152 publicly listed Nigerian firms over the period 2015–2024. Despite widespread recognition of board financial expertise as a critical governance mechanism, its direct effect on environmental disclosure remains unclear in emerging markets. Using panel regression analysis with fixed effects, the study incorporates firm size, firm age, firm leverage, and industry type as control variables. Post-estimation tests including heteroskedasticity (Breusch-Pagan), autocorrelation (Wooldridge), multicollinearity (VIF), and bootstrapped mediation analysis were conducted to ensure robustness. The findings reveal that ACFE significantly enhances ROE, which in turn positively affects ED, confirming a partial mediation effect. ACFE’s direct effect on ED becomes insignificant when ROE is included, highlighting the critical role of structured risk oversight in translating expertise into meaningful environmental reporting. Control variables show limited influence, indicating that governance mechanisms outweigh firm-specific characteristics in driving disclosure. The study underscores the importance of integrating financial expertise with effective risk oversight processes to improve environmental transparency. These results offer practical insights for regulators, corporate boards, and stakeholders seeking to enhance ESG reporting practices in Nigeria. The study contributes to the literature by empirically validating ROE as a mediator and providing evidence-based recommendations for strengthening governance-driven environmental disclosure.