EFFECT OF CARBON ACCOUNTING ON THE FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE OF OIL & GAS FIRMS IN SOUTH EAST NIGERIA

The study examined the effect of Carbon Accounting on the Financial Performance of Oil & Gas Firms in South East Nigeria. The specific objectives were to: examine the effect of the Carbon Tax and Penalty Disclosure on the Financial Performance of Oil & Gas Firms, and evaluate the effect of Environmental Costs on the Financial Performance of Oil & Gas Firms in South East Nigeria. An Ex post facto research design was adopted for the study. Data were gathered from the annual reports and accounts of quoted firms on the Nigerian exchange group and the Central Bank of Nigeria. Data analysis was conducted using linear regression analysis in SPSS version 21. The result revealed that Carbon Tax and Penalty Disclosure have a significant positive effect on the Financial Performance of Oil & Gas Firms, and environmental Costs have a significant positive effect on the Financial Performance of Oil & Gas Firms in South East Nigeria. The study concluded that these findings provided support for the notion that proactively adopting carbon accounting procedures may be able to balance the relationship between environmental accountability and economic profitability. The study recommended that Management must ensure that there is full disclosure of any taxes or penalties regarding carbon in the annual financial statements.