BOARD ATTRIBUTES AND EARNINGS MANAGEMENT OF LISTED MANUFACTURING FIRMS IN NIGERIA: THE MODERATING ROLE OF BOARD ACCOUNTING EXPERTISE

Abstract This paper investigates whether a board's size and a board's independence influence a firm's outcome of earnings management, and whether accounting competence of its directors influences this relationship in manufacturing listed firms in Nigeria. It analysed a sample of 38 listed firms covering the period 2015-2024, extracting the data from published annual reports and other relevant company disclosures. Earnings management was proxied by discretionary accruals and estimated using panel-data random-effects regression. In the estimates, all the coefficients for board size and independence are negative yet not statistically significant, while the board accounting expertise coefficient is negative and statistically significant in the moderated specification. Neither the coefficient for the interaction term between board size and accounting expertise nor that for the interaction term between board independence and accounting expertise is statistically significant. It concludes that expertise in accounting within a board is associated with a lower firm- level measure of earnings-management, but the study does not substantiate its influence on the relationship between either board size or independence and earnings management. It encourages firms to consider directors' expertise in accounting, auditing and financial reporting as well as their oversight roles.