CEO narcissism, board structure, and financial reporting quality: Evidence from Nigerian banks

Type of the article: Research ArticleFinancial reporting quality is vital for maintaining transparency, investor confidence, and financial stability in the banking industry, especially in emerging markets characterized by evolving governance structures. Though corporate governance and executive traits have been examined independently by prior studies, adequate attention has not been given to the interaction among CEO narcissism, board structure, and financial reporting quality. Therefore, this study examined the effect of CEO narcissism on financial reporting quality, the influence of board structure on financial reporting quality, and the effect of board structure on CEO narcissism in Nigeria’s deposit money banks. The study adopted an ex-post facto longitudinal research design, utilizing panel data from 12 deposit money banks from 2012–2023. The study’s data were collected from sampled banks’ annual reports, and panel regression analysis was used to analyze the data. The results showed that CEO narcissism had a significant and positive effect on financial reporting quality, which suggests that a narcissistic CEO may channel this trait towards reputational transparency, especially in a highly regulated environment. Furthermore, board independence and board size had significant negative effects on financial reporting quality, and gender diversity exhibited a significant positive effect. Additionally, board gender diversity was found to significantly influence CEO narcissism. The findings highlighted the importance of aligning governance structures with executive behavioral traits to improve financial reporting quality in banking systems in emerging markets.