Corporate governance attributes and financial performance of listed consumer goods companies in Nigeria

Abstract

This study examined the influence of Corporate Governance Attributes (CGA) on the Financial Performance (FP) of listed Consumer Goods Companies (CGCs) in Nigeria. The objectives were to provide empirical evidence of the influence of Corporate Governance Attributes, proxied by Board Size (BS), Board Independence (BI), and Gender Diversity (GD) on the Dependent variable, Financial Performance (FP), proxied by Return on Assets (ROA), which is widely accepted to show the actual result of profitability in many firms. The study employed a longitudinal research design. A sample of five (5) companies was randomly selected from the population of thirty-five (35) listed CGCs in Nigeria as of 2020. Data was collected from the audited annual accounts and reports of the sampled firms. The study further employed multiple regression techniques to explain and test the data elicited. The statistical result for the variables shows weak FP among the sampled firms, implying that the selected firms reported a low return on assets during the period under consideration. Specifically, BI exerts a significant influence, while GD exerts a negative significant influence on ROA. However, BS reveals a negative and insignificant influence on the ROA of the CGCs in Nigeria. Deducing from the statistics, it can be observed that CEOs of CGCs in Nigeria are carefree with corporate attributes. There is a need for the CEOs and equity owners of the companies to review the fundamental demographic features of the CGCs to improve the quality of decision-making. Specifically, including the number of female directors in their board membership.