Audit Committee Characteristics and Environmental Disclosure Among Nigeria Listed Non-Financial Firms

Abstract

This study investigates the influence of audit committee attributes on the corporate environmental disclosure using listed non-financial firms in Nigeria as case study. The population of the study consists of all non-financial listed firms on the Nigerian Exchange Group (formerly NSE). Using purposive sampling techniques, the study selected a total 70 listed non-financial firms having required information necessary for the study between 2011 and 2020. The study employed fixed effect and feasible generalized least square (FGLS) panel regression technique. The fixed effect of FGLS regression analysis indicates that while audit committee independent and audit committee gender diversity recorded significant positive influence on the environmental disclosure among Nigerian listed non-financial firms, the impact of audit committee size and audit committee meetings were negligible. Based on results, it is not the size of the committee nor the number of their meetings that matter for the disclosure of environmental information but the composition of the committee in terms of female and independent members representation. In conclusion, the study found evidence in support of the critical role of audit committee characteristics in environmental disclosure practices among Nigerian listed non-financial firms. Hence, it is recommended that efforts should be made to encourage higher composition of female and independent members on the audit committee.

Keywords

• environmental disclosure
• audit committee diversity
• audit committee independence
• audit committee meetings
• audit committee size