Executive Compensation, Corporate Governance and Financial Reporting Quality: Evidence from listed firms in Nigeria

Executive Compensation, Corporate Governance and Financial Reporting Quality: Evidence from listed firms in Nigeria

In many emerging economies with less efficient market systems like Nigeria, investors tend to rely on financial reports for decision-making. Managerial opportunistic behavior is associated with the need to achieve performance-based remuneration targets. However, corporate governance mechanisms are established to monitor managerial affairs which are believed to curb such behaviors. Hence, this study assesses the influence of executive compensation on the quality of financial reports with an interactive effect of corporate governance in Nigerian listed firms. The population of the study comprised all listed companies on the Nigerian Exchange Group (NGX) from which 74 firms were selected. Executive compensation was proxied with the chief executive officer’s total remuneration, and the corporate governance index was adopted as a measure of corporate governance. The discretionary accruals from the modified Jones model by Kothari, Leone, and Wasley (2005), and the accruals of Dechow and Dichev (2002) proxied for financial reporting quality. The estimation results showed that the interactive effect of executive compensation and corporate governance has a significant and negative influence on discretionary accruals, which indicates a positive relationship with reporting quality.

___

  • Abduljalil, A., & Abdulrahman, R. (2010). Institutional investors and earnings management: Malaysian evidence. Journal of Finance Reporting and Accounting, 8(2), 110-127. Retrieved from doi 10.1108/19852511011088370 google scholar
  • Abogun, S., Fagbemi, T. O., & Balogun, B. R. (2016). Corporate governance and bank liquidity: Evidence from selected banks in Nigeria. Centerpoint Journal of Humanities, 16(2), 191- 204. google scholar
  • Adegoroye, E., Sunday, O. M., Soyinka, K. A., & Ogunmola, J. O. (2017). Executive compensation and firm performance: Evidence from Nigeria firms. International Journal of Advanced Academic Research, 3(3), 23-39. google scholar
  • Adeoye, E. T., Akinkoye, E. O., Ayoola, T., Imeh, G., & Agelebe, G. I. (2021). Executive compensation and financial reporting quality of Nigerian financial service industry. International Journal of Accounting & Finance Review, 7(1), 130-147. google scholar
  • Aguilera, R. V., & Desender, K. A. (2012). Challenges in the measuring of comparative corporate governance: A review of the main indices. Research Methodology in Strategy and Management, 8, 289-322. google scholar
  • Aguilera, R. V., & Jackson, G. (2003). The cross-national diversity of corporate governance: Dimensions and determinants. Academy of Management Review, 28(3), 447-465. google scholar
  • Akewusola, R. O., & Saka, R. O. (2018). Executive compensation and organizational financial performances: Evidence from selected diversified firms in Nigeria. IOSR Journal of Business and Management, 20, 8-17. google scholar
  • Al-Asiry, M. (2017). Determinants of quality of corporate voluntary disclosure in Emerging Countries: A Cross National Study. Doctoral Thesis- University of Southampton, 1-215. google scholar
  • Armstrong, C. S., Larcker, D. F., Ormazabal, G., & Taylor, D. J. (2013). The relation between equity incentives and misreporting: The role of risk-taking incentives. Journal of Finance and Economics, 109 (2), 327-350. google scholar
  • Barth, M. E., Landsman, W. R., & Lang, M. H. (2008). International accounting standards and accounting quality. Journal of Accounting Research, 46(3), 467-498. google scholar
  • Beest, F., Braam, G., & Boelens, S. (2009). Quality of financial reporting: Measuring qualitative characteristics. NiCE Working Paper, 09-108. google scholar
  • Borochin P., & Yang, J. (2017). The effects of institutional investor objectives on firm valuation and governance. Journal of Financial Economics, 126, 171-199. google scholar
  • Braam, G., & Beest, F. (2013). Conceptually-based financial reporting quality assessment. An empirical analysis on quality differences between UK annual reports and US 10-K reports. NiCE Working Paper, 13-106. google scholar
  • Brick, I. E., Palia, D., & Wang, C. (2013). Relative pay for relative performance. google scholar
  • Celik, M.A., & Tian, X. (2018). Agency frictions, managerial compensation, and disruptive innovations. Society for Economics Dynamics. google scholar
  • Central Bank of Nigeria (2014). Code of corporate governance for banks and discount houses in Nigeria and guidelines for whistle blowing in the Nigerian Banking Industry. google scholar
  • Chen, H., Tang, Q., Jiang., & Lin, Z. (2010). The role of international financial reporting standards in accounting quality: Evidence from the European Union. Journal of International Financial Management and Accounting, 21(3). google scholar
  • Chi-chi, O. A., & Friday, I. O. (2016). Corporate governance and financial reporting quality in selected Nigeria company. International Journal of Management Science and Business Administration, 2(3), 7-16. google scholar
  • Choi, T., & Pae, J. (2011). Business ethics and financial reporting quality: Evidence from Korea. Journal of Business Ethics. google scholar
  • Companies and Allied Matters Act [CAMA]. (2004). google scholar
  • Conyon, M. J. (1997). Corporate governance and executive compensation. International Journal of Industrial Organisation, 15, 493-509. google scholar
  • Conyon, M. J., & He, L. (2016). Executive compensation and corporate fraud in China. Journal of Business Ethics, 134 (4), 669-691. google scholar
  • Cooper, M . J., Gulen, H.., & Rau, P. R. (2009). Performance for pay? The relationship between CEO incentive compensation and future stock price performance. google scholar
  • De-la-Hoz, M. C., & Pombo, C. (2016). Institutional investor heterogeneity and firm valuation: Evidence from Latin America. Emerging Markets Review, 1-25. google scholar
  • Dechow, P., & Dichev, I. (2002). The quality of accruals and earnings: the role of actual estimation errors. The Accounting Review, 77, 35-59. google scholar
  • Dechow, P., Ge, W., & Schrand, C. (2010). Understanding earnings quality: A review of the proxies, their determinants and their consequences. Journal of Accounting and Economics, 50(2-3), 344-401. google scholar
  • Ewart, R., & Wagenhofer, A. (2011). Earnings management, conservatism, and earning quality. Foundations and Trends in Accounting, 6(2), 65-186. google scholar
  • Fagbemi, T. O., Abogun, S., & Salam M. O. (2013). The influence of corporate governance on creative accounting practices in Nigeria. Advances in Management, 11(1). google scholar
  • Fama (1980). Agency problems and the theory of the firm. Journal of Political Economy, 88(2), 288-307. google scholar
  • Federal Reporting Council of Nigeria [FRCN] (2018). Nigerian code of corporate governance. google scholar
  • Financial Accounting Standards Board [FASB]. (2018). The conceptual framework. Retrieved from https://www.fasb.org on 13 January, 2020. google scholar
  • Fonou-Dombeu, N. C., Mbonigaba, J., Olarewaju, O. M., & Nomlala, B. C. (2022). Earnings quality measures and stock returns volatility in South Africa. Future Business Journal, 8(4), 1- 15. google scholar
  • Francis, J., Olsson, P., & Schipper, K. (2006). Earnings quality. Foundations and Trends in Accounting, 1(4), 259-340. google scholar
  • Gompers, P., Ishii, J., & Metrick, A. (2003). Corporate governance and equity prices. Quarterly Journal of Economics, 118(1), 107-155. google scholar
  • Habib, A., & Jiang, H. (2015). Corporate governance and financial reporting quality in China: A survey of recent evidence. Journal ofInternational Accounting, Auditing and Taxation, 1- 45. google scholar
  • Hass, L.H., Tarsalewska, M., & Zhan, F. (2016). Equity incentives and corporate fraud in China. Journal ofBusiness Ethics 138(4), 723-742. google scholar
  • Hassen, R. B. (2014). Executive compensation and earnings management. International Journal of Accounting and Financial Reporting, 14(1), 84-105. google scholar
  • Hope, O.-K., Thomas, W.B., & Vyas, D. (2013). Financial reporting quality of U.S. private and public firms. The Accounting Review. google scholar
  • Igbekoyi, O. E., & Agbaje, W. H. (2018). Corporate governance and accounting information disclosure in the Nigerian banking sector. International Review ofBusiness and Economics, 2(1), 27-48 google scholar
  • International Accounting Standards Board [IASB]. (2018). IFRS The conceptual framework for financial reporting. Retrieved from http://eifrs.iasb.org/eifrs/bnstandards/en/framework.pdf on 13, January, 2020. google scholar
  • Istianingsih (2021). Earnings quality as a link between corporate governance implementation and firm performance. International Journal ofManagement, 16(4), 290-301. google scholar
  • Jayaraman, S., & Milbourn, T. (2012). The effect of auditor expertise on executive compensation. google scholar
  • Jensen, M. C., & Murphy, K. J. (1990). Performance pay and top-management incentives. Journal ofPolitical Economy, 98(2), 225-264. google scholar
  • Jensen, M., & Meckling, W. (1976). Theory of the firm: Managerial behavior, agency costs and ownership structure. Journal ofFinance Economics, 3 (4), 305-360. google scholar
  • Johnson, S., Ryan, H., & Tian, Y. (2009). Managerial incentives and corporate fraud: The source of incentives matter. Review ofFinance, 13, 115-145. google scholar
  • Junaidu, M. K., & Sani, K. S. (2014). Executive compensation and financial performance of listed banks in Nigeria: An Empirical Analysis. Journal ofAccounting, 2(3). google scholar
  • Kothari, S. P., Leone, A., & Wasley, C. (2005). Performance matched discretionary accrual measures. Journal ofAccounting and Economics, 39(1), 163-197. google scholar
  • La Porta, R., Lopez-de-Silanes, F., Shleifer, A., & Vishny, R. W. (1998). Law and finance. Journal ofPolitical Economy, 106, 1113-1155. google scholar
  • Mahboub, R. (2017). Main determinants of financial reporting quality in the Lebanese Banking Sector. European Research Studies Journal, 4, 706-726. google scholar
  • Mazzioni, S., & Klann, R. C. (2018). Aspect of quality of accounting in the international context. Review ofBusiness Management, 20(1), 92-111. google scholar
  • McNichols, M. (2002). Discussion of the quality of accruals and earnings: The role of accrual estimation errors. The Accounting Review, 77(Supplement), 61-69. google scholar
  • Menicucci, E. (2020). Earnings Quality: Definitions, Measures, and Financial Reporting. Palgrave Pivot Cham. Springer Nature Switzerland AG. google scholar
  • Miko, N.U., & Kamardin, H. (2015). Corporate governance and financial reporting quality in Nigeria: Evidence from pre- and post-code 2011. International Journal of Emerging Science and Engineering, 4(2). google scholar
  • Munisi, G., & Randoy, T. (2013). Corporate governance and company performance across SubSaharan African countries. Journal of Economics and Business, 90, 92-110. google scholar
  • Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD). (2004). OECD Principles of Corporate Governance 2004. Retrieved from http://www.oecd.org/corporate/ca/ corporategovernanceprinciples/ 31557724.pdf on 9, June 2019 google scholar
  • Owoeye, O. (2019, April 23). Tinubu, Avuru top list of highest paid CEOs of quoted Nigerian companies. Businessday Nigeria. google scholar
  • Oyerogba, E. O., Riro, G. K., & Memba, F. (2016). The perceived relationship between executive compensation package and profitability of listed companies in Nigeria. European Journal of Business, Economics and Accountancy, 4(3), 11-22. google scholar
  • Palea, V. (2013). IAS/IFRS and financial reporting quality: Lessons from the European experience. China Journal of Accounting Research, 6, 247-263. google scholar
  • Ross, S. A. (2004). Compensation incentives and the duality of risk aversion and riskiness. Journal of Finance, 59, 207-225. google scholar
  • Scott, W.R. (2014). Financial accounting theory, (8th Ed.). Toronto: Pearson Prentice Hall. google scholar
  • Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). (2011). Code of Corporate Governance for public companies in Nigeria. google scholar
  • Sun, B. (2014). Executive compensation and earnings management under moral hazard. Journal of Economic Dynamics & Control, 41, 276-290. google scholar
  • Sun, J., & Cahan, S. F. (2009). The effect of compensation committee governance quality on the association of CEO cash compensation and accounting performance. Corporate Governance: An International Review, 17(2), 193-207. google scholar
  • Sun, J., Cahan, S.F., & Emanuel, D. (2009). Compensation committee governance quality, chief). officer executive stock option grants, and future firm performance. Journal of Banking and Finance, 33(8), 1507-1519. google scholar
  • Umobong, A. A. (2016). Audit and compensation committee overlap and financial reporting quality of firms. International Journal of Business and Law Research, 4(4), 76-87. google scholar
  • Verdi, R.S. (2006). Financial reporting quality and investment efficiency. Working paper, Massachusetts Institute of Technology. google scholar
  • Watts, R., & Zimmerman, J. (1986). Positive accounting theory. Prentice-Hall Inc, Englewood Cliffs, NJ. google scholar
  • Yoon, S. (2007). Accounting quality and international accounting convergence. Dissertation (Doctor of Philosophy) - Oklahoma State University, Oklahoma. google scholar
  • Zeff, S. (2013). The objectives of financial reporting: A historical survey and analysis. ICAEW’s Information for Better Markets Conference. google scholar
  • Zhou, F., Zhang, Z., Yang., Su., & An, Y. (2018). Delisting pressure, executive compensation, and corporate fraud: Evidence from China. Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, 48, 17-34. google scholar