Globally, when various channels of revenue available to the government fail to yield adequate resources to handle government expenditure or financial responsibilities, the government resorts to borrowing as an alternative source to complement revenue from taxes and other sources. However, the inability to optimally utilize borrowed funds had resulted in a high public debt profile and had retarded the economic growth of the Nigerian economy over the years. Consequently, this study investigated the effect of public debt management on economic growth in Nigeria. An ex-post facto research design was employed, while time-series data on the relevance of macroeconomic variables to public debt management and economic growth were sourced from secondary sources. The sample population purposively was chosen from data available from the 2020 edition of the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) Statistical Bulletin, which covers 40 years (1981-2020). Results revealed that public debt management RGDP) had a positive significant effect on economic growth in Nigeria (AdjR2 = 0.995; F (5, 31) = 99.562; p-value = 0.000). The conclusion validated that effective public debt management tends to have a positive significant effect on economic growth in Nigeria. It is therefore recommended that adequate measures be put in place to ensure optimal investment of borrowed funds in productive ventures in Nigeria Also, the loans should be serviced when they are due to avoid sanctions and accumulation default charges.

Bank's asset quality deteriorates when banks are exposed to high non-performing loans and associated credit risks. Sustainability reporting deepens the acceptability and understanding of huge opportunities and enhances the corporate competitive advantage of the banks in enhancing banks’ assets quality. This study investigated the effect of sustainability reporting on the assets quality of listed deposit money banks (DMBs) in Ghana, Kenya and Nigeria. The study explored secondary data, using a population of 95 listed DMBs, while a sample size of 31 DMBs was purposively selected for a period of 12 years. Data were extracted from the annual financial records of the banks and sustainability reporting checklist in line with the Global Reporting Initiative. The validity and reliability of the data were premised on the statutory audit of the financial statements. Descriptive and inferential (multiple regression) statistics were used to analyze the data at a 5% significant level. The study found that sustainability reporting significantly affected the assets quality of the listed deposit money banks in Ghana, Kenya and Nigeria (Adj R2 = 0.47, Wald-test (4, 367) = 342.18, p < 0.05). Based on the finding, the study recommended managers of the banks should exhibit high professional competence, and exercise managerial expertise and ethical practices in compliance with sustainability reporting best corporate best practices capable of enhancing the assets quality of the banks.

This study investigated the effect of income smoothing and earning management on the credibility of accounting information of listed manufacturing companies in Nigeria. Data used were extracted from the annual reports and accounts of the selected sixteen (16) firms for a period of 10 years (2010-2019) while content analysis was adopted in measuring accounting information credibility. Multiple linear regression analysis (OLS) method was adopted for the analysis. The result revealed that income smoothing and earnings management had statistically insignificant effect on fundamental qualitative characteristics (FQC), while income smoothing and earnings management had statistically significant effect on enhancing qualitative characteristics (EQC). However, the study obtained that income smoothing and earnings management had positive and significant effect on the credibility of accounting information of the listed manufacturing companies in Nigeria. The study opined that managers should ensure that accounting information is credible, possesses desirable accounting information qualities of relevance, and faithful representation, also verifiable, comparable, understandability, and timeliness. Contribution/Originality:This study is one of very few studies which have investigated how earnings management practices impacted on objectivity of reported financial information and breach of investors' trust in the management due to information asymmetry. INTRODUCTIONCredibility of accounting information is highly desired because it has the potency and ability to add value to investment decision made, using credible accounting information since it is reliable and dependable. The lending credibility theory suggested that the primary function of the auditors is to add value and credibility to the financial statement prepared by the management. Credibility of accounting information is a priceless and inestimable commodity that can be offered by the auditor to the public. In other words, the value of accounting information is absolutely void and insignificantly valueless if the credibility of its information contents is lacking (Jung, Soderstrom, & Yang, 2013). Credibility and reliability of accounting numbers enhance users' confidence in using the financial statements, it is capable of adding value to investment decisions and a reflection of the absence of information asymmetry, a hallmark of transparency and accountability and virtue that every audited financial

Dividend policy remains an important topic in modern corporate finance. Researchers, managers, and business owners seek to understand the optimal dividend policy. This study examined dividend policy as a driver of corporate growth in sub-Saharan Africa: evidence in Nigeria. The ex-post facto research design was adopted to analyse how dividend policy spur the growth of active insurance companies in the Nigerian Stock Exchange using secondary data of the sampled firms for 2007 – 2018 while utilising descriptive and inferential (regression) statistics in data analysis. The findings reveal that dividend policy in terms of dividend payout has an insignificant negative effect on corporate growth of insurance companies in Nigeria (?= -8.09E-05, p=0.77; Adjusted R2=0.4093; F(4,139)=3.29; p=0.00 with the controlling effect of efficiency, firm age and leverage which have a significant effect on corporate growth of insurance companies in Nigeria. Specifically, the study reveals that efficiency has a significant negative effect on corporate growth (?=-5.29, p<0.05); while firm age discloses a significant positive influence on corporate growth (?=0.417, p<0.05); as leverage exerts a significant negative effect on corporate growth (?=0.052, p<0.05). Therefore, the study concludes that dividend policy does not significantly drive insurance companies' dividend payout growth. The study recommends that insurance companies' management retain more of their profits, improve their efficiency, and control their leverage to further growth.

Meeting capital requirements for adequate banking services has become a complex issue. Prior studies had advanced that effective sustainability reporting influences corporate performance and banks’ capital adequacy. Consequently, this study empirically examined how sustainability reporting affected capital adequacy. This study was inspired by the importance of sustainability reporting in improving corporate performance and deposit money banks' (DMBs') capital adequacy. The study used an expo facto research design and a sustainability reporting checklist of the Global Reporting Initiative for 12 years from 20 to 2021. Secondary data were extracted from the annual financial statements of the DMBs listed in Ghana, Kenya, and Nigeria. 95 DMBs made up the research population, and 35 banks were chosen for the study using a purposive sample strategy. The result of the analysis demonstrated that sustainability reporting exerted a positive significant effect on the capital adequacy of the listed DMBs in Ghana, Kenya and Nigeria adequacy (Adj R2 = 0.91, Wald-test (4, 367) = 3958.9, p < 0.05). The study recommended that the management of the banks should ensure the effective implementation of sustainability reporting regulations and compliance in order to increase corporate legitimacy and banks' capital adequacy.