Abstract-The aim of this study is to gain more insights in the disclosure practices among the largest public listed companies in Nigeria, by examining the associations between firm characteristics and the extent of voluntary segments disclosure on IFRS 8 Operating Segments by using a sample of 76 companies. The results document that firm size and industry type have positive association with voluntary segments disclosure. In addition, negative association is observed between firm listing age, growth, return on investment, ownership diffusion and voluntary segments disclosure.Index Terms-Firm characteristics, IFRS 8, voluntary disclosure. I. INTRODUCTIONAnnouncement for the requirement to adopt IFRS in Nigeria was released in September 2010. This is a decision made by the federal executive council of Nigeria in an effort to establish nationwide commitment toward its convergence policy with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) as a basis for financial reporting in Nigeria, effective for fiscal periods beginning after December 31, 2011. The transition process began in 2012 and scheduled to be completed by 2014. Therefore all Nigerian public listed companies are mandated to comply with the provision of IFRS by year 2014. Prior to 2012 Nigerian companies are reporting based on national standards, Statement of Accounting Standards (SAS) issued by Nigerian Accounting Standards Board (NASB) now Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria (FRCN). However, convergence to IFRS in Nigeria indicates that financial institutions that were mandated to adopt IFRS in 2010 faced many difficulties in the convergence process. Reference [1] argued that financial reporting in the pre-IFRS period remained weak compare to advanced jurisdictions, [2] as a result of many inadequacies such as lack of effectiveness and inefficiency in the capital market. Reference [3] study corporate governance attributes towards voluntary segments disclosure in Nigeria and found no association between such mechanisms except in separation of board leadership. It is claimed that implementing of IFRS in Nigeria will face challenges such as the development of legal and regulatory framework [4]. This is despite the fact that accounting principles require authoritative support as well as enforcement measures towards its application in order to meet it's objectives. The objective of preparation and disseminating financial Manuscript received March 18, 2014; revised May 30, 2014. Kabir Ibrahim is with the Department of Accounting, Federal Polytechnic Bali, Nigeria (e-mail: kabirne3@gmail.com).information is to provide users of such information with relevant and reliable information in making investment decision. Therefore voluntary disclosure is an interesting topic particularly on segment disclosures for investors and other users as there remain unanswered questions regarding what motivates or influences managers to disclose information.The objective of this study is to examine empirically the relationship between various firm characteristics and the leve...

Following the adoption of International Financial Reporting Standard (IFRS) in Nigeria, companies listed under Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) are mandated to comply with the provisions of IFRS within the transition period effective 1st January 2012 and ending 2014. The aim of this paper is to share more lights in the transition process to IFRS with regards to segment reporting in mandatory regime. Based on sample of 97 listed companies using a disclosure index, the study document that the quantity of disclosure was positively related to some aspects of firm characteristics such as industry type, auditor type, firm size, and company's listing age, albeit these variables provide a significant impact on compliance with IFRS 8 (Operating segments) disclosure. The study Further document that majority of the sample companies identify Board of Directors (BOD) as their Chief Operating Decision Maker (CODM).