A review of internal and external influences on corporate governance and financial accountability in Nigeria

Abstract

S. (2015) 'A review of internal and external inuences on corporate governance and nancial accountability in Nigeria.', International journal of business governance and ethics., 10 (2). pp. 165-185. Further information on publisher's website:http://dx.doi.org/10.1504/IJBGE.2015.070933Publisher's copyright statement:Additional information: Use policyThe full-text may be used and/or reproduced, and given to third parties in any format or medium, without prior permission or charge, for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-prot purposes provided that:• a full bibliographic reference is made to the original source • a link is made to the metadata record in DRO • the full-text is not changed in any way The full-text must not be sold in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders.Please consult the full DRO policy for further details. A Review of Internal and External Influences on Corporate Governance and Financial Accountability in Nigeria AbstractNo country exists in isolation, and as developing countries like Nigeria aspire to 'international' standards of accountability and governance suited to the developed economies, they are confronted with the reality that it is difficult to separate the sociocultural context in which they operate from the external pressures to conform. This literature review provides deep insights into the developments in corporate governance and accountability in Nigeria, and in particular the influence of internal and external factors. While the extant literature suggests that the lack of corporate governance structures limits improvements in developing economies, we argue that the appropriateness, and the effectiveness of regulatory compliance systems explains corporate governance infractions in the country. We contribute to comparative corporate governance discourse, presenting important implications for key players in corporate governance development and monitoring, across global polity and practice. IntroductionObserving patterns of change is particularly relevant within the context of a developing economy like Nigeria, where it would appear that international pressures for change have over time influenced developments in corporate governance and financial accountability (Akinlo, 2004;Akinola, 2012). Like most developing countries, changes are constantly being made in Nigeria to aspire to standards of best practices developed in the more advanced economies. Change can be considered from two perspectives -'positive patterns of change', which signal progress, or 'negative patterns of change', which would suggest retrogression. 3There are important peculiarities in the socio-cultural, political and the economic environment in Nigeria, which presents a useful case study to examine these patterns of change in corporate governance development. These are some of the issues addressed in this paper. In particular, we present evidence of how a developing economy, Nigeria, has attempted to respond to the international pressures for change in corpo...

Examining the Link Between Religion and Corporate Governance: Insights From Nigeria

“…In addressing the preceding objective, this research adopts a high religiosity context (Nigeria). As stressed in Okike et al (2015) and Adeyemi (2010), the weaknesses in institutional elements and the data challenges in Nigeria suggest that this study will benefit from a direct engagement with stakeholders. Consequently, this paper adopts a qualitative, interpretivist methodology.…”

“…Literature indicates that corporate governance is affected by various influences (Aguilera & Jackson, 2003;Okike et al, 2015). This study examines whether religion affects corporate governance, given that religion is one of the three drivers of business activities in Nigeria (Limbs & Fort, 2000).…”

Corporate Attributes and Corporate Disclosure Level of Listed Companies in Nigeria: A Post-IFRS Adoption Study

“…Okike, Adegbite, Nakpodia & Adegbite [38] observe that the annual report and accounts of a company act as the channel of communication from the directors to shareholders and are important for corporate governance because these reports provide the means by which the directors are made accountable to the shareholders.…”

Firm Performance and Corporate Disclosure Level of Listed Companies in Nigeria

“…Okike et al (2015) observe that the annual report and accounts of a company act as the channel of communication from the directors to shareholders and are important for corporate governance because these reports provide the means by which the directors are made accountable to the shareholders.…”

“…If the former with stronger institutions and technological advancement still record incidences of poor disclosures, it suggests that the latter with weak institutions and emerging business environment may be worse. For example, Nigeria has been reputed for low-quality financial reporting occasioned by poor accounting system and weak corporate governance institutions (Okike, Adegbite, Nakpodia, & Adegbite, 2015). Over time, financial reports in Nigeria have been found to be deficient (Wallace, 1988;Adeyemi, 2006;Nweke, 2009) in that they lack vital information that will enable stakeholders to make informed decisions.…”