FIRMS AGE AND BOARD EXPERTISE EFFECT ON SUSTAINABILITY DISCLOSURE IN NIGERIA-LISTED MANUFACTURING FIRMS

Abstract

This study examined board's expertise on the sustainability disclosure of listed Nigerian manufacturing firms. This study used an ex-post facto research design with a population of 34 consumer goods and industrial goods firms with a sample size of 16 firms selected using purposive sampling. This study utilized the annual reports of these firms from 2013 to 2023 to gather necessary data, employ multiple regression techniques, and analyze the data through STATA software 13. The result revealed that board expertise and firm age have a negative and significant effect on sustainability disclosure when used directly. The results also found that the interaction between board expertise and firm age reveals a significant positive moderating effect. This study concludes that board expertise and firm age have a negative influence on sustainability disclosure. However, the interaction between board expertise and firm age is positive and significant, suggesting that firm age has a moderating effect and strengthens the positive effect of board expertise on sustainability disclosure. This study recommends that it is better to maximize the use of boards' expertise to enhance sustainability reporting, especially in older firms where the benefit of experience can be of added value in enhancing structures of good governance. Furthermore, older firms should try to increase the degrees of sustainability disclosure since such firms have more experience and industry tenure compared to young firms.