AUDIT COMMITTEE ATTRIBUTES AND SUSTAINABILITY REPORTING DISCLOSURES OF MULTINATIONAL MANUFACTURING COMPANIES IN NIGERIA: EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE FROM FMOLS AND DOLS

Abstract

In today’s business’s landscape, a debatable concern is increasing on the influence of the audit committee attributes on sustainability reporting disclosures. To this extent, the study aims to assess the effect of audit committee attributes on sustainability reporting disclosures of listed multinational manufacturing companies. The ex post facto research design is adopted. The study’s population comprises 15 listed multinational manufacturing companies on the Nigerian Exchange Group as of December 2022. Ten (10) samples of listed multinational manufacturing companies were purposively selected for the period of 5 years (2018-2022). Secondary data was obtained from the audited and published annual reports. Descriptive statistics, fully modified ordinary least square, and dynamic ordinary least square techniques were the data analytic techniques used. The study shows that audit committee size, audit committee independence, audit committee financial expertise, and audit committee diversity have a positive and significant effect on sustainability reporting disclosures. Also, the audit committee meeting has a positive but insignificant effect on sustainability reporting disclosures. The composite index of audit committee attributes has a positive and statistically significant effect on the sustainability reporting disclosures of listed multinational manufacturing companies. The study concluded that audit committee attributes except audit committee meeting have a positive and significant effect on sustainability reporting disclosures of listed multinational manufacturing companies in Nigeria. The study recommends the adoption of all attributes of an audit committee as a corporate governance mechanism in multinational manufacturing companies.