Corporate ethical standard and the quality of sustainability reporting: Empirical evidence from commercial banks in nigeria

Abstract

Compliance with legal requirements is mandatory for corporate entities in Nigeria, but decision making in a situation that is not legally binding relies on the ethical standard of the company. Sustainability reporting in Nigeria is voluntary, therefore the quality of disclosure is at the discretion of company leadership. This study evaluated the ethical behaviour of Nigerian commercial banks and how it affects their sustainability disclosure quality. The Focus was on the proportion of each bank's corporate annual reports that contain environmental disclosure, social responsibility disclosure and governance disclosure. Information on the banks' websites that relate to sustainability policies or activities were also considered. This work includes an extensive review of relevant literature, hinging the study on legitimacy theory. The Cross-sectional research design was utilized in undertaking the study. A sample of fourteen (14) commercial banks was selected from the companies listed on the Nigerian stock exchange and analysed for a period of 2008-2017 financial years. Pearson Correlation and Multivariate Linear model analysis were employed to test the hypotheses. Findings revealed a positive relationship between corporate ethical standard and sustainability disclosure of Nigerian commercial banks. The level of corporate ethical standard in Nigerian banks causes significant positive change in environmental reporting quality, social responsibility reporting quality and governance reporting quality. It is hereby, recommended that company leadership should build strong corporate ethical culture since it directly affects their sustainability. While quality sustainability reporting practice is beneficial to the reporting entity, stakeholders and environment.