Corporate Governance and Financial Performance of Selected Quoted Companies in Nigeria

Abstract

This study examines the relationship between corporate governance and financial performance of randomly selected quoted firms in Nigeria. It investigates corporate governance variables and analyses whether they impact on firm performance as measured by return on asset (ROA) and profit margin (PM). Based on the review of existing literature, four corporate governance variables were selected namely: composition of board member, board size, CEO status and ownership concentration which served as the independent variables. The ordinary least square regression was used to estimate the relationship between corporate governance and firm performance. Findings from the study show that there is positive and significant relationship between composition of board member and board size as independent variables and firm performance. CEO status also has positive relationship with firm performance but insignificant at P<0.05. However, ownership concentration has negative relationships with return on asset (ROA) but positive relationship with profit margin (PM). The relationships are not significant at 5%. The study recommends among other things that companies’ board should be majorly dominated by independent directors and board size should be in line with corporate size and activities.

Keywords: Firm performance, Board Composition, Board Size, CEO Status