MODERATING EFFECT OF FIRM SIZE ON THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN BOARD STRUCTURE AND ENVIRONMENTAL DISCLOSURE OF SELECTED LISTED OIL AND GAS COMPANIES IN NIGERIA

Abstract

The study examined moderating effect of firm size on the relationship between board structure and environmental disclosure of oil and gas companies listed in Nigerian Exchange Group. Ex-post facto research design and content analysis were adopted, the population of the study was listed oil and gas companies in Nigeria. A sample of 20 companies was purposively selected for the period of five years, resulting in 100 observations. Data were collected from secondary sources, mainly from annual reports and corporate websites. Descriptive statistics, correlation and regression techniques were used to analyse the data. The results show that board independence, board size, and board gender diversity were statistically significant effect of corporate governance on environmental disclosure. Firm size significantly moderates the quantity of overall environmental disclosure of the sample oil and gas companies. The findings indicate that the level of environmental disclosure of oil and gas companies in Nigeria is quite insufficient at an average of 10 percent. The study also revealed that the environment the companies operate is institutionally and legally weak. The study recommends for an effective board structure in oil and gas companies which will lead to more robust environmental disclosures. Hence it calls for improvement on environmental law and implementation as well as harmonized environmental reporting infrastructure and standard to aid comparison.