IS BOARD ATTRIBUTES A MISSING LINK TO TIMELINESS OF FINANCIAL REPORT? EVIDENCE FROM NON-FINANCIAL LISTED FIRMS IN NIGERIA

Abstract

This study investigates the impact of board attributes specifically, board independence, board size, board gender and board meetings on timeliness of financial reports using a sample of forty-two listed non-financial firms in Nigeria. The study adopted the Panel Corrected Standard Error. The study found board independence, board size and board gender have a significant negative impact on the timeliness of financial reports of the studied firms, while board meetings is positively but insignificantly related to the timeliness of financial reports of listed non-financial firms in Nigeria. The study further recommends SEC to require listed non-financial firms to increase the participation of non-executive directors, increase number of directors on board and increase the participation of women on board as it has been proven by the study that the increases would lead to a decrease in the intervals of audit delay.