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This document is a compilation of various academic articles and research papers related to sustainability reporting, corporate social responsibility (CSR), and environmental governance. The articles cover topics such as the influence of governance structure and strategic CSR on sustainability reporting quality, the impact of CSR on firm performance, and the factors influencing voluntary sustainability reporting. The document also includes studies on the role of environmental policy in influencing governance and sustainability practices among Nigerian quoted companies. Overall, the articles provide valuable insights into the motivations, challenges, and prospects of sustainability reporting in different contexts. [Extracted from the article]

Purpose: This study investigates the perception of professionals in the field of accounting, and those associated with forensic auditing, about the knowledge and skills, experience and technique that a forensic auditor should possess to provide high-quality services in fraud detection. The study also shows the impact of forensic auditing tools on fraud detection. Design/methodology/approach: With the use of a self-administered questionnaire, the study adopts a survey design in which 298 respondents participated. Data were subjected to descriptive statistics (ranking, mean and standard deviation), inferential statistics (binary logistic regression and ordinary least square regression). Findings: The findings indicate that adequate knowledge of economic damage calculation and financial statement valuation is essential for forensic auditors' service. The results also reveal that forensic auditor skills and techniques is a significant predictor for fraud detection in the Nigerian public sector. Practical implications: The paper draws attention of the federal government parastatals to the need to improve their internal control system to reduce the fraudulent practices in their parastatal. The study also draws the attention of the Nigeria University Commission and the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria on the needs for revision of the accounting curricular for the training of accounting graduates and professional accountants in Nigeria. Social implications: The paper is of importance to other developing nation as it provides empirical evidence on the needs to do periodic forensic audits of government corporations. Originality/value: With the persistent increase in the number of fraudulent cases, current views of those associated with forensic auditing (judiciaries, parastatals, forensic auditors and academics) on mechanisms for timely detection of fraud are needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study aims to examine an alternative use of accounting information and technology (forensic audit) for resolving conflicts between two government agents and consequently enhancing accountability in Nigeria. Design/methodology/approach: The study adopts contextualised explanation of case study theorising. Data for the study were gathered from two primary documents: the forensic audit report of PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) and the report of the Senate Committee on Finance and Appropriation. The theory of mediation is used to illuminate the mediation process and its implication for accountability. Findings: The study finds that the mediator (PwC) was able to resolve the dispute using different problem-solving techniques (data gathering and fact finding) of accounting and provide guidance on the necessary steps to be taken to enhance accountability. Whilst the disputants agreed to the audit firm's findings, further actions to hold relevant parties accountable were not taken by the government. Accounting aids in realising accountability, but it is not the ultimate tool, as it operates within a host of other accountability infrastructures that subvert its impact. Research limitations/implications: This study uses a single case to understand the role of accounting in conflicts resolution. Therefore, as a general limitation of a case study design, we do not generalize beyond the case examined in this study. Practical implications: The study has implications for accounting practice in developing countries. Firstly, the paper finds that accounting is held in high esteem as having the ability to unravel mysteries through its problem-solving techniques. Secondly, professional accounting firms need to maintain a high level of competence and integrity to sustain this position. Thirdly, accounting can help answer the question "Who should be held accountable?" Originality/value: The study examines a novel case of how accounting is used in resolving conflicts in a rare setting and in ensuring accountability over public funds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose |!|#8211; Whilst taking Nigeria|!|#39;s peculiar institutional configurations into consideration, this paper aims to critically evaluate the Nigerian corporate governance regulatory system, which is characterised by endemic corporate corruption, and to explore how regulatory policy responses can be strategically formulated to ensure corporate vitality and prevent market failures. The paper investigates the antecedents of effective corporate governance regulation in Nigeria.Design/methodology/approach |!|#8211; This paper employs research method triangulation in order to provide an informative and comprehensive account. The following data collection methods were employed to conduct a survey of corporate governance professionals in academia, in practice (including board directors, managers, current and former CEOs and chairmen across different industries, as well as members of professional accounting and audit associations), and in the Nigerian polity: in-depth interviews, focus groups, direct observations and case studies.Findings |!|#8211; This study has provided some evidence to support the view that a country|!|#39;s peculiar institutional arrangements influence its predominant model and style of corporate governance regulation. These institutions may be regarded as integral and inseparable constituents of any particular nation, which can either aggregate to facilitate the success of regulatory initiatives and promote good corporate governance or constitute barriers to the implementation of good governance principles.Originality/value |!|#8211; This paper primarily adds to the literature on corporate governance in sub-Saharan Africa, whilst extending knowledge on the dynamics of corporate governance regulation in different institutional contexts. The paper further points out some transnational challenges, and suggests more caution, in the diffusion of corporate governance regulatory principles across different institutional environments. This further brings to the fore the need for countries to fashion out their corporate governance regulatory strategies in ways which deal with peculiar challenges, albeit within an umbrella of accepted principles of responsible corporate behaviour. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper further examines the influence of external auditor and board attributes on incidence of discretionary accruals and real earnings management in Nigeria. The sample size comprises fifty (50) purposively selected quoted non-financial firms for a 7 year period (2014-2020), culminating into a 350 dataset. The descriptive statistics depict absence of both discretionary accruals and real earnings management with either classifications dependent upon the auditor-type, board independence and profitability among quoted nonfinancial firms in Nigeria. The regression results indicate reduction in discretionary accruals owing to concerted audit efforts and lower board size while large profitable firms still possess the tendencies to use discretionary accruals in manipulating earnings. On real manipulative propensities by management, audit fees contribute greatly while auditor-type and presence of female directors on corporate boards exhibit negative and statistically significant association with real earnings management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Maternal death reviews and obstetric audits identify causes and circumstances related to occurrence of a maternal death or serious complication and inform improvements in quality of care. Given Nigeria's high maternal mortality, the lessons learned from past experiences can provide a good evidence base for informed decision making. We aimed to synthesise findings from maternal death reviews and other obstetric audits conducted in Nigeria through a systematic review, seeking to identify common barriers and enabling factors related to the provision of emergency obstetric care. Methods: We searched for maternal death reviews and obstetric care audits reported in the published literature from 2000-2014. A 'best-fit' framework approach was used to extract data using a structured data extraction form. The articles that met the inclusion criteria were assessed using a nine point quality score. Results: Of the 1,841 abstracts and titles at initial screening, 329 full text articles were reviewed and 43 papers fulfilled the inclusion criteria. Four types of barriers were reported related to: transport and referral; health workers; availability of services; and organisational factors. Three elements stand out in Nigeria as contributing to maternal mortality: delays in Caesarean section, unavailability of magnesium sulphate and lack of safe blood transfusion services. Conclusions: Obstetric care reviews and audits are useful activities to undertake and should be promoted by improving the processes used to conduct them, as well as extending their implementation to rural and basic level health facilities and to the community. Urgent areas for quality improvement in obstetric care, even in tertiary and teaching hospitals should focus on organisational factors to reduce delays in conducting Caesarean section and making blood and magnesium sulphate available for all who need these interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The recent collapse of Enron and revelations of unethical behaviour by members of the board of large corporations in the USA have reopened the debate about the credibility of the auditing profession and their usefulness in establishing confidence in the capital markets. In the case of Nigeria, the promulgation of the Companies and Allied Matters Act No. 1 in 1990 provided the opportunity for the government to register its dissatisfaction with the performance of auditors in Nigeria. The act contained provisions that challenged the credibility of the accounting profession in Nigeria and almost threatened its very existence. This paper examines events and environmental factors which led to the "crisis of confidence" and how the profession has attempted to re-establish public confidence in its members. Other developments in the regulatory framework for accounting and auditing in Nigeria are also examined. The paper suggests that any response by the profession must be relevant and give due cognisance to the peculiarity of the Nigerian socio-economic, political and cultural environments. It also suggests that the accounting profession in Nigeria must not rest on its oars, but must constantly remain proactive by keeping abreast of developments in the internal and the external reporting environments and respond appropriately. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Nigeria accounts for 9% of the global HIV burden and is a signatory to Millennium Development Goals as well as the post-2015 Sustainable Development Goals. This paper reviews maturation of her HIV M&E system and preparedness for monitoring of the post-2015 agenda. Methods: Using the UNAIDS criteria for assessing a functional M&E system, a mixed-methods approach of desk review and expert consultations, was employed. Results: Following adoption of a multi-sectoral M&E system, Nigeria experienced improved HIV coordination at the National and State levels, capacity building for epidemic appraisals, spectrum estimation and routine data quality assessments. National data and systems audit processes were instituted which informed harmonization of tools and indicators. The M&E achievements of the HIV response enhanced performance of the National Health Management Information System (NHMIS) using DHIS2 platform following its re-introduction by the Federal Ministry of Health, and also enabled decentralization of data management to the periphery. Conclusion: A decade of implementing National HIV M&E framework in Nigeria and the recent adoption of the DHIS2 provides a strong base for monitoring the Post 2015 agenda. There is however a need to strengthen inter-sectoral data linkages and reduce the rising burden of data collection at the global level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – The paper aims to investigate Task Performance Fraud Risk Assessment (TPFRA) and Knowledge Requirement (KR) of the forensic accountant and auditor on Fraud-Related Problem Representation (FRPR) in the Nigerian public sector. Design/methodology/approach – The study used cross-sectional design and 400 survey questionnaires. The respondents are real professional people (auditors and forensic accountants in the Nigerian public sector) as true representatives to enhance the generalization of the outcomes. A total of 36 indicator items was measured on five-point Likert scale from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). Partial Least Square – Structural Equation Modelling 2.0 3M and IBM SPSS Statistics 20.0 were used as the primary statistical analysis tool for the study. Findings – The results of the present study confirm the positive relationship between KR on TPFRA, positive relationship of KR on FRPR and positive relationship of FRPR and TPFRA. Specifically, the results revealed that FRPR positively mediates the relationship between TPFRA and KR (forensic accountant and auditor) in the areas of fraud prevention, detection and response. Research limitations/implications – The first limitation deals with fraud and corrupt practices in a developing country, Nigeria. Examining the mediating influence of FRPR on KR and TPFRA in the public sector could be considered as sensitive and raise the issue of bias. The second limitation is the adoption of cross-sectional design in which data are collected at one point in time. Researchers are encouraged to use a longitudinal design to explore interactions between KR, FRPR and TPFRA. Practical implications – This empirical study has revealed the value of KR (forensic accountant and auditor) as a significant capability requirement in the workplace. In addition, it shows the importance of FRPR as an important mental state in decision-making or judgment and also the significance of FRPR as an important mediating variable on KR and TPFRA. Originality/value – No nation is immune to fraud, and loss due to fraud in the public sector is enormous and costly; the result of this research will improve the KR of auditors and forensic accountants in the areas of fraud detection, prevention and response. It will also contribute to the regulatory, legal and institutional frameworks in accounting and auditing systems in Nigeria and portend an increase in demand for forensic accountants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study, focused on the relationship between corporate governance and audit quality in the Nigerian Banking sector. Data for the study were gathered from both the primary and the secondary sources. In analysing the data gathered the Z- test, a parametric test, was used. The result revealed that corporate governance has significantly influence on the quality of audit work and that corporate governance significant influences the rapid growth and development of the Nigeria Banking sector. Premised on the above, the paper recommended that the relevance of corporate governance should be strongly re-emphasized among banks alongside its associated benefits; that the Institute of Chartered Accountant and other professional bodies play a significant role in enlightening their members of the need for quality audit, Banks executives and board member should adhere strictly to the Code of Corporate governance to enhance transparency in banking practices and members of Audit Committee should also play a significant role in enhancing quality audit work and the free flow of the principle of corporate governance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study aims to examine the effects of audit committee attributes on corporate philanthropic donations before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Design/methodology/approach: The study targets Nigeria's listed firms between 2019 and 2020. We hand-collected the data from the available published annual reports of 141 and 128 firms for 2019 and 2020, respectively. Therefore, the authors used a total of 269 firm-year observations for the study. The authors used ordinary least square regression to analyze the data and Tobit regression to establish the robustness of the results. Findings: The results indicate that the frequency of audit committee meetings has a significant positive relationship with corporate philanthropic donations before and during COVID-19. In the case of audit committee independence, it has only a significant positive relationship with corporate philanthropic donations during the pandemic. However, the findings reveal that audit committee size and foreign directors on the audit committee do not influence corporate philanthropic donations before and during COVID-19. Research limitations/implications: The study considers audit committee characteristics out of the corporate governance mechanisms that can influence the philanthropic donations of the listed firms in Nigeria over two years from 2019 and 2020. Practical implications: The findings have practical implications for encouraging the audit committee to support philanthropic donations for the welfare of the poor and the needy, particularly in difficult times like the COVID-19 period. The results could also help regulators and policymakers to provide regulations and policies that can encourage firms to participate actively in philanthropic activities to their best ability. Social implications: Motivating firms to provide philanthropic donations for the welfare of underprivileged persons could strongly support the government's effort to minimize the socioeconomic problems caused by COVID-19. Originality/value: The study contributes to the scant literature that establishes the impact of audit committee attributes on firm philanthropic donations toward helping the poor and the needy in difficult periods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study evaluates the impact of statutory audit and corporation tax charges on the profitability of Nigerian listed firms using data from 2016 to 2021. This study is highly inspired by corporate governance detects, which mandate corporations' stewardship, civic, and transparency duties to stakeholders. However, there is a need to analyze the compliance rate and its implications for corporate performance. The research data for this study are derived from the yearly financial reports of the sampled businesses. The descriptive statistics, correlation matrix, Hausman test, fixed and random effects techniques are also used in the study to determine the suitability of the data collected for the study and to determine the relationship between the study variables as well as the influence of the predictor variables on the reliant factors. According to the findings, corporate tax costs and statutory audit have a considerable impact on business profitability but while the corporate tax impact positively on profitability, an immaterial negative effect on net asset base is established. The total assets employed as the control variable in this study does not have tangible effect on both the profit after tax and net asset base. In terms of the relationship, all variables have a large and very strong positive interconnection with one another except the total assets applied as the moderating variable. It is also established that the data used in this inquiry is entirely normally distributed and appropriate for analysis. According to the findings, organizations should maintain a consistent statutory audit and regularly comply with tax obligations to establish a stronger corporate image that would promote excellent financial performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Maternal death reviews (MDRs) are part of the drive to increase accountability for maternal deaths and reduce their occurrence by identifying barriers to effective, quality care. However, conducting MDRs well is difficult; staff commitment and establishing a blame free environment are key challenges. By examining the communication strategies used in MDRs this study sought to understand how MDR members implement policy imperatives (e.g. 'no blame, no name') and manage the inevitable sensitivities of discussing a client's death in a multidisciplinary team. We observed and recorded four MDRs in Nigerian teaching hospitals and used conversation and discourse analysis to identify patterns in verbal and non-verbal interactions. MDRs were conducted in a structured way and had multidisciplinary representation. We grouped discursive strategies observed into three overlapping clusters: 'doing' no-name no-blame; fostering participation; and managing personal accountability. Within these clusters, explicit reminders, gentle enquiries and instilling a sense of togetherness were used in doing no-name, no-blame. Strategies such as questioning and invoking protocol were only partially successful in fostering participation. Regarding managing accountability, forms of communication which limit personal responsibility ('pass the buck') and resist passing the buck were observed. Detailed, lengthy eye witness accounts of dramatic events appeared to reduce staff's personal accountability. We conclude that interactional processes affect the meaningfulness of MDRs. In-depth, critical analysis depends on resisting 'passing the buck' by practitioners and chairs especially, who are also key to fostering participation and extracting value from multidisciplinary representation. Our innovative methods provide detailed insights into MDRs as an interactional process, which can inform design of training aimed at enhancing MDR members' skills. However, given the multitude of systemic challenges we should also adjust our expectations of MDRs and the individual practitioners tasked to perform them in the name of enhancing accountability for maternal death reduction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Audit timeliness is an important ingredient of quality financial reporting. Stale information might only benefit little to stakeholders in their decision making process. With the recent adoption of the International Financial Reporting Standards in Nigeria, the work of the auditor has seemingly become complicated. The question then emerges, if such adoption affects the timeliness of audit reports. This study empirically investigates the impact of IFRS adoption and other associated explanatory variables on audit timeliness in Nigerian deposit money banks for the period 2010 to 2013. Panel regression analysis reveals a positive significant impact of IFRS adoption on audit timeliness. Results also indicate that firm age, firm size and auditor firm type are significant predictors of audit timeliness in Nigeria deposit money banks. The study recommends that auditor firms should make stringent efforts to acclimatize with the complexities of the IFRS transition process so as to reduce audit report delays. Also reporting agencies should come up with regulations, deadlines and benchmarks for issuance of independent audit reports. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Europe and North America, negligence claims against firms of accountants, solicitors and other professionals are increasingly common. The law of negligence is in constant development, as major cases come to trial and new statutes are enacted on the subject. The auditing function of accountants has attracted more attention in recent times because of the failings of international corporate brand names amidst allegations of fraudulent accounting, auditing and directors' abuse of office. A legal response to these failings is an examination or re-examination of the rules on audit responsibilities, monitoring and the basis of liability for breach of statutory duties and negligent misstatements. This article examines the legal framework delineating auditors' responsibilities and potential liabilities in the United Kingdom and under the Nigerian Companies and Allied Matters Act 1990, with a view to prescribing an approach that will ensure effective compliance and discharge of responsibilities owed to all persons who may conceivably rely on financial statements and the auditors' certification of accuracy. It advocates a stricter regime of civil liability for auditors in meeting increasing challenges posed by several audit failures and scandals worldwide. The article submits that existing statutory framework for auditors' liability needs to be supplemented and advanced by common law formulations. It argues that a legal regime, which absolves auditors' liability in respect of a careless audit unless it so happens that the company itself suffers loss, is absurd. In reality, it contends that a company's annual report containing the financial statements of a company's performance as audited forms the bedrock of informed investment decisions by existing shareholders and prospective investors. For existing shareholders, it provides an analytical basis for the evaluation of the company and thereby influences the decision to sell or hold or even to make further purchases of the company's stock; moreover, for investment analysts, advisers and investors, it encompasses the most readily obtainable certified performance record of the company. Therefore, it is only reasonable that it will be relied upon by professional advisers and ultimately in investment decisions. To limit the relevance of financial statements to its 'accountability role' for existing shareholders, as presently formulated in the United Kingdom, is a narrow conception of the effect of audited financial statement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]