Accounting Control and Enhancing Corporate Performance: An Evaluation of Nigerian Multinational Corporations

Abstract

Ineffectual controls within the accounting processes have created global vulnerabilities, enabling fraudsters to exploit the financial assets of numerous corporations. This study aims to evaluate the influence of accounting controls on the performance of Nigerian multinational corporations. Utilizing secondary data sources, the research adopts a quantitative research design spanning a twenty-year period from 2003 to 2022. A purposively selected sample of ten multinational corporations is considered from the broader population of such entities in Nigeria. The study employs panel regression models, including Fixed Effect, and Random Effect methods for data estimation, alongside the pre- and post-data tests such as unit root tests, Breusch-Pagan test, Hausman test, White test for heteroskedasticity and correlation LM test, multi-collinearity test and Durbin-Watson test. The results reveal a statistically significant positive impact of accounting preventive control, accounting detective control, and accounting corrective control on the performance of multinational corporations in Nigeria. In light of these findings, the study concludes that accounting controls play a pivotal role in enhancing the performance of multinational corporations in Nigeria. Consequently, the research recommends the implementation of additional controls in the detective aspects of accounting control to prevent fraudulent activities and further bolster the performance of multinational corporations in Nigeria.