EFFECT OF EXTERNAL ENVIRONMENTAL ACCOUNTING DISCLOSURE ON CORPORATE PERFORMANCE OF LISTED OIL AND GAS COMPANIES IN NIGERIA

Abstract

Interest of various Stakeholders and Practitioners on environmental accounting disclosure has been constantly rekindled since conduct of United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED). The extent to which external environmental accounting disclosure affects corporate performance has remained a subject of concern among participants in the Oil and Gas companies in Nigeria. The study therefore examines the effect of external environmental accounting disclosure on the corporate performance of listed Oil and Gas companies in Nigeria. An ex-post facto research design was utilized for the study. The population comprised eleven (11) listed Oil and Gas companies registered on the Nigerian Exchange Group (NGX) as of May 2023. A purposive sampling technique was used to select eighty (8) of the eleven (11) listed Oil and Gas companies from the NGX archives, covering the period from 2014 to 2023. Both descriptive and inferential statistics such panel regression analysis was used to analyse the extent to which external environmental accounting disclosure influence corporate performance of listed Oil and Gas companies in Nigeria. Findings from the panel regression analysis on the effects of external environmental accounting disclosure on corporate performance of listed Oil and Gas companies in Nigeria showed that one out of the four explanatory variables were significant in explaining the variation of corporate performance. The variableisProduct and Service (0.0057) and Carbon Emissions Disclosure (0.0205). Based on the summary of findings of this study, it was concluded that there is significant impact of external environmental accounting disclosure on financial performance of listed Oil and Gas companies in Nigeria. The study therefore recommends that Oil and Gas companies should create an environmental accounting disclosure index tailored to the Nigerian context. This index can help quantify and evaluate the level of disclosure across various companies, aiding stakeholders in assessing corporate accountability and sustainability efforts