EFFECTS OF INTERNAL ENVIRONMENTAL ACCOUNTING DISCLOSURE ON CORPORATE PERFORMANCE OF LISTED OIL AND GAS COMPANIES IN NIGERIA

Abstract

Environmental accounting disclosures serve as a means through which Oil and Gas companies can bring to the knowledge of agitators, practitioners and other respected stakeholders of their environmental sensitivity, responsibility, sustainability and remediation to enhance values and corporate image as well as create a sustainable base for improved earnings and operations in the future since these energy sectors cannot boast of not affecting the environment. The extent to which internal 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 internal 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 internal environmental accounting disclosure influence corporate performance of listed Oil and Gas companies in Nigeria. Findings from the panel regression analysis on the effects of internal environmental accounting disclosure on corporate performance of listed Oil and Gas companies in Nigeria showed that two out of the four explanatory variables were significant in explaining the variation of corporate performance. These variables are Energy Disclosure (0.0611) and Carbon Emissions Disclosure (0.0205).  Based on the summary of findings of this study, it was concluded that internal environmental accounting disclosure has significant effects on financial performance of listed Oil and Gas companies in Nigeria. The study therefore recommends that Oil and Gas companies should establish a benchmarking framework to compare the environmental accounting disclosure practices of selected Oil and Gas companies against best practices and standards.