EFFECT OF SOCIAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL ACCOUNTING ON CORPORATE PERFORMANCE OF LISTED CONSUMABLE COMPANIES IN NIGERIA

Abstract

As the world becomes more globally connected with dynamics in business and increase stakeholders’
knowledge-based on sustainability, accountability and transparency in reporting, corporations around the
globe have found it imperative to shift from one-dimensional financial reporting towards the integration of
non-financial reporting. Consequently, many researchers have studied the effect of social and
environmental accounting and how it relates to corporate performance. However, these studies ignore
consumable firms whose activities have resulted into health hazard to human life and detriment to the
ecosystem. Therefore, this study examined the effect of social and environmental accounting on
performance of listed consumable firms in Nigeria for the period 2011-2020. The twentyfive (25) listed
consumable firms in the Nigeria Stock Exchange as at 31st December 2020 constituted the population out
of which fifteen (15) were purposively drawn as sampled firms. Secondary quantitative data, sourced from
the sampled firms’ financial reports and publications of Nigeria Stock Exchange were employed. The study
adopted multiple regression model using combined data of all selected firms to analyse the data and
findings revealed social and environmental accounting proxied by labour force costs and solid waste
management costs respectively had significant positive effect on earnings per share, return on assets and
return on equity respectively (corporate performance variables). The study therefore, recommended among
others that consumable firms in Nigeria should make more effort to increase their commitment to social
and environmental responsibility and also ensure proper accounting and disclosure of costs implication of
such activities as this will increase their financial performance.