OWNERSHIP DYNAMICS AND FINANCIAL STATEMENT FRAUD IN NIGERIA: MANUFACTURING FIRMS EXPERIENCE

Abstract

The study examined the effect of ownership structure dynamics on financial statement fraud among selected listed manufacturing firms in Nigeria. The specific objectives of the study are to ascertain the effect of chief executive officer shares Ownership and shares ownership concentration on financial statement fraud. Ex-post facto research design was employed. The population of the study consists of selected thirty eight (38) selected manufacturing companies listed on Nigerian Exchange Group as at 31st December, 2025. Purposive sampling technique was used to select twenty (20) listed manufacturing firms as sample size. Secondary data was extracted from Annual report and account of selected twenty (20) selected manufacturing firms listed on the Nigerian Exchange Group covering a period of thirteen years (2013 – 2025). The study found that Chief Executive Officer shares ownership  and Shares ownership concentration does not have significant effect on financial statement fraud of listed manufacturing firms in Nigeria. The study recommends among others that since share ownership concentration has no significant effect on financial statement fraud among listed manufacturing firms in Nigeria, regulatory authorities like the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria, the Securities and Exchange Commission, and the Nigerian Exchange Group should not over-rely on share ownership concentration as a fraud prevention tool.