CORPORATE BOARD ATTRIBUTES AND EARNINGS MANAGEMENT IN NIGERIAN BANKING SECTOR.

Every business entity has a common goal of achieving sustainable development, particularly in the areas of growth and profitability indices. Earnings manipulation by corporate managers may hinder the attainment of this lofty target. The study examined the relationship between corporate board attributes and earnings management in Nigerian banks for the period 2009-2018. The dependent variable (earnings management), was derived using modified Jones model's discretionary accruals, while four corporate board attributes (size, independence, gender diversity and board meetings) served as independent variable. The Random effect generalised least square regression results reveal a negative and significant relationship between board size, board independence and earnings management. Board gender diversity and board meetings, however, have no significant association with earnings management. It is recommended that corporate governance legislation should support large number of directors (subject to a manageable size) and more of external directors sitting on corporate boards. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]