SUSTAINABILITY REPORTING AND FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE OF LISTED INDUSTRIAL GOODS FIRMS IN NIGERIA: AN EXAMINATION OF SOCIAL AND EMPLOYEE

The study examines the effect of sustainability reporting on the financial performance of listed industrial goods firms in Nigeria. Sustainability reporting is a proxy for social and employee disclosure, while financial performance is a proxy for return on assets. The correlational research design was used in the study. The population of the study consist of the 13 listed industrial goods firms. Secondary data for the study were collected from ten samples of industrial goods firms actively trading on the floor of the Nigerian Exchange Group from 2014 to 2024. Therefore, the data collected were analysed using a panel corrected standard error (PCSE) regression model. The findings reveal that sustainability reporting related to social and employee-related sustainability disclosure had a negative and positive effect on the financial performance of listed industrial goods firms. Based on the findings, the study concludes that sustainability reporting related to employee activities improves financial performance. However, sustainability reporting related to social issues reduces the financial performance of listed industrial goods firms in Nigeria. Among the important policies of the study is that there is a need for the SEC to formulate a sustainability reporting framework, taking into cognisance multiple dimensions vis-à-vis the Global Reporting Initiative to enhance financial performance and thereby mitigate agency conflict between managers and shareholders. It is, therefore, recommended among others, that the government and the regulatory body of listed companies, such as the Securities and Exchange Commission, should make sustainability reporting a part of the requirements for the annual report of a listed company in Nigeria. Keywords: sustainability reporting, social sustainability, employee sustainability, financial performance