DEPPARTMENT OF ACCOUNTING

In addition to analysing the impact of firm-specific factors like firm size, firm age, corporate governance, and leverage, this study explores the connection between corporate social responsibility (CSR) and the financial performance of companies listed on the Nigerian Exchange Group (NGX). The study examined secondary data from 40 purposefully chosen organisations between 2020 and 2024 using an ex-post facto research design. Return on Assets (ROA) was used to measure financial performance, and a CSR Disclosure Index that captured ethical, legal, governance, environmental, and economic aspects was used to evaluate CSR. Descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, multiple regression, and diagnostic tests were used to examine the data.
Significant variation was found amongst organisations, especially in leverage and financial performance, according to the descriptive statistics. Corporate governance had the largest positive correlation with profitability, although there was no significant linear relationship between CSR and financial success, according to correlation analysis. According to the regression results, financial performance was positively but statistically insignificantly impacted by CSR disclosure, indicating that CSR initiatives in Nigeria do not yet directly result in financial gains. Additionally, firm size had a negligible detrimental impact. On the other hand, firm age demonstrated a large and significant beneficial impact on financial performance, suggesting that older enterprises gain from stability and expertise. Leverage showed a strong negative effect, suggesting that companies with large debt levels typically perform poorly, whereas corporate governance emerged as the most significant predictor of financial performance with a highly significant positive effect. The model's dependability was validated by diagnostic tests that verified the lack of serial correlation.