FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE

This study examined the effect of exchange rate volatility, and the blue economy on the financial
performance of Nigeria’s shipping industry from 1990 to 2024. A longitudinal research design was adopted, allowing for the analysis of cause-and-effect relationships across time. Secondary data were sourced from the World Bank Development Indicators, and the Central Bank of Nigeria Statistical Bulletin, while exchange rate volatility was derived using the GARCH (1,1) model. The study employed an econometric framework grounded in the Traditional Flow Theory and the Balance of Payments (BoP) Theory to investigate how volatility in exchange rates and blue economy activities affect shipping sector financial performance. Financial performance was measured using container throughput revenue, shipping costs, and port revenue, while blue economy proxies include fisheries, aquaculture, and desalination, controlled by macroeconomic variables such as inflation, labour force, and trade freedom. The analysis adopted the autoregressive distributed lags (ARDL) framework to capture both short-run and long-run among the variables. Empirical findings showed that exchange rate volatility reduced container throughput revenue and port revenues while increasing shipping costs. Fisheries had a short-term positive impact, while, aquaculture significantly boosted long-run performance by lowering costs and raising revenues. Desalination has limited influence, showing short-term benefits but long-term drawbacks. The study recommended that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and other statutory Ministries Departments and Agencies (MDA’s) connected with blue economy, and, the shipping and maritime sector of the economy; formulate policies and embark on activities that will help stabilize the naira, promote risk hedging instruments, and encourage investments in fisheries terminals, aquaculture integration, and desalination facilities

This study investigates the impact of audit committee characteristics on the financial performance of listed companies in Nigeria, with a particular focus on audit fee, auditor independence, auditor rotation, auditor tenure, and auditor experience. The study was motivated by the growing demand for transparency and accountability in financial reporting within the Nigerian corporate sector. Secondary data covering ten listed financial and insurance companies from 2018 to 2022 were analyzed. The data were subjected to descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, diagnostic tests, and multiple regression analysis using EViews 13 and SPSS. The descriptive results revealed moderate variations in audit characteristics across firms. Correlation analysis indicated that audit fee and auditor experience have strong and significant positive associations with firm performance, while auditor rotation and tenure showed weak relationships. Auditor independence was found to be constant across firms and was therefore excluded from the regression analysis. Regression results demonstrated that audit fee (β =
0.001, p < 0.01) and auditor experience (β = 0.150, p < 0.05) significantly improve return on assets (ROA), while auditor rotation (p = 0.673) and auditor tenure (p = 0.645) were not significant predictors of performance. The model recorded an R² of 0.606, indicating that approximately 61% of variations in firm performance are explained by the audit committee characteristics examined. Diagnostic tests confirmed the absence of ulticollinearity,
heteroskedasticity, and autocorrelation, while residuals were normally distributed.
The findings suggest that higher audit fees and greater auditor experience enhance financial
performance, underscoring the importance of investing in quality audit processes and skilled
auditors. However, auditor rotation and tenure did not significantly affect performance, raising
questions about the effectiveness of these governance mechanisms in the Nigerian context. The
study concludes that strengthening audit committee practices, particularly by ensuring fair
compensation and leveraging auditor expertise, is critical for enhancing firm value and investor
confidence. It recommends that regulators and firms emphasize auditor competence and
independence while re-evaluating rotation and tenure policies for greater effectiveness.