BOARD DIVERSITY

The financial performance of firms, especially Deposit Money Banks (DMBs), plays a pivotal role in determining economic stability, investor confidence, and overall national development. At the core of this performance lies corporate governance, with the board of directors serving as a critical determinant of governance effectiveness. Acting as the bridge between shareholders and management, the board of directors is tasked with ensuring that the organization operates in alignment with stakeholder interests. Through its strategic oversight and decision-making roles, the board has a profound impact on a firm's financial outcomes, sustainability, and competitive positioning (Fama & Jensen, 1983). These studies, while insightful, leave notable gaps in understanding. Most of the existing literature has been conducted in developed countries, where governance frameworks, market dynamics, and cultural factors differ significantly from those in Nigeria. Moreover, few studies have examined the combined influence of board size, gender diversity, and board independence on financial outcomes in Nigeria’s banking sector. The inconclusive findings on gender diversity and the context-dependent effects of board independence further emphasize the need for research tailored to Nigeria’s financial and regulatory landscape.

The broad objective of the study was to investigate the relationship between board diversity and corporate tax aggressiveness in Nigeria. The longitudinal research design was used in investigating the extent of tax aggressive practices of the oil and gas companies. This was appropriate for this study because it revealed the relationship among variables in the same group of individuals over an extended period of time so as to establish more robust results. The secondary source of data was used and data were sourced from the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) as at 31st December, 2022 for various years. The study covered a time frame of twelve (12) years from 2011 to 2022. The Panel Least Squares (PLS) estimation technique was adopted for analysis purpose. This was carried out with the aid of the E-views (10.0) software and Excel package. Findings obtained revealed that board independence (BIND) and board ethnic diversity (ETD) have positive and significant relationship with effective tax rate (ETR), board gender diversity has a negative and significant relationship with ETR while board national diversity (NAD), board meeting (BMEET), firm age (FAGE), and firm size (FSIZE) have no significant relationship with ETR. The study concludes that only BIND, GEND, and ETD are good predictors of corporate tax aggressiveness in Nigeria. This study thus recommends that the composition of the board should comprise more non-executive and independence directors, qualified and skillful female directors, and more foreign directors so as to enable the board to perform its supervisory and monitoring roles as expected. This study also recommends that further empirical studies should be conducted using other sectors such as education, service as well as information and communication technology (ICT)

inancial performance in Nigeria. The scope of this study is for a period covering selected manufacturing companies
in Nigeria from 2018 to 2022 using the Nigeria Exchange Group (NGX) as a basis of
sampling selection. The data used was obtained mainly from secondary sources. The
secondary data relate to relevant information that depicts board diversity and firm
financial performance. This was made up of information relating to board age, board
gender, board educational background, board ethnicity and firm financial performance. In
this study, data were extracted from the annual reports and account of these seventeen (17)
fast moving consumers goods, companies quoted on the Nigeria Exchange Group used as
case study within the period of five (5) years ranging from 2018-2022. The findings provide valuable insights for policymakers, corporate leaders, and
stakeholders. Firstly, the study reveals that board age has a statistically significant
positive impact on firm financial performance. The study therefore made the following
recommendations that companies should aim to achieve a balanced mix of experienced
and younger directors on boards to leverage diverse perspectives and experiences, there is
need to implement policies and practices to increase the representation of women on
boards, fostering inclusivity and broader corporate governance objectives. The following
recommendations are made to achieves the objective. There should be constant review of
existing tax laws of one year. There should be stringent penalty imposed on any corporate
body who include in any form of VAT malpractice irrespective of states. In conclusion, this study sheds light on the relationships between board characteristics and firm financial
performance in the quoted manufacturing industry in Nigeria.