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The global agenda of sustainable development goals (SDGs) has posed a major challenge to corporate organizations by addressing sustainability issues within their business model and strategy. Based on this premise, this study provides empirical examination of SDG reporting of the top fifty (50) listed companies in Nigeria for the period of 2016–2018.

The study adopts survey method and content analysis technique to analyze corporate SDG reporting of the selected firms. The study examines the top-50 listed firms in Nigeria based on their market capitalization. Questionnaires were distributed to financial managers of the top-50 listed firms and staffs of the big four audit firms from the governance and sustainability department. The fifty (50) firms selected are as follows: 17 firms from the financial sector, 13 firms from the consumer goods sector, 5 firms from the healthcare sector, 6 firms from the oil and gas sector, 5 firms from the industrial goods sector and 4 firms from the information technology sector. The content analysis was utilized through the PwC framework, Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) framework and International Integrated Reporting Council (IIRC) framework to gage the extent of firms' compliance regarding corporate SDG reporting. Also, the business reporting indicators for each SDG developed by GRI was employed to determine the compliance level of the selected firms with respect to corporate SDG reporting.

The empirical evidence shows that corporate organizations in Nigeria have performed poorly in corporate SDG reporting. The result of the survey reveals that lack of regulatory framework and voluntary disclosure are the major factors that contributes to low level of SDG reporting by Nigerian firms. Also, the result of the content analysis shows poor reporting on SDG activities. The result of the research survey indicates that voluntary disclosure, lack of management commitment and lack of regulatory enforcement accounts for low SDG disclosure by the selected Nigerian firms.

This study's findings call for clear responsibility and a strong drive for SDG performance from corporate institutions in Nigeria. Whilst the overall responsibility rests on the government, the actualization of SDG cannot be achieved without support from corporate organizations. The empirical approach used in this study emphasizes the need for corporate organizations to embrace sustainable practices and to integrate SDG information into their reporting cycle.

This study contributes to growing literature in the area of corporate reporting and SDG research in Nigeria and other emerging economies.

This study aims to examine the association between corporate governance and sustainability reporting quality of listed firms in Nigeria.

The authors measure corporate governance using board governance variables (board size, board independence, board gender diversity and board expertise) and audit committee attributes (audit committee size, audit expertise and audit meeting). The authors measured sustainability reporting quality using a scoring system, which ranges between 0 and 4. The highest score is achieved when sustainability reporting is independently assured by an audit firm. The lowest score refers to the absence of sustainability reporting. The study emphasizes 120 listed firms on Nigeria Stock Exchange using the ordered logistic regression technique.

The results indicate that board governance variables (board size, board gender diversity and board expertise) and audit committee attributes (audit committee size, audit expertise and audit meeting) are significantly associated with sustainability reporting quality. Additional analysis reveals that external assurance contributes to the quality of sustainability reporting through corporate governance characteristics.

This study is restricted to a single country. Future studies should consider a cross-country study, which may help to establish a comparative analysis. Likewise, the future study could consider other regression techniques using a continuous measurement of the global reporting initiative in measuring sustainability reporting quality.

This study’s findings have important implications for policymakers and practitioners, especially the corporate executives and top management. Companies are encouraged to restructure their board to enhance better monitoring and support towards better sustainability reporting.

Disclosure on sustainability reporting helps corporate organizations advance the issues of sustainability both nationally and globally.

This current study adds to accounting literature by examining how corporate governance contributes to sustainability reporting practices within the Nigerian context. Drawing from the result, the study provides strong interconnectivity between the corporate board and audit committee in driving sustainability reporting quality within an organizational context.

The 2030 Agenda and the sustainable development goals (SDG) have gained considerable attention in research and public debate. This calls for accounting research on the subject of SDG disclosure. Based on this premise, this paper aims to evaluate and analyze the extent of SDG reporting by 80 listed firms from 8 selected African countries for the period of 2016 to 2018.

The study adopts a content analysis and survey method to evaluate the extent of SDG reporting by the selected African countries. This paper conducted content analysis through the use of the PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) framework and Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) framework to gauge the extent of firms’ compliance with SDG reporting. Also, this paper uses the business reporting indicators for each SDG developed by GRI to determine the compliance level of the selected firms regarding SDG reporting. The survey was targeted at the big four audit firms (PwC, KPMG, Ernst and Young and Deloitte and Touche).

The evaluation of SDG disclosure by the 80 listed firms in Africa is still at a very low level except for South African firms. Also, the findings of the business reporting indicators for each SDG target show that most of the firms show little or no concern to report on SDG activities. The result of the research survey indicates that voluntary disclosure, lack of management commitment, lack of regulatory enforcement and cost implications account for low SDG disclosure by the selected African firms.

This study fails to consider the qualitative research approach in determining the extent of SDG disclosure in Africa, as the study did not allow respondents to freely express their opinion on SDG disclosure, as a large part of the survey used close-ended questionnaires.

This study’s findings call for clear responsibility and a strong drive for SDG performance from corporate institutions in Africa. While the overall responsibility rests on the government, the actualization of SDG cannot be achieved without support from corporate organizations. The empirical approach used in this study emphasizes the need for corporate organizations to embrace sustainable practices and to integrate SDG information into their reporting cycle.

This study contributes to growing literature in the area of corporate reporting, sustainability reporting and SDG research in Africa and other emerging economies. Also, this study provides original insight into the contribution of accounting research toward the achievement of SDG.