Effects of Integrated Reporting on Corporate Accountability in Selected Deposit Money Banks in Nigeria

Abstract

The complexity of modern business environments and the growing demand of stakeholders for comprehensive corporate information have exposed the limitations of traditional financial reporting. Integrated Reporting (IR) has emerged as a strategic framework that combines financial and non-financial disclosures to enhance corporate accountability and stakeholder confidence. However, empirical evidence on its influence within the Nigerian banking sector remains limited. This study examined the effect of integrated reporting on corporate accountability among selected Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) in Nigeria, with specific focus on governance disclosure, risk and performance disclosure, responsibility disclosure, and stakeholder accountability. The study was anchored on Stakeholder Theory and adopted a descriptive survey research design with a cross-sectional approach. The population comprised staff and management personnel of selected Deposit Money Banks in Nigeria drawn from finance, accounting, audit, compliance, risk management, and sustainability functions. A purposive sampling technique was used to select 10 listed DMBs, from which 400 respondents were sampled. Data were collected through a structured questionnaire and analysed using descriptive statistics and simple linear regression at a 5% significance level. The findings revealed that Governance Disclosure had a significant positive effect on Responsibility Disclosure (R = 0.742, R² = 0.551, β = 0.721, p = 0.000), explaining 55.1% of the variation in responsibility disclosure. Risk and Performance Disclosure also significantly influenced Stakeholder Accountability (R = 0.768, R² = 0.590, β = 0.754, p = 0.000), accounting for 59.0% of its variation. Both null hypotheses were rejected. The study concluded that integrated reporting dimensions are important governance mechanisms for enhancing corporate accountability among Nigerian Deposit Money Banks: governance disclosure strengthens responsibility disclosure, while risk and performance disclosure strengthens stakeholder accountability. The study recommended that DMBs institutionalize integrated reporting as a strategic communication tool, strengthen governance and risk disclosure practices, and build multidisciplinary reporting teams to improve the quality and reliability of integrated reports.