Effect of Board Structure on Voluntary Disclosure Quality of Listed Industrial Goods Firms in Nigeria

This study examines the effect of board structure on voluntary disclosure quality (VDQ) of listed industrial goods companies in Nigeria. Specifically, the study investigates the influence of board size, board independence, board financial expertise, board diligence and board gender diversity on voluntary disclosure quality. Anchored on resource dependency theory, signaling theory and stakeholder theory, the study adopts an ex-post facto research design and employs secondary data sourced from the audited annual reports and accounts of 14 listed industrial goods firms on the Nigerian Exchange Group (NGX) for the period 2020–2024, yielding 70 firm-year observations. A 60-item voluntary disclosure quality index (VDQI) encompassing ten thematic dimensions was constructed and applied to quantify VDQ. A 60-item voluntary disclosure quality index (VDQI) encompassing ten thematic dimensions was constructed and applied to quantify VDQ. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation, ordinary least squares (OLS) regression and mixed model analysis (MMA). The results reveal that board independence (β=0.053, p=0.004), board financial expertise (β=0.022, p=0.041) and board gender diversity (β=0.025, p=0.001) exert statistically significant positive effects on voluntary disclosure quality while board size (β=0.004, p=0.555) and board diligence (β=0.011, p=0.169) show positive but statistically insignificant effects. The model accounts for approximately 69.1% of variation in VDQ (R²=0.691). These findings underscore the critical roles of independent directors, financially literate board members and gender-diverse boards in enhancing corporate transparency. The study recommends regulatory strengthening of board independence requirements, mandatory financial expertise standards and gender diversity quotas for listed industrial firms in Nigeria.