SUSTAINABILITY DISCLOSURE AND PROFITABILITY OF INSURANCE FIRMS IN NIGERIA

Abstract

This study sought to find the relationship that exists between corporate sustainabilityreporting and firm profitability in insurance companies. The study adopted an ex-post factoresearch design and utilized secondary data sourced from the annual reports and financialstatements of the twenty-one insurance firms listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange in theperiod of study. Multiple regression analysis was used to analyse the results for a 10-yearspread from 2011 to 2020. The results showed that just about 16% of the companies had astandalone sustainability report. The majority of disclosures were about socialsustainability. The analysis revealed that Sustainability had a significant negativerelationship with Return on Equity while the relationship with earnings per share waspositive but insignificant. This result could discourage firms from investing in sustainabilityif a positive impact on shareholders’ wealth is not guaranteed. It is recommended thatSustainability development and reporting be encouraged by the government throughlegislation of standardized reports, tax incentives and other government support.