The Effect of Financial Management Decisions on the Value of Selected Consumer Goods Firms Listed in the Nigerian Exchange Group

ABSTRACT The major objective of this study was to examine the effect of financial management decisions on the value of selected consumer goods companies listed on the Nigerian Exchange Group. The specific objectives of this study however, are to examine the effect of capital structure decisions, dividend decisions and corporate investment decisions (used as measures of financial management decisions) on market value of the companies under study. The population of this study was the listed consumer goods companies in the Nigerian Exchange Group for the year 2023. As such, the population size of this study is 20 consumer goods listed in the Nigerian Exchange Group as at 2023. There are actually 21 consumer goods listed in the Nigerian Exchange Group as per its official website (www.nxg.com). However, one of these companies does not have all the relevant data, hence the reason for limiting the population of the study to 20. Ordinary least square with the aid of E-views 9.0 was adopted as a tool of data analysis. Findings of this study indicated that capital structure decisions have positive and significant effect on firm value of listed consumer goods companies in Nigeria, dividend decisions have positive and significant effect on firm value of listed consumer goods companies in Nigeria, while corporate investment decisions do not have significant effect on firm value of listed consumer goods companies in Nigeria. Thus, it was concluded that overall, financial management decisions have positive and significant effect on firm value of listed consumer goods companies in Nigeria. in view of the findings of this study, it was therefore recommended that, among others, management of these companies should prioritize a balanced mix of debt and equity, taking into consideration the findings that suggest the positive impact of short-term debt on firm value while cautioning against excessive reliance on long-term debt.