Corporate Governance and Agency Cost of Listed Financial Firms in Nigeria

Topic : corporate governance and agency cost of listed financial firms in Nigeria Abstract : The study examines corporate governance and agency costs of financial firms listed in the Nigerian exchange group during the period 2018 to 2023. The study adopted an ex-post- factor research design and purpose sampling techniques. Five financial firms were taken as secondary data sources from the audited annual reports of the sample firms. Using the multiple regression techniques, the result reveals that: board size has a positive impact (0.004) and it is statistically insignificant to 5% (p=0.078);board independence has a positive impact (0.010)through not statistically significant at 5% (p=0.832);and managerial ownership has a positive impact ( 0.003) and it is statistically significant at 5% (p=0.000). The study further reveals the CEO dominance lower the agency cost of quoted financial firms in Nigeria. The study concludes that managerial ownership significantly reduces agency costs by aligning managers interest with those of shareholders, while board size and independence have positive but insignificant effects, and CEO dominance effectively lowers agency costs by streamlining decisions making. The study recommends that firms should promote managerial ownership through incentives, prioritize the effectiveness of board members over size, implement checks on CEO dominance to avoid excessive power, and enhance the engagement and expertise of independent directors to improve governance and reduce agency costs.