A Comparative Analysis of Corporate Governance Disclosure in Nigerian and South African Banks

Abstract

This research examines corporate governance disclosure in Nigerian and South African Banks using the un-weighted disclosure index technique. This research provides a cross sectional examination of corporate governance disclosure practices in the annual reports of 10 listed banks in Nigeria and South Africa for the year 2013. The results suggest that Nigerian and South African banks have a high level corporate governance disclosure. However, Nigeria and South African banks have low levels of voluntary corporate governance disclosure. Furthermore, in reporting of voluntary corporate governance disclosure, Nigerian banks appear to be collating information with no link to the overall business strategy of the organization while the South African banks have a more robust approach to voluntary corporate governance disclosure as they apply international guidelines such as the global reporting initiative in reporting voluntary corporate governance disclosure.