IMPACT OF BOARD CHARACTERISTICS ON EARNINGS MANAGEMENT OF FOODS AND BEVERAGES COMPANIES IN NIGERIA

The study investigates the impacts of board meetings, women directors and board independence on Earnings Management of foods and beverages companies in Nigeria from 2007 to 2013. The discretionary accrual was extracted by using modified Jones (1991) model. The sample size of the population is nine (9) companies. A correlational research design was used. Multiple regression was used as a technique of data analysis. The result was interpreted using fixed effect regression. The results reveal that the impact of frequency of Board Meetings and Gender Mix on Earnings Management were found to be negative and statistically significant. The study concluded that increase in number of board meetings and the proportion of women directors in the board constrain the level of discretionary accruals. Therefore, in line with the findings and conclusions, the study recommends that SEC should encourage adherence to at least the minimum requirement of board meetings by making it mandatory. Government in collaboration with Corporate Affairs Commission should come up with a policy where by companies will be forced to provide seat for women in their boards, give them responsibilities in area of finance and control related matters