Sustainability Reporting and Firm Value in Nigeria: Does Audit Quality Strengthen the Relationship?

This study examines the impact of sustainability reporting on firm value of listed consumer goods firms in Nigeria, with particular emphasis on the moderating role of audit quality. Panel data was obtained from the annual reports of 20 listed consumer goods firms over a ten-year period (2015–2024). Robust regression model was employed to take care of the presence of heteroskedasticity confirmed in the diagnostic test. The findings reveal that the governance and social disclosures had positive and significant effect on firm value, meanwhile, environmental disclosures showed weak and insignificant effect. The audit quality proxied by auditor rotation, not only has a significant and positive effect on firm value but also increases the effect of governance and social disclosures on firm value, and was able to increase the positive relationship of environmental disclosures but still insignificant effect. The findings indicate the significance of credible sustainability practices and high audit quality in enhancing long-term firm value. The study provides practical implications for corporate governance, investor confidence and regulatory policy by emphasizing the need for stronger ESG disclosure frameworks and improved audit assurance mechanisms.