Global Journal of Management and Business Research, D: Accounting and Auditing, Volume 21 Issue 2

regression results in discussing results. Following table 4, the discussion of the fixed effect results became imperative. In testing the stated hypothesis, edindex {fixed effect 4.4044 (0.049)} as an independent variable to environmental disclosure index has a positive and statistically significant at 5% influence on the earnings per share. Hence, the study accepted alternative hypothesis stated. On the other hand, when the return on assets (ROA) was proxy is used to proxy financial performance; the result of the Hausman test has value (0.0192) implies that we should accept the null hypothesis and reject the alternative hypothesis at a 5 percent level of significance. This implies that the study adopted the random effect panel regression results in drawing our conclusion and recommendations. The result shows that edindex {random effect -0.0331 (0.995)} as an independent variable to environmental discourse index has a negative and statistically insignificant influence on the return on asset. Hence, the study accepted the null hypothesis stated. The findings of this study concerning its significant effect on financial performance corroborate the findings of previous literatures as stated that environmental accounting disclosure influences financial performance (Oladimeji &Folayan, 2018; Igbekoyi, 2017; Nahiba, 2017; Arumona, et al., 2020; Uwaigbe, 2012). An in-depth analysis of the financial performance indicators showed that environmental accounting disclosures affect earnings per share positively and significantly. The finding further upholds the assumptions of existing theories and literatures that compliance with environmental accounting has a significant effect on how the firms are valued externally by stakeholders in the economic market (Ezeagba, et al., 2017; Zamil & Hassan, 2019. Inspite of the non- regulatory framework, companies must strive to comply with these laid down indices in line with global best practices. Previous studies conducted on the effect of environmental accounting disclosure on financial performance using return on asset showed a positive and significant effect (Okechukwu & Okeke-Muogbo, 2020; Gelb, 2017); others found insignificant effect (Ponnu & Karthigeyan, 2010); while Zamil & Hassan (2019) found a significant negative effects on financial performance. The findings of this study however showed that in the context of the time frame of this study, the effect of environmental accounting disclosure is negative and insignificant. Although the argument of companies to shy away from environmental costs is because they reduce profits and returns, with the findings of this study, it is established that although this assertion may be true, it is found to be insignificant. Table 4: Regression Analysisof environmental disclosure index and financial performance (Fixed) (Random) (Fixed) (Random) VARIABLES EAPS EAPS RETA RETA Edindex 4.044** 4.118** -15.51* -0.0331 (2.046) (1.945) (8.774) (5.766) Constant 3.075*** 3.059** 6.965*** 5.326*** (0.317) (1.229) (1.358) (1.574) Observations 339 339 339 339 R-squared 0.013 0.010 F statistics 3.91** 3.13** Number of id 34 34 34 34 Hausman test: Model 1 (0.9073); Model 2 (0.0192). Standard errors in parentheses *** p<0.01, ** p<0.05, * p<0.1 Source: Researcher’s computation, 2021 V. C onclusion and R ecommendations The study attempts to provide environmental accounting disclosure and financial performance of listed multinational firms in Nigeria. The previous studies conducted on environmental accounting disclosure and financial performance have revealed outcomes that are divergent. The study first conducted an intra-sector appraisal of the level of compliance of these firms to environmental accounting in line with global best practices and then conducted an investigation on the effect of these environmental disclosures on the financial performance of the firms. The environmental accounting disclosure in this study is tailored around the environmental disclosure index which is the index that captures environmental appraisal indices in line with global best practices to determine how these influence the financial performance of the listed multinational firms in Nigeria. The financial performance is measured using the return on assets and earnings per share; this is done to determine the internal and external outlook of performance. 25 Global Journal of Management and Business Research Volume XXI Issue II Version I Year 2021 ( ) D © 2021 Global MODEL 1 MODEL 2 Environmental Accounting Disclosure and Financial Performance of Listed Multinational Firms in Nigeria