Government Characteristics and Financial Disclosure among State Governments: Empirical evidence of South-West States, Nigeria
Despite the adoption of the International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS) in Nigeria, significant disparities in the quality and extent of financial disclosure persist across state governments, raising concerns about transparency, accountability, and the effective management of public resources. Against this backdrop, this study examines the effects of selected government characteristics, on the financial disclosure practices of state governments in South-West Nigeria. The study employed an ex post facto research design within a balanced panel data framework. Secondary data were extracted from the audited annual financial statements, annual reports, budget implementation reports, and other official fiscal publications of the six South-West states covering the period 2015–2024. The study adopted a census approach, as all six states were included in the analysis. Descriptive statistics and panel estimation techniques were used to analyse data collected. The empirical findings revealed that government size, government wealth, and government debt profile each exerted negative but statistically insignificant effects on financial disclosure. These findings indicate that variations in financial disclosure practices among the sampled states cannot be explained by differences in these government characteristics alone. The study concludes that strengthening financial disclosure in Nigerian state governments requires improvements in institutional quality, public financial management systems, regulatory compliance, and accountability mechanisms rather than reliance on fiscal or structural characteristics. Accordingly, the study recommends strengthening institutional capacity, enhancing oversight and regulatory enforcement, improving public financial management practices, and promoting greater compliance with financial reporting standards to improve financial transparency and accountability across state governments in Nigeria. Keywords: Government…
Keywords: Government Size,Government Wealth,Government Debt Profile, Financial Disclosure
Citation: Zakariyau, A.F. (2026). Government Characteristics and Financial Disclosure among State Governments: Empirical evidence of South-West States, Nigeria. International Journal of Innovative Research in Accounting and Sustainability, 11(2), 26-40.