Abstract
Over the past decades, extensive research has been
carried out in various countries regarding the signaling effect of dividend.
Most of these studies were in support of the signaling hypothesis that
corporate dividend payments play a vital role as an information transmission
mechanism and can indicate the future prospect of the firm. It is an
recognition of this crucial role that dividend policy of firm plays in the
economic life of investors and related parties that it became necessary to
examine this issue as it relates to corporate firms in the Nigerian Stock
market, on the largest stock markets in Africa. The objective of this study was
to determine how changes in corporate dividend policy affect the future
prospect of firms in Nigeria. The sample considered ten (10) banks listed in
the Nigerian Stock Exchange Market and the annual reports were observed for a
five years 2007 – 2011. the study revealed that corporate dividend policy
serves as a information signal to investors and related parties in Nigeria.
That corporate dividend indicate future prosperity of the firm and vice versa.
Lastly, that changes in dividend of corporate bodies do not affect the value of
the firm.
TABLE OF
CONTENTS
Title Page i
Certification ii
Dedication iii
Acknowledgements iv
Abstract vi
Table
of Contents vii
Chapter One: Introduction 1
1.1 Background to the Study 1
1.2 Statement of Problem 3
1.3 Research Questions 4
1.4 Objectives of the Study 4
1.5 Statement of Hypotheses 4
1.6 Significance of the Study 5
1.7 Scope of the Study 5
1.8 Limitations of the Study 6
1.9 Definitions of Terms 7
Chapter
Two: Review of Related
Literature 8
2.1 Introduction 8
2.2 Theoretical Framework 13
2.3 Where Agency Conflicts Arise 18
2.4 Control on Agency Problems 24
2.5 Block and Institutional Investors 32
2.6 Managerial Remuneration 63
Chapter Three: Research Method and Design 77
3.1 Introduction 77
3.2 Research Design 77
3.3 Description of Population of the Study 77
3.4 Sample Size 78
3.5 Sampling Technique 78
3.6 Sources of Data Collection 78
3.7 Method of Data Presentation 79
3.8 Method of Data Analysis 79
Chapter
Four: Data Presentation,
Analysis
and Interpretation 81
4.1 Introduction 81
4.2 Presentation of Data 82
4.3 Data Analysis 92
4.4 Hypothesis Testing 107
Chapter
Five: Summary of Findings,
Conclusion
and Recommendations 110
5.1 Introduction 110
5.2 Summary of Findings 111
5.3 Conclusion 111
5.4 Recommendations 113
References 118
Appendices 122
CHAPTER
ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background to the Study
An important quality of financial
information is what it must assist users to make meaning decision extant
literature as well as accounting standard recognize that the principal
objective of financial and accounting information is to aid decision making. In
order to satisfy the criterion of decision usefulness accounting information
must possess two broad categories of qualities these are;
1.
User specific quantities and
2.
Decision specific qualities
With respect to decision specific
quantities accounting information must be relevant and reliable. When
accounting information is free from error and biases and faithfully represent the
fundamental realities of the organization. It is said to be reliable if it has
the capacity to influence the decision making it is said to be relevant. The
quality of accounting information available.
The two keys measure in accounting
information are earning and book value.
Dechew & Schrand,2004 state that Accounting information is the most
sought after indicator by investors. This is so because it allow them to make
decision as to the value of equity extent literature as documented the
statistical association between equity value and key boltom line measure of earning and book value (Ball & Brown
(1968).
Empirical literature examining the association
between firm value and earning document a weak relationship. A lot of factor
has been adduced for it one factor however that has not been address is that of
earning quality.
Earning quality can be defined as “Absence
of earning management. This is so because where manager intentionally
manipulate earning it reduce the quality of earning consequently tier
usefulness as decision criterion. The incentive to engage in earning management
is accentuated by many actors to include the quality of corporate governance,
the legal environment opportunity available to manipulate earning etc. In the
context of the foreign earning quality assume a critical dimension with respect
of quality of investment decision.
1.2 Statement of Problem
A survey of corporate business in
Nigeria specially in banking industry over the years will reveal several
instance of distresses is depositor and investor is that of bank giving lean
bill of health by auditory only for those banks become distress in no distant
time. In 2010 the CBN declared 10 banks as critically ill. This was against the
backdrop of fatalistic reported earnings by such banks by 2011 these banks
reported several losses that wiped up their capital base. The implication of
this was that profit hitherto reported where of dubious quality or doubtful
quality.
The principal problem which this study
address is the quality of earnings in quoted firms in the Nigeria stock exchange for the past
10 years.
1.3 Research Questions
In
order to achieve the objective of the study the following questions are seeking
for answer(s).
1.
What is the quality of earning in Nigeria?
2.
Do the quality of earning increase or
decrease?
1.4 Objectives of the Study
1. To find out the quality earning in Nigeria.
2. To find out if the earnings in Nigeria
increase or decrease.
1.5 Statement of Hypothesis
In
order to achieve the objective stated above, the following hypotheses are
raised.
HO1: Earning quality has
decline overtime in Nigeria.
Ho1: Earning quality has increase overtime in Nigeria.
Ho2: Earning quality is negatively
related to market return and volatility.
Ho2: Earning quality is
positively related to market return and volatility.
1.6 Significance of the Study
Earning quality is of interest to users
of financial statement particularly investors. For the average Nigeria
investor perhaps the only source of information available for investment
decision making is accounting information. A key component of that is earning
quality. This study is of interest to different categories of the public.
1.
For the investor, it focuses on the
importance of earning quality as part of decision making criterion.
2.
For regular earning quality represent a
measure of the potency and desirability for enforcement mechanism.
1.7 Scope of the Study
This study covers a time period 2002 to
2010. A period in which the stock market witnessed dramatic changes it is a
period that coincides with liberalization of the economy and in which the market experience turbulence
between 2006 and 2008 equity price climb high and by 2009 and 2010. The market
nose-drive. Some have argued that the market exuberance in 2007 and 2008 had
nothing to do with fundamentals such as earnings but rather with skyrocketing
oil prices. The focus on quoted firms is informed by stringent reporting
requirement relative to those unknown quoted firms. They are expected to have
their financial statement audited and publicly available for investor.
1.8 Limitation of the Study
§ Data
collection: The study has limitation on the primary and secondary source of
data. The primary data from questionnaires and interview were scanty because of
errors in opinion of the respondents on the objectives of the secondary source
of data collection. There were not enough literature on the study in the
schools library.
§ The
secrecy of the organization was another major constrain is that the top
management staff were not willing to dispose certain information that would
have enable the researcher to make a proper conclusion.
§ Language
barrier was another factor in some of the junior staff of the company do not
understand spoken English.
The retrieval of the administered
questionnaire pose another challenges to the end that some of the management
staff were not around as at the times the researcher came to collect the
answered questionnaires. This inhibits a great problem that hindered the
researcher to form a proper conclusion.
1.9 Definition of Terms
Earning quality simply mean the degree
to which management’s choices of accounting estimate can affect imported income
(thus choice occurs every period) some of such estimate may be difficult
quantify given the company the lee way (opportunity) to report a wide range of
periodic earnings.
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