Integrated Reporting and Sustainable Development Goal Achievement of Listed Non-Financial Firms in Nigeria
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This study examined the relationship between integrated reporting and Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) achievement among listed non-financial firms in Nigeria. The increasing demand for corporate transparency and accountability has heightened the importance of integrated reporting as a strategic framework for communicating how organizations create value through financial and non-financial capital while contributing to sustainable development. Despite growing global adoption of integrated reporting, empirical evidence on its influence on corporate contributions to the SDGs in developing economies remains limited. To demonstrate an appropriate empirical approach, this study employed a quantitative ex post facto research design using a simulated balanced panel dataset comprising 40 listed non-financial firms observed over the period 2019–2025, resulting in 280 firm-year observations. Integrated reporting was measured using an Integrated Reporting Disclosure Index, while Sustainable Development Goal achievement was proxied by an SDG Disclosure Index derived through content analysis. The simulated data were analysed using descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation analysis, panel regression techniques (Pooled Ordinary Least Squares, Fixed Effects, and Random Effects), the Hausman specification test, and diagnostic tests, including Variance Inflation Factor, Modified Wald, Wooldridge, and Pesaran Cross-sectional Dependence tests. The illustrative results indicated that integrated reporting had a positive and statistically significant effect on Sustainable Development Goal achievement. The findings further suggested that firm size, profitability, and firm age positively influenced SDG achievement, whereas financial leverage exhibited a negative relationship. The study concludes that integrated reporting has the potential to strengthen corporate transparency, improve sustainability disclosure, and enhance organizational contributions toward the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals. However, because the analysis was conducted using a simulated dataset for methodological illustration, future studies should validate these relationships using actual firm-level data from listed companies in Nigeria and other emerging economies.
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