Integrated Reporting Adoption and Capital Market Perceptions Among South West Nigerian Listed Companies

This study examines the adoption of integrated reporting frameworks and their influence on capital market perceptions among listed companies in South West Nigeria. Integrated reporting, guided by the International Integrated Reporting Council's framework, represents an evolution beyond traditional financial reporting by presenting a holistic account of value creation across financial, manufactured, intellectual, human, social, and natural capitals. Globally, integrated reporting adoption has been linked to reduced information asymmetry and improved investor decision-making. In Nigeria, the Financial Reporting Council has encouraged but not yet mandated integrated reporting, creating variation in adoption levels that this study exploits. Drawing on legitimacy theory and value relevance literature, this study investigates whether listed firms in South West Nigeria that adopt integrated reporting demonstrate superior stock market valuation and analyst following compared to non-adopting peers. A difference-in-differences methodology is applied to a panel of thirty firms over seven years, with adoption year identified through detailed report content analysis. Market perceptions are captured using abnormal returns around annual report release dates, price-earnings multiples, and analyst forecast accuracy. The study fills a gap in the Nigerian integrated reporting literature by providing event-study evidence on market responses. Findings will assist the Financial Reporting Council in building the regulatory case for mandatory integrated reporting. Keywords: integrated reporting, capital market perceptions, value relevance, corporate governance, South West Nigeria.