Financial Reporting Quality and Sustainable Development Goal Performance of Nigerian Breweries

This study examined the relationship between financial reporting quality and Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) performance of listed brewery companies in Nigeria. The study was motivated by the increasing demand for transparent financial reporting and enhanced corporate accountability in achieving sustainable development objectives. Specifically, the study investigated the effect of accrual quality, earnings persistence, earnings predictability, and accounting conservatism on Sustainable Development Goal performance. An ex post facto research design was adopted, utilizing secondary data obtained from the audited annual reports, sustainability reports, and corporate governance reports of five brewery companies listed on the Nigerian Exchange Group (NGX) over the period 2019–2025. The study employed a census approach, generating a balanced panel dataset of 35 firm-year observations. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation analysis, Variance Inflation Factor (VIF), panel diagnostic tests, and panel regression techniques. The Hausman specification test was used to determine the appropriate estimation model, with the Fixed Effects Model selected for hypothesis testing. The results presented in this study are illustrative hypothetical findings generated for methodological demonstration. The illustrative results indicate that accrual quality, earnings persistence, earnings predictability, and accounting conservatism each have a positive and statistically significant relationship with Sustainable Development Goal performance. The findings suggest that improvements in financial reporting quality enhance corporate transparency, strengthen stakeholder confidence, and support effective implementation of sustainability initiatives among Nigerian breweries. The study concludes that high-quality financial reporting is an important driver of Sustainable Development Goal performance and recommends that brewery companies strengthen financial reporting practices, corporate governance mechanisms, and integrated sustainability reporting to promote long-term sustainable value creation and improve contributions toward the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals.