International Journal of Accounting and Financial Management Research (IJAFMR) ISSN(P): 2249-6882; ISSN(E): 2249-7994 Vol. 4, Issue 1, Feb 2014, 1-8 © TJPRC Pvt. Ltd. WOMEN IN CORPORATE BOARDS AND FINANCIAL REPORTING CREDIBILITY: EVIDENCE FROM NIGERIA YAU MOHAMMED DAMAGUM 1 , VICTOR CHIEDU OBA 2 , EMMANUEL IB. CHIMA 3 & JIDE IBIKUNLE 4 1 Department of Accounting, University of Abuja, Nigeria 2 Doctoral Student, Department of Accounting, Nasarawa State University, Keffi, Nigeria 3 M.Sc Student, Department of Accounting, Post Graduate School, University of Abuja, Nigeria 4 Accountant, Oil and Industrial Services, Port Harcourt, Nigeria ABSTRACT The clamor for more women on corporate boards is on the increase. Academic research has reported several findings consistent with the view that boards perform better when there is gender diversity. This paper empirically examines the impact of women in corporate boards on financial reporting quality. Using a sample of 20 firms representing the various sectors of the Nigerian Stock Exchange, we conduct panel regressions of discretionary accruals on a set of explanatory variables constituting gender mix. Results provide robust evidence to suggest that the presence of a female director does not particularly improve the quality of financial reporting however financial reporting credibility improves as the proportion of women in the board increases. The study extends prior research by investigating how the gender mix of a board potentially impacts on financial reporting thereby providing interesting insights to financial accounting literature. KEYWORDS: Gender Diversity, Boards, Earnings Management, Accounting, Nigeria INTRODUCTION `The proportion of women who reach executive positions in the business world is still at the lowest level in most countries especially in Nigeria. It has been proved that the upward movement of women to top management positions in Nigeria is slower than that of men (Abiola, 2004). The pronounced cause is that women have always been considered as the weaker sex and as such have been alienated in the economic, political and socio-cultural arena. Studies such as that of Obi (2001) and Omotola (2007) have uncovered the hurdles women go through in arriving top positions in various organizations. These hurdles range from national cultural barriers to difficulty in balancing career and family. The society seems to refuse to accept that women have any other role to play apart from the traditional role of supporting a man. However, recent debates and research works have been able to conceptually put forward a case of significant benefits which can be reaped from having corporate boards with sound gender mix. Carter et al (2003); Adams and Ferreira (2004); Singh et al (2001) and Fodio and Oba (2012) in their various studies demonstrated that women in corporate boards is a determinant for corporate philanthropic engagements. Companies with high female representation on their boards have been empirically proved to have stronger corporate governance than those with few or no women on the board of directors (Rosener, 2003) and also significantly impact on firm’s environmental responsibility and disclosure (Fodio and Oba, 2012). These studies have thrown up arguments and proposals for the increase in the number of women in top corporate positions. In this light, several countries in a bid to increase the number of women in top executive positions and board roles have introduced various forms of actions ranging from legislations to quotas. Gender quotas have recently arrived in the business world. The most widely acknowledged example of the gender