BOURNEMOUTH UNIVERSITY REFORM OF STATE-OWNED ENTERPRISES IN NIGERIA: THE CASE OF NIGERIAN NATIONAL PETROLEUM CORPORATION RONKE OYEGOKE M.Sc. INTERNATIONAL ACCOUNTING AND FINANCE 2016
ABSTRACT Over the years the term corporate governance has been a key concept when issues about the management of a company are discussed. Listed companies in Nigeria are keen on improving their system of corporate governance due to various mandatory listing requirements. In contrast, State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) are rarely mandated to comply with these listing requirements which as a result question their transparency and accountability. This research therefore focused on the reform of SOEs in Nigeria using a case study of Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC). A mono-method quantitative methodology was adopted whereby data were gathered through online surveys and analysed using descriptive statistics and non-parametric tests. It was discovered from the results that a major factor affecting the accountability of NNPC was an absence of corporate governance framework and an absence of comprehensive audits. This research concludes that privatisation should not always be the solution when issues about the reform of SOEs are discussed. It therefore recommended that in order to enhance the governance system of the SOE, consideration should be given to listing the SOE on the Nigerian stock exchange to align its governance structure with those of international standards and best practices. Key words: SOEs, Corporate Governance, Transparency, Accountability, Board and Efficiency. ii
CONTENTS ABSTRACT ii ACKNOWLEDEMENTS DECLARATIONS iv CONTENTS v LIST OF TABLES LIST OF FIGURES ix CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Overview 1 1.2 Background of study 3 1.3 Research objectives 5 1.4 Research questions 5 1.5 Profile of the SOE 6 1.6 Dissertation structure 7 CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 The case of privatisation in the Nigeria 8 2.2 The case of privatisation in developed and developing countries 10 viii 2.3 Prior studies on SOEs performance in developing countries 12 2.4 Concerns for accountability and transparency in SOEs 13 2.5 Board performance in SOEs: The issues 16 2.6 Considerations for listing SOEs 19 2.7 Chapter conclusion 20 CHAPTER THREE: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 3.1 Introduction 22 3.2 Research philosophy 22 3.3 Research approach 24 iii