Determinants of Investment Property Choice: an Empirical Analysis of Nigeria Listed Firms

In order to investigate the factors influencing the choices of investment properties of the firms listed on Nigeria Exchange Group (NGX), this study carried out an empirical investigation. 155 businesses that were listed on the Nigerian Exchange Group (NGX) as of December 31, 2022, made up the study's population. A purposive sampling strategy was used to select a sample size of fifty-five firms. Data were obtained from the companies' audited annual financial reports for the years 2012-2022. Panel data regression (PDR) was utilized for the analysis of data. The findings showed that the accounting choices made by businesses regarding the management of investment property are significantly influenced by both debt and business size. Furthermore, the choice of how to treat investment property in accounting is not much influenced by the degree of board independence. Moreover, non-financial firms listed on the stock exchange choose different accounting methods for their investment assets due to the negative and significant effects of ownership concentration. This is due to the fact that a company that has a high ownership concentration is less likely to base its accounting choices on the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). This implies that businesses are less likely to adhere to the fair value technique for valuing investment property if their ownership is more concentrated. The study discovered that a firm's accounting decision on the handling of investment property is significantly influenced by the drivers of investment property choosing. It is, thus, recommended the need for firms to set up a system that would track and assess investment property choices on an ongoing basis. This is expected to develop robust, and proactive plans that consider both short-term financial gain and long-term viability.