Empirical Analysis of The Effect of Administrative Internal Cost on Value of Maritime Firms in Nigeria

Abstract

This study evaluates the relationship between Administrative Internal Cost and value of Maritime firms in Nigeria between 2018 and 2022 (five years). The study adopted ex-post facto research design and used panel data collected from the financial report of the firms under the Maritime sector within the period covered by the study. The Administrative Internal Cost was proxy by: Corporate Governance Board Cost, Audit fee, Corporate reporting cost, and Employee bonus/incentive as explanatory variables (administrative internal cost) while firm value was used as response variable. The data collected were analyzed using regression analysis, however the study conducted some preliminary analysis such as descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, and variance inflator analysis to ascertain the normality and check for the presence of multi-co linearity among the variables used. The study finds that administrative internal costs have positive influence of about 41.2% on the level of firm value among maritime firms in Nigeria. The specific finding shows that corporate governance board cost has positive and significant relationship with firm value. Audit fee has positive and significant relationship with firm value. Employee bonus incentive has positive and significant relationship with firm value. Corporate reporting cost has negative and insignificant relationship with value of maritime firms in Nigeria. The study recommends among others that adequate allocation should be given to the corporate board to enable them discharge their oversight function which enhances the value of maritime firms in Nigerian.