Human capital accounting and the financial performance of oil and gas companies in Nigeria: is there really a nexus?

In this study, we examined whether human capital accounting does matter in influencing the corporate financial performance of oil and gas firms in the Nigeria economy. In order to achieve the purpose of the study secondary data were obtained from 2013-2024. Measures of human capital accounting deployed in this study includes human capital, allowances and training costs while dimensions for corporate financial performance used in this study was return on equity obtained and calculated from the audited accounts published in oil and gas firms on the floor of the Nigerian Exchange Group. Data analytical tools deployed includes descriptive, regression diagnostics and inferential statistical techniques. Findings showed that human capital accounting measures (human capital, allowances, and training costs) significantly positively influence financial performance measured by return on equity of the publicly listed oil and gas firms in Nigeria. On the basis of the findings, the study recommends the need to increase the level of human capital accounting costs, particularly allowances and training in order to further contribute to increased performance of the oil and gas operating entities in Nigeria. This study contributes to the accounting literature by establishing that companies that invest significantly in human capital are expected to perform better than those that do not.