Bank sustainability: Do corporate governance and internal audit quality matter?

This study investigates the nexus between corporate governance, internal audit quality, and the sustainability of banks within in a developing country context. This study adopts a quantitative explanatory research design to analyze a panel dataset comprising 15 Ghanaian banks over the period 2007 to...

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Main Authors: Prince Gyimah, Richard Owusu-Afriyie
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2025-06-01
Series:World Development Sustainability
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2772655X25000205
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author Prince Gyimah
Richard Owusu-Afriyie
author_facet Prince Gyimah
Richard Owusu-Afriyie
author_sort Prince Gyimah
collection DOAJ
description This study investigates the nexus between corporate governance, internal audit quality, and the sustainability of banks within in a developing country context. This study adopts a quantitative explanatory research design to analyze a panel dataset comprising 15 Ghanaian banks over the period 2007 to 2021. An ordered probit regression model is employed to identify the key determinants of bank sustainability.The results demonstrate that corporate governance attributes—specifically board size, board expertise, and the extent of corporate governance disclosures—significantly influence bank sustainability. Furthermore, internal audit quality, assessed through audit experience, internal audit presence, and audit function size, emerges as a critical determinant of sustainability outcomes. Control variables such as bank size, age, and affiliation with Big Four auditing firms enhance the robustness of the model. The findings underscore the imperative of strengthening governance structures and internal audit mechanisms to ensure long-term financial sustainability. This research contributes to the accounting and finance literature by offering empirical insights relevant to emerging markets, and provides actionable implications for regulators, policymakers, and financial institutions aiming to align governance frameworks with strategic sustainability objectives.
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institution Kabale University
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publisher Elsevier
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series World Development Sustainability
spelling doaj-art-966bf210b6cc45dcb12ec6209ccb943e2025-08-20T03:30:49ZengElsevierWorld Development Sustainability2772-655X2025-06-01610022210.1016/j.wds.2025.100222Bank sustainability: Do corporate governance and internal audit quality matter?Prince Gyimah0Richard Owusu-Afriyie1Department of Accounting Studies Education, Akenten Appiah-Menka University of Skills Training and Entrepreneurial Development, Ghana; Corresponding author.Department of Accounting and Finance, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, GhanaThis study investigates the nexus between corporate governance, internal audit quality, and the sustainability of banks within in a developing country context. This study adopts a quantitative explanatory research design to analyze a panel dataset comprising 15 Ghanaian banks over the period 2007 to 2021. An ordered probit regression model is employed to identify the key determinants of bank sustainability.The results demonstrate that corporate governance attributes—specifically board size, board expertise, and the extent of corporate governance disclosures—significantly influence bank sustainability. Furthermore, internal audit quality, assessed through audit experience, internal audit presence, and audit function size, emerges as a critical determinant of sustainability outcomes. Control variables such as bank size, age, and affiliation with Big Four auditing firms enhance the robustness of the model. The findings underscore the imperative of strengthening governance structures and internal audit mechanisms to ensure long-term financial sustainability. This research contributes to the accounting and finance literature by offering empirical insights relevant to emerging markets, and provides actionable implications for regulators, policymakers, and financial institutions aiming to align governance frameworks with strategic sustainability objectives.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2772655X25000205Financial systemsBanksSustainabilityDeveloping economiesSustainable development
spellingShingle Prince Gyimah
Richard Owusu-Afriyie
Bank sustainability: Do corporate governance and internal audit quality matter?
World Development Sustainability
Financial systems
Banks
Sustainability
Developing economies
Sustainable development
title Bank sustainability: Do corporate governance and internal audit quality matter?
title_full Bank sustainability: Do corporate governance and internal audit quality matter?
title_fullStr Bank sustainability: Do corporate governance and internal audit quality matter?
title_full_unstemmed Bank sustainability: Do corporate governance and internal audit quality matter?
title_short Bank sustainability: Do corporate governance and internal audit quality matter?
title_sort bank sustainability do corporate governance and internal audit quality matter
topic Financial systems
Banks
Sustainability
Developing economies
Sustainable development
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2772655X25000205
work_keys_str_mv AT princegyimah banksustainabilitydocorporategovernanceandinternalauditqualitymatter
AT richardowusuafriyie banksustainabilitydocorporategovernanceandinternalauditqualitymatter