Sustainability Accounting and Financial Performance of Commercial Banks in Cameroon
Keywords:
Sustainability accounting, financial performance, Return on Assets, Net Interest Margin
Abstract
This study empirically examined the effect of sustainability accounting on the financial performance of commercial banks in Cameroon from 2018 to 2023. The study focused on how economic, environmental, and social sustainability accounting dimensions influence key financial indicators (Return on Assets and Net Interest Margin). The study employed an ex post facto research design and purposive sampling to select 10 of 19 commercial banks. Purposive sampling was used to select commercial banks that had complete financial statement data for the six (06) years, ranging from 2018 to 2023, consistently filed their annual reports, embraced sustainability accounting in line with global best practice, and integrated sustainability information into their annual reports. Sustainability accounting indicators were obtained from the Global Reporting Initiative. The economic, environmental, and social dimensions were used as independent variables. They were measured using a scoring index derived from previous studies, while Return on Assets and Net Interest Margin served as the financial performance metrics. Data from the selected banks were obtained from secondary sources (Audited financial statements). The analysis involved panel regression and descriptive analyses using E-Views 2025. Results indicated a significant relationship between sustainability accounting dimensions and Return on Assets and Net Interest Margin. The findings suggest that the economic, environmental, and social sustainability accounting dimensions have a notable impact on the Return on Assets and Net Interest Margin of commercial banks in Cameroon. The study recommends that commercial banks in Cameroon should formally integrate economic frameworks into their accounting and reporting systems to monitor their sustainability impact and financial performance continuously.
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References
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28. Maryam M. U, Lateef O.M. & Onipe A. Y. (2021), “Sustainability Reporting and Financial Performa12nce of Listed consumer goods firms in Nigeria”. Journal of Advance Research in Business Management and Accounting (ISSN: 2456-3544)
29. Martirosyan, E. and Vashakmadze, T. (2013), “Introducing stakeholder based frameworks for post-merger integration success”, Global Business Conference Proceedings, August, pp. 169-175.
30. McElroy, M.W. and Van Engelen, J.M. (2012), “Corporate Sustainability Management: The Art and Science of Managing Non-Financial Performance”, Routledge, Abingdon.
31. Menyi A. O, Satia P. & Djoufang T. L. (2024), “The influence of financial Innovation on the financial performance of commercial banks in Cameroon”. International Business Research; vol. 17, No. 1 doi:10.5539/ibr.v1 7 n 1 p 6 4 URL: https://doi.org/10.5539/ibr.v1 7 n 1 p 6 4
32. Nnadi M. & Mutyaba P.E. (2023). “The moderating effect of corporate sustainability attributes of products on the financial performance of firms”, Reference module in social sciences
33. Oluwagbade, O. I., Dagunduro, M. E., Dada, S. A., & Awotomilusi, N. S. (2023). “Effect of risk management committee structure on financial performance of listed financial institutions in Nigeria”. Migration Letters, 20(10), 279-298.
https://doi.org/10.59670/ml.v20iS10.5136
34. Odugbemi, O. & Igbekoyi, O. (2022). “Environmental disclosure practices and economic performance of quoted oil and gas firms in Nigeria.” African Journal of Accounting, Finance & Marketing. 5(1), 109-126.
35. Ozili, Peterson K. (2021). “Sustainability Accounting”. Available online: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3803384 (accessed on January 2025).
36. Raji, Y., & Dagunduro, M. E. (2024). “Corporate risk disclosure practice and financial performance of listed industrial goods firms in Nigeria”. Asian Journal of Economics, Business and Accounting, 24(11), 638-656. https://doi.org/10.9734/ajeba/2024/v24i111582
37. Ramesh P., & Amitava M., (2025), “Nexus between ESG scores and financial Performance: evidence from the Indian banking Sector”. Asian Journal of Accounting Research.
https://www.emerald.com/insight/2443-4175.htm
38. Rarang Bryan K. V. (2023), “The relationship between sustainability reporting and financial performance of selected universal and commercial banks in Philippines” St Scholastical’s College Manila
39. van Zyl, A. (2023). “Embedding sustainability accounting in strategic decision-making: A stakeholder-oriented approach.” Journal of Cleaner Production, 412, 137180.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2023.137180
40. Zabolotnyy, S., & Wasilewski, M. (2019). The concept of financial sustainability measurement: A case of food companies from Northern Europe. Sustainability, 11(18), 5139.
2. Adur A. L., Srivastava N., Laximi V., Mishra A., & Rao J. M., (2023), “Accounting for sustainability: Integrating Environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors in Financial Reporting”. Eur. Chem Bull. Special issue 12
3. Almansoori, A., & Nobanee, H. (2019). “How Sustainability Contributes to Shared Value Creation and Firms’ Value”. SSRN.
4. Amrigan A. R. P., Hamidi M., & Adrianto F., (2023), “The effect of sustainability report disclosure compliance on the company’s financial performance”. Journal of social research P-ISSN: 2827-9832, E-ISSN: 2828-335x
http://ijsr.internationaljournallabs.com/index.php/ijsr
5. AI-Hasnawi, H., Hatel, Q. H., & Zaid, M. F., (2024), “The role of sustainability Accounting Standards in evaluating performance and their impact on Accounting disclosures – An applied study in some IRAQI Banks”. International Journal of Business and Management sciences, Vol. 04, issue 05, 2024. Doi https://doi.org/10.55640/ijbms-04-05-12
6. Aluko, A. F., Igbekoyi, O. E., Dagunduro, M. E., Falana, G. A., & Oke, O. E. (2022). “Tax incentives and liquidity performance of quoted industrial good’s firms in Nigeria”. European Journal of Business Management, 14(23), 11-22.
https://doi.org/10.7176/RJFA/13-22-06
7. Asubiojo, A. O., Dagunduro, M. E., & Falana, G. A. (2023). “Environmental conservation cost and corporate performance of quarry companies in Nigeria: An empirical analysis”. International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS), 7(8), 49-63. https://dx.doi.org/10.47772/IJRISS.2023.7804
8. Awadzie, D.M., Soku, M.G, Awadzie, D.M., (2022). “Sustainability reporting and the financial Performance of banks in Africa”. Journal of Business, Economics and Finance (JBEF), 11(1), 43-57
9. Awotomilusi, N. S., Adewara, Y. M., Dagunduro, M. E., & Falana, G. A. (2023). “Evaluation of board characteristics and financial performance of listed multinational firms in Nigeria.” FUOYE Journal of Accounting and Management, 6(1), 14-36.
10. Boluwaji, O. D., Igbekoyi, O. E., Dagunduro, M. E., Busayo, T. O., & Osatuyi, O. A. (2024). “Sustainable business practice and going concern of selected listed manufacturing companies in Nigeria.” International Journal of Emerging Trends in Social Sciences, 16(1), 1-12. https://doi.org/10.55217/103.v16i1.724
11. Bui Thi T. L., Tran Thi L. A., & Trang Hoang, (2024), “ESG Disclosure and financial performance: Empirical study of Vietnamese Commercial Banks.
12. Caesaria, A. F., & Basuki, B. (2017). “The study of sustainability report disclosure aspects and their impact on the companies’ performance”. SHS Web of Conferences, 34, 08001. https://doi.org/10.1051/shsconf/20173408001
13. Dada, S. A., Igbekoyi, O. E., & Dagunduro, M. E. (2023). “Effects of forensic accounting techniques and corporate governance on financial performance of listed deposit money banks in Nigeria”. International Journal of Professional Business Review, 8(10), 1-26. https://doi.org/10.26668/businessreview/2023.v8i10.3547
14. Dagunduro, M. E., Igbekoyi, O. E., Ogungbade, O. I., Aluko, A. F., & Osaloni, B. O. (2022). “Corporate social responsibility and financial performance of macro, small, and medium-scale enterprises (MSMEs) in Ekiti State, Nigeria.” Research Journal of Finance and Accounting, 13(22), 61-75. https://doi.org/10.7176/RJFA/13-22-06
15. Dagunduro, M. E., Dada, S. A., & Asubiojo, A. O. (2023). “Corporate governance, board attributes, and financial performance: A study of listed insurance companies in Nigeria.” Journal of Harbin Engineering University, 44(11), 1160-1170.
16. Dagunduro, M. E., Falana, G. A., Ajayi, J. O., & Boluwaji, O. D. (2024). “Non-financial disclosure and firm performance: insights from listed consumer goods manufacturing firms in Nigeria”. Economy, Business & Development, 5(1), 14-27. https://doi.org/10.47063/ebd.00015
17. Deegan, C. (2014). “Financial Accounting Theory”. Australia: McGraw-Hill Education.
18. Deegan, C. (2002), “The legitimizing effect of social and environmental disclosures – a theoretical foundation”. August 2002. Accounting Auditing & Accountability Journal 15(3):282-311. DOI:10.1108/09513570210435852
19. Eriqat, I. O., Tahir M., & Zulkafh, A. H., (2025), “Corporate governance mechanisms performance of banks: Empirical evidence on the multi-theory perspective in corporate governance”. International Journal of Innovative Research and Scientific studies, 8(2) 2025, pages 956-967
20. Ferrell, O.C., Gonzalez-Padron, T.L., Hult, G.T.M. and Maignan, I. (2010), “From market orientation to stakeholder orientation”, Journal of Public Policy & Marketing, Vol. 29 No. 1, pp. 93-96.
21. Global Reporting Initiative. (2021). “GRI Standards: Consolidated Set 2021”. https://www.globalreporting.org
22. Hamad K. I. & Osman A. Y. (2025), “The Impact of Disclosure of Sustainability Reports on Corporate Financial Performance: An Applied Study on Private Banks in Erb”. Zanco Journal of Human Science (ZJHS), DOI https://doi.org/10.21271/zjhs.29.4.16
23. IFRS Foundation. (2023). IFRS S1 General Requirements for Disclosure of Sustainability-related Financial Information. https://www.ifrs.org
24. International Integrated Reporting Council (IIRC). (2020). International IR Framework. Retrieved from https://integratedreporting.org/resource/international-ir-framework/
25. International Integrated Reporting Council (IIRC). (2021). The International
26. Jasim B. F., (2025), “Measuring the Impact of Sustainability Accounting Implementation on the Financial Performance of Iraqi Banks”: An Applied Study. Journal of Accounting and Financial Management E-ISSN 2504-8856 P-ISSN 2695-2211. Vol 11. No. 5 2025 www.iiardjournals.org online version
27. KPMG. (2022). The Time Has Come: The KPMG Survey of Sustainability Reporting 2022.
https://home.kpmg/xx/en/home/insights/2022/11/sustainability-reporting-survey.html
28. Maryam M. U, Lateef O.M. & Onipe A. Y. (2021), “Sustainability Reporting and Financial Performa12nce of Listed consumer goods firms in Nigeria”. Journal of Advance Research in Business Management and Accounting (ISSN: 2456-3544)
29. Martirosyan, E. and Vashakmadze, T. (2013), “Introducing stakeholder based frameworks for post-merger integration success”, Global Business Conference Proceedings, August, pp. 169-175.
30. McElroy, M.W. and Van Engelen, J.M. (2012), “Corporate Sustainability Management: The Art and Science of Managing Non-Financial Performance”, Routledge, Abingdon.
31. Menyi A. O, Satia P. & Djoufang T. L. (2024), “The influence of financial Innovation on the financial performance of commercial banks in Cameroon”. International Business Research; vol. 17, No. 1 doi:10.5539/ibr.v1 7 n 1 p 6 4 URL: https://doi.org/10.5539/ibr.v1 7 n 1 p 6 4
32. Nnadi M. & Mutyaba P.E. (2023). “The moderating effect of corporate sustainability attributes of products on the financial performance of firms”, Reference module in social sciences
33. Oluwagbade, O. I., Dagunduro, M. E., Dada, S. A., & Awotomilusi, N. S. (2023). “Effect of risk management committee structure on financial performance of listed financial institutions in Nigeria”. Migration Letters, 20(10), 279-298.
https://doi.org/10.59670/ml.v20iS10.5136
34. Odugbemi, O. & Igbekoyi, O. (2022). “Environmental disclosure practices and economic performance of quoted oil and gas firms in Nigeria.” African Journal of Accounting, Finance & Marketing. 5(1), 109-126.
35. Ozili, Peterson K. (2021). “Sustainability Accounting”. Available online: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3803384 (accessed on January 2025).
36. Raji, Y., & Dagunduro, M. E. (2024). “Corporate risk disclosure practice and financial performance of listed industrial goods firms in Nigeria”. Asian Journal of Economics, Business and Accounting, 24(11), 638-656. https://doi.org/10.9734/ajeba/2024/v24i111582
37. Ramesh P., & Amitava M., (2025), “Nexus between ESG scores and financial Performance: evidence from the Indian banking Sector”. Asian Journal of Accounting Research.
https://www.emerald.com/insight/2443-4175.htm
38. Rarang Bryan K. V. (2023), “The relationship between sustainability reporting and financial performance of selected universal and commercial banks in Philippines” St Scholastical’s College Manila
39. van Zyl, A. (2023). “Embedding sustainability accounting in strategic decision-making: A stakeholder-oriented approach.” Journal of Cleaner Production, 412, 137180.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2023.137180
40. Zabolotnyy, S., & Wasilewski, M. (2019). The concept of financial sustainability measurement: A case of food companies from Northern Europe. Sustainability, 11(18), 5139.
Published
2025-11-30
How to Cite
Amoh, G. G., Serge, M. E., & Mukah, S. T. (2025). Sustainability Accounting and Financial Performance of Commercial Banks in Cameroon. European Scientific Journal, ESJ, 21(31), 112. https://doi.org/10.19044/esj.2025.v21n31p112
Section
ESJ Social Sciences
Copyright (c) 2025 Grace Gujung Amoh, Messomo Elle Serge, Samuel Tanjeh Mukah
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
