Operating Costs Control Mechanisms and Financial Performance of Quoted Consumer Goods Firms in Nigeria

The business environment where the consumer goods firms in Nigeria operate seems to pose challenges to the players due to increasing prices of manufacturing inputs and competition in the market terrain which eventually affect their profitability. Cost increases as various production activities are embarked upon and the need to keep cost under check is vital. This study examined the effect of operating cost control mechanisms on the financial performance of quoted consumer goods firms in Nigeria. The study adopted descriptive survey research design. The population of the study consisted of three hundred (300) workers drawn from the six geopolitical zones in Nigeria. The sample size of this study consisted of two hundred (200) workers randomly selected from the study population based on the six geopolitical zones in Nigeria. The sampling method used for this study was stratified sampling technique. This study used primary sources of data collection via structured questionnaire. The data collected were analyzed using multiple regression analysis technique and descriptive statistics technique respectively via SPSS Version 20. The study found a positive significant effect of Operating budgetary costng (OBC), Activity based costing (ABC) and Just in time (JIT) respectively on the financial performance of quoted consumer goods firms in Nigeria while Lean manufacturing (LM), standard costing (SC), inventory operations costing (IC) and value analysis control (VAC) respectively found insignificant positive effect on the financial performance of quoted consumer goods firms in Nigeria. The study concluded that operating cost control mechanisms impacted on the financial performance of quoted consumer goods firms in Nigeria and recommended that the studied firms should apply operating budget costing (OBC), Just in time and Activity based costing mechanisms respectively since both techniques impacted positively on the financial performance of quoted consumer goods firms in Nigeria.