Human Resource Costs as A Determinant of Corporate Financial Performance in Nigeria's Industrial Goods Sector

The primary objective of this study is to investigate the effect of human resource cost on the corporate financial performance of quoted industrial goods companies in Nigeria. The study began by examining the impact of salaries and wages on the net profit margin and return on assets, as well as the effect of training and development costs on these metrics, for the quoted industrial goods company in Nigeria. The Ex Post Facto research design was used for this study. Secondary data was used for this study and was obtained from the published annual reports and financial statements of the 13 quoted industrial goods companies in Nigeria from the years 2014-2023. The study employed the descriptive statistics model, multiple linear regression model, and Pearson's product-moment correlation coefficient to investigate the relationship between the independent and dependent variables of this study. It was, however, discovered that salaries and wages have a positive and insignificant effect on net profit margin and a positive and statistically insignificant impact on returns on assets. Training and development costs have no significant relationship with net profit margin and return on assets. As a result of this finding, it was decided that organizations should consider implementing a performance management system that effectively links human resource outcomes with strategic goals, also organizations can invest in detailed human capital analytics to measure the return on investment of human resource practices, by keeping track of the key performance indicators related to employees productivity, customers satisfaction thereby gaining an understanding of the impact of human capital strategies on the bottom line.