Research Objective: This study examined the effect of corporate expenditure on return on capital employed (ROCE) of manufacturing firms in Nigeria, focusing on advertising costs, audit fees, and employee costs.
Methodology: The study adopted an ex-post facto research design, covering a period of 10 years (2012-2021). Secondary data were extracted from the annual reports and accounts of sampled firms, and hypotheses were tested using the Ordinary Least Square regression technique.
Findings: The results revealed that advertising costs and audit fees have a negative and significant effect on ROCE, while employee costs have a negative but insignificant effect on ROCE of manufacturing firms in Nigeria.
Conclusion: Corporate expenditures, particularly advertising costs and audit fees, have a negative and significant effect on the return on capital employed in manufacturing firms in Nigeria.
Recommendations: It is recommended that manufacturing firms in Nigeria should focus on maximizing the effectiveness of their advertising expenditures by using passive media and creating persuasive content to ensure maximum returns. Additionally, cost management strategies should be employed to reduce administrative overheads like audit fees, ensuring that these fees translate into high-quality audit reports free of misstatements.