Onsare, Sheila K.2026-06-292025https://repository.kcau.ac.ke/handle/123456789/1193This study investigated the antecedents of integrated reporting (IR) and their role in enhancing financial sustainability among Tier I and II commercial banks in Kenya. Integrated reporting had gained prominence globally as a strategic approach that combined financial and non-financial disclosures to provide a holistic view of organizational performance. Despite its growing importance, the adoption of IR remained limited and uneven across the Kenyan banking sector. The research focused on four key antecedents, firm size, leverage, firm age, and board size, and examined their influence on the adoption and quality of integrated reporting practices, ultimately assessing their contribution to financial sustainability, measured by the Altman Z score. The study anchored the independent variables, firm size, leverage, firm age, and board size, within relevant theoretical frameworks to explain their influence on integrated reporting and financial sustainability in Tier I and II commercial banks in Kenya. By applying legitimacy theory, agency theory, institutional theory, and resource dependence theory, the study built a strong conceptual foundation to examine how internal firm dynamics drove corporate transparency and sustainability reporting. The study adopted an explanatory research design using panel data collected from 17 Tier I and II banks between 2020 and 2024. Descriptive and inferential statistics, including panel regression models, were employed to test the hypothesized relationships. The findings revealed significant relationships between integrated reporting antecedents and financial sustainability among commercial banks in Kenya. Firm size demonstrated the strongest positive correlation with financial sustainability (r = 0.523, p < 0.01), indicating that larger banks exhibit superior financial health. Firm age showed a moderate positive correlation (r = 0.346, p < 0.05), suggesting established banks achieve better sustainability outcomes. Board size displayed a weak but significant positive correlation (r = 0.298, p < 0.05), while leverage showed a moderate negative correlation (r = -0.412, p < 0.01), indicating higher debt-to-equity ratios compromised financial sustainability. The fixed effects panel regression confirmed these predictors collectively explain 47.5% of financial sustainability variation. The study concluded that firm size, firm age, and board size significantly enhance financial sustainability, with firm size providing the strongest predictive power. Established banks benefit from institutional maturity and accumulated experience, while larger board sizes contribute through enhanced governance oversight. Conversely, excessive leverage substantially compromises financial sustainability by increasing financial risk and reducing long-term viability. The study recommended that bank management should pursue strategic growth initiatives to achieve optimal operational scale, maintain conservative debt-to-equity ratios within regulatory guidelines, and leverage institutional knowledge for competitive advantage. Regulatory authorities should consider these findings when developing prudential regulations, emphasizing leverage management and corporate governance guidelines. Investors should utilize firm size, leverage levels, and governance quality as key evaluation criteria for banking sector investments. Future research should incorporate additional variables such as management quality, technological innovation, and macroeconomic factors to explain the remaining 52.5% of financial sustainability variation.enThesis