EFFECT OF AUDITORS’ INDEPENDENCE ON AUDIT QUALITY IN THE NIGERIAN BANKING SECTOR

Abstract

There’s been debates over the years on how the independence of auditors affects the quality of audit report. This research was carried out in order to examine the effect of auditors’ independence on audit quality. In carrying this study, 9 out of the 21 deposit money banks as validated by the Central bank of Nigeria and also National Bureau of statistics as at 31st December 2018 were selected based on the criteria of banks that are licensed with international Authorization. These 9 banks represent 42.86% of the deposit money banks in Nigeria as at the date. The study employed both primary and secondary data. The study captured the opinions of junior staff, senior staff, and Management staff in each of the 9 select banks. The primary data were got from one hundred and sixty seven returned and usable questionnaire, while the secondary data were generated from the audit financial statements of the 9 banks respectively from the period of 2012 -2018. The data gathered were used to test the hypotheses and answer some of the research questions. The study found a significant and positive relationship between auditors’ independence and audit quality