Mountain Top University Library

This study investigated the effect of audit committee attributes, such as independence, size, and expertise, on the quality of audits in the oil and gas companies in Nigeria. Evidence from research in recent times has proven that the reporting system and methods used in ensuring transparency of the financial information of oil and gas companies have been inconsistent in this sector. The research design adopted by the study is ex-post facto, and the population consists of the 10 downstream oil and gas companies listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange. Data was collected from their annual reports spanning 2014 to 2023. The data were extracted from the annual reports and accounts of the selected oil and gas companies in Nigeria and the link is given by the Nigeria Exchange Group (NGX). The result of the analysis using multiple regression revealed that audit committee attributes are positively and significantly related to the audit quality of listed oil and gas companies in Nigeria specifically. The finding reveals that audit
committee attribute has a significant and positive effect on types of audit firm, audit fee, going concern opinion, and audit firm tenure in listed oil and gas companies in Nigeria. This research has provided insights into how audit committee attributes influence audit quality in the Nigerian oil and gas sector. This could contribute to enhancing the effectiveness of audit committees in
ensuring financial reporting quality and corporate governance in the industry. The study therefore recommends that oil and gas companies in Nigeria should ensure that they comply with the regulations as to the tenure of auditors as contained in CAMA 2020.
Keywords: Audit committee attributes, Audit quality, Audit committee expertise, Audit committee size, Audit committee independence