Firms Attributes and Audit Fees in Nigeria Quoted Firms

Abstract

This study examined the firms’ characteristics and audit fees in Nigeria. The justification arose from the fact that, auditing profession has come under increased scrutiny over the years about the growing amount of fees paid by audit client and the contributing impact of such fees on auditor independence and the need to investigate the firms’ factors that affect audit fees in Nigeria. The study employed a employed time series and cross-session data (panel data) of firms listed at the Nigeria Stock Exchange and data used was gathered from secondary source (annual financial statement) of firms quoted at the Nigeria Stock Exchange from 2013-2017. A sample size of eighty-nine (89) firms was used through the aid of Yaro, (1964) formula for sample size determination. And the statistical tool used in the study was Panel Least Square Regression with the aid of Eview 7.0 and SPSS 20. The study found that, auditor type, client’s firm size, client’s complexity, client’s firm risk and audit committee independence have significant effect on audit fees, while firm’s profitability has no effect on audit fees. The study recommended that, further academic researchers should employ more corporate governance variables on audit fees and period covered should fall between six to seven years for the purpose of analyzing the data. Similarly, future researchers in relation to this study should equally cover a period of six to seven years using the same panel least square or any other related statistical tool.