Audit Committee and Performance: Evidence from Kenyan Deposit Taking Saccos (Published)
This research examined the effect of Audit committee characteristics on performance of Deposit Taking Saccos in Kenya. Audit committee characteristics was measured by independence, terms of service and study specialization as proxy. The study was guided by the Agency Theory and adopted descriptive cross-sectional survey and correlational research designs. A sample size was 108 licensed Deposit Taking Saccos drawn from a target population of 175. Primary data was collected from the board members and management executives. The analysis was done using descriptive statistics and multiple regressions. The study findings suggest that the overall correlation coefficient for Audit Committee characteristics and performance was found to be 0.144 with a p-value of 0.143> =0.05. This implies a weak positive and insignificant relationship between Audit Committee characteristics and performance. Based on findings, the study recommends proper constitution of audit committee with well spelt out terms of service and a consideration be made on appropriate study specialization. Independence of audit committee must be complied with to ensure conformity to best standards of practice. Areas for further studies suggested are conducting studies in other contexts to corroborate these findings and consideration of effect of other variables of Audit Committee characteristics on the performance.
Citation: Ncurai, D.M., Oloko, M., Rambo, C.M. (2023) Audit Committee and Performance: Evidence from Kenyan Deposit Taking Saccos, European Journal of Accounting, Auditing and Finance Research, Vol.11, No. 4, pp.47-59
Keywords: Performance, SACCOS, audit committee characteristics
Examining Effect of Audit Committee Attributes on Firm Performance: Evidence from listed Food and Beverages Firms in Nigeria (Published)
Persistent material misstatements in financial statements and subsequent loss of stakeholder’s confidence on credibility of reported information necessitated the establishment of statutory audit committee by corporate governance ethic of most countries including Nigeria. This paper examined effect of different audit committee attributes on performance of firms listed in the food and beverage industries in Nigeria Stock Exchange. Audit committee independence, audit committee financial expertise and audit committee meeting are proxy for measuring audit committee attributes while financial performance was measured with Earning Per Share (EPS). Ex-post facto research design was adopted and secondary data were collected from annual reports of selected firms spanning eight years from 2011 to 2018. The population of this study constitute of all firms listed under the food and beverages sector in Nigeria stock exchange which are twenty-one (21) firms as at December 31st, 2018. The study purposively selected fourteen (14) firms based on the availability of their annual reports. Data were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Descriptive statistics and inferential statistics was conducted. Analyses revealed that: audit committee independence and audit committee expertise has positive but insignificant effect on firm performance measured with EPS, while audit committee meeting exhibit positive and significant effect on EPS of listed food and beverages firms in Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE). Based on the findings, this study therefore recommended that firm should sustain frequencies of audit committee meetings, so as to ensure that the committee has enough time to take decisions that are efficient and effective in enhancing better firm performance. This study also recommends that regulatory bodies should ensure that audit committee are made more effective by ensuring that members includes independent non-executive directors and also ensure that more members with financial expertise especially accounting expertise be drafted into the audit committee to improve performance of firms.
Citation: Osevwe-Okoroyibo, E. E. and Emeka-Nwokeji, N. A (2021) Examining Effect of Audit Committee Attributes on Firm Performance: Evidence from listed Food and Beverages Firms in Nigeria, European Journal of Accounting, Auditing and Finance Research, Vol.9, No. 8, pp.26-43,
Keywords: Audit, Performance, audit committee characteristics, audit independence, audit meeting, financial expertise
Audit Committee Characteristics and Non-Performing Loans in Nigerian Deposits Banks (Published)
This study examined empirically the impact of audit committee characteristics on non-performing loans in Nigerian Deposits banks. For the purpose of this research work, secondary data was used and the instruments of data collection were financial statements. The study adopts Ex-post factor research (after the fact) design. The population of the study is 15 banks according to the Nigerian Stock Exchange. The sample size is the entire population of the study. The Study made use of multiple regression analysis and specifically the panel data regression technique. The Hausman test was used to determine the suitable regression. The result of the Hausman test showed the random effect. The findings suggested that the inclusion of financial expertise in audit committee leads to reduced level of non-performing loans in listed banks in Nigeria. Although insignificant, the relationship between the audit committee meetings and non-performing loans also revealed a negative influence. While the influence of audit committee independence on non-performing loans revealed a positive relationship. Therefore, the study recommends that financial experts on the audit committee should take in cognizance of the negative effect of increased non-performing on the performance of the listed banks and the committee meetings should discussed the ways in which non-performing loans are reduced.
Keywords: Corporate Governance, Non-Performing Loans, audit committee characteristics
Audit Committee Characteristics and Audit Quality: Exploratory and Empirical Analysis In Nigerian Oil Sector (Published)
This paper examined audit committee characteristics on audit quality in Nigeria, for 10 years spanning from 2009-2018. Specifically, this study assessed the effect of audit committee size on audit quality in the oil and gas sector and examined the effect of audit committee meetings on audit quality in the oil and gas sector. The study adopted an expo-facto research design and the population covered all the 12 listed Oil and Gas sectors; out of which, 10 firms were selected through a random sampling technique. The study used secondary data, sourced from the published financial reports of the sampled firms covering the period of 2009-2018. Through logistic regression, it was discovered that audit committee size exerted a positive significant effect on audit quality of firms in the oil and gas sector in Nigeria and that audit committee meeting exerts a positive but insignificant effect on audit quality of firms in the oil and gas sector in Nigeria. It was concluded that audit committee has a statistically significant effect on audit quality in Nigeria. Thus, it was recommended that emphasis and focus should be placed on the size of the audit committee to improve audit quality and that modalities surrounding the meetings of the committee members should be revisited. Also, adequate supervision and monitoring should be ensured in every meeting of the committee members.
Keywords: Audit Quality, audit committee characteristics, oil and gas sector