Audit Committee Attributes and Earnings Management: Evidence from Quoted Non-Financial Companies in Nigeria (Published)
This study examined effect of audit committee attributes and earnings management of quoted non-financial companies in Nigeria. The objectives were to find out; the extent audit committee size impacts on return on equity of selected quoted non-financial companies in Nigeria; impact on the number of meeting of audit committee on return on equity of selected quoted non-financial companies in Nigeria; and impact of audit committee fees on return on equity of selected quoted non-financial companies in Nigeria. Ex-post facto research design was adopted. Data were collected from Cadbury Nigeria Plc, Cussons PZ, Dangote Plc, Nigerian Breweries Plc and Guinness Nigeria Plc covering the period 2013 to 2023. Panel least square regression analysis was used for data estimation since the data set involves a cross sectional time series. Based on empirical analysis, the study found that audit committee size has positive but no significant impact on return on equity of selected quoted non-financial companies in Nigeria. It was also observed that number of meeting of audit committee has negative and no significant impact on return on equity of selected quoted non-financial companies in Nigeria. Result also revealed that Audit committee remuneration has negative and no significant impact on return on equity of selected quoted non-financial companies in Nigeria. The study concluded that audit committee attributes have no influence on earnings management of non-financial quoted companies in Nigeria. Based on the findings, it was recommended that management of quoted companies should ensure that audit committee meets regularly to ensure better audit quality reporting.
Keywords: Audit Committee, Earnings Management, Financial Performance, Return on Equity, audit committee meetings, audit committee remuneration, audit committee size
Audit Committee Attributes and Corporate Performance: Evidence from Selected Manufacturing Firms in Nigeria (Published)
The study examined the relationship between audit committee attributes and performance of manufacturing firms in Nigeria. Ex post facto research design was used while the data source for analysis was secondary and drawn from 2012-2019. Using judgemental sampling method, fifteen (15) firms were selected from the listed manufacturing firms in Nigeria. Data collected were analysed while the hypotheses formulated were tested using Pearson correlation matrix. The result revealed that audit committee size and audit committee meetings have positive association with performance of manufacturing firms in Nigeria; while audit committee independence has a negative association with performance of manufacturing firms in Nigeria. Based on the findings, the study recommends that the corporate governance discussions should be re-focused from independence to size and meetings of the audit committee. A ceiling should be pegged on the minimum number of meetings audit committee members should attend in a financial year.
Citation: Okeke P. C., (2021) Audit Committee Attributes and Corporate Performance: Evidence from Selected Manufacturing Firms in Nigeria, European Journal of Accounting, Auditing and Finance Research, Vol.9, No. 9, pp.1-17
Keywords: Firm Performance, audit committee independence, audit committee meetings, audit committee size
Internal Corporate Governance and Intellectual Capital of Listed Oil and Gas Firms in Nigeria (Published)
Purpose: In view of the need to gain a greater knowledge of internal corporate governance mechanisms and their associated influences, this paper interrogates the impact of internal corporate governance instruments on intellectual capital for eight quoted oil and gas firms. Design/Methodology/Approach: Internal corporate governance mechanisms were represented by board size, independence, gender, share ownership, audit committee size, institutional ownership, government ownership, family ownership and foreign ownership. Intellectual capital was represented by value added intellectual capital score disaggregated into capital employed efficiency, human capital efficiency and structural capital efficiency. The impact of internal corporate governance mechanisms on intellectual capital was interrogated over 13-year period (2007-2019) using panel regression technique. Findings: The findings provide clear evidence that internal corporate governance influences intellectual capital performance of oil and gas firms. Board size, independence of directors, women on the board, family ownership and foreign ownership are seen to have no significant impact. However, share ownership, audit committee size, institutional ownership and government ownership show significant impact. Implications/Originality/value: The findings of this study are important because they provide strong empirical evidence for corporate stakeholders to strictly monitor the internal corporate governance mechanisms and intellectual capital score of oil and gas firms. This also serves as one of the few empirical studies in Nigeria.
Keywords: audit committee size, capital employed efficiency., government ownership, institutional ownership, share ownership