The accountancy profession is a unique one and should be concerned with the provision of true and definitive financial information that can assist all the stakeholders in taking appropriate decisions after meeting auditor’s requirements. Undoubtedly, an expectation gap always exists between the stakeholders (as they appear not knowing the exact the duty of a statutory auditor) and auditor (whose duty is spelt out in the statute irrespective of the high demand by the stakeholders). The first objective of this study is to determine whether or not the stakeholders / users of financial statements are conversant with the duty of an auditor under the Nigerian law. The second objective is to find out through the stakeholders’ perceptions whether the audit expectation gap can influence them in taking decisions. Questionnaire is used as the instrument for collecting the required data. Descriptive statistic and simple regression (after conversion) are used in analyzing the data. The study reveals that majority of the stakeholders are not familiar with the statutory duty of an auditor and that the audit expectation gap is less significant in taking their decisions. Other finding is that the auditors’ report is not detailed enough with a view to disclosing any gap that may arise. The recommendations of the study are that the management and directors of companies should adequately educate the stakeholders on the statutory duty of auditor and the report of the auditor should be detailed enough in order to meet the needs of shareholders especially on any gap that may arise.
Keywords: Audit Expectation Gap, Auditor, Nigeria, Statutory Duty
