Audit committee reports and corporate governance in Nigeria Online publication date: Mon, 14-Dec-2009
by Akintola Owolabi, Chris Ogbechie
International Journal of Critical Accounting (IJCA), Vol. 2, No. 1, 2010
Abstract: Audit committees are said to be important mechanisms of corporate governance. The aim of this research is to assess the quality of audit committee reports in annual reports and accounts by specifically measuring their conformance with the provisions of the Nigerian Companies and Allied Matters Act 1990. Of the 260 reports selected five years post Enron (2002-2006) for analysis, only 134 (52%) were available. The empirical results indicate that the reports (mostly unqualified) do not support public opinion and an earlier study on the credibility of financial report in Nigeria [see for example, Reports on the Observance of Standards and Codes (ROSC) (2004) by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF)]. It is also at variance with the allegations of financial statement fraud committed by high profile companies in Nigeria (e.g., Unilever and Cadbury). An improvement in the quality of audit committee reports should enhance the credibility and transparency of financial report.
Existing subscribers:
Go to Inderscience Online Journals to access the Full Text of this article.
If you are not a subscriber and you just want to read the full contents of this article, buy online access here.Complimentary Subscribers, Editors or Members of the Editorial Board of the International Journal of Critical Accounting (IJCA):
Login with your Inderscience username and password:
Want to subscribe?
A subscription gives you complete access to all articles in the current issue, as well as to all articles in the previous three years (where applicable). See our Orders page to subscribe.
If you still need assistance, please email subs@inderscience.com
Our Blog 
Follow us on Twitter 
Visit us on Facebook