Audit quality and financial performance in quoted consumer goods companies in Nigeria

This study examined the impact of audit quality on financial performance of consumer goods companies in Nigeria. The specific objectives are: to determine the effect of audit independence, audit tenure, audit firm size on the financial performance of consumer goods companies in Nigeria. The study is theoretically predicated on stakeholder’s theory, agency theory, contingency theory and lending credibility theory. Descriptive and cross sectional research design were adopted to investigate the relationship between variables of audit quality and financial performance of quoted firms in Nigeria over a period of 5 years. Secondary Data were obtained from annual reports of five selected quoted consumer goods firms. Panel Least Square Regression Model was used to test the formulated hypotheses. Findings showed that all the independent variables jointly and strongly have significant impact on the financial performance of the selected firms in Nigeria measured by return on assets except audit firm size. It is concluded that audit quality has significantly and positively impacted the financial performance of consumer goods companies listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange. The study then recommends among others, the need for firms to adopt effective internal control processes and practices that address key auditing practice for effective audit quality.