AUDIT QUALITY AND AUDIT COMMITTEE’S EFFECTIVENESS

This study examines the effect of audit quality and effectiveness of audit committee among listed firms in Nigeria. The audit committee plays a critical role in enhancing the credibility of financial statements by ensuring effective oversight of financial reporting and the external audit process. The study investigates key dimensions of audit committee effectiveness, including committee independence, financial expertise, frequency of meetings, and size, and how these factors influence audit quality. Data were collected from the audited annual reports of selected firms listed on the Nigerian Exchange Group (NGX) for the period 2019–2023. A panel data regression analysis was used to test the hypotheses. The findings reveal that audit committee independence and financial expertise have a significant positive effect on audit quality, while meeting frequency also shows a moderate influence. However, the audit committee size was found to have an insignificant effect. The study concludes that enhancing audit committee effectiveness especially by strengthening independence and ensuring financial expertise can significantly improve audit quality. It recommends that regulatory authorities enforce stricter compliance with audit committee requirements to safeguard the integrity of financial reporting and promote investor confidence.