EFFECT OF AUDIT ATTRIBUTE ON FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE OF LISTED DEPOSITS MONEY BANKS IN NIGERIA

This study examines the effect of audit attributes on the financial performance of listed deposit money banks in Nigeria. Using panel data from three selected banks (Access Bank Plc, United Bank for Africa Plc, and Zenith Bank Plc) over a nine-year period from 2015 to 2023, the research investigates the relationship between audit fees, audit quality (reputation), and audit independence with three performance measures: return on assets (ROA), return on equity (ROE), and efficiency ratio. The study employed ex-post facto research design with multiple regression analysis using SPSS version 25.0 to test the formulated hypotheses. The empirical findings reveal that audit fees and audit quality demonstrate significant positive relationships with both ROA and ROE, while showing significant negative relationships with efficiency ratios, indicating improved operational efficiency. Specifically, audit fees showed coefficients of 0.0123 (ROA) and 0.0789 (ROE), both significant at 5% level, while audit quality exhibited coefficients of 0.0234 (ROA) and 0.1234 (ROE), also significant at 5% level. Conversely, audit independence consistently showed insignificant relationships across all performance measures. The models explained 72.34%, 67.89%, and 56.78% of variations in ROA, ROE, and efficiency ratio respectively, with all F-statistics significant at 5% level, confirming the overall model validity. The study concludes that audit attributes, particularly audit fees and audit quality, significantly enhance financial performance of Nigerian deposit money banks through improved asset utilization, enhanced shareholder returns, and better operational efficiency. The findings provide strong empirical support for agency theory and signaling theory, demonstrating that investments in comprehensive and high-quality audit services yield tangible performance benefits. The study recommends that bank management should prioritize investments in high-quality audit services, while regulators should strengthen audit quality standards. These findings contribute to the literature by addressing gaps in efficiency ratio analysis and providing contemporary insights into audit-performance relationships in the Nigerian banking sector. Keywords: Audit Attributes, Financial Performance, Nigerian Banks, Big Four Auditors, Operational Efficiency