Audit Committee Characteristics And Earnings Quality Of Listed Oil And Gas Companies In Nigeria

• Oyedele Oloruntoba

  Federal University Lokoja, Faculty of Management Sciences, Department of Finance

  Author

• Yahaya Muhammad Izzuddeen

  Federal University Lokoja, Faculty of Management Sciences, Department of Accounting

  Author

This study investigates the relationship between audit committee characteristics and earnings quality among listed oil and gas companies in Nigeria. A longitudinal panel research design was employed, covering eleven oil and gas firms listed on the Nigerian Exchange Group as at 31 December 2023. Based on data availability and continuity criteria, eight firms were selected, producing eighty firm-year observations over the 2014–2023 period. Secondary data were obtained from audited annual reports and analysed using descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation, and panel regression techniques. Following the Hausman specification test, the random effects model was adopted. The findings indicate that audit committee size exerts a negative and statistically significant effect on the accrual component (β = -0.00075, p < 0.05), suggesting that larger audit committees are associated with reduced accrual intensity and, by implication, improved earnings quality. Conversely, audit committee accounting expertise displays a positive and statistically significant association with the accrual component (β = 0.0173, p < 0.05), implying that a greater presence of accounting experts corresponds with higher accrual levels and potentially lower earnings quality. Audit committee gender diversity exhibits a negative but statistically insignificant relationship with the accrual component (β = -0.0163, p > 0.10). The results suggest that audit committee characteristics do not uniformly enhance earnings quality. While committee size appears to strengthen monitoring effectiveness, the role of accounting expertise warrants closer contextual scrutiny. The study contributes sector-specific evidence from Nigeria’s oil and gas industry and offers insights relevant to corporate governance reform in frontier markets. 

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