Audit Related Attributes and Audit Report Lag of Listed Deposit Money Banks in Nigeria
ABSTRACT Accounting information released in right proportion and at the right time reveals opportunities and problems well in advance. Facts have shown that the passage of time makes information less relevant for decision making. Hence, a short Audit Report Lag (ARL) is of great importance to various stakeholders and a lengthy one might result in high information asymmetry and negative consequences as a result of market reactions. This paper assessed the effect of audit related attributes on timeliness of financial reporting of listed Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) in Nigeria. The population of the study comprised of all listed DMBs which as at 31st December, 2018 were 15 banks. Data were collected from thirteen of the banks for a period of five years; 2013 to 2018 inclusive. A panel regression was adopted for the study as it suits the data gathered. The study found that audit complexity has a positive significant effect on Audit Report Lag (ARL). However, audit committee Independence has a negative significant effect on ARL. On these bases, the study recommended that audit firms should carefully plan the audit exercise of banks especially those with many subsidiaries, the audit team should comprise more of experienced audit staff members as this will help save time and maintain required audit quality. It was also recommended that independent non-executive directors should comprise of at least two-third of directors' representatives on the audit committee as their level of objectivity would further lend credence to their liaising role between the internal auditor, executives…