Audit Assurance Reports and Public Project Execution in Nigeria
The study examined the effect of assurance reports of auditors on public project execution in Nigeria. The study focused on four information namely; Information on tendering process (InfTP), Information on Contract Execution progress (InfCEP), Information on Risk Management and Project Performance (InfRM&PP) and Information on Economic Viability of Project (InfEVP) on public project execution (PPE) in Nigeria. Data for the study were obtained primarily through questionnaire administered to 210 respondents made up of auditors in public institutions in three states namely; Gombe, Nasarawa and Kogi states. The questionnaire was designed to reflect five (5) point-Likert scale. The OLS multiple regression was used to investigate the impact of the independent variables on the dependent variable. The results of the analysis indicated that while InfRM&PP and InfEVP showed significant impact at a 5% level of confidence, InfTP and InfCEP showed a negative impact on PPE at the same confidence level. The results suggest that the reports and information given by independent auditors on PPE can be impactful on quality delivery except for the reluctance on the part of the government to hire their service in Nigeria. The study recommended engagement of the services of the experts (independent auditors in firms) for their reports and information on PPE for quality delivery. Keywords: Auditors, Assurance, Report, Public, Projects, Execution. JEL Classification: B22, B26, D31, F65