STAKEHOLDERS’ PERCEPTION OF THE INDEPENDENCE OF STATUTORY AUDITORS IN NIGERIA

Towards the end of the nineteenth century, there were celebrated cases of corporate frauds andfinancial misappropriation in corporate giants. The series of frauds have left a sense of doubt aboutthe “unbiasedness” of external auditors to render an attest function on the credibility of publishedfinancial statements. In this light, this research sought to empirically investigate into the perceptionof auditor independence in Nigeria. A cross-sectional survey was conducted on the opinions ofrandomly selected lecturers of auditing, practising auditors, stockbrokers, shareholders andmanagers. Primary data was extensively relied upon. In addition to the primary data, secondary datafrom annual reports were also used. The data collected were used to answer research questions andtest hypotheses. Test of hypotheses was performed using Pearson Correlation and Kendall’s measureof concordance at a 0.05 level of significance. The outcome of the tests showed that the selectedrespondents perceived size of audit fee as the most influencing factor, capable of deterring auditorindependence in Nigeria. It was also observed that existing laws were obsolete and need to beupdated to make them relevant.