AN EMPIRICAL ANALYSIS OF THE AUDIT EXPECTATION GAP IN NIGERIA

Abstract

The study assesses the roles, duties, and responsibilities of the auditor that led to the so-called audit expectation gap in Nigeria with a focus on the capital market. The objective of the studies is to assess if indeed audit expectation gap in Nigeria exists. The study uses the chi-square distribution to ascertain the argument. It was observed that the collapse of many companies across the world was occasioned by corporate governance failure as most financial statements prepared by these firms were satisfied okay by the auditors but yet the companies later went underground thereby resulting in the audit expectation gap argument. Among other things, the study recommends that the relevant professional bodies should collaborate with auditors and educate the users of financial statements to understand the duties and responsibilities of the auditor towards narrowing it performance gap. Also, audited financial statements should be presented manner that people can read and understand the reports. Keywords: Audit Expectation Gap; Auditors; Financial Statement; Prevention of Fraud; Nigeria

Keywords

• Audit Expectation Gap
• Auditors
• Financial Statement
• Prevention of Fraud
• Nigeria