Sarah Animie ESABU

This study examined the effect of stress antecedents (workload, budget attainability, budget emphasis, role conflict, and leadership behaviour) on audit quality among auditors in Nigeria. A quantitative survey design was adopted, and data were collected from 120 auditors across audit firms in Nigeria using a structured questionnaire. The study employed descriptive statistics such as frequency, percentage, and mean to summarize respondents’ demographic characteristics and perceptions of the study variables. The study finds that auditors experience significant stress from heavy workloads, tight deadlines, and simultaneous client engagements. Budget attainability and leadership behaviour showed positive and significant effects on audit quality, indicating that realistic budgets and supportive leadership enhance audit performance. Conversely, workload, budget emphasis, and role conflict exhibited significant negative effects on audit quality. The regression model showed that the combined stress antecedents explained 50.7% of the variance in audit quality. The study recommends improved workload distribution, realistic budgeting, moderated emphasis on time budgets, reduced role conflict, and strengthened leadership practices.