financial reporting quality

This study examined the Impact of Unethical Accounting Practices on Financial Reporting Quality of Manufacturing Firms in Nigeria. The study specifically examined the common unethical accounting practices prevalent in Nigerian manufacturing firms. The study examined the major causes of unethical practices by accounting professionals. The survey design was adopted and the simple random sampling techniques were employed in this study. The population size comprises of selected staff of Sumal Foods Limited in Oyo State. In determining the sample size, the researcher conveniently selected 80 respondents and 72 were validated. Selfconstructed and validated questionnaire was used for data collection. The collected and validated questionnaires were analyzed using frequency tables and mean scores, while the hypotheses were tested using ANOVA statistical tool. The result of the findings reveals that the common unethical accounting practices prevalent in Nigerian manufacturing firms includes; falsifying financial statements to mislead stakeholders, manipulating inventory levels to inflate profits is a frequent practice, underreporting expenses to enhance profitability is widely practiced and engaging in related-party transactions without proper disclosure is common. Therefore, The study suggests that accounting professional bodies in Nigeria should advocate for stricter penalties for auditors who misconduct themselves, similar to practices in other countries.

This study examined the influence of audit characteristics on the financial reporting quality of deposit money banks listed on the Nigerian Exchange. The main objective was to assess the effects of audit firm tenure, audit firm size, and non-audit services on the credibility and transparency of financial reports. The study adopted an ex-post facto research design and utilized secondary data collected from annual reports of twelve listed banks covering the period 2016 to 2023. The data were analysed using panel regression analysis with robust standard errors to account for heteroskedasticity. The study finds that audit firm tenure has no significant impact on financial reporting quality, indicating that the duration of auditor-client relationships does not independently determine reporting outcomes in the Nigerian banking sector. However, audit firm size showed a significant positive relationship with financial reporting quality, suggesting that larger audit firms contribute to higher transparency and reliability due to their extensive expertise and stronger regulatory oversight. Additionally, non-audit services exhibited a significant positive effect on financial reporting quality, implying that when properly managed, these services can enhance auditors’ operational understanding and improve audit effectiveness rather than compromise independence. The study concludes that audit firm size and non-audit services are critical determinants of financial reporting quality among Nigerian deposit money banks, while audit firm tenure plays a limited role. The study recommends that regulators encourage the use of reputable large audit firms and implement guidelines to manage non-audit services effectively to strengthen overall audit quality and financial transparency in the sector