Abstract
The study examined unethical professional practices and the quality of audit reports of external auditors in selected audit firms in Lagos State, Nigeria . This study adopted the descriptive survey research design. The population for this study comprised 500 auditors in Lagos state, Nigeria. The sample of 150 auditors was selected using simple random sampling technique. A well-structured questionnaire was used for data collection, which was validated by experts with a reliability coefficient of 0.79 obtained through Cronbach Alpha method. The administration of the instrument was through physical administration to the respondents in their firms’ premises by the researcher with the help of two research assistants, and Google form where the questionnaire was pasted on the auditors’ platform on whatsapp and telegram for the respondents to fill. Data collected were analysed using descriptive statistics of frequency counts, percentage, mean and standard deviation for the research questions, and inferential statistics of regression analysis for testing the hypothesis at 0.05 level of significance. The study revealed that poor audit planning and auditors’ lack of integrity have significant effects on the quality of audit reports of external auditors in Nigeria. In conclusion, poor audit planning of auditors and auditors’ lack of integrity are affecting the quality of audit reports in Lagos state Nigeria. The study recommended, among others, that external auditors should always properly plan their audit work so that they would be able to do extensive work that will promote their professionalism and make the audit report to be useful to users of financial information for making investment decisions. Keywords: Quality Audit, Poor Audit Planning, Lack of Integrity, External Auditor. DOI: 10.7176/RJFA/13-2-10 Publication date: January 31 st 2022
Highlights
The role of audit reports cannot be underestimated especially when it comes to making investment decisions for the future
The lack of trust in financial reporting and auditing caused by business failures and audit failures in a number of nations, including Nigeria, is the drive for audit independence and quality control reforms. The results of this have led to strict regulation in an attempt to regain public and investors’ confidence in audit reporting. It is against this background that this study examined unethical professional practices and the quality of audit reports of external auditors in selected audit firms in Lagos State, Nigeria
Out of the various unethical professional behavior among auditors, the study basically investigated the effects of poor audit planning and auditors’ lack of integrity on the quality of the reports of external auditors
Summary
The role of audit reports cannot be underestimated especially when it comes to making investment decisions for the future. Various users of audit reports such as employee, creditors, suppliers, public, investors, management and government rely on the opinion of the external auditors for different purposes. The external auditor is in position to form an opinion on whether account presented and audited shows a true and fair view; this opinion on the audit reporting is the foundation of the decision making for the users. This makes an auditor to be a watchdog for decision making of the stakeholders.
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