Determinants of Audit Delay in Nigerian Companies: Empirical Evidence

Abstract

This paper examines relationship between audit delay and several company characteristics in Nigeria. The objective of this study is to measure the extent of audit lag in Nigeria and to establish the impact of selected corporate attributes on audit delay in Nigeria. A sample of 20 quoted companies was selected for a period of 2009 to 2011. The audit delay for each of the companies revealed that it takes a minimum of 30 days and a maximum of 276 days for Nigerian companies to publish their annual reports. Nigeria listed companies take approximately two months on the average beyond their balance sheet date before they are finally ready for the presentation of the audited accounts to the shareholders at the annual general meetings. The results from the panel data which was estimated using Ordinary Least Square regression showed that the major determinants of audit delay in Nigeria include multinationality connections of companies, company size and audit fees paid to auditors. We therefore recommend that regulatory agencies in Nigeria should probe audit delay and formulate policies to enforce compliance with timely release of annual reports.

Keywords: audit delay, audit lag, annual reports, company characteristics