Audit Committee Attributes and Audit Reporting Lag of Listed Industrial Goods Companies in Nigeria
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.61143/umyu-jafr.9(1)2026.001Keywords:
Audit Reporting Lag, Audit Committee Independence, Financial Expertise and MeetingsAbstract
This study examined the influence of audit committee attributes on audit reporting lag (ARL) of listed industrial goods companies in Nigeria from 2020 to 2024. Using an ex post facto research design, secondary data were collected from the annual reports of 10 selected companies among the 13 industrial goods firms listed on the Nigerian Exchange Group (NXG). The study focuses on three key audit committee attributes: audit committee financial expertise (AFEXP), audit committee independence (ACI), and audit committee meetings (ACM), while controlling for firm size, leverage, and firm age. Data were analyzed using multiple regression. The findings revealed that audit committee meetings (ACM) and audit committee independence (ACI) have a significant effect on audit reporting lag of listed Industrial goods companies in Nigeria. However, audit committee financial expertise (ACFEXP) has no significant influence on audit reporting lag of listed Industrial goods companies in Nigeria. To expedite financial reporting timeliness, audit committees in the industrial goods sector in Nigeria should be composed primarily of independent directors who can streamline agendas and focus only on essential discussions to avoid excessive meetings that would significantly delay the release of financial statements. Hence, excessive meetings should be avoided unless necessary to expedite audit processes.
References
Abernathy, J. L., Barnes, M., Stefaniak, C., & Weisbarth, A. (2017). An international perspective on audit report lag: A synthesis of the literature and opportunities for future research. International Journal of Auditing, 21(1), 100–127. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/ijau.12083
Afify, H. A. E. (2009). Determinants of audit report lag: Does implementing corporate governance have any impact? Empirical evidence from Egypt. Journal of Applied Accounting Research, 10(1), 56–86. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/09675420910963397
Al-Daoud, K. A., Ismail, K. N. I., & Lode, N. A. (2015). The impact of internal corporate governance on the timeliness of financial reports of Jordanian firms: Evidence using audit and management report lags. Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences, 6(1), 205–231. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5901/mjss.2015.v6n1p430
Al-Matari, E. M., Homaid, A. S., & Alaaraj, M. H. (2016). Corporate governance mechanisms and audit report lag: Evidence from Malaysia. International Journal of Economics and Financial Issues, 6(2), 345–350.
Alqublani, A. A. M. (2016). Audit committee characteristics and audit report lag in Malaysia. Research Journal of Finance and Accounting, 2(8), 1–23.
Alzoubi, E. (2022). The role of audit committee independence in enhancing financial reporting quality: Evidence from emerging economies. Journal of International Accounting, 29(3), 345–358.
Appah, E., & Tebepah, S. F. (2020). Audit committee attributes and reporting lag of listed consumer goods firms in Nigeria. International Journal of Economics and Financial Management, 5(2), 48.
Appah, E. (2019). Agency theory and corporate governance: The Nigerian perspective. Journal of Economics and Sustainable Development, 4(2), 14–26.
Boyle, K. (2020). Comparative international and devolved best practice (Ad hoc Bill Committee on a Bill of Rights Written Evidence, 8 September 2020).
DeZoort, F. T., Hermanson, D. R., & Archambeault, D. S. (2002). Audit committee effectiveness: A synthesis of the empirical audit committee literature. Journal of Accounting Literature, 21(1), 38–75.
Emeh, Y., & Appah, E. (2013). Audit committee and timeliness of financial reports: Evidence from Nigeria. Journal of Economics and Sustainable Development, 4(20), 14–26.
Handayani, Y. D., & Yustikasari, Y. (2017). Corporate governance and audit report lags at manufacturing companies in the industrial sector of consumption goods. Corporate Governance, 9(29).
Hyellaki, J., Godiya, J. W., & Abubakar, M. (2024). Effect of audit committee characteristics on audit report lag of listed consumer goods companies in Nigeria. Global Journal of Research in Business Management, 4(5).
Ishaku, A., Muhammad, A., & Shuaibu, K. (2020). Audit committee effectiveness and audit report lag of listed non-financial companies in Nigeria. Nigerian Journal of Accounting and Finance, 12(1), 160–169.
Ismail, S., Yunos, R., & Smith, C. (2023). Audit committee effectiveness in financial reporting: A critical review. Contemporary Accounting Research, 40(1), 67–82.
Lamido, I. A., Okpanachi, J., & Yahaya, O. A. (2022). Audit firm characteristics and financial reporting quality of listed consumer goods firms in Nigeria. Accounting & Finance Review, 7(2), 42–58.
Mande, V., & Son, M. (2011). Do audit delays affect client retention? Managerial Auditing Journal, 26(1), 32–50. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/02686901111090826
Mohammed, I. A., Che-Ahmad, A., & Malek, M. (2018). Shareholder's involvement in the audit committee, audit quality, and financial reporting lag in Nigeria. Business and Economic Horizons (BEH), 14(2), 355–374. DOI: https://doi.org/10.15208/beh.2018.26
Muhammed, I. K., Abdulyakeen, G., Ajide, K. T., & Oyaleke, K. O. (2024). Audit committee's attributes and quality of financial reporting on listed consumer goods firms in Nigeria. Malete Journal of Accounting and Finance (MAJAF), 4(2).
Raweh, N., Kamardin, H., & Malek, M. (2019). Effect of audit committee characteristics on audit report lag of listed consumer goods. International Journal of Accounting and Financial Reporting, 9(1), 152–169. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5296/ijafr.v9i1.14170
Rusmin, R., & Evans, J. (2017). Audit quality and audit report lag: Case of Indonesian listed companies. Asian Review of Accounting, 25(2), 191–210. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/ARA-06-2015-0062
Salleh, Z., Baatwah, S. R., & Ahmad, N. (2017). Audit committee financial expertise and audit report lag: Malaysia further insight. Asian Journal of Accounting and Governance, 8, 137–150. DOI: https://doi.org/10.17576/AJAG-2017-08-12
Shamsuddin, A., Zahar, A. N., Mohd Zahar, A. A., & Rengasamy, M. (2019). Factors influencing audit report lag in Malaysian public listed companies. Insight Journal (IJ), 5(12), 100–108.
Sultana, N., Singh, H., & Van der Zahn, J. L. M. (2015). Audit committee characteristics and audit report lag. International Journal of Auditing, 19(2), 72–87. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/ijau.12033
Swanson, Z., & Zhang, Y. (2018). Do covenant violations affect audit report timeliness? International Journal of Accounting, Auditing and Performance Evaluation, 14(1), 1–23. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1504/IJAAPE.2018.10010453
Syofyan, E., Septiari, D., Dwita, S., & Rahmi, M. (2021). The characteristics of the audit committee affecting timeliness of the audit report in Indonesia. Cogent Business & Management, 8(1), Article 1935183. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/23311975.2021.1935183
Zanra, S. W., & Zubir, Z. (2023). The effect of auditor switching and profitability on audit report lag with the audit committee as a moderating variable. International Journal of Multidisciplinary Science, 2(1). DOI: https://doi.org/10.56127/ijml.v2i1.548
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Ahmed Ishaku, Zakariya'u Gurama, Halima S Mohammed, Habiba Adamu, Farida Musa (Author)

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
UMYU-JAFR recognizes the importance of protecting authors’ intellectual property while promoting the free exchange of knowledge. The journal adopts a copyright-retention model that empowers authors to maintain ownership of their work while granting the journal rights necessary for publication and dissemination.
1. Copyright Ownership
Authors publishing with UMYU-JAFR retain full copyright and publishing rights to their work. By submitting a manuscript, authors agree to grant the journal a non-exclusive license to publish, reproduce, distribute, and archive the article in all forms and media for the purpose of scholarly communication.
2. Licensing Terms
All articles are published under the Creative Commons Attribution–NonCommercial (CC BY-NC) license. This license permits others to share and adapt the material for non-commercial purposes only, provided that proper credit is given to the original author(s) and UMYU-JAFR as the source. Commercial reuse requires written permission from both the author and the editorial office.
3. Author Rights
Authors are free to deposit all versions of their manuscript in institutional or public repositories without embargo, use their published article for teaching and conference presentations, and include their work in future theses or compilations, provided proper citation to the journal is made.
4. Publisher’s Rights
Upon publication, UMYU-JAFR retains the right to host, index, and disseminate the article through its website and partner databases, and to archive the content in long-term preservation systems.















