Audit Committee Attributes and Financial Reporting Quality: A Pre and Post Cama 2020 Empirical Analysis

The study investigated the impact of audit committee attributes on the financial reporting quality of listed manufacturing firms in Nigeria, comparing pre- and post-Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA) 2020 periods using data from 2017–2023 from the Nigerian Exchange group. Specifically the study evaluated the impact of audit committee independence, audit committee size and audit committee financial expertise which served as proxies of audit committee attributes on earnings variability which served as a proxy for financial reporting quality. Ex-post facto research design was used and the population covered all listed manufacturing firms; out of which, 25 firms were selected via purposive sampling technique. Findings revealed that larger audit committees were associated with improved reporting quality before CAMA 2020, but reduced committee size under the new regulation correlated with higher earnings variability indicating a decline in reporting quality. Audit committee independence consistently improved reporting quality, even with fewer directors post-CAMA 2020 and financial expertise showed a positive relationship with earnings variability. The study concluded that while larger committees and independent directors enhance reporting quality, the role of financial experts requires reevaluation to address governance shortcomings. The study therefore recommended that the provisions of CAMA 2020 be revisited to reconsider the reduction in audit committee size.