Audit Firm Attributes and Real Earnings Management: Evidence from Quoted Nigerian Service Firms
Udofia Maria Etim
Ebiaghan Frank Orits*
This study investigated the relationship between audit firm attributes and real earnings management among listed service firms in Nigeria, covering a ten-year period from 2014 to 2023. Drawing on the auditor theory of inspired confidence, secondary data were collected from the annual reports and accounts of quoted companies on the Nigerian exchange group and analysed via STATA 13 statistical package. The findings revealed no significant relationship between any of these audit firm attributes and real earnings management, indicating that these factors do not have a measurable influence on managerial decisions to manipulate earnings through operational activities among the sampled Nigerian service firms.it is therefore recommended that Regulatory bodies should prioritize strengthening audit regulations and enforcement mechanisms, as relying solely on larger audit firms may not effectively curb real earnings management in Nigerian service firms.
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