AUDIT COMMITTEE ATTRIBUTES AND ACCOUNTING CONSERVATISM IN LISTED MANUFACTURING COMPANIES IN NIGERIA

Despite the increasing emphasis on corporate governance in Nigeria's financial markets, there remains a gap in understanding how specific attributes of audit committees influence accounting conservatism within Nigeria's listed manufacturing sector. This study seeks to address this gap by investigating the relationship between audit committee attributes and accounting conservatism in listed manufacturing companies in Nigeria, aiming to provide insights that contribute to improved governance practices and financial reporting reliability. The research aims to discern whether specific attributes of audit committees exert a significant influence on accounting conservatism practices in these companies. Through empirical analysis, employing a dataset encompassing audit committee characteristics and accounting data from a sample of listed manufacturing firms, the study adopts longitudinal research design and secondary data being the source of the data. The population of this study comprises of eight (8) listed industrial goods manufacturing companies in Nigeria. Strictly, secondary data were collected from the annual reports of seven (7) selected firms being the sample size of the study from year 2013 – 2022. The study utilized ordinary least square regression to examine the relationship between audit committee independence, audit committee financial expertise, audit committee size and accounting conservatism with the aid of E-views 10. Data gathered was analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics for easy presentation and interpretation. The findings reveal a notable positive relationship between audit committee attributes and accounting conservatism. However, the observed relationship lacks statistical significance, indicating caution in drawing definitive conclusions. The absence of statistical significance suggests that while larger, more diverse, or independent audit committees may exhibit a tendency towards accounting conservatism, this inclination might not be pronounced enough within the confines of this dataset to be considered statistically robust. Building on upon these findings, several recommendations emerge. Firstly, future research should expand data collection methods and encompass a wider range of variables to refine statistical analyses. Secondly, regulatory bodies could leverage these insights to enhance corporate governance guidelines, potentially advocating for attributes conducive to accounting conservatism in audit committees.