ABSTRACT
The study investigates the auditors influence on audit quality and fraud detection in Nigeria quoted firms. The longitudinal research design was adopted for the study. The population consists of selected deposit money banks (DMBs) quoted on the Nigerian Exchange Group (NGX) as at December 31st, 2023. The justification for choosing deposit money banks was to gain valuable insights into the auditor's influence on audit quality and fraud detection, which can be applied to other industries and sectors.
Auditor independence is crucial for improving audit quality and enhancing the detection of fraud in listed deposit money banks.The competence of auditors has a statistically significant impact on audit quality and fraud detection. This indicates that auditors' knowledge, skills, and professional judgment are key factors in conducting effective audits and identifying fraudulent activities.The personality of an auditor does not significantly affect audit quality and fraud detection in the context of Nigerian listed deposit money banks. This suggests that while personality traits may influence other aspects of an auditor's work, they do not play a decisive role in the technical quality of audits or the ability to detect fraud.
Therefore, the study recommends that stricter regulations should be implemented to ensure auditor independence, such as mandatory rotation of audit firms and clear separation of audit and non-audit services. Continuous professional development should be encouraged for auditors through workshops, seminars, and courses on the latest auditing standards, techniques, and fraud detection methods. There should more focus on enhancing auditors' technical skills and professional knowledge, as personality traits do not significantly impact audit quality and fraud detection.
