Journal of Finance and Accountancy

Audit independence refers to the ability of the external auditor to act with integrity and impartiality during his/her auditing functions. Public opinions about audit independence are based more on their perception of auditor independence than on actual independence. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the determinants of auditor independence as perceived by practicing auditors, and non-auditor executives. Particularly, this paper studies perception about the effects of provision of non-audit services, audit firm and client company size, auditor regulation, audit/client relations, auditor tenure, and audit market competition in the Nigerian context. This study uses a survey method to study the determinants of perceptions of auditor independence among auditors and non-auditor professionals. Twenty statements were included in the questionnaire representing the seven variables of interest. Seventy-nine auditors and 127 non-auditor professionals were included in the final sample. The results show that there is a general agreement about the factors that enhance auditor independence, and those that impair auditor independence between the two groups however there were differences in the degree to which they affect auditor independence