The Audit Expectation Gap Problem In Nigeria “The Perception Of Some Selected Stake-Holder Groups”

The purpose of this study is to highlight factors contributing to audit expectation gap problem in Nigeria. The audit expectation gap is the difference in perception between auditors and users of audited financial statement concerning the nature of auditing. Unfortunately, there have been criticisms of the auditor by the public from which opinions have emerged over the years due to business failures. It seems the users have a different idea of what auditing should be. This is what has led to the audit expectation gap. The factors contributing to this gap that are of particular concern to the researcher in this study are uncertainty about the responsibilities of external auditors, uncertainty about the extent to which audit report may be used in making investment decisions, audit report messages and independent of auditors. This study adopts a survey research design. Even though the study covers the business landscape of Nigeria, a sample size of two hundred (200) persons made up of fifty (50) persons each of auditors, accountant in business, banker and investors/shareholder were selected conveniently as time permitted from some accounting firms, bank, investment houses and companies in Lagos, Enugu and Abuja. The research instrument used was the questionnaire. The data collected were analyzed using cross-sectional chi-square analysis and analysis of variance (ANOVA). The significant factors that create expectation gap in Nigeria and other findings will be presented. Keywords: Audit expectation gap, communication gap, Nigerian problem