EFFECT OF AUDIT COMMITTEE ATTRIBUTES ON THE MARKET VALUE OF LISTED DEPOSIT MONEY BANKS IN NIGERIA

Abstract

This study examined the effect of audit committee attributes on the market value of listed Deposit Money Banks in Nigeria. Specifically, the study investigated the effects of audit committee meetings, audit committee diversity, and audit committee size on market value, while controlling for bank size and bank age. The study was motivated by the persistent fluctuations in market valuation of Nigerian banks despite continued improvements in corporate governance practices and regulatory reforms. The study adopted an ex-post facto research design and utilized secondary data extracted from the published annual reports, audited financial statements, and corporate governance reports of selected Deposit Money Banks listed on the Nigerian Exchange Group (NGX). The population consisted of all thirteen (13) listed Deposit Money Banks in Nigeria as of 31 December 2024; however, due to data availability constraints, ten (10) banks were purposively selected. Data covering an eleven-year period from 2014 to 2024 were analyzed using descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, diagnostic tests, and panel regression estimation. The findings revealed that audit committee meetings have a positive and statistically significant effect on market value. Audit committee diversity exhibited a negative but statistically insignificant effect on market value.