An examination into the Quality of Audited Financial Statements of Money Deposit Banks in Nigeria

Audit quality is often related to the competence and independence of auditors as being able to detect material misstatements and being prepared to issue appropriate audit reports to reflect their findings. This study aims at assessing the quality of audited financial statements of money deposit Banks in Nigeria, with a view to assessing the independence of an auditor and the level of compliance to audit guidelines and how those guidelines affect the quality of audited financial statements of money deposit Banks in Nigeria. The study employs the use of both primary and secondary sources of data where questionnaire is the primary source and the annual reports of selected Banks are the secondary data. A judgmental sampling technique was used in selecting the sample size. Simple percentage was used for data analysis, while analysis of variance (ANOVA) was employed to test the hypotheses. The study concludes that consistency and reliability can be absolutely achieved if external auditors are independently auditing financial statements of Money Deposit Banks based purely on the established auditing standards and guidelines. The study recommends that audit committees of Money deposit Banks should be more strict in their investigations and should initiate moves for the suing of auditors where they are found wanting.