The Moderating role of Audit Committee Expertise on the relationship between Board Attributes and Earnings Quality

Abstract

This study examines the moderating role of audit committee expertise on the relationship between board attributes and earnings quality. The study carries out a panel corrected standard error (PCSE) to address this econometric challenge in an 11-year panel data. The data were sourced from the published annual reports of financial services firms listed on the Nigerian Exchange Group. The findings from the study reveal that board size, board independence, board meeting, board gender diversity, board expertise and audit committee expertise promote various measures of earnings quality. The findings also reveal that audit committee expertise moderates the association between some board attributes and earnings quality. The findings of this study imply that board attributes and audit committee expertise are important factors in promoting earnings quality. From our key findings, the study recommends the inclusion of more women and independent directors on the board as well as improvement in frequency of meeting.