Audit Committee Effectiveness and Earnings Quality in Nigerian Commercial Banks: A Study of Selected Banks in Abuja

This study examines audit committee effectiveness and its influence on earnings quality in selected Nigerian commercial banks headquartered or operating in Abuja, Federal Capital Territory. Earnings manipulation remains a concern in the Nigerian banking industry, with recent regulatory interventions by the Central Bank of Nigeria highlighting gaps in internal oversight mechanisms. Audit committees, as a central pillar of corporate governance, are expected to constrain opportunistic financial reporting. Drawing on agency theory and recent empirical evidence, this study evaluates how audit committee size, independence, financial expertise, and meeting frequency affect the quality of reported earnings. A descriptive research design is adopted, and data are sourced from audited annual reports of ten commercial banks over a four-year period. Earnings quality is proxied using the modified Jones model to estimate discretionary accruals. Regression analysis is employed to assess the significance and direction of identified relationships. The study expects to confirm that audit committees with greater independence and financial expertise are associated with lower discretionary accruals and higher earnings quality. Findings will offer practical recommendations for the Central Bank of Nigeria and bank management on strengthening audit committee governance. This research adds to the sparse literature on bank-level governance in the North Central geopolitical zone of Nigeria. Keywords: audit committee, earnings quality, commercial banks, corporate governance, Abuja.