Audit Committee Attributes and Financial Performance of Listed Oil and Gas Firms in Nigeria

The oil and gas sector is the backbone of the Nigerian economy and it is pertinent to ensure that that those saddled with the responsibility of directing the affairs of this crucial sector have the requisite attributes that would impact positively on overall performance. The audit committee is a key component of a company's corporate governance structure, providing oversight and ensuring the integrity of financial reporting and internal controls. However, there have been contentions on the attributes of the AC that can improve a company’s performance. This study investigated the effect of audit committee attributes on financial performance of quoted oil and gas firms in Nigeria. This study employed a causal research design and secondary data were obtained from the annual reports of ten (10) quoted oil and gas companies on the floor of the Nigerian Exchange Group (NGX) were utilized for a period of seven (7) years (2015 – 2021). The Panel Least Square (PLS) regression technique was employed in estimating the data and testing the formulated hypotheses. Based on the analysis, the results showed that there is a negative and insignificant relationship between audit committee size (ACSIZ) and audit committee gender diversity (ACGED) on financial performance (FPER) while audit committee independence (ACIND) and audit committee meeting (ACMEET) all have a positive and insignificant effect on Financial Performance. Audit committee financial expertise is the only explanatory variable that has positive and significant effect on financial performance. In line with the findings, members of the audit committee of listed oil and gas companies should have the requisite financial expertise in order for them to be able to make strategic and financial decisions that would impact positively on financial performance.