This study examined the impact of corporate governance structures on audit report quality of listed service firms in Nigeria over the period 2015–2024. Corporate governance was proxied by board size, board independence, audit committee characteristics, and ownership structure, while audit report quality served as the dependent variable. The study adopted an ex post facto research design and utilized secondary data obtained from the annual reports and financial statements of selected listed service firms. Panel Least Squares regression analysis was employed to analyze the data. The findings revealed that board independence has a positive and statistically significant effect on audit report quality, indicating that a higher proportion of independent directors enhances monitoring effectiveness and strengthens audit credibility. Audit committee characteristics were also found to have a positive and significant influence on audit report quality, suggesting that competent and independent audit committees improve financial oversight and reporting integrity. Ownership structure exhibited a positive and significant effect, implying that concentrated or institutional ownership enhances monitoring and demands higher-quality audits. However, board size showed a positive but statistically insignificant effect on audit report quality, suggesting that increasing the number of board members alone does not necessarily improve audit outcomes. The study concluded that effective corporate governance mechanisms particularly board independence, strong audit committees, and structured ownership are critical determinants of audit report quality among listed service firms in Nigeria. It was recommended that firms strengthen board independence, enhance audit committee competence, and promote ownership structures that encourage active monitoring. These measures will improve audit credibility, enhance financial reporting transparency, and boost investor confidence in the Nigerian service sector
Okocha et al. (Mon,) studied this question.