Forensic audit technology and audit report quality of audit firms in Nigeria

Abstract

This study focuses on the impact of integrating forensic technology to enhance audit practices, aiming to restore the public's trust in auditors' reports, which has been diminishing. The research specifically investigates the effect of data analytics and textual analytics as forensic audit technologies on the quality of audit reports from selected auditing firms in Nigeria. A survey research design was adopted, utilizing a structured five-point Likert scale questionnaire. A total of 120 completed responses were collected from experienced and professional auditors in Nigeria for year 2024. The census sampling method was used, and the data was analyzed using ordinal logistic regression. The results indicate that data analytics has a positive and significant impact on the quality of audit reports, whereas textual analytics has a negative and significant effect on report quality. The study concludes that applying data analysis techniques to gather audit evidence enhances the quality of reports issued by Nigerian audit firms. The study recommends that audit firms should incorporate forensic technology into their audit engagements to refine their opinions with robust audit evidence, thereby improving audit quality.