EFFECT OF AUDIT COMMITTEE ATTRIBUTES TAX AGGRESSIVENESS OF OIL AND GAS COMPANIES IN NIGERIA

Abstract

This paper assesses the effect of audit committee attributes on tax aggressiveness of listed oil and gas companies in Nigeria from 2011-2020. Data for the study was collected from the annual reports and accounts of the companies and regression analysis was used as a technique for data analysis. The study found that there is an insignificant negative relationship between audit committee size (ACS), audit committee independence (ACIND) and tax aggressiveness using effective tax rate as a measure. Audit committee frequent meeting (ACFM) and audit committee financial expertise (ACFE) however exhibits a positive significant relationship with ETR. The study recommends that oil and gas firms in Nigeria should always strengthen their audit committee attributes and continue to maximize opportunities and advantages that align to older firms operating in the market for better improvement in operations and increase in tax aggressiveness, since older firms are able to enjoy larger economic of scales.