The purpose of this paper is to ascertain the perceptions of Nigerian professional accountants on the issue whether the joint provision of audit and Non-Audit Services (NAS) does in fact impair the independence of the Nigerian auditor and, if so, what regulatory option/s could safeguard his independence. A questionnaire survey was conducted on 120 professional accountants. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the data, while t-test and ANOVA were used to determine whether there are any significant differences in the perception of the problem according to gender, job type and post-qualification experience. The findings suggest that professional accountants are of the opinion that provision of NAS to audit clients does impair the independence of the auditor. Beyond that, however, they prefer selective prohibition of NAS to audit clients on the basis of the nature of work. This study has practical implications for the Nigerian Security and Exchange Commission that is yet to legislate on joint provision of audit and NAS to audit clients of Nigerian listed companies. For the Central Bank of Nigeria, this study provides evidence that its barring of Nigerian auditors from providing some NAS to its bank clients was in the right direction. Going beyond merely ascertaining whether the joint provision of audit and NAS impairs the independence of the Nigerian auditors, the paper finds out some of the significant reasons for the respondents’ opinion and their preferred solution to the problem. Perhaps, this is the first time a Nigerian study has gone this far, thus making invaluable contribution to the scanty literature in this area in Nigeria.

Auditors are important gatekeepers in any capitalist society, including Nigeria. By attesting to the accuracy of a company’s financial statements, the auditor lends his credibility to that company and its well-being. This guarantees the investors’ confidence in the company in particular, and the country’s capital market in general (Adeyemi and Olowokere, 2012). To do this, the auditor is expected to be objective, impartial and independent (Osei-Afoakwa, 2013). The recent spate of corporate scandals, including the Enron debacle in the US and the Cadbury (Nig) Plc. accounting scandal, have cast aspersions on the independence of the auditor (Okaro and Okafor, 2013).

One area found to be capable of compromising the independence of the auditor is in the joint provision of audit and Non-Audit Services (NAS henceforth) to a client. When providing NAS, the auditors often develop a close relationship with the management that can cause a situation where the auditors take the side of the client instead of following regulations. It has also been suggested that in Nigeria, many auditors provide NAS because of shortage of professional accountants.

Accounting Research and Audit Practices, Non-Audit Services (NAS), An Empirical Study, Nigerian Security and Exchange Commission, Central Bank of Nigeria, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN), Association of National Accountants of Nigeria (ANAN).