Knowledge spillover and audit report timeliness: The effect of non-audit services

This paper investigates the association between audit lag and auditor independence in Nigeria. It studies a sample of Nigerian companies over a 15-year period (2006-2020). The results from the multivariate regression models shows no significant relationship between non-audit services (NAS) fees and audit lag. This shows that the provision of NAS by the audit firm does not significantly influence the timeliness of the audit report. This finding is against the argument that the joint provision of audit services and NAS creates an avenue for knowledge spillover which reduces audit lag. This study contributes to the literature on the effects of joint provision of NAS in emerging economies. It shows further shows the need for African-specific research as there are significant differences in applicability between developed economies and African economies