Professional Accounting Services and Economic Growth of Nigeria

The study is an empirical examination of professional accounting services and Nigeria's economic growth. The study was conducted out of the non-inclusion of professional accounting services among key non-oil sectors. Specifically, to examine the contribution of audit fees and other professional accounting services fees earned by registered professional accounting firms from listed firms to real gross domestic product (GDP) in Nigeria. Ex-post facto research design was adopted in the study. The population was the one hundred and seventy (176) companies from twelve (12) sub-sectors listed firms in the Nigerian Security Exchange (NSE) now the Nigerian Exchange Group (NGX) that deployed the accounting firms' services from 2019 financial year to December 31, 2023. Taro Yamane's sample size statistical formula was used to determine sample size of ninety-two (92) companies, namely, Alternative Security Market (AseM. 9 companies), agriculture (5 companies), Conglomerates (6 companies), Construction/ Real Estate (9 companies), consumer goods (9 companies). Financial Services (9 companies), Health (8 companies). Information Communications Technology (6 companies), Industrial Goods (9 companies), Oil and Gas (9 companies), natural resources (4 companies) and Services (9 companies) at error term of 7.2%. Data were from secondary sources and were collected through reviewing and computations of the required data from the select listed firms annual reports for the period under study. The data were analysed using descriptive statistics and multiple regression analyses. The results showed that audit fees and other related accounting services fees earned by the listed accounting firms through the select listed firms significantly contribute positively to GDP of Nigeria. Results also showed that the Big 4 contributed significantly to the real GDP. It was concluded in the study that professional accounting services (audit fees and other related accounting services fees) earned by accounting firms significantly contribute to Nigeria's economic growth (real GDP) for sustainable diversification beyond oil and non-oil sectors. It was recommended among others that, other listed accounting firms should be synergized for greater impact like the 'Big 4' and attraction of more services and the listed accounting firms should render other accounting services beyond the traditional ones like entrepreneurial accounting services, promoters and political parties/campaign fund managers and nation's economic advisers.