Seven commercial banks listed on the Nigerian Exchange Group paid a total of N1.39 billion to auditing firms in the first quarter of 2023. These payments are in compliance with the legal requirement for publicly listed companies in Africa's largest economy to subject their accounts to scrutiny and audit by independent auditors, commonly known as the "Big Four" – PwC, KPMG, EY, and Deloitte.
The purpose of this requirement is to ensure that external auditors evaluate the financial records of companies without any bias or personal relationships that may compromise their objectivity. Companies compensate audit firms for their services, with some businesses undergoing financial audits twice a year, while others opt for annual audits.
Various factors influence the audit fees charged to these banks, including their size, industry, corporate risk, profitability, and the duration of the audit process, among others. The banks included in the survey are GTCO, Zenith, Stanbic IBTC, Fidelity, Union, and Wema.
Access Holding Company, a tier-one bank, topped the list with an audit cost of N606 million paid to PwC in the first quarter of 2023. This amount represents a significant 41 percent increase compared to the N427 million paid in the same quarter of 2022.
GTCO incurred N212 million in audit fees during the first quarter of 2023, slightly higher than the N298 million spent in the same period of the previous year, reflecting a 1.31 percent increase.
Zenith Bank allocated N212 million for audit fees in the first quarter of 2023. However, this amount decreased by 33.12 percent compared to the N317 million recorded in the same quarter of 2022.
Stanbic IBTC's audit fees for the first quarter of 2023 amounted to N136 million, marking an 18.3 percent increase from the N115 million recorded in the same quarter of the previous year.
Union Bank experienced a significant 71.87 percent surge in audit fees, reaching N55 million in the first quarter of 2023, compared to N32 million in the corresponding quarter of 2022.
Fidelity Bank witnessed a moderate 4.35 percent increase in audit fees, with N48 million recorded in the first quarter of 2023, compared to N46 million in the same quarter of the previous year.
In contrast, Wema Bank saw a substantial 50.15 percent decrease in audit fees, with expenses amounting to N32.4 million in the first quarter of 2023, compared to N65 million in the same quarter of 2022.
