Effect of Ethical Accounting Standards on the Quality of Financial Reports of Banks in Nigeria

This study examines the effect of ethical accounting standards on the quality of financial reports of banks in Nigeria. To achieve this objective, data was collected from primary and secondary sources. The secondary sources were from textbooks, journals and unpublished thesis. The primary source involves a well structured questionnaire of four sections of sixty seven questions administered to a sample of eight banks systematically collected from the twenty four banks in Nigeria. The data generated from the questionnaires was analysed using econometric models such as diagnostic test, Augmented Dickey-Fuller, ordinary least square and Granger Causality. The results reveal that ethical accounting standards is significantly related to the quality of financial reports of banks in Nigeria. On the basis of the findings, the study concluded that ethical accounting standards are fundamentally necessary for accountants to produce quality financial reports free from material misstatements. The authors recommend the following among others: that professional accountants as custodian and producers of accounting information should adhere to the codes of professional best practices issued by relevant professional bodies, banks in Nigeria should establish ethics departments to ensure that activities adhere to the codes of ethics including the financial reporting process, accountants and accounting officers in Nigerian banks should adhere to the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) in the reporting structure to reduce the failure symptoms in the banking industry.