摘要：On the presumption that non-audit fees compromise auditors independence and result in lower quality, the Sarbarnes-Oxley Act of 2002 bans certain non-audit services for audit clients. The link between non-audit services and required auditor independence has been heavily debated. The purpose of this study is to identify the threats to auditors’ independence, and to examine the relationship between non-audit services and auditor independence. The lack of clear definition of auditor independence contributes to the resilience of this debate. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act (2002) prescribed a list of non-audit services essentially to help restore investor confidence in the reliability of financial information. A well-structured questionnaire was used to collect data. Respondents were sampled from five sectors: Banking, Brewery, Chemical & Paints, Conglomerates, and Health. The non-parametric statistical tests used in this study include the Kruskal-Wallis Test and the Mann-Whitney U Tests to draw inferential conclusions regarding the data collected since the data collected from the different categories of respondents. The findings indicate that the provision of non-audit services significantly affects investors’ perceptions of auditor independence, and there is high correlation between auditors’ independence and non-audit services in Nigeria. To maintain public confidence, auditors should continually assess their standing in the community. Any reduction in confidence in the auditing profession will immediately reflect a lack of confidence in audited financial statements, leading to an overall decline of trust in the country’s capital market.a bal
