Abstract: This research examined the relationship between audit committee characteristics and corporate performance. Drawing on agency theory, the study analysed secondary data from the annual accounts and reports of listed firms on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) using the System Generalised Method of Moments (S-GMM). The research spanned 2015 to 2024, and the study sample comprised 26 listed firms with complete data. ROA, ROE, and profit margin are financial performance metrics. The non-financial metrics comprise market-based performance, proxied by Tobin’s Q, while operating margin serves as the indicator of operational efficiency. With a lagged coefficient of 0.633, the dynamic results indicate that return on assets is persistent, suggesting partial adjustment over time. The audit committee independence has a significant positive effect of 10.555 on return on assets at the 5% level and on profit margin at the 10% level. Operating margin displays significant persistence (0.985), and disclosure of financial expertise (0.122) is significantly positively associated with operating margin at the 5% level. The independent audit committee has a positive effect on Tobin’s Q at the 10% level. The study found that a firm's performance is strongly linked to governance factors, such as the independence of the audit committee, rather than to structural features, such as committee size, meeting frequency, or auditor size. Therefore, the characteristics of the audit committee affect both financial and non-financial metrics, supporting a multidimensional view of firm performance.

Keywords: Audit committee characteristics, firm performance, ROA, Tobin’s Q, operating margin, Nigeria

Pages: 144-157

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