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Abstract
This paper is a critical investigation on the extent of investors’ reliance on the credibility of financial reports approved by financial experts in investment decision making. The study adopted survey research design by which data were generated by means of questionnaire administered on one hundred and fifty (150) corporate investors and senior management officials of the selected banks. Descriptive statistics and percentage analysis were used for the data analysis. The hypotheses were tested using t-test statistics. The statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) software version 17.0 was employed in the analysis of data and test of hypotheses. The results revealed that investors depend heavily on the credibility of financial reports approved by financial experts in making investment decisions (tcal (74.50)>tcri (6.314). P< 0.05). It also shows that there is significant extent to which investors rely on financial reports in making investment decisions (tcal (16.59) > tcri (2.353). P<0.05). The result of the analysis also indicated that investors do understand the financial report well before making investment decisions (tcal (17.306)>tcri (2.353). P< 0.05) and as such the primary responsibility of management to investors is to give a standardized financial report evaluated and authenticated by a qualified financial expert (tcal (4.592)>tcri (2.353). P< 0.05). It hereby recommended that financial reports be subjected to statutory audit and endorsement by professional financial experts in order to authenticate their contents and avoid faulty investment decisions. Keywords: Financial reports, credibility, investment, decisions, corporate organization, Nigeria