Effects of Forensic Accounting Investigation on Public Sector Financial Crimes in Nigeria

Abstract

Traditional audit skills have become inadequate to unravel the skills associated with hi-tech-criminality of government funds in Nigeria Public Sector. Besides, most of the researches conducted on this same topic used primary data, which responses were discretionary, subjective and bias, as habits and characters that make criminals commit crimes cannot be quantified. These are the gaps this study intends to fill with the use of secondary data to quantify the effect of forensic accounting investigation on public sector financial crime in Nigeria. The specific objective of the study is to establish the extent to which prosecution and convictions has curtailed bribery and corruption in Nigeria and how funds recovered through systems studies and review has helped to reduce the value of bribery and corruption cases in Nigeria public sector. The study adopted ex-post factor research design. The target population of the study is the reported corruption cases from the compendium of cases compiled by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) for the period of 21 years (2000 -2020). A total of fifteen (15) years from 2006 to 2020 was selected using purposive sampling techniques. Secondary source of data from publications and annual financial reports of ICPC were obtained and analyzed using Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) Regression with the aid of E-view 10 to analyze the formulated hypothesis. The findings revealed that there is a significant relationship between forensic accounting investigation and public sector financial crimes in Nigeria. The study concludes that with more application of forensic accounting investigation skills, public sector financial crimes in Nigeria will drastically be eliminated. The study recommends that ICPC and other Anti-graft Agencies should deploy more of forensic accounting skills in the investigation of financial crimes in Nigeria; while application of forensic accounting litigation and non-litigation services in the fight against public sector financial crimes in Nigeria should be encouraged.