The Impact of Forensic Investigative Methods on Corporate Fraud Deterrence in Banks in Nigeria (Published)
This work examined the effect of forensic investigation methods in corporate fraud deterrence in Nigerian banks. This study adopted a survey research design and data from primary source were collected through interviews and administration of questionnaires, while secondary source consists of reports on fraud and forgery in the banking sector. Statistical tools used to analyze the data include percentages, mean score, frequency tables, regression analysis and Z-test. Three hypotheses were formulated and tested. The result revealed that there is a significant relationship between the forensic investigative methods and corporate fraud deterrence. Our finding also revealed that expert services of forensic investigators are normally required in the prosecution of fraud, but majority of the audit and accounting personnel in Nigeria are suffering from poor perception and knowledge of forensic investigative methods. Thus, a suggestion was made by this study to adopt forensic investigative methods in our professional literature vide International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). We believe that the study contributes to the limited existing literature on the forensic auditing where little on previous study has been done in Nigeria. We therefore, recommend improvement on accounting curriculum, since there is a failure of accounting and control methods that lies in the methodology taught in Nigeria Universities to discover financial fraud cases.
Keywords: Forensics, corporate fraud deterrence, investigative methods