Digital Forensics in the Era of Cybercrime: Emerging Trends and Challenges for Forensic Accountants in Nigeria (Published)
This study examined the impact of technology on digital forensics and the challenges faced by forensic accountants in the era of cybercrime. The study highlights the four dimensions in which technology has an impact on digital forensics: technical, legal, organizational, and educational. The paper also discusses how emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence and machine learning can be used in digital forensics, along with the challenges they present. Cloud computing is also examined, and the challenges it poses for forensic accountants who need to access and analyze financial data stored or processed in the cloud are discussed. The research used a qualitative research design and incorporated the chain of custody theory in digital forensics. The findings of this study suggest that forensic accountants need to update their knowledge and skills in digital forensics to keep up with the latest trends and technologies in cybercrime in Nigeria. It is recommended that forensic accountants adopt a multidisciplinary approach that integrates accounting principles with digital forensics methods and tools. Additionally, following best practices and guidelines for digital evidence collection, preservation, analysis, and presentation is crucial to ensure the integrity, reliability, and admissibility of digital evidence in court.
Keywords: Cybercrime, Forensic Accountants, digital forensics
The New Fraud Diamond Model: How Can It Help Forensic Accountants In Fraud Investigation In Nigeria? (Published)
Fraud has been associated with human organisation from recorded history. Investigating and detecting fraud is not an easy task and requires thorough knowledge about the nature of fraud, how it can be committed and concealed. Forensic Accountants are increasingly being asked to play an important role in helping organisations investigate, prevent and detect fraud. This paper aims at broadening Forensic Accountants knowledge about fraud and why it occurs. The paper adopts secondary source of data to explain Wolf and Hermanson fraud theory and shows its relevance, presents the other fraud models and relates them to Wolf and Hermanson’s model, and proposes a “New Fraud Diamond Model’’ that Forensic Accountants could use when assessing the risk of fraud in Nigeria.
Keywords: Forensic Accountants, Fraud, Fraud Detection, Fraud Diamond Model, Fraud Investigation
An Empirical Investigation of the Relevant Skills of Forensic Accountants: Experience of a Developing Economy (Published)
Accounting frauds and scams are perennial. They occurred in all eras and in all countries, and affected many organizations, regardless of their size, location, or industry. From Enron and WorldCom in 2001 to Madoff and Satyam in 2009, accounting frauds and scams have been dominating news items in the past decade. Corporations and regulatory bodies are trying their best to analyze and correct existing defects in their reporting system. After having an overview of the fraud scenario in India, it is apparent that criminals have become technology-savvy, and invented newer schemes to perpetuate crimes. In the current reporting environment of “digital-age,” forensic accountants (FA’s) are in great demand for their ‘niche’ accounting, auditing, legal and investigative skills. Hence, ‘forensic’ accounting has been thrown in the forefront of the crusade” against financial deception and accounting scandals.The present study investigates through a questionnaire, which was conducted in three leading States of the national capital region (NCR) of India during 2011-12, “if there are differences in the views of the relevant skills of FA’s among accounting practitioners, academics, and users of forensic accounting services.” From the statistical test of the hypotheses propounded for this study, we discovered that “core skills are not enough requirements for FA’s, there are significant differences in the relevant skills of FA’s, as given by previous researchers with the current research, and the necessary skills of FA’s, as identified by both academics and professionals, will hopefully meet employers’ expectations too.” Therefore, FA’s, being professional experts having ‘sixth’ sense and possessing ‘special’ skills are urgently required to counter all the ingenuity of these criminals. At present, some Universities in India are considering adding forensic accounting course to their curriculum. The results of this study may provide some guidance to educators for the development of forensic accounting curriculum by identifying the pertinent skills to accompany such a program of study.
Keywords: Academics, Accounting Frauds, Corporate Governance, Forensic Accountants, Forensic Accounting, Practitioners, Scams, Skills Required, Users of Services