Forensic accounting and fraud mitigation in the manufacturing industry in Nigeria

Abstract

This study examined the influence of forensic accounting practices and reduction of fraud in manufacturing industry in Nigeria. Descriptive survey design was utilized to conduct the study. The target population for this study was all the manufacturing firms listed on the floor of Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) market as at 31st December, 2019. Purposive sampling technique was used to select five (5) firms which emerged as the sample of the study. Primary data was used for the study and questionnaires were used as data collection tool. One hundred seventy five (175) copies of structured questionnaires were distributed to forensic accountants and auditors of the selected listed manufacturing companies in which all were retrieved and analyzed. The study results established that forensic accounting had positive and significant effect on financial fraud reduction and improvement of internal control system of manufacturing companies respectively. The study concluded that forensic accounting practices such as; fraud investigation and fraud litigation are very important for the reduction of financial fraud in manufacturing companies. The study recommends that the inclusion of forensic accounting in the code of corporate governance practices will drastically reduce financial fraud in manufacturing industry and that manufacturing companies in Nigeria step up their forensic accounting practices in order to deter fraud. This they can achieve by making forensic auditing of financial records a regular and routine activity.