Forensic accounting and financial crimes in Nigeria: Evidence from Local Government Administration in Nigeria

Forensic accounting is seen as a means for which financial crimes can be curbed. The study investigated the effect of forensic accounting on financial crimes. The survey design research was selected. The target population of the study was made up of professional accountants and auditors drawn from the 25 Local Government Areas of Delta State, Nigeria. The research has a sample size of forty and the method used in deriving it is personal judgment (a non-probability method). A well-structured five Likert scaled questionnaire was used as the instrument for data collection. The collected data were then analyzed using the descriptive and the Pearson Correlation models. The finding of the study indicated that forensic audit has positive significant effect on money laundry reduction with a probability value of 0.000 and also a positive significant effect on bribery reduction with a probability value of 0.000. The study also found that litigation support has positive significant effect on money laundry reduction with a probability value of 0.042 and also a positive significant effect on bribery reduction with a probability value of 0.049. This led to the conclusion that forensic accounting has the capacity to reduce financial crime since there is a significant relationship. The work therefore recommends that forensic audit should be considered as a regular exercise whenever there is suspicion of money laundry; forensic audit department should be created in all anti-craft organizations to ensure proper investigation of financial crimes; forensic accounting experts should be involved in legal dispute and be allowed to provide evidence in the courtroom; and forensic accountant should be contacted for litigation services when there is a suspicious contract, to find out if bribe was given or taken.