INFLUENCE OF FORENSIC ACCOUNTING ON BUDGET PADDING IN SELECTED NIGERIAN FEDERAL GOVERNMENT AGENCIES

Forensic accounting is becoming a tool for general audit practices among several corporate practitioners in both Nigeria and beyond. The high level of corruption through financial misappropriation, income leakages, budget padding and money laundering which are all components of fraud and other corrupt practices in the governance of federal government parastatals necessitated the need for more research on forensic accounting. Hence, this study examined the influence of forensic accounting on budget padding in selected Nigerian federal government agencies. The study employed survey research design using well-structured questionnaire. The population of the study comprised of four hundred and ninety three (493) government agencies on the CBN statistical bulletin as at December 2024 from were a sample size comprising seven (7) government agencies were purposively selected. Both descriptive and inferential statistics were employed for the purpose of data analysis. Inferential statistics of multiple regression analysis was used to determine the influence of forensic accounting on budget padding in selected Nigerian federal government agencies Findings from the result of multiple regression on the influence of forensic accounting on budget padding in selected Nigerian federal government agencies also showed that all the explanatory variables are significant in explaining the variation of budget padding. These variables are promotion of better governance and transparency (p=0.000), Enhancement of fraud control (p=0.020), Adherence to best practices and ethical standards (p=0.000) Detection and prevention measures ((p=0.000)) and proactively search for signs of fraud (p=0.001). Based on the summary of findings of this study, it was concluded that forensic accounting significantly influence fraud detection and prevention in federal government agencies in southwest Nigeria. It is therefore recommended that government parastatals should conduct awareness programs and training sessions to educate employees and stakeholders about the importance of forensic accounting.