Risk Assessment and Fraud Prevention of Oil and Gas Companies in Rivers State

This study examined the relationship between risk assessment and fraud prevention of oil and gas companies in Rivers State. The specific objectives were to determine the relationship between risk assessment and asset protection effectiveness and to examine the relationship between risk assessment and compliance with internal policies. The study was anchored on Agency Theory. A descriptive survey research design was adopted, guided by the positivist research philosophy. The population comprised 4,621 employees drawn from 60 registered oil and gas companies in Rivers State. Using Taro Yamane's formula, a sample size of 367 respondents was determined, while 332 valid questionnaires were retrieved and used for the analysis. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire and analyzed using descriptive statistics (mean and standard deviation) and inferential statistics (Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient) with the aid of SPSS version 26 at a 0.05 level of significance. The findings revealed a very strong positive and statistically significant relationship between risk assessment and asset protection effectiveness (r = 0.869, p < 0.05). Similarly, risk assessment exhibited a very strong positive and statistically significant relationship with compliance with internal policies (r = 0.895, p < 0.05). The study concluded that effective risk assessment significantly enhances fraud prevention by strengthening asset protection mechanisms and improving compliance with internal policies in oil and gas companies in Rivers State. The study recommended that oil and gas companies should institutionalize continuous and systematic risk assessment practices to facilitate early identification of fraud risks, strengthen preventive controls, improve asset protection, and promote strict compliance with internal policies to minimize fraudulent activities.