Forensic Accounting and Economic Stability in the Nigerian Public Sector: The Role of Economic and Financial Crime Commission

Abstract

Forensic accounting has been globally acclaimed to be a veritable tool in fighting economic and financial crime towards achieving economic stability. This paper titled: Forensic Accounting and Economic Stability in Nigerian Public Sector: The Role of Economic and Financial Crime Commission’’ is written to examine whether the use of forensic accounting has helped in combating financial crimes in Nigeria public sector through the effort of EFCC. The study elicits data from primary and secondary sources while the sample size of 116 was obtained out of the total population of 164 using Taro Yamane sample size statistical technique. The method of data analysis is the 5 points likert scale for descriptive statistics and analysis of variance (ANOVA) in testing the research hypotheses. The paper concludes that application of forensic accounting skills and techniques has contributed immensely to in the investigation of complex financial crimes thereby enhancing economic stability. Therefore, the paper recommends that Government should institutionalized forensic accounting as a course of study in the field of accounting; necessary training should be given to the employees of anti-corruption agencies like EFCC in order to detect financial and other economic related crimes in Nigerian public sector while appropriate sanctions be applied when financial crime is detected where prosecution is considered appropriate. Finally, proper forensic procedures should be followed during investigation and trained professional forensic accountant be used in investigating economic and financial frauds in Nigerian public sector with the view to enhancing economic stability.