FORENSIC ACCOUNTING AND FINANCIAL CRIMES CONTROL IN DEPOSIT MONEY BANKS IN NIGERIA.

Abstract

This study examined forensic accounting and financial crime control in deposit money banks in Nigeria, Nigeria. Specifically, it examined the relationship between investigative audit and money laundering, as well as the relationship between investigative audit and falsification of records in deposit money banks in Nigeria. The study adopted a correlational survey research design, with a population of twenty-one (21) deposit money banks in Nigeria and adopted the population of the study as the sample size, because of the small nature of the population of the study. Data were collected through a structured questionnaire, while research questions were analyzed using mean and standard deviation, and hypotheses were tested with simple bivariate regression analysis. The findings revealed that investigative audit has a significant relationship with both money laundering control and falsification of records in deposit money banks. Additionally, litigation support was found to have a significant relationship with money laundering control but no significant relationship with falsification of records. These results underscore the importance of forensic accounting practices in mitigating financial crimes in the deposit money banks in Nigeria, Nigeria. Based on these findings, the study recommends among others: that shareholders and directors in the banking industry should provide regular training on data mining techniques to strengthen the capacity of accounting staff with relevant skills, knowledge, and competencies for effective financial crime detection and prevention.