The Relevance of Forensic Accounting in Curbing Financial Crimes and Corruption in Developing Countries such as Nigeria: An Empirical Analysis
Keywords:
Forensic Accounting, Corruption, Fraud, Investigation, CrimeAbstract
This study is aimed at examining the persistent widespread of corporate failures and economic crimes resulting from audit failure and the emergence of creative accounting. This has resulted in loss of jobs and slow economic growth and development in developing countries such as Nigeria. It is against this background that this article discusses the concept, the need and the role of forensic accounting in solving the problem of economic crimes and corruption in a developing economy like Nigeria. Empirical and descriptive research methods were adopted in the collection and analysis of data. Findings revealed that the application of forensic accounting is still at a very low level due to high cost of forensic accounting equipment and the time and resources required in training the forensic accountant. The paper concludes that there is need to employ the services of forensic accountants in order to reduce economic crimes and corruption so as to enhance economic growth and development in developing economies.
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