EFFECT OF FORENSIC ACCOUNTING TECHNIQUES ON FRAUD PREVENTION IN MINISTRIES, DEPARTMENTS AND AGENCIES (MDAs) IN PLATEAU STATE.

Abstract

With the upsurge in fraud in almost every sector in Nigeria, financial fraud management has become an emerging topic of great importance for professionals, academics and research. With spate of decadence in all spheres of life and the difficulty of those responsible for preventing and detecting fraud has necessitated the request for special skills of forensic accounting in resolving allegations of fraudulent activities. The study seeks to examine the effect of forensic accounting skills on financial fraud management in MDAs, particularly Plateau State MDAs by specifically assessing the effect of data mining skill, ratio analysis skills and trend analysis skills on financial fraud management. The population of this study is One Hundred and Two (102) staff of departments of Plateau State Ministry of Finance who have forensic accounting skills knowledge. Survey design was used in the study. Using Taro Yamani formula, the sample size of 81 was determined. Statistical Packages for Social Science (SPSS) 26 was used to analyze the data using multiple regression analysis. The result revealed that Data mining skills, Ratio Analysis skills and Trend Analysis skills have significant effect on financial fraud management in Plateau State Ministry of Finance. It was recommended that MDAs in Plateau State should be obliged to acquire comprehensive data mining software facilities, as well as advanced training on the application of data mining and its usefulness in the ministries, the use of forensic accounting skills should be encouraged and applied by the MDAs and that trainings, should be organized by government to equip the practitioners with necessary skills.

Keywords: Fraud, Forensic Accounting Skills, Financial Fraud, Financial Fraud