Forensic Accounting and Financial Performance: A Study of Selected Quoted Companies In Nigeria

Reference code:  c019

ABSTRACT

This Study is On Forensic Accounting And The Financial Performance Of Companies Quoted On The Nigeria Stock Exchange. In Order To Achieve The Objectives Of The Study, Six (6) Hypotheses Were Formulated And Tested Using The Ordinary Least Square Method Of Multiple Regression Analyses. The Results Of Data Analyses Among Other Things Showed That: There Is A Positive But Insignificant Relationship Between Fraud Prevention And Roe And Roa, Our Analyses Also Revealed As Positive Relationship Between Fraud Detection And Roe And Roa But Only The Relationship With Roe Was Statistically Significant. Finally Fraud Investigation Was Found To Have A Positive And Statistically Significant Relationship With Roe And Roa. On The Basis Of Our Findings, We Conclude That: Fraud Prevention As A Forensic Accounting Method Is Not Yielding Adequate Result But Fraud Investigation Is Contributing Optimally To Financial Performance Of Quoted Companies In Nigeria. Thus, We Make The Following Recommendations: Organizations Should Be More Proactive In Dealing With The Incidences Of Fraud By Implementing In-Depth Fraud Prevention Methods. This Will Help To Reduce Or Totally Eliminate The Use Productive Man-Hours And Other Organizational Resources In Investigating And Prosecuting The Occurrences Of Fraud, We Also Recommend That Organizations Should Invest In New Automated Accounting Systems That Have The Ability To Recognize And Alert/Report Fraudulent Transactions. Finally, We Recommend That Quoted Companies In Conjunction With Relevant Institutions And Policy Making Bodies Such As Ican, Sec, Firs Etc Make Proposals For Strengthening Existing Laws Against Fraud And Graft By Proposing Stiffer Punishments For Fraud Related Offences.

INTRODUCTION
................. Forensic accounting is the specialty practice area of accountancy that describes engagements that result from actual or anticipated disputes or litigation (Denise, 2005). "Forensic" means "suitable for use in a court of law", and it is to that standard and potential outcome that forensic accountants generally have to work. Forensic accountants, also referred to as forensic auditors or investigative auditors often have to give expert evidence at the eventual trial (Adhard, 1989).
All of the larger accounting firms, as well as many medium-sized and boutique firms have specialist forensic accounting departments. Within these groups, there may be further sub-specializations: some forensic accountants may, for example, just specialize in insurance claims, personal injury claims, fraud, construction, or royalty audits (Aderibigbe, 2000).
Forensic accountants often assist in professional negligence claims where they are assessing and commenting on the work of other professionals (David and Malamed, 2008). Forensic accountants are also engaged in marital and family law of analyzing lifestyle for spousal support purposes, determining income available for child support and equitable distribution (Adeniyi, 2002).
Engagements relating to criminal matters typically arise in the aftermath of fraud. They frequently involve the assessment of accounting systems and accounts presentation in essence assessing if the numbers reflect reality (Nigrini, 2011).
Some forensic accountants specialize in forensic analytics which is the procurement and analysis of electronic data to reconstruct, detect, or otherwise support a claim of financial fraud. The main steps in forensic analytics are (a) data collection, (b) data preparation, (c) data analysis, and (d) reporting. For example, forensic analytics may be used to review an employee's purchasing card activity to assess whether any of the purchases were diverted or divertible for personal use.
Forensic accountants may be involved in recovering proceeds of crime and in relation to confiscation proceedings concerning actual or assumed proceeds of crime or money laundering. In the United Kingdom, relevant legislation is contained in the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002. In India there is a separate breed of forensic accountants called Certified Forensic Accounting Professionals. In other countries, some forensic accountants are also Certified Fraud Examiners, Certified Public Accountants with AICPA's Certified in Financial Forensics (CFF) Credentials, Chartered Accountants (CA), Certified Management Accountants (CMA) or Chartered Certified Accountants.
Forensic accountants utilize an understanding of economic theories, business information, financial reporting systems, accounting and auditing standards and procedures, data management and electronic discovery, evidence gathering and investigative techniques, and litigation processes and procedures to perform their work. Forensic accountants are also increasingly playing more proactive risk reduction roles by designing and performing extended procedures as part of the statutory audit, acting as advisers to audit committees, fraud deterrence engagements, and assisting in investment analyst research (Wallace, 1991). ...............

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Table Of Content

Chapter One: Introduction
1.1 Background Of The Study
1.2 Statement Of The Problem
1.3 Purpose Of Study
1.4 Research Questions
1.5 Statement Of Hypotheses
1.6 Scope Of The Study
1.7 Limitation Of The Study
1.8 Significance Of Study
1.9 Definition Of Terms
1.10 Organization Of The Study
Reference

Chapter Two: Review Of Related Literature
2.0 Introduction
2.1 The Concept Of Forensic Accounting
2.2 The Need For Forensic Accounting
2.3 The Skill Needed By Forensic Accountant
2.3.1 The Role Of Forensic Accountant
2.4 The Context Of Fraud
2.4.1 Types Of Fraud
2.5. The Dimensions Of Forensic Accounting
2.5.1. Fraud Detection
2.5.2. Fraud Investigation
2.5.3. Fraud Examination
2.5.4. Fraud Prevention
2.6. The Concept Of Financial Performance
2.7. The Measures Of Financial Performance
2.7.1. Return On Equity (ROE)
2.7.2 Return On Assets (ROA)
2.8. Forensic Accounting And Financial Performance  
2.9. The Context Of Auditing, Fraud And Money Laundering
2.10 Measures To Tackle Fraud Accounting Towards Financial Performance
2.10.1 Forensic Accounting And Expert Witness
2.10. 2 factors That Affects The Role Of An Accountant As An Expert Witness

Chapter Three: Research Methodology
3.0 Introduction
3.1 Research Design
3.2 Population Sampling Procedure And Size Determination
3.2.1 Population Of The Study
3.3 Instruments For Data Collection
3.4 Reliability Of The Instrument
3.5 Operational Measures Of Variables
3.6 Data Analysis Techniques

Chapter Four: Data Presentation And Analysis
4.0 Introduction
4.1 Data Presentation
4.2. Data Analysis And Interpretation Of Results
4.3 Hypotheses Testing

Chapter Five: Discussion Of Findings, Conclusion And Recommendation
5.0 Introduction
5.1 Discussion Of Findings
5.2 Conclusions
Bibliography
Appendices

Reference code: c019

Reference code: c019

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116 Pages

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