The Role of Forensic Accounting on Fraud Mitigation and Prevention in Nigeria Manufacturing Firms amidst Economic Volatilities

The increasing role of forensic accounting cannot be over emphasized in the private sector such as bank considering the need for transparency. In the modern world, forensic accounting and its application has become an emerging topic of great importance in academics, research and industries. Therefore the study examined the role of forensic accounting on fraud mitigation and prevention in Nigeria deposit money banking amidst economic volatilities. The survey design was used in the study with a sample size of 115 resident internal control officers, Branch operation manager and cash officer/head teller from Access bank, First bank, GT bank, Union Bank, UBA and Zenith Bank. Proportionate and Simple random sampling technique was utilized in distributing questionnaire to the respondents. The study utilized simple linear regression and the findings of the study indicated that there is a significant relationship between forensic accounting and fraud detection while forensic accounting has no effect on fraud prevention in the quoted DMBs. The study concluded that forensic accounting has not been able to prevent fraud occurrence in the branch operation of DMBs in Nigeria. In line with the above findings, the study recommended among others that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria should review the operational manual in other to institutionalize the application of forensic accounting principles and method to tackle fraud and irregularities in DMBs.