EFFECT OF FORENSIC ACCOUNTING TECHNIQUES ON FINANCIAL REPORTING CREDIBILITY OF FEDERAL MINISTRIES, DEPARTMENTS AND AGENCIES (MDAS) IN NIGERIA
Keywords:
Forensic Accounting, Financial Reporting Credibility, Federal Ministries, Federal Agencies. Technical Skills, Analytical Skills, Communication Skills, Regression Analysis, SPSS, Likert ScaleAbstract
The study titled the effect of forensic accounting techniques on the credibility of financial reporting of Federal Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) in Nigeria. This study particularly examines the effect of forensic accounting skills; technical and analytical skills; and communication skills on the credibility of financial reporting. The population of this study comprises 14 federal Ministries and 56 federal Agencies. The study utilized stratified and simple sampling techniques to select a sample size of 164 in Kaduna, and the questionnaire contains fifteen questions on a five-point Likert-type scale, administered online. IBM SPSS Statistics software was employed to analyze the data. The regression result indicates that forensic accounting skills; technical and analytical skills, and communication skills have a positive and significant effect on the credibility of financial reporting. The study concludes that the credibility of financial reporting is influenced by the three independent variables positively and significantly. The study recommends that MDAs should hire more and train more accountants who specialize in forensic accounting to assist in identifying and preventing malpractice to enhance the financial statements' reliability and accuracy engage in improving the technical and analytical skills of human resources in the accounting and finance department by providing training that assists in reducing the rate of erroneous financial analysis and reporting; and make sure that their financial teams are well-endowed with communication skills to enables the stakeholders to have confidence in the report and make a better understanding of it, hence improving on the credibility of the report.References
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