The Essence and Prospects of Forensic Accounting in Developing Countries

Abstract

The necessity for forensic accounting has grown with the increased incidents of financial fraud. This is not unrelated to the inability of statutory audit to discover and prevent fraudulent acts. This chapter provides discussions on the need and prospects of forensic accounting in developing countries as it may address the prevalence of business failures and financial crimes resulting from audit failure and the growth of creative accounting. Although the chapter provides a general overview for developing countries, there is a specific focus on Nigeria, a developing country characterized by high level of corruption. The findings show that the use of forensic accounting is still at a very low level owing to the high cost of forensic accounting tools and the time and money involved in acquiring the requisite skills. The chapter recommends that forensic accountants nonetheless are suitable to eliminate economic crimes and corruption to improve growth in the economy in developing countries.