Basic Issues in Forensic Accounting and Auditing

International Journal of Scientific & Engineering Research, Volume 7, Issue 12, December-2016 1397 ISSN 2229-5518

Basic Issues in Forensic Accounting and Auditing 1Fasua Henry Kehinde, 2Igbinomwanhia Lilian Nneka, and 3Toluwa Omame Evelyn Department of Accounting, University of Benin, Benin City, Edo State, Nigeria 08032165839, [email protected]; 08032768623, [email protected]; 07039441764, [email protected]

Abstract: The objective of the study is to examine basic issues in forensic accounting and auditing. Specifically, the paper seeks to differentiate between forensic accounting and auditing. The methodology employed in the study was purely exploratory library based research. This is based on an in-depth review of relevant and current literature on fact in issues. The findings reveal that that forensic accounting and auditing are interwoven, and both can be carried out by forensic experts. The relationship that exists between them is likened to relationship that is seen in financial accounting and auditing. Professional accountants can carry out both audit exercises as well engage in preparation and presentation of financial statements at different categories. The study concludes that the services of forensic accountant are of great relevance to the development of better public sector. The paper recommends that the National Assembly should ensure executive offers full autonomy to government agents and forensic experts that are responsible for enforcing accountability in order to discharge their duties without undue influence.

Key words: Forensic accounting, Forensic accounting assignment, Forensic auditing, Investigation ——————————  ——————————

1 INTRODUCTION the last 40 years has resulted to a paradigm change in The threat of fraudulent financial statement has accounting profession. Interestingly, at the verge of been in existence for several years. In fact it was the this lack of credibility and confidence in reasonable threat of this and the need to provide shareholders and assurance, and when the issue of fraud detection and other stakeholders with a reasonable assurance and a prevention was at its pinnacle, a few scholars forecast means of protecting their wealth from different forms that in the nearest future there will be reception of the of fraud following the demand of the corporate go- general roles of the auditors to detect and prevent mi- vernance of Nigeria that necessitate stewardship ac- sappropriation of assets, corruption fraud and fraudu- counting couple with theIJSER Companies and Allied Mat- lent financial statements (Brown, 1962; Zimbelman & ters Act of 2014. Financial fraud includes misappropr- Albretch, 2012 ). These actions led to the employing iation of assets, corruption and financial statement of fraud investigators who can be called forensic ac- fraud. It involves the illegitimate conversion of prop- countants. This has bought about an issue of what con- erty belonging to employers to the fraudster’s own stitute forensic accounting profession and basic issues personal use and gain. of forensic auditing. Therefore, this paper is motivated to look at basic issues of forensic accounting and au- Financial frauds may be perpetrated by individual, col- diting. lusion of top managers, organized crime groups (Fasua & Osifo, 2016). In other hand, Individuals, govern- From extent literature, it was observed that there is no ments, corporations and the entire world may be vic- clear definition between fraud auditing, forensic ac- tims. In the early era of the last century, the universal counting, investigative accounting, forensic auditing belief was that it was not the responsibility of the audi- unlike financial accounting and management account- tor to prevent or detect fraud and external auditors ing. Okoye (2009) states that fraud or forensic audit- sought to protect themselves from such professional ing involves a proactive approach as well as metho- liability. This has resulted to expectation gap and un- dology to detect fraud whereas forensic accounting answerable quest in the mind of shareholders and oth- may be carried out after evidence or symptom of fraud er stakeholders as it concerns the existence of organi- has been established and surfaced via an allegation. zation. However, Smith and Crumbley (2009) argue that a fraud auditor or forensic auditor is a professional ac- The unremitting series of thwarting audit failures over countant with a specialized skilled in auditing while a forensic accountant may engage in fraud auditing ser- IJSER © 2016 http://www.ijser.org International Journal of Scientific & Engineering Research, Volume 7, Issue 12, December-2016 1398 ISSN 2229-5518

vices. And can also be called a fraud auditor/ forensic proceedings (Joshi, 2003). It provides an accounting auditor. analysis that is suitable to the court, which will form the basis of discussion, debate and ultimately dispute On this background, the main objective of this study is resolution (Zysman, 2004). to examine the basic issues in forensic accounting and 2.12 Forensic Accounting auditing and the specific objectives are: to differen- Forensic Accounting is the specialty practice area of tiate between forensic accounting and auditing; and to accountancy that explains engagements which result distinguish between the roles, duties and function of from actual or anticipated disputes or litigation (Zim- forensic accountants and auditors. In order to appeal to bel & Albretch, 2012). Onodi, Okafor, and Onyali ( empirical information collected from existing litera- 2015) states that “Forensic” denotes “suitable for use ture and relevant materials, this study will be of im- in a court of law”. In the same concept, forensic ac- portance to shareholders, other stakeholders and other countants are also forensic auditors or investigative researchers in the forensic accounting field. auditors who have to render expert evidence at the pre- trial as well as trial. To Dhar and Sarkar (2010), 2 LITERATURE REVIEW forensic accounting concerns the application of accounting concepts and techniques to legal problems. 2.1 Conceptual review In the same vein, Smith and Crumbley (2009) explain The recent articles and research papers have focused forensic accounting by differentiating forensic ac- on the broadening scope of forensic accounting away counting from fraud auditing. They state that a fraud from the traditional narrow fraud detection and pre- auditor is an accountant who possesses a specialized vention definition as well as on the increasing demand skilled in auditing while a forensic accountant may for accountants to conduct forensic accounting activi- carry out fraud auditing services and may in fact be a ties (Cohen, Crain, & Sanders, 1996; Baron, 2006; Fa- forensic auditor. According to Singleton & Singleton sua & Osifo, 2016). Okoye (2009) argues that the lex- (2010) forensic accounting involves fraud investiga- icon of accounting terms such as forensic accounting, tion, detection and prevention of fraud and analyzing fraud investigative, fraud accounting, and valuation, antifraud controls after gathering non-financial infor- forensic auditing and litigation are not clearly defined. mation. Hopwood, Leiner, and Young (2013) view fo- Therefore, the term forensic accounting profession is rensic accounting as the application of investigative as prominent in existing forensicIJSER accounting literature as well as analytical skills for the reason of resolving fi- well as the legal system. nancial issues in a manner that is suitable for standards 2.11 Forensic required by courts. However argue that while forensic The term forensic is seen as “the use of scientific accounting profession may not make directly reference knowledge to legal problems in a court of law” (Sin- to fraud, fraud examinations as integral part of foren- gleton & Singleton, 2010). Webster dictionary views sic accounting. forensic as belonging to; or use in public discussions and debate or suitable to courts of judicature. There- For the sleek of clarity, Hopwood, Leiner, and Young fore, according to Zysman (2004), forensic accounting (2013) explain the following terms: involves the integration of accounting, auditing and Forensic Investigation: The application of specialized investigative skills. Crumbley ( 2006) simply puts fo- investigative skills in implementing an inquiry con- rensic accounting as accounting that is suitable for ducted in such a manner that the result will be useful legal review offering the highest level of assurance in the court of law. A forensic investigation may be and including the now generally accepted connotation rooted in accounting, engineering, medicine, or some of having been arrived at in a scientific fashion. To other discipline. Coenen (2005), forensic accounting involves the application of accounting concepts and techniques. It Forensic Audit: An investigation of evidence regarding demands reporting, where the accountability or the an assertion or reporting to determine its assurance to fraud is established and the report is considered as established criteria carried out in a manner suitable to evidence in the court of law or in the administrative the court.

Peremptory: Forensic accountants may be em- Internal Audit: An audit carried out by an employee ployed in a wide variety of risk management who verifies operational evidence to determine wheth- engagements within business enterprise as a er prescribed operating procedures have been fol- matter of right, without the necessity of allega- lowed. tions” (HCC, 2011).

External Audit: An audit performed by professional 2. 14 History of Forensic accounting accountant engaged in public practice resulting to the Forensic accounting can be traced to a Canadian court expression of an opinion which lends credibility to the decision of Meyer v. Sefton in 1817. Seven years after assertion under investigation. the Canadian case, on March 12, 1824, a young ac- 2.13 Forensic Accountant countant called James McClelland carried out his A Forensic Accountant is engaged to summarize, ana- business in Glasgow, Scotland, and issued a circular lyze, interpret and present complex financial state- that advertised the different classes of forensic-type ments and business related issues in a form which is work he was prepared to undertake (Singleton and both properly supported and understandable. Forensic Singleton, 2010). Accountants can be hired in public practice or em- In 1946 a man called Maurice E. Peloubet was the first ployed by insurance companies, banks, police forces, person to coin the phrase “forensic” in print. Not quite government agencies and other organizations. A Fo- long a man called Kenneth W. Robinson made state- rensic Accountant is often involved in investigating ment that “there is teamwork to be done by lawyers and analyzing financial evidence; developing compu- and accountants”. A year after, George B. Pearson, Jr., terized applications to assist in the analysis and pres- a former judge, put across 10 warnings to the accoun- entation of financial evidence; communicating their tant who wants to do a good job on the witness stand. findings in the form of reports, exhibits and collec- Under this development, Max Lourie, a lawyer en- tions of documents; and assisting in legal proceedings, gaged in the New York Supreme Court rolled out an including testifying in court as an expert witness and article in which he declares that he possibly invented preparing visual aids to support trial evidence. In order the term forensic accounting, even this article came to properly perform these services a Forensic Accoun- out seven years after Maurice E. Peloubet had coined tant must be familiar with legal concepts and proce- the term. Philip J. Gallagher in the Journal of Accoun- dures (Hopwood, LeinerIJSER & Young, 2013). tancy declared that an accounting expert witness must be able to define the basic concepts of the profession In addition, a Forensic Accountant must be able to and be able to explain accounting terminology in 1964 identify substance over form when dealing with an (HCC, 2011). issue. 2. 15 Forensic auditing According to HCC (2011) “Before financials were au- Institute of forensic auditors (IFA) defines forensic dited by outside experts, the courts often handled chal- activity as the activity that consists of gathering, veri- lenges and brought in experts to give testimony. Prac- fying, processing, analyzing of and reporting on data tice of forensic accounting was common even before in order to obtain facts and or evidence in a predefined independent accountants were asked to certify finan- context in the area of legal financial disputes and or cial statements in auditing engagements.” regulative (including fraud) and giving preventative Therefore, forensic accounting can be defined as fol- advice. From the above one can say that a forensic au- lows: ditor is an expert in accounting with experiences and “Time: Forensic accounting focuses on the special skill in Auditing, Fraud detection and crimi- past, although it may do so in order to look nology that carries out investigation which is usable in forward. the Law Court. In order to understand activities been Purpose: Forensic accounting is performed for carried out by the forensic auditor there is need to a specific legal forum or in anticipation of know the objective of forensic audit (HCC, 2011). presentation before a legal forum.

2. 16 Objectives of Forensic Audit views fraud as an intentional misrepresentation of fi- The objectives of forensic audit will help us to under- nancial fact of a material nature (Hopwood, Leiner & stand the role of forensic auditor and its impact on Young, 2013). corporate governance. These objectives are; 2. 17 Forensic auditors and accountants • To improve management accountability. Forensic auditors/ accountants look behind and • To improve corporate governance and the sta- beyond the transactions and audit trail to focus on sub- tutory audit function. stance of the transactions instead. Unlike the financial • To improving financial reporting system. auditor, the forensic auditor asks the following ques- • Help in detecting financial fraud. tions: • Help in strengthening auditors independence (a) Where are the weakest links in the system chain of • Providing additional assurance for audit com- controls? mittees (Singleton & Singleton, 2007). (b) How are offline transactions handled, and who au- thorizes them? Financial statement auditors take greater responsibility (c) What possible deviations can occur in the system for the detection of fraud and illegal acts when audit- different from conventional good accounting practice? ing financial statement due to the fact that another set (d) What simple way exists to compromise the sys- of auditors (forensic auditors) would be critically eva- tem? luating their role. Forensic audits conceivably could (e) What is the nature of work environment in the or- give the audit committees tool to better evaluate the ganisation? quality of the financial statement audited by the exter- (f) How can higher management bypass the control nal auditor (Singleton & Singleton, 2010). systems in the organisation? The above objectives could be said to have stronger Forensic Accountants become involved in a wide impact on corporate governance, since the forensic range of investigations, spanning many different in- auditor is expected to go beyond normal audit as to dustries. The practical and in-depth analysis that a Fo- search for fraud and investigate deeper using more so- rensic Accountant will bring to a case helps uncover phisticated scientific analytical tools and software trends that bring to light the relevant issues. Detailed packages to detect fraudulent activities perpetrated by below are various areas in which a forensic accountant the management and their employees or fraud which can often become involved in investigation, namely IJSER(Hopwood, Leiner & Young, 2013): the external auditor has conceivable connived with the management to cover. 1. Criminal investigations 2. 16 Nature forensic accounting assignments Forensic investigations often get involved in criminal The procedures adopted in carrying out financial au- investigations on behalf of police forces. For example, dits are designed to detect material misstatements, not a forensic accountant may be engaged by the EFCC, material frauds hence, financial auditors depend on a ICPC, The Police forces and organizations such as the sample and rely on examination of audit trail instead Law Society, to carry out criminal investigation exer- of the examination of the events and activities behind cise. A forensic accountant's report is prepared with the documents. Financial audit procedures are based the objective of presenting evidence in a professional on uncovering material deviations in financial data and concise manner ( Aribaba, 2013). and significant variances from acceptable accounting 2. Shareholders' and partnership disputes and auditing standards. Forensic audit/ accounting These assignments often involve a detailed analysis of have the following peculiar characteristics: numerous years accounting records to quantify the is- (a) It is more of a mindset than a mythology; sues in dispute. For example, a common issue that of- (b) Forensic audit approach is different from financial ten arises is the compensation and benefits received by audit approach; each of the disputing shareholders or partners (Single- (c) Forensic audit is learned from experience not from ton & Singleton, 2010). text books; and 3. Personal injury claims / Motor vehicle acci- (d) Forensic audit views fraud as an intentional misre- dents presentation of material financial facts; financial audit A forensic accountant is often asked to quantify the

economic losses resulting from a motor vehicle acci- cepted Auditing Standards or other standards dent. A forensic accountant needs to be familiar with of practice occurred; and the legislation in place which pertains to motor vehicle • Loss quantification. accidents. Cases of medical malpractice and wrongful If the professional in question is an accountant then a dismissal often involve similar issues in calculating forensic accountant could be involved with both pers- the resulting economic damages (Aribaba, 2013). pectives. If the matter involves some other profession, 4. Business Interruption / Other Types of In- a forensic accountant will normally be retained to per- surance Claims form only loss quantification (Hopwood, Leiner & Insurance policies differ significantly as to their terms Young, 2013). and conditions. These assignments involve a detailed 9. Mediation and arbitration review of the policy to investigate coverage issues and Because of their familiarity and knowledge in legal the appropriate method of calculating the loss. A fo- issues and procedures, some forensic accountants have rensic accountant is often asked to assist either an in- sought out special training and become involved in sured or insurer's perspective in the settlement of such alternative dispute resolution (ADR). ADR services case. Examples of these types of assignments include: include both mediation and arbitration which are de- business interruptions, property losses and employee signed to help individuals and businesses resolve dis- dishonesty (fidelity) claims (Zimbelman & Albretch, putes with minimal disruption and in a timely fashion. 2013). Besides, it is essential for a forensic accountant or au- 5. Business/Employee Fraud Investigations ditor to possess some qualities, academic and training, Business investigations can involve funds tracing, as- in order to be effective in executing his/her duties and set identification and recovery, forensic intelligence responsibilities. gathering and due diligence reviews. Employee fraud 2.18 Competences required of a forensic accoun- investigations often involve procedures to determine tant the existence, nature and extent of fraud. It may con- For an expert in forensic to be considered capable and cern the identification of a perpetrator. These investi- effective, he must possess the following characteris- gations often entail interviews of personnel who had tics/qualities: curiosity, persistence, creativity, discre- access to the funds and a detailed review of the docu- tion, organization, confidence, and sound professional mentary evidence. judgement. A forensic accountant must be open to 6. Matrimonial disputesIJSER consider all alternatives, scrutinize the fine details and Matrimonial disputes from a forensic accounting at the same time see the big picture. In addition, a fo- point-of-view often involve the tracing, locating and rensic accountant must be able to listen effectively and evaluation of assets. The assets to be evaluated and communicate clearly and concisely. Moreover, foren- valued may be businesses, property or other assets sic accountant, auditor and investigator are required to (Hopwood, Leiner & Young, 2013). possess some skills which are complementary to the 7. Business economic losses qualities enumerated above. Examples of assignments involving business econom- In addition, DiGabriele (2007:15; 2009) identifies the ic losses include; contract disputes, construction following set of skills: claims, expropriations, product liability claims, trade- (a) Deductive analysis: This is the ability to identify mark and patent infringements and losses stemming financial contradictions that do not fit in the normal from a breach of a non-competition agreement (Hop- pattern of assignment. In consideration of the barrage wood, Leiner & Young, 2013). A forensic accountant of recent financial reporting scandals, this skill ap- also assists in carrying out such assignments. pears to be necessary and essential for a forensic ac- 8. Professional negligence countant to meet the objective of uncovering a poten- These investigations are often approached from two tial financial fraud. different but complimentary perspectives, being: (b) Creative thinking: This involves the ability to dif- • Technical - has a breach of Generally Ac- ferentiate between opinion and fact. The essence of cepted Accounting Principles or Generally Ac- being an expert witness is to be able to perform the task of discerning fact from fiction in order to main-

tain a credible testimony. Courses developed in this (and legally) rely upon. The witness's specialized area should emphasize the ability to remove any non (scientific, technical or other) opinion about an evi- corroborated opinions from expert reports and testi- dence or fact issued within the scope of their expertise, mony (Hopwood, Leiner & Young, 2013).. is referred to as the expert opinion, as an assistance to (c) Unstructured problem solving: This is the ability the fact-finder (Hopwood, Leiner & Young, 2013). to treat each situation as inherently unique and prepa- Expert witnesses may also deliver expert evidence redness to solve problems with an unstructured ap- about facts from the domain of their expertise. proach. Accounting education has been based around At times, their testimony may be rebutted with a concentrating on compliance with rules and proce- learned treatise, sometimes to the detriment of their dures. This skill is a direct contradiction to this con- reputations. Therefore, a forensic accountant must (a) cept. It can be argued that a shortcoming of auditors is investigate and analyze financial information, (b) de- not seeing the proverbial forest beyond the trees. velop computerized applications (if applicable) to as- (d) Investigative flexibility: A forensic expert should sist in the analysis and presentation of financial infor- have the ability to move away from standardized audit mation (Amadiebube, 2008). In addition, an expert procedures and thoroughly examine situations for a witness must: typical warning signs. • Communicate findings in the form of a report (e) Analytical proficiency: This is the ability to look with supporting documents. out for what should be provided rather than what was • Assist in any legal proceedings. provided. Under this area, a forensic should consider • Assist in obtaining documentation necessary to the post financial fraud regulatory environment, in or- support or refute a claim. der to solve a financial puzzle with less than a com- • Review of the relevant documents in order to plete set of pieces appears to be the direction the cur- form an initial assessment of the case and iden- rent business environment is heading. tify areas of loss. (f) Oral communication: This is the ability to effec- • Assist with examination for discovery which is tively communicate in speech via expert testimony including the formulation of questions to be and general explanation of the bases of opinion. asked regarding the financial evidence. (g) Written communication: This involves the ability • Attend the examination for discovery in order to effectively communicate in writing via reports, to review the testimony, and assist with under- charts, graphs and schedulesIJSER the bases of opinion. standing the financial issues to formulate addi- (h) Specific legal knowledge: This is the skill that tional questions to be asked. enhances a forensic expert to understand basic legal • Review of the opposing expert's damages re- processes and legal issues including the rule of evi- port and reporting on both the strengths and dence. weaknesses of the positions taken. (a) Composure: This is the ability to maintain a calm • Assist with settlement discussions and negotia- attitude when under pressured. The most common area tions. where this is necessary is expert testimony in either • Attend trial to hear the testimony of the oppos- deposition or court. The composure of an expert wit- ing expert and to provide assistance with cross ness can be an integral component in the ultimate out- examination (Hopwood, Leiner & Young, come of the case. 2013). 2.18 The role of the forensic accountant 2.19 Approaches to a forensic accounting as- The principal role of a forensic accountant as an ex- signment pert witness is to analyze, interpret, summarize and Owojori and Asaolu (2009) is of opinion that all as- present complex business and financial deals in a logi- pects of forensic accounting assignment are unique. cal, understandable manner supported with facts. An Systematically, actual approach adopted and the pro- expert witness is a witness, who by virtue of educa- cedures performed will be specific to it. However, in tion, training, skill, or experience, is believed to have general, many forensic accounting assignments will knowledge in a particular subject beyond that of the include the following steps : average person, sufficient that others may officially • Meet with the client

It is helpful to meet with the client to obtain an under- and auditing. Professional accountants can carry out standing of the important facts, players and issues at both audit exercises as well engage in preparation and hand. presentation of financial statements at different cate- • Perform a conflict check gories. The study shows nature and requirements ne- A conflict check should be carried out as soon as the cessary for qualifying as forensic experts who can per- relevant parties are established. form forensic accounting exercises and forensic audit- • Perform an initial investigation ing engagements. The study, therefore recommended It is often useful to carry out a preliminary investiga- that: tion prior to the development of a detailed plan of ac- (a) the professional accountants should use this oppor- tion. This will allow subsequent planning to be based tunity to know more about forensic accounting and upon a more complete understanding of the issues. submit himself or herself to auquire necessary educa- • Develop an action Plan tion, training, skill, experience in the field of account- This plan will take into account the knowledge gained ing. by meeting with the client and carrying out the initial (b) the anti-graft agencies should consider engaging investigation and will set out the objectives to be the services of forensic accountants to assist them in achieved and the methodology to be utilized to ac- court cases involving economic or financial crimes. complish them. Finally, shareholders and other stakeholders should • Obtain the relevant evidence take time to understand different between forensic ac- Depending on the nature of the case this may involve counting and auditing so that they know who is to en- locating documents, economic information, assets, a gage when time arises. person or company, another expert or proof of the oc- currence of an event. REFERENCES Perform the analysis Aribaba, F. O. (2013). Application of forensic The actual analysis performed will be dependent upon accounting: a study of companies in Nigeria. the nature of the assignment and may involve: Academic Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies, • calculating economic damages; 2(2). • summarizing a large number of transactions; • performing a tracingIJSER of assets; Baron, L. (2006). CPAs are a hot commodity. Journal • performing present value calculations utilizing of Accountancy, 201(2). appropriate discount rates; • performing a regression or sensitivity analysis; Brown, R. G. (1962). Changing audit objectives and • utilizing a computerized application such as a techniques. Accounting Review 37 (4): spread sheet, data base or computer model; and 696- 703. • utilizing charts and graphics to explain the analysis (Owojori & Asaolu, 2009). Coenen, T. L. (2005). Forensic accounting: A new Prepare the report twist on be accounting tracy sequence At time, a report will be written which contains sec- Inc.com. tions on the nature of the assignment, approach utilized, scope of the investigation, limitations of scope Cohen, M. M., Crain, M. A., & Sanders, A. (1996). and findings. The report also displays schedules and Skills used in litigation services. Journal of graphics essential to support and expatiate the findings Accountancy, 182, 101–104. ( Eiya & Otalor, 2013). 3 CONCLUSION Crumbley, D. L. (2006). Forensic accountants The paper has examined the basic issues in forensic appearing in the literature.Retrieved December accounting and auditing. It was discovered that foren- 6, 2015, www.forensicaccounting.com sic accounting and auditing are interwoven, and both can be carried out by forensic experts. It is likened to Dhar, P.,& Sarkar, A. ( 2010). Forensic accounting: An relationship that exists between financial accounting accountant’s vision. Vidyasagar University J. IJSER © 2016 http://www.ijser.org International Journal of Scientific & Engineering Research, Volume 7, Issue 12, December-2016 1404 ISSN 2229-5518

Commerce, 15(3): 93-104. Corporate Accounting and Finance, 18(4): 7– 10. DiGabriele, J. A. (2008). An empirical investigation of the relevant skills of forensic accountants. Smith, G., & Crumbley, D. (2009). How divergent are Journal of Education for Business, 331–338. pedagogical views toward the fraud/forensic accounting curriculum? Global Perspectives Eiya, O., & Otalor, I. J. (2013) Forensic accounting as on Accounting Education, 6: 1 - 24. a tool for fighting financial crime in Nigeria. Research Journal of Finance and Accounting, Zimbelman, F. M., & Albrecht, C. C. (2012). Forensic 4 (6). accounting. 4th edition, Canada

Fasua, H. K.,& Osifo, I. U. O .(2016). Financial Zysman, A. (2004). Forensic accounting demystified, control and fraud prevention in the public sec- world investigators network standard practice tor. International Journal of Advanced Aca- for investigative and forensic accounting en- demic Research, 2 (8). gagements. Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountant. Hopwood, W. S., Leiner, J., & Young, G. R. (2013). Forensic Accounting. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill/Irwin.

Houston Community College. (2011). Forensic and investigative accounting. Chicago: www.CCHGroup.com

Joshi, M. S. (2003). Definition of forensic accounting. Retrieved on December 6, 2015: www.forensicaccounting.com

Okoye, A. E. (2009). AccountingIJSER and nation building. The Journal of Accounting, 1(1).

Onodi, B. T., Okafor, T. G., & Onyali, C. I. (2015). The impact of forensic investigative methods on corporate fraud deterrence in banks in Nigeria. European Journal of Ac- counting Auditing and Finance Re- search, 3(4), 69-85.

Owojori, A. A., & Asaolu, T. O. (2009). The role of forensic accounting in solving the vexed problem of the corporate world. European Journal of Scientific Research, 29(2), 183–187.

Singleton, T. W., & Singleton, A. J. (2010). Fraud auditing and forensic accounting. 4th edition, Haboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & sons, Inc.