Samuel Bello, Abuja
The Chartered Institute of Forensic and Investigative Auditors of Nigeria (CIFIAN) has stated that inappropriate legal framework for the regulation of forensic and investigative auditing practice constitutes great danger to the integrity and safety to the country’s financial system.
Its Pro-tem President, Dr. Enape Victoria Ayishetu, said this, on Monday, in a press briefing, in Abuja.
The theme of the briefing was ‘Application of Forensic and Investigative Audit Methodologies in Curbing Fraud and Corruption.’
According to Ayishetu, fraudsters are now more sophisticated and now engage digital technologies to perpetrate fraud, in this case, adding that the country’s financial system requires a forensic and investigative auditing knowledge on the use of science and technology for fraud prevention and detection.
“To this end, we need to shift emphasis to forensic and investigative auditing for prevention of fraudulent activities, hence the need to have forensic and investigative auditing in Nigeria.
“Nigerian government has lost billions of naira and dollars in the last few years to fraud, until the government treasury became emptied and left the citizens helpless.
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“Cyber crime is the worst of it all. This situation is worrisome because it is like the more we complain, the worst Nigerian economy is becoming.
“We must all rise to our responsibilities as professionals in the country to ensure we do the needful urgently to savage Nigerian economy from total collapse.
“It is only a mad man that will continue doing the same thing the same way, same method and year after year and expect different result.
“There is need for a paradigm shift and that on urgent note,” she stated.
Dr. Ayishetu also said that the law became hopeless in the case of collapsed banks in Nigeria which were audited by some accountants firm because there was no Act empowering them to carry out fraud investigation, adding that where the work of traditional auditors’ stops is where that of forensic and investigative auditors work begins.