ROLE OF FORENSIC ACCOUNTANTS IN FRAUD INVESTIGATION: AN EMPIRICAL STUDY OF SELECTED ANTI-CORRUPTION AGENCIES IN NIGERIA (SOUTH-EAST ZONE)

Financial crime and institutional corruption present persistent structural challenges to economic development and administrative integrity in Nigeria. This study empirically examines the role of forensic accounting techniques in financial fraud investigations conducted by key anti-corruption agencies operating across the South-East geopolitical zone of Nigeria. Specifically, the research evaluates the impact of investigative accounting skills, litigation support services, and digital evidence analysis on fraud conviction rates and the recovery of misappropriated public assets measured in Nigerian Naira (₦). Utilizing an expert-judgment purposive census design targeting high-level subject-matter specialists, primary data were collected via a 5-point Likert scale structured questionnaire administered to a complete census of 15 key forensic investigators, senior auditors, and lead legal officers stationed at operational hubs serving the zone: the EFCC Zonal Directorates in Enugu and Port Harcourt, alongside ICPC Operational Offices in Enugu and Ebonyi States. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and Multiple Linear Regression via SPSS (v.27). The empirical findings reveal that investigative accounting skills (β1 = 0.384, p < 0.05) and digital evidence analysis (β3 = 0.412, p < 0.05) exert a statistically significant positive effect on successful fraud investigation outcomes and Naira asset recovery. Litigation support services (β2 = 0.198, p < 0.05) also demonstrated a significant positive influence by bridging the evidentiary gap during court proceedings. The study concludes that embedding advanced forensic accounting methodologies within anti-graft operational frameworks enhances trial-ready evidence gathering. It recommends continuous professional capacity building in computer-assisted audit techniques (CAATs), the decentralization of digital forensic laboratories to zonal operational bases, and early interdisciplinary collaboration between forensic accountants and legal prosecution teams during charge sheet preparation.