COMPONENTS OF FORENSIC ACCOUNTING IN SELECTED PUBLIC SERVICE IN OYO STATE, NIGERIA

Forensic accounting is becoming a tool for general audit practices among several corporate practitioners in both Nigeria and beyond. However, the high level of corruption through financial misappropriation, income leakages, budget padding and money laundering which are all components of fraud and other corrupt practices in business governance and government parastatals necessitated increased application and practice of forensic accounting. Hence, this study tends to examine the nexus forensic accounting mechanism and fraud control in selected public service in Oyo State, Nigeria. The study employed descriptive survey research design with the use of a well-structured questionnaire. The population of the study comprise of nine (9) public service in Oyo State, Nigeria from where a sample size of seven (7) public service in Oyo State were selected purposively Both descriptive and inferential statistics were employed for the purpose of data analysis. Descriptive statistics involved the use of frequencies tables, figure and percentage count while inferential statistics such as Principal Component Analysis (PCA) was used to test the study hypothesis. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) was used to identify the components of forensic accounting in selected public service in Oyo State, Nigeria. Findings from the result of PCA showed that the first component, labeled "Specialized Team", has an eigenvalue of 4.406 and accounts for 73.43% of the total variance. This is a very high proportion, suggesting that the existence and effectiveness of specialized forensic accounting teams are the most critical factor influencing forensic accounting practices in public service settings. The study established that there is positive significant relationship between forensic accounting mechanism and fraud control in selected public service in Oyo State, Nigeria. It is therefore recommended that public service organizations should invest in building and maintaining specialized forensic accounting teams with skilled professionals trained in investigative techniques, data collection, and financial analysis to enhance fraud detection capabilities.