President, CIFIA, Dr Victoria Ayishetu

Abuja, May 5, 2018 (AltAfrika)-The Chartered Institute of Forensic and Investigative Auditors in Nigeria, CIFIA, has offered to assist the Federal Government in the ongoing anti-corruption war.

This was made known by the President, CIFIA, Dr Victoria Ayishetu, during the opening ceremony of a three-day training and induction of new members of the institute in Abuja.

Ayishetu said it has become imperative for the government to apply scientific and technological approach to reduce fraud and corruption in both public and private sectors, hence the training of 150 trainees and induction into the institute who are drawn from the public and private sectors.

According to her the emergence of forensic and investigative auditing on the global scene stemmed from the realization that fraudsters have now devised sophisticated means of perpetrating their crimes and in some instances have taken advantage of the 21st century digital revolution in their fraudulent practices, which most times. Adding that 11, 000 professionals trained so far, and more training still carried out for better performance.

Some of the members of the institute include Accountant General of the Federation, Auditor General of the Federation, Ministers, accountants in National Assembly, auditor-generals in local governments, professors, doctors, and others.

She said: “Corruption has taken a new dimension and traditional auditing cannot tackle it anymore and that is the reason we are training people every month so that we have people that are equipped with this modern advanced auditing knowledge and the skill on how to use science and technology in tackling or sniffing out fraud no matter how small it may be.hey go undetected due to ill-equipped traditional system of auditing.

“We have accountants in high positions and the time came they can no longer see fraud, and even if they see fraud they do not know is fraud anymore the reason is because fraudsters on their own have gone advanced, they study high on how they can use other sophisticated equipment or use high tech in committing fraud and this traditional auditors are still going about with the normal and old knowledge that have fizzled out.

“Now if we continue to dwell in the past this country in a twinkling of the eye will be brought down by fraud. Nigerians know how ‘snake swallowed money and monkey swallow money in this country.”

Also speaking on most cases lost by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, and lack of concrete evidences to convict fraud perpetrators was Professor Bayero Muhammad of the Department of Accounting, Usman Danfodio University, Sokoto State, who pointed out that the missing link has been lack of forensic accountants or auditors in the country.

“The missing link in losing cases and lack of convictions by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, is the lack of forensic accountants or auditors in the country. Also they have not been using enough local forensic experts. The gap can be filled by our institute”, Muhammad stated.