Internal Audit and Fraud Control in Public Institutions in Nigeria: A Survey of Local Government Councils in Osun State

Abstract

That fraudulent practices have been canonically accommodated, entertained and celebrated within the local government administration in the country is a statement of fact. Fraud in Public institutions is more easily accomplished in an environment where there is administrative and fiscal laxity. Indeed, it may well be said that a significant proportion of public resource lost each year because of fraud as a result of inefficient internal and external auditing. This research evaluated the effectiveness of the internal audit unit on fraud control in local government administration in Osun State. In this research, two hypotheses were formulated and tested. The primary data was obtained through the administration of questionnaires, interview and actual observation. This was supplemented with secondary data. The findings of this research indicate that the Internal Audit unit did not fulfill and in reality does not contribute significantly to fraud prevention and control in local government administration in Osun State. The study thus recommends total overhauling of the internal audit unit in the local government administration in Osun State.