Senate Moves to Establish Chartered Institute of Forensic Auditors

Damilola Oyedele in Abuja

The Senate has passed through second reading a bill seeking the establishment of the Chartered Institute of Forensic and Investigate Auditors, as part of moves to detect corruption and fraud in the public and private sectors of the economy.

The bill sponsored by Senators Ahmed Lawan and Andy Uba is fully named “a bill for an act to establish the chartered institute of Forensic and Investigate Auditors in Nigeria to provide for the registration and regulation of membership and for other matters connected therewith.”

According to the Lawan, the institute would provide the platform for the training of qualified professionals to deploy forensic science and other technological tools and techniques of forensic and investigative audit in public and private sectors.
They would be trained to deploy the acquired tools in line with international best practices, he added.

Lawan explained further that it is also expected to save Nigeria millions annually, which is used to hire foreign forensic auditors to detect high profile fraud.

Uba also argued that the institute would assist to eliminate cases of compromised audits from manipulation of accounting facts and figures. It therefore holds the potential to prevent fraud due to the fear of easy detection, he added.

“The Bill will not only strengthen the nation’s institutional framework in the fight against corruption but stimulate public confidence, enhance transparency and accountability in the nation’s economic system and national lives,” Uba said. The bill was unanimously voted through second reading.