Forensic accounting practices and performance: New empirical evidence of quoted oil and gas companies in Nigeria

This study examined the relationship between forensic accounting practices and organizational performance of quoted oil and gas companies in Nigeria, with organizational performance measured by the robustness of the internal control system. The study was anchored on the fraud triangle theory and adopted an ex-post facto research design. Secondary panel data were obtained from the published annual reports of eight (8) quoted oil and gas companies listed on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) covering the period from 2019 to 2025. The entire population of the study was adopted using the census sampling technique, resulting in a balanced panel of 56 firm-year observations. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and panel econometric techniques, including the Levin-Lin-Chu panel unit root test, panel model selection tests, Pedroni panel cointegration test, and the Panel Error Correction Model (PECM). The stationarity results revealed that all variables became stationary after first differencing, indicating that they were integrated of order one, I(1). The panel cointegration test confirmed the existence of a long-run equilibrium relationship among the variables, while the Random Effects model was selected as the most appropriate estimation technique based on the Hausman specification test. The Panel Error Correction Model revealed that litigation support has a positive and statistically significant relationship with the robustness of the internal control system (β = 0.2865, p< 0.05). Similarly, whistle-blowing mechanisms exhibited a positive and statistically significant relationship with the robustness of the internal control system (β = 0.3418, p< 0.05). The error correction term was negative and statistically significant, indicating a relatively rapid adjustment toward long-run equilibrium following short-run disturbances. The study concluded that effective forensic accounting practices, particularly litigation support and whistle-blowing mechanisms, significantly enhance the robustness of internal control systems among quoted oil and gas companies in Nigeria. The study therefore recommended that management should institutionalize litigation support services within corporate governance structures, strengthen confidential whistle-blowing mechanisms and whistle-blower protection policies, and invest in continuous forensic accounting capacity development to improve fraud prevention, regulatory compliance, and the long-term effectiveness of internal control systems.