ROLE OF INTERNAL AUDITING IN CURBING CORRUPT PRACTICES IN

Abstract

The Present situation in Nigeria is undoubtedly characterised by gross dilapidation of the nation’s infrastructure, poor health facilities, death – trapped roads, insecurity and overbearing hardship of the common man. Most research attributed this calamity to endemic corruption in Nigeria’s system. This study thus evaluates the role of internal auditing in combating corrupt practices in Nigerian Public Sectors. The paper identified causes of corruption in public sectors to include: greed; lack of positive values; porous system; weak enforcement of law and oversight mechanism; excessive materialism; societal pressure; insecurity of employment tenure; indiscipline and inordinate ambition. The paper reviewed the work of earlier writers to arrive at most effective way to employ internal auditing to resolve corrupt practices in Nigeria’s Public Sectors. At the end, the paper recommended the removal of obstacles like; staff collusion; staff incompetence; management overriding established internal control and lack of supervision. The paper concluded that internal auditing be employed to provide the most effective means of addressing corrupt practices because the cost of investigation and prosecution of corrupt offenders is very high, and avoidable.