Bridging Audit Expectation Gap in Nigerian Deposit Money Banks through the Application of Forensic Audit Techniques

There is a gap between the expectations of end users of audited financial statements of deposit money banks and the quality of audit reports produced by statutory auditors. This study evaluated the application of forensic audit techniques as an effective strategy for bridging this expectation gap. Survey research design was employed; questionnaires were distributed to 4 different groups of respondents residing in Abuja namely: staff of Federal Inland Revenue Service, potential investors in selected deposit money banks' shares, shareholders of the selected deposit money banks and representatives of corporate customers of the selected deposit money banks with head-office in Abuja. Guaranty Trust Bank Plc, Zenith Bank Plc, First Bank of Nigeria Plc, Union Bank of Nigeria Plc and Diamond Bank Plc were selected for this study in Abuja, Nigeria. Judgmental sampling technique was used to determine a sample size of 80 from the aggregate population. Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) was used in analyzing the data collected. The results from all the hypotheses tested confirmed that the inclusion of forensic audit techniques (investigative, financial, regulatory and value for money) as integral part of the statutory audit process can significantly reduce the expectation gap between the quality of statutory audit reports and end users' expectations of deposit money banks audited financial statements.