Effect of Internal Audit on Fraud Detection in the Nigerian Public Sector

This research work was designed to assess the effect of internal audit function on fraud detection in the Nigerian public sector. Fraud triangle theory which tries to explain reasons why people commit fraud guided this work, survey research design and Purposive sampling technique was adopted as it aligns with the subject matter of the study. The objectives of the study were to examine the effect of internal checks, stock audit, cash audit and transaction audit functions on fraud detection in the Area Councils in Abuja. To achieve these objectives, data was collected from primary source with the help of a Likert scale questionnaire. 220 questionnaires were distributed and 172 successfully filled and returned. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics and regression model. Findings revealed that Internal checks, stock and cash audit functions have a positive and significant effect on fraud detection, while transaction audit have a positive but statistically insignificant effect on fraud detection