Financial Misappropriation in the Nigerian Public Sector: A Determination of the Role of the Internal Auditor

The continued search for a solution to the problem of poor economic management due to financial misappropriation in the public sector, and the publics outcry against internal auditors because of their perceived connivance necessitated the current study. Furthermore, the position canvassed by internal auditors with respect to their scope of responsibility further justified the need for this research effort. Accordingly, this study was undertaken to determine, whether or not, the internal auditor has a role to play in ensuring the proper utilization of the nations economic resources, bearing in mind the rules specifying the scope of the internal audit function in the public sector. Drawing from the research model of survey design, both a structured questionnaire and oral interview data collection platforms were deployed to collect primary data from audit, and another staff of selected ministries in the State and the least-square regression analysis was adopted in testing the hypotheses. From the analysis, and from personal interview, the researchers were able to find out that internal audit has a responsibility to detect and prevent financial misappropriation in the public sector. It was also found out that the internal auditors in the State Civil Service are not independent, which affects their freedom to report such acts of financial misappropriation to the legislative arm for proper action. Therefore, it is recommended that The State legislative arm should ensure that the independence of the internal auditor is guaranteed by a statute.