Enhancing Financial Crime Detection through Forensic Accounting Techniques in Zimbabwean Commercial Banks: A Critical Review and Integrated Investigative Framework

Abstract

Purpose Commercial banks remain exposed to diverse forms of financial crime including money laundering, cyber financial crime, inside fraud, procurement fraud, unauthorized electronic money transfers, fraudulent financial statements and the disguise of movement of assets. The swift development of digital banking and economic instability in Zimbabwe has amplified the institutional exposure to financial crime. The research analyses the application of forensic accounting in enhancing financial crime detection and investigating capacity to improve fraud governance in Zimbabwean commercial banks.

Design/methodology/approach The research employed a conceptual and empirical literature review approach. Secondary data was gathered through the examination of journal articles, institutional reports, banking fraud articles, governance literature and forensic accounting literature. Thematic analytical synthesis approach was employed in discovering themes, conceptual links and institutional issues in relation to forensic accounting techniques and financial crime detection.

Findings Trace of transactions, digital forensic accounting, fraud analysis, forensic statement analysis, forensic interviewing, preservation of evidence, and financial reconstruction appeared to be crucial instruments in enhancing investigations into banking fraud. On the contrary, poor institutionalization of forensic accounting is the key obstacle facing the commercial banks in Zimbabwe.

Practical implications The research recommended that commercial banks should institutionalize forensic accounting units, improve fraud analytics mechanisms, enhance digital investigative capability and incorporate forensic evidential mechanisms into governance and compliance mechanisms.

Originality/value This article enriches the literature on forensic accounting and banking governance by presenting a new Forensic Accounting Investigative Framework-an Integrated Forensic Accounting Investigative Framework designed for Zimbabwean commercial banks and other emerging economies.