A Meta-Analysis of Forensic Accounting Techniques as Financial Risk Management Tools in Banking Services Across Emerging Economies

Abstract

This study examined forensic accounting techniques as financial risk management tools within banking services across emerging economies through a quantitative meta-analysis of empirical studies published between 2005 and 2025. The study synthesized findings from 68 quantitative empirical studies involving a combined sample size of 31,648 participants obtained from banking sectors across Africa, Asia, and Latin America, including Nigeria, India, South Africa, Malaysia, Brazil, Kenya, Bangladesh, and Mexico. The objective of the study was to evaluate the effectiveness of forensic accounting techniques in improving fraud detection, strengthening internal control systems, enhancing compliance monitoring, and increasing governance accountability within banking institutions operating in emerging financial environments. The study adopted a random-effects meta-analytical design because substantial heterogeneity existed among the included studies. Data analysis was conducted using SPSS version 29, Comprehensive Meta-Analysis software version 4, and R statistical software. The findings revealed a strong positive relationship between forensic accounting implementation and financial risk management outcomes, with an overall pooled effect size coefficient of 0.67 at a statistically significant level of p = 0.001. Digital fraud prevention generated the highest effect size of 0.79, while fraud detection efficiency and internal control enhancement produced effect sizes of 0.74 and 0.69 respectively. Compliance monitoring and governance accountability recorded pooled effect sizes of 0.61 and 0.64, indicating moderate to strong positive effects across banking institutions. The subgroup analysis showed that Asian banking sectors achieved the strongest pooled regional effect size of 0.73 due to advanced technological infrastructure and digital banking integration, while African and Latin American banking institutions produced pooled effect sizes of 0.64 and 0.59 respectively. Heterogeneity analysis revealed substantial variability among studies with Cochran’s Q statistic of 184.52 and an I² heterogeneity index of 71.6%, indicating that governance quality, technological readiness, and regulatory enforcement significantly influenced forensic accounting effectiveness. Publication bias analysis demonstrated limited reporting bias with Egger’s regression value of 1.21 and fail-safe N of 2,184, confirming strong statistical robustness. The study concluded that forensic accounting significantly improved banking stability, fraud prevention, operational transparency, compliance effectiveness, and governance accountability across emerging economy banking systems.