Application of Forensic Accounting in Detecting Revenue Leakages in Kogi State Internal Revenue Service

Revenue leakage through fraud, evasion, and administrative inefficiency represents a significant fiscal challenge for state governments in Nigeria, with forensic accounting offering systematic tools for detection and quantification. This study applies forensic accounting methods to detect and quantify revenue leakages within the Kogi State Internal Revenue Service between 2019 and 2024. A professional forensic audit design was employed, reviewing five years of revenue collection records, tax assessment files, and remittance documentation, conducting interviews with eighteen revenue officers and forensic audit specialists, and applying Benford's Law analysis, data mining, and ratio analysis to identify anomalous patterns in revenue data. The study assesses the scope of detected leakages, the mechanisms through which they occur, and the adequacy of existing internal controls. Findings reveal revenue discrepancies amounting to approximately thirty-one percent of expected collections in the personal income tax category, with irregular assessment adjustments and cash collection without electronic receipt generation identified as primary leakage mechanisms. Benford's Law analysis flagged statistically significant digit distribution anomalies in assessment records for fourteen of eighteen assessed collection units. Internal control deficiencies were identified at multiple processing stages. Recommendations include the mandatory electronic receipting of all revenue transactions, random forensic audits of assessment units, and the establishment of a dedicated forensic accounting unit within the Kogi State Revenue Service. Keywords: forensic accounting, revenue leakage, Kogi State, internal revenue, Benford's Law.