This study examined the effect of the Hexagon Fraud Model in detecting fraudulent financial reporting of listed consumer and industrial goods companies in Nigeria. Specifically, the study investigated the effect of opportunity (receivables), rationalisation (accruals), and ego (directors' remuneration) on fraudulent financial reporting. An ex-post facto research design was adopted using secondary data obtained from the published audited annual reports and accounts of 20 sampled consumer and industrial goods companies listed on the Nigerian Exchange Group (NGX) over a 13-year period spanning 2012-2024. The data were subjected to relevant diagnostic tests to ensure their validity and reliability before analysis. Logistic regression analysis was employed with the aid of STATA version 12 to test the formulated hypotheses. The findings revealed that opportunity, proxied by receivables, has a positive and statistically significant effect on fraudulent financial reporting. Similarly, rationalisation, measured by accruals, exerted a positive and significant effect on fraudulent financial reporting, while ego, proxied by directors' remuneration, also has a positive and significant effect on the likelihood of fraudulent financial reporting. The study concluded that firms characterised by abnormal growth in receivables, higher discretionary accruals, and increased directors' remuneration are more likely to engage in fraudulent financial reporting. The study therefore recommended that consumer and industrial goods companies should strengthen controls over trade receivables and revenue recognition processes, regulatory authorities should enhance monitoring of accrual-based accounting practices through effective audit oversight, and Board of Directors should establish transparent and performance-based directors' remuneration policies to minimise incentives for financial statement manipulation.
Keywords: Ego; Fraudulent Financial Reporting; Hexagon Fraud Model; Opportunity; Rationalisation