International Journal of Academic Management Science Research (IJAMSR)   Year: 2021 | Volume: 5 | Issue: 4 | Page No.: 62-70 Corporate Governance Determinants of Financial Statement Fraud Likelihood: Evidence from Quoted International Licensed Banks in Nigeria. Egolum, Priscilla Uche. PhD, Celestine Udoka Ugonabo. PhD, Onyinyechukwu Okonenwa Abstract: Acting within the agency theory framework, this study focuses on the role of corporate governance as a system to monitor and predict fraud occurrence and magnitude. Specifically, this paper used a sample of eight (8) quoted deposit money banks in Nigeria that possess international operating license to explore corporate governance determinants of financial statement fraud likelihood during the period 2010 to 2018. Corporate governance determinants that were considered in this study include: Board Size, Board Independence and Audit Committee Independence which were also the independent variables while financial statement fraud likelihood (dependent variable) was proxy with Beneish M-score. In this study, regression analysis technique was employed to evaluate the panel data set that were collated from annual financial reports of the sampled deposit money banks. Major finding indicates that board independence does indeed curb the likelihood of managers committing fraudulent financial activities. This finding is in line with the agency theory which promotes higher board independence as a weapon for averting managers' self-interest which is detrimental to shareholder's interest. Therefore, we carefully recommend that regulatory agencies should ensure stringent policies towards maximizing board independence, which should serve as a watchdog over management excesses and activities.