_____________________________________________________________________________________________________ *Corresponding author: E-mail: david.chukwunwike@unn.edu.ng; Asian Journal of Economics, Business and Accounting 21(19): 57-66, 2021; Article no.AJEBA.77548 ISSN: 2456-639X Internal Control: Its Role in the Reduction of Fraud and Professional Misconduct among SMEs Okeke, Stella Ehis a , Offor, Stephanie Ifunanya a and Chukwunwike, Onyekachi David a* a Department of Accountancy, Faculty of Business Administration, University of Nigeria, Enugu Campus, Nigeria. Authors’ contributions This work was carried out in collaboration among all authors. All authors read and approved the final manuscript. Article Information DOI: 10.9734/AJEBA/2021/v21i1930506 Editor(s): (1) Dr. Ivan Markovic, University of Nis, Serbia. Reviewers: (1) Ana Paula Paulino da Costa, Foundation Institution of Economic Research – FIPE, Brazil. (2) Mesfin Lemma, Ethiopia. (3) Rakesh Verma, India. Complete Peer review History, details of the editor(s), Reviewers and additional Reviewers are available here: https://www.sdiarticle5.com/review-history/77548 Received 07 October 2021 Accepted 14 December 2021 Published 14 December 2021 ABSTRACT The issue of fraud and professional misconduct is a challenge to many organizations. However, the small-scale and medium-scale enterprises (SMEs) are more vulnerable. This study evaluates the role of internal control in the reduction of fraud and professional misconduct among SMEs in the Enugu metropolis. This study adopted survey research design. The research made the following major findings: that internal controls are put in place by SMEs, that internal controls are adhered to in SMEs, and that the internal controls implemented are effective in curbing fraud and professional misconduct in SMEs. Hence, the research recommend that owners and managers of SMEs should evaluate existing internal control systems and continue to implement good internal controls and ensure that proper financial records are kept and statements are prepared periodically, and small- scale enterprises that do not have internal controls should establish such and implement them to curb fraud and professional misconduct and thereby improve efficiency of operations. Keywords: Internal control; SMEs; fraud; professional misconduct. Original Research Article