Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Forensic accounting Fraud'

Whereas the problem of fraud is a global one, the rate and extent to which it is perpetrated in Nigeria, particularly in the public sector, is quite high and alarming. Literature reveals that different fraud prevention and detection mechanisms are being adopted to combat the menace of fraud; forensic accounting techniques appears to be the most effective and are currently used in most developed countries of the world. However, the extent to which forensic accounting techniques are being applied in fraud prevention and detection in Nigeria is not known. Also, the intention to use forensic accounting services in the public service has not been investigated. This study was therefore aimed at examining the application of forensic accounting techniques in fraud prevention and detection in Nigeria. Specific objectives were: (1) to investigate the mechanisms of fraud prevention and detection, and their levels of effectiveness in Nigeria, (2) to identify the major factors that hinder the application of forensic accounting techniques in fraud prevention and detection in Nigeria, (3) to examine practitioners' opinions and behavioural intention to use forensic accounting techniques in fraud prevention and investigation in Nigeria, (4) to explore the level of awareness of forensic accounting techniques in Nigeria and (5) to examine the readiness of universities in taking up forensic accounting courses. The study involved the collection of quantitative data. These data were collected from three sets of populations, viz. accounting students, accounting academics and accounting practitioners. The questionnaire served as the survey instruments. The data collected were analysed using appropriate statistical techniques and computer software. The study identified several fraud prevention and detection mechanisms that are currently used in Nigeria, such as systems of internal controls, operational audits and corporate code of conduct. Students' t-test indicates a significant difference between the perceived effectiveness and actual usage of fraud prevention and detection mechanisms in Nigeria. It was further discovered that the most effective mechanisms, like the forensic accounting techniques, are the least used in fraud prevention and detection. This implies that the current mechanisms of fraud prevention and detection are not proactive in dealing with the fraud menace. Also, legal, educational and political factors were identified to hinder the application of forensic accounting techniques in Nigeria. The level of awareness in forensic accounting in Nigeria is generally low. While the one-way analysis of variance indicates a significant variation among the three populations, it was discovered that students had the lowest level of awareness. Further findings of the study reveal that the universities are not yet ready to take up forensic accounting courses. Using the structural equation modelling (SEM), all the other seven propositions were supported. The findings of this study have both theoretical and practical implications. Theoretically, it further strengthened the findings of previous studies on the organisational intention. From the practical point of view, there is urgent need for manpower development in universities with specialisation in forensic accounting. Again, the educational institutions, and particularly the universities in Nigeria, would need to include forensic accounting courses in the undergraduate curriculum as education has been shown to be pivotal in creating awareness on the use of forensic accounting techniques. Furthermore, from the sampled space, the study has captured the current state of forensic accounting in Nigeria and the findings will be very useful for the public service, private organisations and policy makers.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-03-15T19:32:35Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Robson Maciel Silva.pdf: 1241603 bytes, checksum: 515da6e8c7fa458a6b4474db6123b102 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2012-02-01<br>Accounting has become in recent years, a fundamental instrument for trade relations and commerce, a provider of relevant information to its users in making strategic decisions. In this interval Forensic Accounting surges and bone with the responsible for collection, preservation, restoration and analysis of evidence of financial information, presenting the facts and evidence that can be accepted in courts in triggering litigation involving corporate fraud. However, research study relating to aforementioned subject is largely unexplored and there is recognition by the academic, this fact is evidenced by the absence of reasonable amount of scientific articles, laws or professional orientation. Given this scenario, the study seeks to contribute to the elucidation and exploitation of Forensic Accounting in Brazil,identifying which are the basic procedures to perform a forensic accounting. Based on this concern, we performed a literature review on the concepts of Accounting Science, Forensic Science, Fraud, Forensic Accounting, and Criminology in the Law and Investigative Audit.Therefore, to guide this study we sought to answer the following research question: what are the basic procedures to perform a forensic accounting? Identifying the differences between the activity of expertise and forensic investigation, the relation between the formalization of forensics and procedures for joint research, and model for basic forensic accounting. The methodology applied in the study is based largely qualitative, exploratory approach. The sample was selected in a non-probabilistic, by limiting the reach of the group being studied and the small number of practitioners available to participate in the study. For this purpose, we used the "Snowball sampling" technique (snowball or reference current), where a respondent indicates another possible respondents. Finally, based on the results, Forensic Accounting could be conceptualized as a tool to support litigation in providing technical support to the judicial authorities. The study also observed that it bared a resemblance with the activities of an expert accounting, however, differing only in applicants services research, and expertise demanded by justice and forensic investigation by the executives of corporations seeking redress. Finally, the proposed forensic investigation procedures are: financial analysis, contract analysis, analysis of the relationship of payments, DuPont analysis, compliance, statistical analysis, CAAT, profiling access, electronic data recovery,investigative interview, notarial minutes, analysis of public data and physical inspection (on site).<br>Nos últimos anos, a contabilidade tem se tornado um instrumento fundamental para as relações comerciais e mercantis; fornecedora de informações relevantes aos seus usuários, na tomada de decisões estratégicas. Neste ínterim surge a Contabilidade Forense, ferramenta responsável pela coleta, preservação, restauração e análise das evidências das informações financeiras, apresentando os fatos e as evidências que possam ser aceitos em tribunais no desencadeamento de litígios, envolvendo fraudes corporativas. Todavia, o tema em questão é pouco explorado não havendo quantidade razoável de artigos científicos, leis ou orientações profissionais. Perante esse cenário, este estudo procurou identificar quais os procedimentos básicos para a execução de uma investigação forense contábil. Fundamentado nesta preocupação, foi realizada uma pesquisa na literatura sobre os conceitos de Ciência Contábil, Ciência Forense, Fraude, Contabilidade Forense, Criminologia no Direito e Auditoria Investigativa. Para nortear este estudo, buscaram-se respostas para a seguinte indagação: Quais os procedimentos básicos para a execução de uma investigação forense contábil? Assim, procurou-se identificar as diferenças entre a atividade de perícia e a de investigação forense. A relação entre a formalização da atividade forense e os procedimentos comuns de investigação e modelo de procedimentos básicos para a investigação forense contábil. A metodologia aplicada no estudo teve base predominantemente qualitativa e enfoque exploratório, e a amostra foi selecionada de forma não probabilística, utilizando-se a técnica Snowball sampling (bola de neve ou corrente de referência), em que um entrevistado indica outros possíveis respondentes. Por meio dos resultados obtidos, conceitua-se a Contabilidade Forense como uma ferramenta de apoio ao contencioso no fornecimento de suporte técnico para as autoridades judiciais. A pesquisa constatou que a sua prática se assemelha com as atividades da perícia contábil; no entanto, diferenciando-se apenas nos solicitantes dos serviços de investigação, sendo a perícia demandada pelo judiciário e a investigação forense pelos executivos das empresas fraudadas. Por fim, os procedimentos de investigação forense propostos são os seguintes: análise financeira, análise de contratos, análise de relacionamento de pagamentos, análise Dupont, compliance, análise estatística, CAAT, análise de perfil de acesso, recuperação de dados eletrônicos, entrevista investigativa, ata notarial, análise de dados públicos e inspeção física (in loco).

Fraud risk assessment is an important audit process that has a direct impact on the effectiveness of auditors' fraud detection in an audit. However, prior literature has shown that auditors are generally poor at assessing fraud risk. The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) suggests that auditors may improve their fraud risk assessment performance by adopting a fraud specialist mindset. A fraud specialist mindset is a special way of thinking about accounting records. While auditors think about the company's recorded transactions in terms of the availability of supporting documentations and the authenticity of the audit trail, fraud specialists think instead of accounting records in terms of the authenticity of the events and activities that are behind the reported transactions. Currently there is no study that has examined the effects of the fraud specialist mindset on auditors' fraud risk assessment performance. In addition, although recent studies have found that fraud specialists are more sensitive than auditors in discerning fraud risk factors in situation where a high level of fraud risk is present, it remains unclear whether the same can be said for situation where the risk of fraud is low. Thus, the purpose of my dissertation is to examine the effects of fraud specialist and audit mindsets on fraud risk assessment performance. In addition, I examined such effects on fraud risk assessment performance in both high and low fraud risk conditions. The contributions of my dissertation include being the first to experimentally examine how different mindsets impact fraud-related judgment. The results of my study have the potential to help address the PCAOB's desire to improve auditors' fraud risk assessment performance though the adoption of the fraud specialist mindset. In addition, my study contributes to the literature by exploring fraud-related problem representation as a possible mediator of mindset on fraud risk assessment performance. I executed my dissertation by conducting an experiment in which mindset (fraud specialist or audit) was induced prior to the completion of an audit case (high or low in fraud risk). A total of 85 senior-level accounting students enrolled in two separate auditing classes participated in my study. The results from my experimental provide empirical support that it is possible to improve auditors' fraud risk assessment through adapting the fraud specialist mindset. My study also provides preliminary evidence that individuals with the fraud specialist mindset developed different problem representations than those with the audit mindset.

碩士<br>東吳大學<br>會計學系<br>100<br>Many accounting scandals fraud follow the outbreak of social public investor timid to impact the overall economic and market resources imbalance. Therefore, the frauds after the outbreak of economic catastrophe, finally wake up to face up to the importance of the forensic accounting professional investigators are engaged in corrupt conduct awakening. This is important because the fraud auditor to be a forensic accounting professional cut fraud investigators are, and will be able to fulfill its responsibility, fairness and justice to protect the market, and to assist the investment community away from the imbalance in the relationship of information not to further maintain a stable market order. Accordingly, the subject of international well-known material accounting scandals fraud, to analyze explore from the forensic accounting fraud investigation during from 2002 to 2011, the Japanese Olympus Corp. accounting scandal fraud, identify how the degree of the informatics. The findings of this study are as follows: This study find five characteristics of fraud investigation, as: 1.) The type of fraud is focus on Fraudulent statements, followed by the Corruption type; emphasis in financial pattern; 2.) The operation of the manipulations of the outbreak of fraud, the more false Fictitious Revenues, Conflicts of Interest, Fraudulent Disbursements, Internal/External Documents; 3.) For the fraud period almost more than one year and the range about 1 to 3 years, and the longest is ten years; 4.) The occurred in energy industry, telecommunications, finance ,electronics; 5.) About the fraud perpetrators by Manager and Employee, the more false Manager whom more than two people to perform.

碩士<br>靜宜大學<br>管理碩士在職專班<br>97<br>There have been recorded fraud cases, big or small, through human history, and they could be traced over and over. Accompanied with the development of global economy, and the forming of multi-national corporations, frauds has advanced in every possible ways, therefore, fraud victims have become more extensive. Therefore we should take more actions to prevent them before it is way out of control. There are different theories about the causes of frauds, such as GONE theory, Change Management Iceberg theory, Fraud Triangle theory, etc. This paper points to three factors which extracted from Fraud Triangle theory: 1, Incentives or pressure 2, Opportunities 3, Attitudes or Rationalization of Behaviors, as the general belief of fraud formation in the practical world. Methods of fraud preventions could be divided between theoretical and practical worlds. Yet, under the structures of The Committee of Sponsoring Organization, Fraud prevention plans are thoroughly detailed and have utmost value of references. Among the plans, Internal Control System is the most important core. How to evaluate the health or weakness of enterprises’ internal control system and their signs of possible forming of frauds will be the key factors of auditing finance reports in the future. Forensic Accounting is time –honored overseas, but it is still in the initial stage in Taiwan. As the domestic fraud reports have become prevalent, it is of urgent for us to use Forensic Accounting system. This system could fill the needs of CPA, the managements, the Civil Service, and litigation cases. This paper tries to discuss the definitions and scopes of Forensic Accounting through its developments overseas. Our findings of traditional Forensic Accounting include: litigation support and investigative accounting, while the developing Forensic Accounting include: crime investigation, commerce investigation and the expert witnesses, etc. As Forensic Accounting and auditing related to accounting theory, this paper also make distinctions among methods, evidences, responsibilities, and techniques, so the concepts could be more clear. Finally, this paper focuses on two fraud cases. From China Rebar case study, in order to increase profit, the manager makes false transaction between subsidiary company. It proves that the regulation is invalid when the manager is morally degenerate. From Lee and Li Attorneys case study, it proves that the imperfect internal control system, opportunity and pressure will make fraud event occurred easier. Forensic Accounting is different from general finance auditing. Aside from assisting fraud cases investigation, so to make clear the cases, it also helps judge with clear pictures so to make the right decisions with legal cases. This paper strongly holds the ideas of “importing” Forensic Accounting system and its related regulations. Personnel training should also take place at the same time. In doing so, we could help deal with our nation’s fraud cases and related problems of business management, and then to lower the rates of fraud cases.

碩士<br>東海大學<br>法律學系<br>105<br>Business fraud is a commercial crime. The government should crack down on fraud via judiciary to protect stakeholders’ property and equity or prevent the business fraud. This way can conform people's expectations. However, fraud model unceasingly renews and raise the complexity of fraud case. The offices of prosecution and police and the ministry of justice investigation have a lot of difficulties in fraud investigation and interrogation that have to be overcome. If without the accountant’s professional technical assistance in the fraud case, judicial official can’t solve the case as soon as possible. This thesis investigates forensic accounting and financial statement fraud and discusses the types of the fraud. Furthermore, this thesis discusses the real fraud techniques, the function of forensic accounting and the effects after the fraud case by case study, for example, the whistleblower protection. Forensic accounting is a hotly debated issue in Taiwan today. In business fraud case investigation and trial processing, the process usually depends on professional accounting and finance knowledge. But the judicial official is not great at those professional knowledge, so we need forensic accounting. This thesis will introduce the development of Taiwan’s forensic accounting. By gathering different viewpoints, this thesis hopes to contribute to the development of forensic accounting in Taiwan.

M.Com. (Computer Auditing)<br>Fraud is a major problem in South Africa and the world and organisations lose millions each year to fraud not being detected. Organisations can deal with the fraud that is known to them, but undetected fraud is a problem. There is a need for management, external- and internal auditors to detect fraud within an organisation. There is a further need for an integrated fraud detection model to assist managers and auditors to detect fraud. A literature study was done of authoritative textbooks and other literature on fraud detection and data mining, including the Knowledge Discovery Process in databases and a model was developed that will assist the manager and auditor to detect fraud in an organisation by using a technology called data mining which makes the process of fraud detection more efficient and effective.

碩士<br>東吳大學<br>會計學系<br>102<br>Abstract Frauds have been frequently revealed recently. Most of them are accused of misappropriating company funds, harming stock market stability, hindering government supervision, risking investors making profits, increasing audit risk , damaging financial conditions of employees, and injuring social economics. Frauds can be punished by judicial procedures with experts' identification, if we can detect and stop them with proper techniques in forensic accounting, we can efficiently decrease social costs. This study is to find these methods and techniques in forensic accounting to see how we can use them to prevent frauds in advance. Forensic accounting is used in financial accounting expertise to identify the facts. Generally there are four directions, such as "Company business", " Internal control environment", " Unusual Behavior " and " Complaints ".After analyzing and comparing forensic accounting techniques ,The COSO 2013 and SAS No. 43 , they are identified to be very similar in addition to knowledge of law and rules of evidence.If a company properly implement the internal control system and timely use of forensic accounting techniques , it is very possible to detect and prevent frauds in the first time. To analyze explore the AVID Corp. accounting scandal fraud and identify how the degree of the informatics. Keyword : Forensic accounting, internal control system, SAS No. 43

Ph.D. (Computer Science)<br>Thanks to several advancements in communication technologies, the world today is a highly connected society promoting business transformations that highlight improved efficiency [1]. Unfortunately, systems developed for an increasingly connected world are also subject to increases in change, complexity and risk – the same connectedness that makes lives easier also signifies that any negative influences can be more difficult to handle and contain [2]. Multi-agent systems have been touted as ideal solutions to realising the required complexities across wide and varied problem domains that range from manufacturing [3] to eco-system management [4] to construction [5]. In an increasingly connected world, complex problems may require that various multi-agent systems work together in order to accomplish larger, overarching objectives. A fraud detection system, for example, could comprise a number of multi-agent systems, each designated to fulfil a very specific and important fraud detection task. The success of the fraud detection system will then depend on each of the various multi-agent systems’ abilities to achieve allocated goals and thus, contribute towards efforts to detect fraud accurately. Depending on factors that include objective and environment type, fraud detection tasks may entail working with numerous disparate systems [6] – it is possible that agent designs that are different from the rest of the fraud detection system must be implemented.Such inconsistency between multi-agent systems could potentially lead to conflicting goals, thereby jeopardising the resolution of the fraud detection system’s overall objectives. A further complication that may arise is the continuously changing financial services landscape – fraud detection systems must not only contend with the creativity of fraudsters, but should also be acutely aware of when day-to-day processes have changed due to recent innovations or technological advancements in the domain. Existing fraud detection methodologies may therefore need to be updated frequently in order to remain sufficiently informed of current developments. An agent-based fraud detection model was thus developed to assist anti-fraud professionals in the classification of day-to-day financial transactions. The proposed model comprises a number of multi-agent systems, each incorporated to add a particular aspect of the criminal justice process in investigating incidences of potential crime. By having agents emulate the various tasks that are involved in dealing with a crime, it is anticipated that the resulting fraud detection system will be able to achieve similar successes from applying the same procedure. In order to successfully develop the fraud detection model, an architecture for implementing a collaborative community of multi-agent subsystems for a dynamic environment was also developed. The architecture is intended to allow each multi-agent subsystem member to adapt to changes in the environment while ensuring that teamwork links are maintained amongst the different subsystems.

碩士<br>國立中央大學<br>會計研究所企業資源規劃會計碩士在職專班<br>106<br>The scope of forensic accounting applications is wide and can be large or small. The larger ones can be the investigation of the company’s capital flows and the investigation of securities fraud, while the small ones can only investigate the accidental economic losses of personal cars. There is no standard operating procedure for investigation, depending on the nature of the case. In this paper, the detection of corporate fraud is analyzed with financial and non-financial information. The results show that the case company has financial receivables is higher than their peers and the R&D expense ratio is lower than their peers before the fraud. Although the operating income has grown year by year, the cash flow is outflow. While in non-financial terms, the company's directors' shareholding ratio is reduced, the director and supervisor's stock pledge ratio is too high, the radical recognition of revenue tends, transferred to invest in a number of oversas companies with investment as operating projects and have losses situation, and have a loan or endorse with a related person. Therefore, before the outbreak of fraud, the case company has shown signs in the financial and non-financial information that the investor needs to attention to its operational and financial situation.

碩士<br>國立中正大學<br>會計資訊與法律數位學習碩士在職專班<br>100<br>Abstract Fraud is a commercial crime. The government should crack down on fraud via judiciary to protect stakeholders’ property and equity. However, fraud model unceasingly renews. Business group, internationalizing and professionalize raise the complexity of fraud case. The offices of prosecution and police and the ministry of justice investigation have a lot of difficulties in fraud investigation and interrogation that have to be overcome. This paper reviews the prior literature and compares various countries’ current development of the forensic accounting. Further, based on Taiwan’s fraud case and forensic human resource, this paper provides integrated suggestion to assist judiciary to build forensic accounting criterion in the future. The study contributes to strengthen theoretical basis of forensic accounting regulation and develop best practice. The sophisticated forensic accounting against commercial crime could provide import evidences and protect investors efficiently. Law of Organization of Ministry of Economic Affairs article 1 states “Ministry of Economic Affairs superintends country-wide economic administration and development affairs.” Ministry of Economic Affairs is responsible of assisting judiciary for Fraud. According to Law of Organization of Ministry of Economic Affairs article 30 “Based on demand of affairs, Ministry of Economic Affairs could request Executive Yuan to establish various committees”, this paper suggests Ministry of Economic Affairs should follow the precedent of “Committee of Engineering and Technology Authentication” to establish “Committee of Fraud Authentication”. Committee of Fraud Authentication could assist judiciary to judge fraud case and provide authentication and consultation. And, Ministry of Economic Affairs should draw up “The building points for Committee of Fraud Authentication of Ministry of Economic Affairs” and “The operating points for Committee of Fraud Authentication of Ministry of Economic Affairs”. Committee of Fraud Authentication of Ministry of Economic Affairs (CFA) established by the jurisdiction of Ministry of Economic Affairs has five advantages. First, CFA is a normal organization. Secondly, CFA members have forensic professional. Third, CFA has sufficient funds. Fourth, CFA has a high degree of justice. Fifth, CFA contributes to the development of forensic accounting. Establishing CFA is indispensably required for cracking down on fraud and protecting stakeholders’ property and equity. Key Words: Fraud, Forensic Accounting, Committee of Fraud Authentication, Legalization

碩士<br>國立交通大學<br>科技法律研究所<br>102<br>White collar crime, such as financial statement fraud, insider trading and market fraud, appears in the court frequently and therefore it is an important issue in today’s society. White collar crime occurs when the offenders breach the trust that has been bestowed to them. Although white collar crime does not cause physical harm to the victims, it may cause a tremendous financial loss and the victims may lose their trust of the market. Thus, white collar crime has a serious impact on the society and its economic growth. Among different types of white collar crime, financial statement fraud is a topic that is highly talked about. Public companies need plenty of funds to maintain their business, and these funds were made available from the investments of shareholders and creditors. Since these shareholders and creditors cannot usually get insights on a company’s daily operations, they can only depend on the financial reports that are released by their invested companies to understand a company’s financial outlook. Therefore, the factualness of these financial statements is, without a doubt, very important to the capital market. This thesis investigates financial statement fraud by studying the percentage of conviction, the perpetrator's motive, the behavioral techniques and the ways that the fraud was discovered. Furthermore, this thesis discusses the concept of fraud. By reviewing the “Report to the Nation” which was conducted by the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, we can better understand global fraud. In addition, this thesis will examine fraud occurrence, ways to disclose workplace fraud and whistleblower protection. Moreover, forensic accounting is a hotly debated issue in Taiwan today. In financial case investigation and trial processing, the process usually depends on professional finance, accounting and auditing knowledge. Forensic accounting is divided into “Fraud Investigation” and “Litigation Support”. This thesis focuses on “Litigation Support” by conducting interviews with the professionals in the field of forensic accounting. The interviewees include judge, prosecutor, lawyer, accountant, Taiwan’s forensic accounting committee and accounting professor. By gathering different viewpoints, this thesis hopes to contribute to the development of forensic accounting in Taiwan.

碩士<br>國立臺北大學<br>會計學系<br>104<br>It is common to collect the commission in the world of Chinese people. According to the corruption index ranking published by International Transparency Organization, the Corruption Perception Index (CPI) of our public sectors had been improved for 7 places from 2008 to 2011. However, the Bribe Payers Index (BPI) assessing the degree of business corruption had slipped 4 places. The serious business corruption has eliminated the effort of public sectors toward free of corruption and significantly affected the national anti-corruption image. As facing the United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC) and powerful Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), businesses extremely need to maintain sharp vigilance and reinforce the internal audit and control aiming at corruption and fraud audit to correspond with this international trend. The study conducted case study by introducing the concept of forensic accounting and Technical investigation in practices. It analyzed and calculated the damages of businesses caused by price difference before and after the business corruption and fraud according to the purchase and sales prices and procurement process of businesses as well as examined the internal audit effects and drawbacks in these cases. The study results show that the effective strategies for prevention of corruption and fraud will be the reinforcement of cross-strait and international juridical cooperation, establishing “whistleblower’s protection laws” ASAP as well as the introduction of forensic accounting to public and private sectors.

In recent years, more and more fraud cases have been detected in large companies, which undermined the confidence of the markets. However, although this is a reality, the study of the subject in Europe continues to be quite scarce. Therefore, despite an increase in regulatory capacity, a greater focus on the subject in recent years and a growing awareness of the effects of this type of action, there are still few effective prevention tools at the community level. In addition, there are few guiding traits for agents with a central role not in their identification but prevention, the financial auditors. The purpose of this dissertation is to fill this gap in the research on fraud in Europe. Through the study of cases of accounting fraud duly identified by the various European agencies for having incurred in misleading accounting, the indicators that best explain the fraud event in Europe were identified, reaching a total explained variance of 90.5%. In sum, the identified indicators are financial ratios such as the proportion of firm liabilities to total assets, a measure of the days that the entity needs to meet its debts with third parties, a measure of changes in net income, and the size of the auditor firm. Thus, the most significant variables that explain the phenomenon of Financial Statement Fraud in Europe are measures of financial leverage, performance, and financial risk<br>Nos últimos anos são cada vez mais os casos de fraude detetados em grandes empresas o que tem vindo a abalar a confiança dos mercados. No entanto, apesar de esta ser uma realidade, o estudo da temática na europa continua a ser bastante escasso. Assim sendo, apesar de um aumento na capacidade de regulação, do maior enfoque na temática nos últimos anos e de haver uma crescente consciencialização para os efeitos que advêm deste tipo de atos, são ainda poucas as ferramentas efetivas de prevenção a nível comunitário. Além disso, são poucos os traços diretores para os agentes com um papel fulcral não na sua identificação mas prevenção, os auditores financeiros. O objetivo da presente dissertação é de preencher esta lacuna existente na investigação sobre fraude na europa. Através do estudo de casos de fraude contabilística devidamente identificados pelas diversas agências europeias por terem incorrido em ilegalidades a nível de contabilidade enganosa, foram identificados os indicadores que melhor explicam o evento de fraude na europa, atingindo um total de variância explicada de 90,5%. Em suma, os indicadores identificados são rácios financeiros como a proporção dos passivos da empresa relativamente aos ativos da mesma, uma medida dos dias que a entidade necessita para fazer face às suas dividas a terceiros, uma medida de mudanças no rendimento liquido e, ainda, o tamanho da empresa auditora da respetiva entidade. Assim sendo, as variáveis mais significativas que explicam o fenómeno de Fraude Contabilística na Europa são medidas de alavancagem financeira, desempenho, e risco financeiro.

碩士<br>國立宜蘭大學<br>多媒體網路通訊數位學習碩士在職專班<br>102<br>Forensic Accounting can prevent companies from encountering business fraud throughout all process of operation and provide more preventative service, compared to traditional audit. With increasing economic crimes, many significant fraud cases have emerged in recent years, leading to demand for forensic accounting which has been implemented in the United States for decades, while Taiwan is still just beginning. In 2009, National Union of Accountants established “Forensic Accounting Committee" in the hope that forensic accounting can improve business environment in Taiwan. At present, there is no standard procedure and principle for forensic accounting. As for fraud, some relevant journals and essays only discuss the precaution of corporate fraud, while literature regarding government fraud can barely be found. Audit agencies have three functions, involving oversight, insight, and foresight, according to “Supreme Audit Institution Maturity Model” issued by Government Accountability Office. Financial justice, one of government audit’s mandates, is referred as an investigative accounting service of forensic accounting. Government audit agencies have applied forensic accounting in recent years, helping auditors analyze cases, ensure audit objects, and establish audit plans. Up to date, nonetheless, the issue of how to apply integration of fraud auditing and forensic accounting to government audit hasn’t been discussed. In the E-society, fraud patterns advance form day to day, therefore digital audit techniques has become an inevitable trend. In order to assure evidence completeness and accuracy, it’s important to make the best use of digital forensic accounting tools and computer assisted audit techniques (CAATs). Moreover, continuous computer auditing process can analyze and detect fraud cases accurately and rapidly. Owing to limited budget and workforce shortage, audit agencies in Taiwan have to sharpen their auditing skills by utilizing forensic accounting and E-audit tools, and keep abreast of technology trends. It is expected to reduce audit risk and enhance the auditor’s fraud detection ability through improving audit work process. Using qualitative research method, this study collected literatures regarding forensic accounting and fraud auditing, and referred to Digital Evidence Forensics Standard Operating Procedure (DEFSOP) proposed. Then, the thesis established DEFSOP for integration of forensic accounting and fraud auditing, including concept phase, preparation phase, operation phase, and report phase. Thereby, the study generated 43 execution items by using modified Delphi survey method, and adapted a case study approach to illustrate the differences between traditional audit and modified government audit which utilizing the above investigative methods. Finally, this study provided government agencies with information of the result, generated form verifying feasibility of above modified government audit, to support government audit work.

Prior research on combating commercial crime has focused predominantly on the responsibilities of auditors and ex post facto forensic investigations. This dissertation aims rather to delve into the meta-theoretical philosophy of commercial crime prevention and the role that forensic accountants can play in this regard, postulating that proactive prevention of commercial crimes is a more effective approach. The BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) were chosen for deeper level analysis, based on their strong growth potential coupled with high levels of commercial crime. While the majority of the research centred around commercial crime prevention strategies for the BRICS countries, a secondary objective was to expand the research field associated with forensic accounting, so as to encourage research into incorporating more preventative strategies. Subsequently, from the literature review and philosophical analysis performed, this dissertation establishes that developing prevention strategies for commercial crime is a philosophical and also a feasible possibility in the BRICS countries.<br>MCom (Forensic Accountancy), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

碩士<br>國立宜蘭大學<br>多媒體網路通訊數位學習碩士在職專班<br>107<br>The development of technology and the universality of the Internet have made many digital mobile devices more and more multifunctional. The use of mobile phones to convey messages and mutual exchanges and financial flows has become the norm nowadays, such as: now LinePay, street payment Wait, the main reason is because of their cross-platform compatibility, and at least no extra cost, and there are many benefits and feedback from time to time. Through mobile phone devices, you can use various apps to connect with each other, shop and trade, and store personal information (such as photos, calendars, etc.). The convenience brought by the digital device makes people seem less what it seems, and even becomes the target of many medium- and long-term investments of investors with intentions. The smart phone has a large amount of forensic digital evidence. In view of this, Traditional identification devices and methods will not be enough to collect digital evidence from mobile phones. The knowledge of the transaction record, the selection and use of the forensic tools will be the knowledge necessary for the forensic personnel. In view of the fact that accounting analyzes the case and investigations, the concepts used in corporate fraud can achieve "pre-existing", "in-the-fact" and "after-the-fact" prevention. In the United States, the accounting system has been implemented for ten years, but in China In the year of the Republic of China, the "China Association of Accountants' Association National Association" and the establishment of the "Accounting Accounting Committee" started late, and the ACFD Taiwan Digital Identification Development Association actively promoted it. In today's extremely high-electronics, the fraudulent practices of the new moon and the moon make the fraud prevention more difficult, and can only establish a continuous computer auditing process, in order to accurately and quickly analyze the detection of fraud, and make good use of the positionalization. In view of accounting tools, ensure the integrity and correctness of the evidence. Digital evidence identification is to enhance the overall evidence ability and evidence proof through the process of collecting, analyzing and extracting according to the standard identification process. This study is based on the Digital Evidence Standard Operating Procedure (DEFSOP) proposed by domestic scholar Lin Yilong and constructs the New DEFSOP for Cyber Only-Banking. It is still divided into the principle concept phase, the preparation phase, the operation phase and the reporting phase. After finishing the above, the new DEFSOP for verification is verified by comparison with ISO 27037:2012, ISO 27043:2015, forensic accounting and fraud audit. Cyber Only-Banking's rigor, through the example to verify the integrity and usability of New DEFSOP for Cyber Only-Banking. This study is based on the collection of forensic accounting and fraud auditing documents, integrated into ISO27037, ISO27043 and the standard evidence for standard operation procedures (DEFSOP), and then verified by the identification of data in the identification operation, integrated control and interactive use, verify the required evidence And use these digital information evidence properly, and import it into pure online banking to maximize its effectiveness.

The study aims to establish an integrated generic investigation process that could be utilised by Commercial Forensic Practitioners in South Africa. Secondly, it aims to determine which investigation processes are currently being utilised in South African forensics practices. An overview is given of the international utilised processes and a basic framework was developed, presented and tested by means of questionnaires to members of the Institute of Commercial Forensic Practitioners in South Africa. The development of an investigation process for Commercial Forensic Practitioners in South Africa could be utilised by the Institute of Commercial Forensic Practitioners to provide a governance structure for the Institute that would enhance the quality of forensic investigations and contribute to the successful investigation and prosecution of commercial crime in South Africa. To achieve the study objective, an empirical study was conducted among current members of the Institute of Commercial Forensic Practitioners in South Africa through the circulation of questionnaires via their website. These results were interpreted, taking cognisance of international practices identified in the literature review. A formalised investigation process was developed and suggested to the Institute of Commercial Forensic Practitioners. Statisticians were involved during the process of designing the questionnaires, and analysing and interpreting the results. The research dealt with a generic investigation process for Commercial Forensic Practitioners. It also dealt with its implementation and investigative performance in South African practices. In this study, an overview of the investigation process for Commercial Forensic Practitioners in South Africa was discussed. The research also analysed the following: * The time period in which organisations implemented the Commercial Forensic Practitioners Process; * The effect of the Commercial Forensic Practitioners Process on investigative performance; and * The integration of the Commercial Forensic Practitioner's process into the budgeting process. The findings of the study revealed the following: * Each of the phases of the Commercial Forensic Practitioners Process is as important as the others in matters that will be presented before court. * An investigation should only be performed if it can be performed properly and in a manner that provides clarity and value to the engagement and its objectives. For this purpose, a Commercial Forensic Practitioner should only accept an assignment if free of conflicts and any independence issues. It is imperative for Commercial Forensic Practitioners to adequately assess not only their relationship to the client and the particular engagement, but also their relationship to any opposing party. This assessment should be done in the context of all other work of the practice, not only that work that is performed by the particular Commercial Forensic Practitioner and direct colleagues. * The Commercial Forensic Practitioner must design, implement and use a robust client and engagement acceptance process that is documented, standardised and, where relevant, agreed with the client. * The role of a Commercial Forensic Practitioner in an investigation process is, therefore, to gather evidence, interrogate and examine the financial evidence, develop computer applications that help in analysing and presenting the evidence, putting forward all the findings in the form of reports, exhibits and documents, and finally taking part in civil actions or litigation as an expert witness, and testifying to the court and presenting all the evidence obtained through documentation or visual aids. It is therefore of the essence that a Commercial Forensic Practitioner be well versed in financial issues and legal concepts and proceedings. * The study found that the majority of respondents (69.3%) were male, while only 30.7% were female. The majority of Commercial Forensic Practitioners fall within two age categories, namely, 35 to 44 and 45 to 54 years. These age categories fall into the productive stage of a working career in the human life-cycle. It is furthermore inferred that the level of experience is of importance, as the majority of participants were well experienced, mostly with at least ten years‟ experience. * A total of 22.7% of respondents indicated that they do not use a formalised investigation process. The majority of respondents (77.3%) thus make use of a formalised investigation process. * The study found that formalised investigation processes are not implemented for the following reasons: -- Managerial and governance processes within practices were sufficient to address the risks posed (41.2%); -- Commercial Forensic Practitioners do not have a formalised investigation process at their disposal (35.3%); -- Commercial Forensic Practitioners are not aware of a formalised investigation process being utilised in industry that could be used (23.5%); and -- The implementation of a formalised investigation process proved too difficult (23.5%). * The most important reasons for implementing a formalised investigation process included reputational risks and quality control of investigative work. It was notable that the study revealed that the industry does not require practitioners to follow any procedures. * It is noteworthy that practitioners did not regard monitoring and management review of compliance with the provisions of their formalised investigation process as an important requirement. The study revealed that the majority of Commercial Forensic Practitioners would measure compliance as an occasional requirement (33.3%); only 23.3% placed compliance as an agenda item for each monthly management meeting and 16.7% as a quarterly agenda item. * The majority (56.3%) of practitioners recognised that integration of a formalised process with the budgeting process could enhance productivity and financial benefits. * The majority of respondents (88.1%) were of the view that there was an improvement in financial performance and/or productivity after the implementation of the formalised investigation process. * 62% of respondents were of the view that there was a significant improvement in financial performance and productivity since the implementation of the formalised investigation process. This finding is significant, as it proves that a formalised process for Commercial Forensic Practitioners in South Africa can have a positive effect on a practise‟s financial performance. The suggested sub-processes, as described, are accepted by the respondents, namely: * Client acceptance, service considerations, risk management procedures, independence and engagement agreements; * Planning and strategic objectives of an engagement, including documented investigative plan incorporating the relevant disciplines (accounting, law, IT, investigative and risk management skills); * Gathering information and evidence, documenting evidence in an evidence file or system and safeguarding evidence as important; * Interviewing, using best practice interviewing skills, by planning the interview to achieve strategic objectives, recording the interview and using technology; * Analysis and verification of evidence; * Quality management, with all reported findings included in referenced working papers supported by documented physical evidence; and * Reporting on findings in a detailed forensic report, clearly and concisely reflecting on the sequence of events, supported by financial information and documents, in a format that could be used in disciplinary enquiries and/or proceedings in civil and criminal courts. These findings fulfil the objective of the study, which was to establish an integrated generic investigation process that could be utilised by Commercial Forensic Practitioners in South Africa and secondly to determine which investigation processes are currently being utilised in South African forensics practices. It was clarified whether the implementation of a formalised process can lead to an improvement in financial performance and what the result of the integration of a formalised process into a practise‟s budgeting process is. It was established that there is indeed a relationship between the integration of the formalised process into the budgeting process and the improved financial performance of a practise. The findings of this study have significant implications for the management of South African Commercial Forensic Practitioner practices. Based on the study findings, the following general and specific recommendations can be made: * The investigation process for Commercial Forensic Practitioners should be fully integrated with the budgeting process of the practise, as this will ensure improved investigative performance by the business; and * Education and research on the investigation process for Commercial Forensic Practitioners should be conducted by the management of a practice before implementing such a process.<br>MCom (Forensic Accountancy), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

The topic of this diploma thesis is the Forensic Accounting, which is related to the accounting fraud. Literature review is a chapter devoted to the characteristics of accounting fraud, damage caused by fraudulent behavior and punishment. There is also an information from global economic fraud surveys performed by top consulting company. In this diploma work is a chapter about internal control system, with prerequisites for its functioning and used tools. The last part of literature review is about method of forensic accounting. These methods are used in the practical part a tested on financial statements, processed according to Czech accounting standards, of chosen company. Then in the practical part is an evaluation of internal control system, which is described in detail. Another part is dedicated to the accounting crime committed in the chosen company. Even though that accounting crime was committed, current state of internal control system of chosen company is very good. The analysis which was retroactively done indicates a possible risk of accounting fraud just in this period. These forensic methods were applied also for another years and it has been shown that accounting gives a true and fair view.

“Some numbers really are more popular than others.” Mark J. Nigrini (1998a:15) The above idea appears to defy common sense. In a random sequence of numbers drawn from a company’s financial books, every digit from 1 to 9 seems to have a one-in-nine chance of being the leading digit when used in a series of numbers. But, according to a mathematical formula of over 60 years old making its way into the field of accounting, certain numbers are actually more popular than others (Nigrini, 1998a:15). Accounting numbers usually follow a mathematical law, named Benford’s Law, of which the result is so unpredictable that fraudsters and manipulators, as a rule, do not succeed in observing the Law. With this knowledge, the forensic accountant is empowered to detect irregularities, anomalies, errors or fraud that may be present in a financial data set. The main objective of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of Benford’s Law as a tool for forensic accountants. The empirical research used data from Company X to test the hypothesis that, in the context of financial fraud investigations, a significant difference between the actual and expected frequencies of Benford’s Law could be an indication of an error, fraud or irregularity. The effectiveness of Benford’s Law was evaluated according to findings from the literature review and empirical study. The results indicated that a Benford’s Law analysis was efficient in identifying the target groups in the data set that needed further investigation as their numbers did not match Benford’s Law.<br>MCom (Forensic Accountancy), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

Text in English<br>Procurement fraud is an enormous problem and the South African news is perforated with reports of this illicit act. Procurement fraud occurs in all the phases of the procurement cycle, but this illicit act is mostly committed during the tender phase. Business does not see procurement fraud as a crime and therefor this crime is committed due to non-existent internal controls and processes to assess the adequacy of these controls. The purpose of the research was to highlight that procurement fraud occurs when internal controls are being bypassed or if an entity has an ineffective internal control system. The researcher studied the appraising of internal controls to understand the role it plays in detecting, preventing and investigating procurement fraud, specifically during the tender phase. The research design utilised was a qualitative research approach and an empirical design plan or strategy, to obtain the information. The researcher opted for this design to obtain information from literature and information from individuals in appraising internal controls. This ensured a comprehensive data gathering process. The goal of this research was to provide practical recommendations to assist investigators in private and public sectors with investigations into procurement fraud during a tender.<br>Police Practice<br>M. Tech. (Forensic Investigation)

The medical scheme industry in South Africa is competitive in relation to international standards. The medical scheme sector, as part of the healthcare industry, is negatively affected by the high rate of fraud perpetrated by providers, members and syndicates, which results in medical schemes funding fraudulent claims. The purpose of the study was to explore strategies to mitigate fraud in medical scheme claims. A qualitative research methodology was followed in this study, which adopted a case study approach. Empirical data was analysed through thematic analysis, with the aid of ATLAS.ti software. The study found that healthcare service providers mainly defraud medical schemes by submitting false claims. A holistic approach should be followed to mitigate fraud in medical scheme claims. This approach should encompass regularly identifying trends in fraudulent claims and implementing appropriate control strategies. Collaboration within the medical scheme industry and with other stakeholders would also help to elevate the fight against medical scheme fraud to a new level. Implementing the recommendations from the study will assist medical schemes to reduce the funds expended on fraudulent claims, thereby improving their financial viability and decreasing the rate of increase in medical scheme contributions for members.<br>Business Management<br>M. Com. (Business Management)

Text in English<br>The research attempts to establish the significance of bank records analysis as a technique in tracing fraud suspects. The purposes of conducting this research was to establish the current approach by the investigators of the SAPS in respect of bank records analysis in tracing fraud suspects; to explore and report on the findings of national and international literature in an attempt to find new information thereby improving the current method of bank records analysis and its specific use in tracing fraud suspects; and to make new information, in the form of written articles and this dissertation, available to the SAPS to be considered for inclusion in the training curriculum for their investigators. In collecting data, the researcher used literature study, interviews with individual participants and case dockets analysis. Essentially, the recommendations were drawn from the conclusions of the data obtained. These recommendations may offer solutions to the problem identified.<br>Criminology and Security Science<br>M. Tech. (Forensic Investigation)

The aim of this paper is to research how advanced accounting software can be used by police detectives, financial risk specialists and forensic investigation specialists, who are responsible for the investigation and tracing of the reintegration of proceeds of crime, from underground banking into formal banking system (pro active and reactive money laundering investigation) with a view on criminal prosecution. The research started of by looking at the basic ways how proceeds of crime are smuggled before it is integrated into the formal banking system. In that context, the phenomenon of Underground banking was researched. Currency smuggling, Hawala currency transfer schemes and the way in which it is used to move proceeds of crime were discussed in detail. Thereafter Formal banking and the way in which proceeds of crime is reintegrated from underground banking structures into formal banking systems were discussed. The use of advanced accounting software to trace the point where proceeds of crime are reintegrated into formal banking were researched extensively. Accounting software and investigative techniques on how to trace financial transactions which might be tainted with proceeds of crime were discussed. Accounting software which can be used on office computers such as laptops were discussed and more advanced automated systems which can be used to trace proceeds of crime transactions in the formal banking systems were also discussed. In specific, the investigative techniques on how to use these systems as investigative tools were discussed in great detail. This research paper gives a truly unique perspective on the financial investigative and analytical angle on proceeds of crime and money laundering detection.<br>Criminal Justice<br>M.Tech. (Forensic Investigation)

It is a well-known fact that criminals derive an income from their illegal activities, live lavish lifestyles, flaunt their wealth for all to see and acquire luxury goods. It is also a well known fact that criminals living from the proceeds of crime do not want to not want to keep financial records of their transactions or illegitimate business for fear of being detected by the authorities and to escape being taxed. It is also a known fact that criminals do not declare income from criminal activities for income tax purposes to the revenue authorities for fear of the illegal origin of the income being made known to the investigating authorities and law enforcement. During the investigation of financial crimes, such as tax evasion and money laundering, it may be required that the amount or value of money, income or assets accrued by a subject is determined in order to determine for instance their liability to pay tax. This research project examines the Net Worth method as an indirect method to circumstantially quantify income during the investigation of financial crime.<br>Police Practice<br>M.Tech. (Forensic Investigation)

A Forensic Accounting extravasa o âmbito das investigações financeiras que resultam em processos judiciais. Esta atividade é considerada como a ―ciência‖ que analisa as demonstrações financeiras, investiga a fraude, apresenta os factos e as evidências, os desvios, a falsificação, a manipulação, mas, principalmente, é aquela que analisa e produz a apresentação de provas perante o tribunal. Esta ciência está ainda num estádio incipiente de desenvolvimento em Portugal. Este trabalho tem como objetivo principal a análise da contabilidade forense em Portugal, numa perspetiva fiscal. Assim, com base nos processos judiciais de abuso de confiança fiscal e fraude fiscal, pretende-se identificar os elementos identificativos basilares que o auditor forense deve fazer constar no processo dos crimes fiscais, de modo a permitir uma clara compreensão e comprovação do crime fiscal praticado. Com a realização desta investigação, pretende-se contribuir para um melhor exercício da profissão de contabilista e auditor forense, e, também, para um maior nível de sucesso dos processos instruídos, relativos aos crimes fiscais. A realização deste trabalho visa, concretamente, propor um conjunto de procedimentos a serem realizados no âmbito de um processo de contabilidade forense que assegurem um maior nível de sucesso dos processos jurídicos instruídos no âmbito dos crimes fiscais. A metodologia utilizada para a realização desta investigação consiste na análise detalhada de um conjunto de sentenças relacionadas com crime fiscal ocorridas em Portugal, cuja instauração dos inquéritos ocorreu durante e após o ano de 2008. O estudo realizado teve por base a análise de um amplo número de sentenças provenientes dos Tribunais da Relação, constantes da base de dados da DGSI, relacionadas com crimes fiscais, sendo de realçar que nestes processos a autoridade tributária foi uma das partes integrantes nos processos, atuando como órgão de polícia criminal. Com este trabalho, pretende-se quantificar e classificar os factos com relevância criminal, permitindo identificar quais os aspetos relevantes para a decisão e a forma como no futuro se poderá colmatar as deficiências da contabilidade forense nas diferentes fases dos processos. Os resultados obtidos no estudo permitem concluir que a demostração dos factos contabilisticamente relevantes representam um contributo positivo para a valoração da prova produzida, reforçando os elementos do crime fiscal, reduzindo o arquivamento de processos de inquérito, e evitando novos julgamentos. Assim, a identificação destes factos contribui positivamente para uma maior celeridade na justiça, uma diminuição de gastos e a consequente penalização dos criminosos.Dos acórdãos produzidos no âmbito da prática do crime de abuso confiança fiscal e de fraude fiscal infere-se que os infratores, não tendo pago os impostos devidos ao estado, foram absolvidos, tiveram penas inferiores às contraordenações ou ainda aguardam por nova decisão nos tribunais.