Share:


The effects of accountability, governance capital, and legal origin on reported frauds

    Domicián Máté   Affiliation
    ; Rabeea Sadaf Affiliation
    ; Judit Oláh   Affiliation
    ; József Popp   Affiliation
    ; Edit Szűcs Affiliation

Abstract

An institutional perspective is employed to illuminate the complexity of frauds in various diverse economies, in order to enhance the efficacy of previous accounting concepts. In this study, the effects of the legal, regulatory and human framework of the strength of auditing and reporting standards, and the governance capital related to global sustainable competitiveness and economic growth, etc. are analysed by linear regression (OLS) methods. Moreover, the role of other indicators i.e. financial freedom, the extent of director liability and legal origin, are interrelated with the number of fraud cases. From the results, it appears that an increased level of governance capital, financial freedom from government pressure, strengthened transparency and more protected minority investors through liable directors might increase the number of reported fraud cases in the countries and years examined. The existence of legal origin also seemed to be an appropriate proxy for an improved understanding of fraud characteristics. This evidence suggests it is worth investigating in depth the nature of financial crimes across countries for a better understanding of this phenomenon. In this way, these findings might have sufficient potential in the case of adequate policy implications within a less litigious business environment to resolve the undesirable consequences of impending financial downturns, and to achieve sustainable competitiveness and economic development.

Keyword : sustainable governance capital, private institutions, legal origin, fraud, cross-country analysis, accountability

How to Cite
Máté, D., Sadaf, R., Oláh, J., Popp, J., & Szűcs, E. (2019). The effects of accountability, governance capital, and legal origin on reported frauds. Technological and Economic Development of Economy, 25(6), 1213-1231. https://doi.org/10.3846/tede.2019.10717
Published in Issue
Oct 4, 2019
Abstract Views
2047
PDF Downloads
1129
Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

References

ACFE. (2014). Report to the nations detection: on occupational fraud and abuse. Retrieved from https://www.acfe.com/rttn/docs/2014-report-to-nations.pdf

ACFE. (2016). Report to the nations detection: on occupational fraud and abuse. Retrieved from https://www.acfe.com/rttn2016/detection.aspx

ACPAA. (2002). SAS No. 99. Consideration of fraud in a financial statement audit. Retrieved from https://www.aicpa.org/content/dam/aicpa/research/standards/auditattest/downloadabledocuments/au-00316.pdf

Ahluwalia, S., Ferrell, O. C., Ferrell, L., & Rittenburg, T. L. (2018). Sarbanes–oxley section 406 code of ethics for senior financial officers and firm behavior. Journal of Business Ethics, 151(3), 693-705. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-016-3267-7

Ajzen, I. (1991). The theory of planned behavior. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 50(2), 179-211. https://doi.org/10.1016/0749-5978(91)90020-T

Albrecht, W. S., Albrecht, C., & Albrecht, C. C. (2008). Current trends in fraud and its detection. Information Security Journal: A Global Perspective, 17(1), 2-12. https://doi.org/10.1080/19393550801934331

Amiram, D., Bozanic, Z., Cox, J. D., Dupont, Q., Karpoff, J. M., & Sloan, R. (2018). Financial reporting fraud and other forms of misconduct: a multidisciplinary review of the literature. Review of Accounting Studies, 23, 732-783. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11142-017-9435-x

Bailey, A. A. (2006). Retail employee theft: a theory of planned behavior perspective. International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management, 34(11), 802-816. https://doi.org/10.1108/09590550610710219

Beck, L., & Ajzen, I. (1991). Predicting dishonest actions using the theory of planned behavior. Journal of Research in Personality, 25(3), 285-301. https://doi.org/10.1016/0092-6566(91)90021-H

Becker, H. S. (1963). Outsiders: studies in the sociology of deviance. Glencoe: Free Press.

Boolaky, P. K., Krishnamurti, C., & Hoque, A. (2013). Determinants of the strength of auditing and reporting standards: a cross-country study. Finance Journal Business and Finance Journal, 7(74), 17-36. https://doi.org/10.14453/aabfj.v7i4.3

Bradshaw, E. A. (2014). “Obviously, we’re all oil industry”: the criminogenic structure of the offshore oil industry. Theoretical Criminology, 19(3), 376-395. https://doi.org/10.1177/1362480614553521

Central Intelligence Agency. (2016). The World factbook, field listing: languages. Retrieved June 27, 2018, from https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2098.html

Choo, F., & Tan, K. (2007). An “American Dream” theory of corporate executive Fraud. Accounting Forum, 31(2), 203-215. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.accfor.2006.12.004

Cieslewicz, J. K. (2012). The fraud model in international contexts: a call to include societal-level influences in the model. Journal of Forensic & Investigative Accounting, 4(1), 214-254.

Cohen, J., Ding, Y., Lesage, C., & Stolowy, H. (2010). Corporate fraud and managers’ behavior: evidence from the press. Journal of Business Ethics, 95(S2), 271-315. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-011-0857-2

Cressey, D. (1953). Other people’s money a study in the social psychology of embezzlement. Glencoe Ill.: Free Press.

David, R., & Brierley, J. E. C. (1985). Major legal systems in the world today: an introduction to the comparative study of law. London: Stevens & Sons.

DeFond, M., Hung, M., & Trezevant, R. (2007). Investor protection and the information content of annual earnings announcements: International evidence. Journal of Accounting and Economics, 43(1), 37-67. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jacceco.2006.09.001

DeZoort, F. T., & Harrison, P. D. (2018). Understanding auditors’ sense of responsibility for detecting fraud within organizations. Journal of Business Ethics, 149(4), 857-874. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-016-3064-3

Djankov, S., Porta, R. La, Lopez-De-Silanes, F., & Shleifer, A. (2008). The law and economics of selfdealing. Journal of Financial Economics, 88, 430-465. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jfineco.2007.02.007

Doing Business. (2017). Methodology for protecting minority investors − Doing Business − World Bank Group. Retrieved June 27, 2018, from http://www.doingbusiness.org/methodology/protecting-minority-investors

Doupnik, T. S., & Salter, S. B. (1993). An empirical test of a judgemental international classification of financial reporting practices. Journal of International Business Studies, 24(1), 41-60. https://doi.org/10.1057/palgrave.jibs.8490224

El Ghoul, S., Guedhami, O., Pittman, J. A., & Rizeanu, S. (2016). Cross-country evidence on the importance of auditor choice to corporate debt maturity. Contemporary Accounting Research, 33(2), 718-751. https://doi.org/10.1111/1911-3846.12168

European Court of Auditors. (2017). Fighting fraud in EU spending. Retrieved from https://www.eca.europa.eu/Lists/ECADocuments/AB_FRAUD_RISKS/AB_FRAUD_RISKS_EN.pdf

Fairclough, N., Graham, P., Lemke, J., & Wodak, R. (2004). Introduction. Critical Discourse Studies, 1(1), 1-7. https://doi.org/10.1080/17405900410001674489

Feng, C., Wang, H., Lu, N., Chen, T., He, H., Lu, Y., & Tu, X. M. (2014). Log-transformation and its implications for data analysis. Shanghai Archives of Psychiatry, 26(2), 105-109.

Fishbein, M., & Ajzen, I. (1975). Belief, attitude, intention, and behaviour: an introduction to theory and research. Boston: Addison-Wesley Publishing Co, Inc.

Free, C. (2012). Ronald berger, white-collar crime: the abuse of corporate and government power. Australian & New Zealand Journal of Criminology, 45(1), 144-147. https://doi.org/10.1177/0004865811432819b

Free, C. (2015). Looking through the fraud triangle: a review and call for new directions. Meditari Accountancy Research, 23(2), 175-196. https://doi.org/10.1108/MEDAR-02-2015-0009

Friedman, M., & Friedman, R. (1980). Free to choose: a personal statement (Vol. 1990). New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781107415324.004

Furlan, Š., Vasilecas, O., & Bajec, M. (2011). Method for selection of motor insurance fraud management system components based on business performance. Technological and Economic Development of Economy, 17(3), 535-561. https://doi.org/10.3846/20294913.2011.602440

Gillett, P. R., & Uddin, N. (2005). CFO intentions of fraudulent financial reporting. Auditing A Journal of Practice & Theory, 24(1), 55-75. https://doi.org/10.2308/aud.2005.24.1.55

Hayek, F. (1960). The constitution of liberty: the definitive edition. University of Chicago Press.

Hopkins, M. (2003). The planetary bargain: corporate social responsibility matters. Earthscan Publications.

Hronsky, J. J. F., & Houghton, K. A. (2001). The meaning of a defined accounting concept: regulatory changes and the effect on auditor decision making. Accounting, Organizations and Society, 26(2), 123-139. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0361-3682(00)00020-9

Kimbro, M. B. (2002). A cross-country empirical investigation of corruption and its relationship to economic, cultural, and monitoring institutions: an examination of the role of accounting and financial statements quality. Journal of Accounting, Auditing & Finance, 17(4), 325-350. https://doi.org/10.1177/0148558X0201700403

Kliestikova, J., Misankova, M., & Kliestik, T. (2017). Bankruptcy in Slovakia: international comparison of the creditor’s position. Oeconomia Copernicana, 8(2), 221-237. https://doi.org/10.24136/oc.v8i2.14

Korzh, N., Mostenska, T., & Bilan, Y. (2017). Resource-based view in managing financial component of corporate capital. Polish Journal of Management Studies, 16(2), 133-146. https://doi.org/10.17512/pjms.2017.16.2.12

La Porta, R., Lopez de Silanes, F., Shleifer, A., & Vishny, R. W. (2000). Investor protection and corporate governance. Journal of Financial Economics, 58, 3-27. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.183908

Lokanan, M. E. (2015). Challenges to the fraud triangle: questions on its usefulness. Accounting Forum, 39(3), 201-224. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.accfor.2015.05.002

Long, J. S., & Ervin, L. H. (2000). Using heteroscedasticity consistent standard errors in the linear regression model. The American Statistician, 54(3), 217-224. https://doi.org/10.1080/00031305.2000.10474549

Mailley, G. M. J. (2015). A tale of two triangles: comparing the Fraud Triangle with criminology’s Crime Triangle. Accounting Research Journal, 28(1), 45-58. https://doi.org/10.1108/ARJ-10-2014-0092

Malagueno, R., Albrecht, C., Ainge, C., & Stephens, N. (2010). Accounting and corruption: a crosscountry analysis. Journal of Money Laundering Control, 13(4), 372-393. https://doi.org/10.1108/MRR-09-2015-0216

Malíková, O., & Brabec, Z. (2012). The influence of a different accounting system on informative value of selected financial ratios. Technological and Economic Development of Economy, 18(1), 149-163. https://doi.org/10.3846/20294913.2012.661193

Messner, S. F., & Rosenfeld, R. (2013). Crime and the American dream. Wadsworth Cengage Learning.

Meyer, D. F., & Meyer, N. (2017). Management of Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) development: an analysis of stumbling blocks in a developing region. Polish Journal of Management Studies, 16(1), 127-141. https://doi.org/10.17512/pjms.2017.16.1.11

Miller, T., & Kim, A. B. (2014). Defining economic freedom. In 2014 Index of Economic Freedom (pp. 79-86). Heritage Foundation. Retrieved from http://www.heritage.org/index/pdf/2014/book/index_2014.pdf

Morales, J., Gendron, Y., & Guénin-Paracini, H. (2014). The construction of the risky individual and vigilant organization: a genealogy of the fraud triangle. Accounting, Organizations and Society, 39(3), 170-194. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aos.2014.01.006

Nobes, C. W. (1983). A judgemental international classification of financial reporting practises. Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, 10(1), 1-19. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-5957.1983.tb00409.x

North, D. C. (1994). Economic performance through time. The American Economic Review, 84(3), 359368. https://doi.org/10.2307/2118057

Povel, P., Singh, R., & Winton, A. (2007). Booms, busts, and fraud. The Review of Financial Studies, 20(14), 1219-1254. https://doi.org/10.1093/revfin/hhm012

Ramamoorti, S. (2009). Bringing freud to fraud: understanding the state-of-mind of the C-level suite/ white collar offender through “A-B-C” analysis. Journal of Forensic & Investigative Accounting, 6(1), 1-35.

Rudewicz, F. (2011). The fraud diamond: use of investigative due diligence to identify the “Capability Element of Fraud”. CTTMA Newsletter, IV(1), 1-13.

Running, S. W. (2014). The Global Sustainable competitiveness index 2014. Methodology – SolAbility (Vol. 1). Retrieved from http://solability.com/the-global-sustainable-competitiveness-index/methodology

Sadaf, R., Oláh, J., Popp, J., & Máté, D. (2018). An investigation of the influence of the worldwide governance and competitiveness on accounting fraud cases: a cross-country perspective. Sustainability, 10(3), 1-11. https://doi.org/10.3390/su10030588

Santos, S., Barbosa, P., & Gai, E. (2010). Sustainability governance − Portuguese companies in an international context. Retrieved from http://www.sustentare.pt/pdf/doc.suste+sam(ENG1).pdf

Singleton, T., & Singleton, A. J. (2010). Fraud auditing and forensic accounting. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118269183

SolAbility. (2018). Global governance capital ranking. Retrieved June 27, 2018, from http://solability.com/the-global-sustainable-competitiveness-index/the-index/governance-capital

Stonkutė, E., Vveinhardt, J., & Sroka, W. (2018). Training the CSR sensitive mind-set: the integration of CSR into the training of business administration professionals. Sustainability, 10(3), 1-14. https://doi.org/10.3390/su10030754

Sutherland, E. H., & Locke, J. (1936). Twenty thousand homeless men: a study of unemployed men in the Chicago shelters. New York: Arno Press.

Sutopo, B., Kot, S., Adiati, A., & Lina Nur Ardila. (2018). Sustainability reporting and value relevance of financial statements. Sustainability, 10(3), 1-14. https://doi.org/10.3390/su10030678

Tang, Q., Chen, H., & Lin, Z. (2016). How to measure country-level financial reporting quality? Journal of Financial Reporting and Accounting, 14(2), 230-265. https://doi.org/10.1108/JFRA-09-2014-0073

The World Bank. (2019). World Development Indicators | DataBank. Retrieved February 1, 2019, from https://databank.worldbank.org/data/source/world-development-indicators

Weingast, B. R. (1995). The economic role of political institutions: market-preserving federalism and economic development. The Journal of Law, Economics, and Organization, 11(1), 1-31. https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordjournals.jleo.a036861

White, H. (1980). A heteroskedasticity-consistent covariance matrix estimator and a direct test for heteroskedasticity. Econometrica, 48(4), 817-833. https://doi.org/10.2307/1912934

Wolfe, D. T., & Hermanson, D. R. (2004). The Fraud Diamond: considering the four elements of fraud. CPA Journal, 74(12), 38-42. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1361-3723(04)00065-X

World Bank. (2019). Doing business (DataBank). Retrieved April 2, 2019, from https://databank.worldbank.org/data/source/doing-business

World Economic Forum. (2018). The Global Competitiveness Report. Retrieved from http://www3.weforum.org/docs/GCR2018/05FullReport/TheGlobalCompetitivenessReport2018.pdf

Zysman, J. (1983). Governments, markets, and growth: financial systems and the politics of industrial change. Cornell University Press.