The 2016 Global Fraud Survey steered by the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE) illustrates that the organisations established worldwide lose approximately 5% of their annual revenue due to fraud. With the increase in fraudulent accounting practices all around the world, the need for forensic accountants has increased to look for indicators of suspicious financial activities and fraudulent activities. Regulators continue to increase the responsibility for auditors to detect fraudulent financial statements, however, there is a mismatch between the supply of and demand for auditors with forensic accounting skills. The main objective of the study is to determine whether forensic accountant needs any special skills and competencies in their profession as forensic accountants and to identify the same. The study is conducted based on a sample of professionally qualified accountants in forensic practice and auditing. Data was collected through questionnaire and analysed using Statistical Package of Social Studies (SPSS).The research identified that fraud risk assessment, deductive analysis and diagnostic skills as the highest ranked skills, whereas, the least ranked skill was marketing. It is suggested that the use of forensic accounting procedures or services to detect financial reporting frauds and corruption practices should be increased in organisations by having or recruiting more forensic accountants with required skills and competencies.

No abstract

The banking sector in Sri Lanka is one of the most dynamic and vibrant sectors of the economy. The banks are influenced by various types of risks and discrepancies which have a direct impact on the profitability of their short-term & long-term operations and sustainable capacity of earnings. The effective Assets Liability Management process will closely monitor and equalize both assets and liabilities and focus on the stability of adverse influences of both risks and discrepancies. The study aims to examine the significant impact of ALM on the financial performance of the licensed commercial banks in Sri Lanka from the financial year 2011 to 2020. Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR), Non-Performing Loan Ratio (NPLR), Income Diversification Ratio (IDR), Liquidity Ratio (LR) and Operational Efficiency Ratio (OER) were used as asset liability indicators while Return on Assets (ROA) and Return on Equity (ROE) used as financial performance indicators. This study used secondary sources to collect data, such as published annual reports of licensed commercial banks and a central bank web site and selected all 24 licensed commercial banks in the population as the sample. The study used descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, and regression analysis to establish the relationship and effect of the ALM on the financial performance of the commercial banks in Sri Lanka. The findings indicate a significant negative relationship between NPLR and both ROE and ROA. The income diversification had a significant positive relationship with the ROA and also the ROE. Operational efficiency had a significant negative relationship with both ROE and ROA. The level of liquidity had a significant negative relationship with both ROA and ROE. The level of capital adequacy had a significant negative relationship with ROE. There is no significant relationship between CAR and the ROA. Based on the findings, which have the greatest implications for the policymakers who govern the financial performance of the banking sector, regulators who make regulatory requirements related to the banking sector, potential investors who invest in the banking sector and all other stakeholders & future researchers who are interested in the banking sector.

Purpose: This study was conducted to understand the stakeholder perception on auditors' role and its impact on audit expectation gap.Design/Methodology/Approach: A sample of 457 shareholders, employees, customers, and auditors from different licensed commercial banks were selected for the study using the convenience sampling method. Information collected through questionnaires was analyzed using descriptive analysis and Mann Whitney U test.Findings: The study revealed an audit expectation gap between auditors and the shareholders; the auditors and customers; and auditors and employees in the areas of audit responsibility, the usefulness of audited financial statements, audit education, and providing non-assurance services. However, this gap was not significant with regard to audit reliability among auditors and employees.Practical Implication: The main reason behind this gap is the lack of proper education and understanding of the audit standards and audit practices. This gap can be reduced by giving adequate knowledge and awareness of audits to the stakeholders and the users of financial statements in general.Limitations: The study considered the stakeholders of licensed commercial banks in Sri Lanka, whereas there are so many other financial institutions registered under the Central bank of Sri Lanka.