Forensic accounting services in English local government and the counter-fraud agenda

Abstract

Fraud is a growing challenge for English local government, yet the resources and support local authorities (LAs) have available to prevent, detect and investigate it are limited. Forensic accounting services (FAS) provided by external specialist private sector firms, particularly those undertaking mandatory external audit, might be one solution. Findings of a questionnaire survey suggest, however, that existing English LA users are not all convinced. Nevertheless, better awareness and understanding of what FAS have to offer, perhaps through case studies of successful implementation, would be a valuable contribution to helping local government enhance its counter-fraud capabilities and make informed decisions about how best to meet the increasingly complex fraud challenge.

Forensic accounting as a profession in Australia? A sociological perspective

“…Forensic accounting is a multidimensional field of activity that encompasses various kinds of professional services (Abdul-Baki, 2019; Brennan, 2005; Crumbley, 2019). In forensic accounting literature, there is no agreement between researchers on a “precise definition” of forensic accounting (Sahdan et al , 2020, p. 384). Botes and Saadeh (2018, p. 139) found that professional accounting bodies and various researchers have adopted three approaches to defining forensic accounting: “narrow approach,” “broad approach” and “more comprehensive.” These three approaches to defining forensic accounting have been evaluated over the past few decades as forensic accounting has evolved.…”

“…Though forensic accounting is growing and receiving noticeable attention (Howieson, 2018; Sahdan et al , 2020; Tiwari and Debnath, 2017), forensic accounting is faced with many obstacles that have limited its effectiveness (Botes and Saadeh, 2018; Howieson, 2018; Yang and Lee, 2020). These obstacles are mainly related to the regulation of forensic accounting as a profession (Arslan, 2020; Huber, 2012, 2013c), including public recognition of forensic accounting (Gosselin, 2014; Sahdan et al , 2020), marketability of forensic accounting services (Alshurafat et al , 2019a; Tiwari and Debnath, 2017), control over the entry to the forensic accounting industry (Chen and Van Akkeren, 2012; Van Akkeren et al , 2013), standardization of forensic accounting professional work (Huber, 2013b), availability of forensic accounting education (Alshurafat et al , 2019b; Rezaee and Wang, 2019; Seda and Kramer, 2009) and professional certificates (Huber, 2014b).…”

The Urgency of Rationalization for Unethical Behavior and Accounting Fraud

“…Accord ing to Free (2015) and Triantoro et al (2019), rationalization occurs when someone is able to reinterpret evil actions carried out morally acceptable. Bao et al (2020), Kazemian et al (2019), and Sahdan et al (2020) argue that rational ization is a factor in the occurrence of fraud ulent tendencies. This means that rational ization or justification of what is done is a trigger factor for fraudulent tendencies.…”

Fraud in Nonprofit Organizations: How to Mitigate it?

“…Every year, the number of fraudulent cases in nonprofit organizations increases and has become a big concern for managers, governments, and people in the local communities [1,6]. According to the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE) Report of 2016, financial fraud in nonprofit organizations is estimated at 10% of all occupational fraud cases every year with an average cost per incident of $100,000 [7].…”