IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/sae/sagope/v13y2023i3p21582440231197305.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Two Decades of Accounting Fraud Research: The Missing Meso-Level Analysis

Author

Listed:
  • Mark E. Lokanan
  • Prerna Sharma

Abstract

Drawing on an analysis of 208 articles, this paper argues that while the fraud literature varies on the diagnosis of fraud, it is rooted in a common narrative as to its nature and causes. Specifically, this paper adopts an investigative approach to understand how fraud is often researched and shapes audit policies and practices. The findings reveal that fraud is generally looked at as an individual and/or organizational phenomenon, thereby allowing the meso-level of analysis to escape scrutiny. A gap, therefore, exists in being able to detect fraud at the meso-level, such as in financial services (i.e., LIBOR rigging). A meso-level analysis of fraud will allow researchers to highlight problems across the general field like the banks rigging the LIBOR or distorting the currency market as in the forex scandal. A meso-level analysis of fraud is important because it highlights the contagious behavior across the field and offers insights for fraud prevention and detection. Recognizing this unique epistemology will allow researchers to uncover new knowledge and not remain wedded to a reified understanding of fraud and fraud risks. Policymakers can derive insights and draft policies that reflect practitioners’ needs.

Suggested Citation

  • Mark E. Lokanan & Prerna Sharma, 2023. "Two Decades of Accounting Fraud Research: The Missing Meso-Level Analysis," SAGE Open, , vol. 13(3), pages 21582440231, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:sagope:v:13:y:2023:i:3:p:21582440231197305
    DOI: 10.1177/21582440231197305
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/21582440231197305
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1177/21582440231197305?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Wang, Yang & Ashton, John K. & Jaafar, Aziz, 2019. "Money shouts! How effective are punishments for accounting fraud?," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 51(5).
    2. Norman, Carolyn Strand & Rose, Anna M. & Rose, Jacob M., 2010. "Internal audit reporting lines, fraud risk decomposition, and assessments of fraud risk," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 35(5), pages 546-557, July.
    3. Derek Matthews, 2005. "London and County Securities: a case study in audit and regulatory failure," Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 18(4), pages 518-536, August.
    4. Daniel A. Street & Dana R. Hermanson, 2019. "How do restatements affect outside directors and boards? A review of the literature," Journal of Accounting Literature, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 43(1), pages 19-46, July.
    5. Dilla, William N. & Raschke, Robyn L., 2015. "Data visualization for fraud detection: Practice implications and a call for future research," International Journal of Accounting Information Systems, Elsevier, vol. 16(C), pages 1-22.
    6. Steven Dellaportas & Luckmika Perera & Sandeep Gopalan & Ben Richardson, 2019. "Implications of a Fragile Professional Identity on Role Behavior: An Exploratory Case of an Accountant Fraudster," European Accounting Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 28(4), pages 659-679, August.
    7. Roberto Tommasetti & Rodrigo de Oliveira Leite & Vinicius Mothé Maia & Marcelo Alvaro da Silva Macedo, 2021. "Revisiting the Accounting Fraud Components: A Bottom-Up Approach Using the Twitter Platform," SAGE Open, , vol. 11(4), pages 21582440211, November.
    8. Brian W. Mayhew & Pamela R. Murphy, 2014. "The Impact of Authority on Reporting Behavior, Rationalization and Affect," Contemporary Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 31(2), pages 420-443, June.
    9. Davis, Jon S. & Pesch, Heather L., 2013. "Fraud dynamics and controls in organizations," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 38(6), pages 469-483.
    10. Sikka, Prem, 2015. "The corrosive effects of neoliberalism on the UK financial crises and auditing practices: A dead-end for reforms," Accounting forum, Elsevier, vol. 39(1), pages 1-18.
    11. Dellaportas, Steven, 2013. "Conversations with inmate accountants: Motivation, opportunity and the fraud triangle," Accounting forum, Elsevier, vol. 37(1), pages 29-39.
    12. Pamela Murphy & M. Dacin, 2011. "Psychological Pathways to Fraud: Understanding and Preventing Fraud in Organizations," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 101(4), pages 601-618, July.
    13. Obeua S. Persons, 2005. "The Relation Between the New Corporate Governance Rules and the Likelihood of Financial Statement Fraud," Review of Accounting and Finance, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 4(2), pages 125-148, February.
    14. Theodore Eisenberg & Jonathan R. Macey, 2004. "Was Arthur Andersen Different? An Empirical Examination of Major Accounting Firm Audits of Large Clients," Journal of Empirical Legal Studies, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 1(2), pages 263-300, July.
    15. Ugrin, Joseph C. & Odom, Marcus D., 2010. "Exploring Sarbanes-Oxley's effect on attitudes, perceptions of norms, and intentions to commit financial statement fraud from a general deterrence perspective," Journal of Accounting and Public Policy, Elsevier, vol. 29(5), pages 439-458, September.
    16. NIAMH M. BRENNAN & MARY McGRATH, 2007. "Financial Statement Fraud: Some Lessons from US and European Case Studies," Australian Accounting Review, CPA Australia, vol. 17(42), pages 49-61, July.
    17. Kuldeep Kumar & Sukanto Bhattacharya & Richard Hicks, 2018. "Employee perceptions of organization culture with respect to fraud – where to look and what to look for," Pacific Accounting Review, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 30(2), pages 187-198, April.
    18. Baader, Galina & Krcmar, Helmut, 2018. "Reducing false positives in fraud detection: Combining the red flag approach with process mining," International Journal of Accounting Information Systems, Elsevier, vol. 31(C), pages 1-16.
    19. Sarah McVay & Brandon Szerwo, 2021. "Preparers and the financial reporting system," Accounting and Business Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 51(5), pages 484-507, July.
    20. Gabbioneta, Claudia & Greenwood, Royston & Mazzola, Pietro & Minoja, Mario, 2013. "The influence of the institutional context on corporate illegality," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 38(6), pages 484-504.
    21. Dean Neu & Jeff Everett & Abu Shiraz Rahaman, 2013. "Internal Auditing and Corruption within Government: The Case of the Canadian Sponsorship Program," Contemporary Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 30(3), pages 1223-1250, September.
    22. Franklin Nakpodia & Emmanuel Adegbite, 2018. "Corporate governance and elites," Accounting Forum, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 42(1), pages 17-31, March.
    23. Clinton Free & Pamela R. Murphy, 2015. "The Ties that Bind: The Decision to Co†Offend in Fraud," Contemporary Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 32(1), pages 18-54, March.
    24. Bailey, Charles D., 2019. "The joint effects of narcissism and psychopathy on accounting students’ attitudes towards unethical professional practices," Journal of Accounting Education, Elsevier, vol. 49(C).
    25. Clive Lennox & Petro Lisowsky & Jeffrey Pittman, 2013. "Tax Aggressiveness and Accounting Fraud," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 51(4), pages 739-778, September.
    26. Mark E. Lokanan, 2015. "Challenges to the fraud triangle: Questions on its usefulness," Accounting Forum, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 39(3), pages 201-224, September.
    27. Jeanette Akkeren & Sherrena Buckby, 2017. "Perceptions on the Causes of Individual and Fraudulent Co-offending: Views of Forensic Accountants," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 146(2), pages 383-404, December.
    28. Neu, Dean & Everett, Jeff & Rahaman, Abu Shiraz & Martinez, Daniel, 2013. "Accounting and networks of corruption," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 38(6), pages 505-524.
    29. Mark E. Lokanan, 2014. "How senior managers perpetuate accounting fraud? Lessons for fraud examiners from an instructional case," Journal of Financial Crime, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 21(4), pages 411-423, September.
    30. Power, Michael, 2013. "The apparatus of fraud risk," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 38(6), pages 525-543.
    31. Roman Tomasic, 2011. "The financial crisis and the haphazard pursuit of financial crime," Journal of Financial Crime, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 18(1), pages 7-31, January.
    32. Killian, Sheila & O'Regan, Philip, 2016. "Social accounting and the co-creation of corporate legitimacy," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 1-12.
    33. George Drogalas & Michail Pazarskis & Evgenia Anagnostopoulou & Angeliki Papachristou, 2017. "The Effect of Internal Audit Effectiveness, Auditor Responsibility and Training in Fraud Detection," Journal of Accounting and Management Information Systems, Faculty of Accounting and Management Information Systems, The Bucharest University of Economic Studies, vol. 16(4), pages 434-454, December.
    34. Xu, Yin & Xu, Xiaoqun, 2008. "Social actors, cultural capital, and the state: The standardization of bank accounting classification and terminology in early twentieth-century China," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 33(1), pages 73-102, January.
    35. Prem Sikka, 2017. "Using freedom of information laws to frustrate accountability: Two case studies of UK banking frauds," Accounting Forum, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 41(4), pages 300-317, December.
    36. Murphy, Pamela R., 2012. "Attitude, Machiavellianism and the rationalization of misreporting," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 37(4), pages 242-259.
    37. Steven Dellaportas, 2013. "Conversations with inmate accountants: Motivation, opportunity and the fraud triangle," Accounting Forum, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 37(1), pages 29-39, March.
    38. Kees Camfferman & Jacco L. Wielhouwer, 2019. "21st century scandals: towards a risk approach to financial reporting scandals," Accounting and Business Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 49(5), pages 503-535, July.
    39. Williams, James W., 2013. "Regulatory technologies, risky subjects, and financial boundaries: Governing ‘fraud’ in the financial markets," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 38(6), pages 544-558.
    40. Omurgonulsen, Mine & Omurgonulsen, Ugur, 2009. "Critical thinking about creative accounting in the face of a recent scandal in the Turkish banking sector," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 20(5), pages 651-673.
    41. T. Jeffrey Wilks & Mark F. Zimbelman, 2004. "Decomposition of Fraud†Risk Assessments and Auditors' Sensitivity to Fraud Cues," Contemporary Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 21(3), pages 719-745, September.
    42. Gatot Soepriyanto & Engkos Achmad Kuncoro & Arfian Erma Zudana & Livia Averine, 2022. "Does Executive Compensation Affect Accounting Irregularities? Evidence From Listed Firms in Indonesia," SAGE Open, , vol. 12(3), pages 21582440221, July.
    43. B. Malsch & Y. Gendron & F. Grazzini, 2011. "Investigating interdisciplinary translations: The influence of Pierre Bourdieu on accounting literature," Post-Print halshs-00586846, HAL.
    44. Gracia, Louise & Oats, Lynne, 2012. "Boundary work and tax regulation: A Bourdieusian view," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 37(5), pages 304-321.
    45. Charles Ham & Mark Lang & Nicholas Seybert & Sean Wang, 2017. "CFO Narcissism and Financial Reporting Quality," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 55(5), pages 1089-1135, December.
    46. Miles B. Gietzmann & Angela K. Pettinicchio, 2014. "External Auditor Reassessment of Client Business Risk Following the Issuance of a Comment Letter by the SEC," European Accounting Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 23(1), pages 57-85, May.
    47. Alexander Schuchter & Michael Levi, 2015. "Beyond the fraud triangle: Swiss and Austrian elite fraudsters," Accounting Forum, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 39(3), pages 176-187, September.
    48. Braithwaite, John, 2013. "Flipping markets to virtue with qui tam and restorative justice," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 38(6), pages 458-468.
    49. Prem Sikka, 2015. "The corrosive effects of neoliberalism on the UK financial crises and auditing practices: A dead-end for reforms," Accounting Forum, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 39(1), pages 1-18, March.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Monica Ramos Montesdeoca & Agustín J. Sánchez Medina & Felix Blázquez Santana, 2019. "Research Topics in Accounting Fraud in the 21st Century: A State of the Art," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(6), pages 1-31, March.
    2. Abdul Ghafoor & Rozaimah Zainudin & Nurul Shahnaz Mahdzan, 2019. "Factors Eliciting Corporate Fraud in Emerging Markets: Case of Firms Subject to Enforcement Actions in Malaysia," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 160(2), pages 587-608, December.
    3. Hengky Latan & Charbel Jose Chiappetta Jabbour & Ana Beatriz Lopes de Sousa Jabbour, 2019. "‘Whistleblowing Triangle’: Framework and Empirical Evidence," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 160(1), pages 189-204, November.
    4. Aziza Laguecir & Bernard Leca, 2018. "Strategies of visibility in contemporary surveillance settings: Insights from misconduct concealment in financial markets, Critical Perspectives on Accounting," Post-Print hal-01914996, HAL.
    5. Laguecir, Aziza & Leca, Bernard, 2019. "Strategies of visibility in contemporary surveillance settings: Insights from misconduct concealment in financial markets," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 62(C), pages 39-58.
    6. Waseem Yousaf & Raheel Jamil, 2020. "Does Moral Intensity Affect the Whistleblowing Intentions?," iRASD Journal of Management, International Research Alliance for Sustainable Development (iRASD), vol. 2(2), pages 84-99, December.
    7. Roberto Pietra & Andrea Melis, 2016. "“Governance and corruption: is history repeating itself?” Fostering a debate and inviting contributions from a multidisciplinary perspective," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 20(4), pages 689-701, December.
    8. Ouriemmi, Oussama & Gérard, Benoît, 2023. "Control dynamics in rogue trading: Sovereignty and exception-to-the-rule attitudes in the contemporary financial sphere," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 91(C).
    9. Anesa, Mattia & Gillespie, Nicole & Spee, A. Paul & Sadiq, Kerrie, 2019. "The legitimation of corporate tax minimization," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 17-39.
    10. Charl de Villiers & Matteo La Torre & Vida Botes, 2022. "Accounting and social capital: A review and reflections on future research opportunities," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 62(4), pages 4485-4521, December.
    11. Vollmer, Hendrik, 2019. "Accounting for tacit coordination: The passing of accounts and the broader case for accounting theory," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 73(C), pages 15-34.
    12. W. Robert Knechel & Natalia Mintchik, 2022. "Do Personal Beliefs and Values Affect an Individual’s “Fraud Tolerance”? Evidence from the World Values Survey," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 177(2), pages 463-489, May.
    13. Christian Hauser, 2019. "Fighting Against Corruption: Does Anti-corruption Training Make Any Difference?," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 159(1), pages 281-299, September.
    14. Abdul-Baki, Zayyad & Uthman, Ahmad B. & Kasum, Abubakar S., 2021. "The role of accounting and accountants in the oil subsidy corruption scandal in Nigeria," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    15. Ejiogu, Amanze & Ambituuni, Ambisisi & Ejiogu, Chibuzo, 2021. "Accounting for accounting’s role in the neoliberalization processes of social housing in England: A Bourdieusian perspective," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 80(C).
    16. Desai, Naman & Jain, Shailendra Pratap & Jain, Shalini & Tripathy, Arindam, 2020. "The impact of implicit theories of personality malleability on opportunistic financial reporting," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 116(C), pages 258-265.
    17. Christopher J. Napier, 2017. "The Good Fraud: Accounting, Finance and Banking in a 1930s English Novel," CONTABILIT? E CULTURA AZIENDALE, FrancoAngeli Editore, vol. 2017(2), pages 43-70.
    18. Reckers, Philip & Samuelson, Melissa, 2016. "Toward resolving the debate surrounding slippery slope versus licensing behavior: The importance of individual differences in accounting ethical decision making," Advances in accounting, Elsevier, vol. 34(C), pages 1-16.
    19. Pamela R. Murphy & Michael Wynes & Till‐Arne Hahn & Patricia G. Devine, 2020. "Why Are People Honest? Internal and External Motivations to Report Honestly†," Contemporary Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 37(2), pages 945-981, June.
    20. Madzivire E.T & Nyamwanza L & Mushonga W & Takachicha M. T & Mulonda D, 2020. "An Investigation on the Effectiveness of Forensic Audit as a Tool for Fraud Detection and Prevention," Journal of Accounting, Business and Finance Research, Scientific Publishing Institute, vol. 10(2), pages 49-67.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:sae:sagope:v:13:y:2023:i:3:p:21582440231197305. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: SAGE Publications (email available below). General contact details of provider: .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.