The Difference between Earnings and Operating Cash Flow as an Indicator of Financial Reporting Fraud*

This paper examines the relation between earnings and operating cash flow to derive and test an indicator of financial statement fraud. Accrual measurement concepts indicate that financial statement fraud should be associated with high levels of earnings relative to operating cash flow. We demonstrate that the excess of earnings over operating cash flow is extreme in most fraud cases in years immediately prior to the fraud discovery based on a sample of 56 fraud cases from 1978 to 1991. We compare the distribution of the earnings minus operating cash flow variable for fraud firms with that for a sample of 60,453 firm-years for firms listed on COMPUSTAT. We test a logistic regression model in which the discovery/nondiscovery of fraud is the dependent variable, and earnings minus operating cash flow is the explanatory variable. Other control variables are included in the model based on prior studies. Results are consistent with expectations derived from accrual measurement theory. We then examine the predictive ability of the model using our sample of fraud firms and a sample of nonfraud firms in the same four-digit SIC code industries. Observations for the fraud firms are for the fiscal year prior to the discovery of fraud. Observations for the nonfraud firms are for the same fiscal years as the fraud firms in the same industries. The predictive ability of the model, including the excess of earnings over operating cash flow, is substantially higher than the predictive ability of the model omitting this variable. We conclude that the earnings-operating cash flow relation provides important information for those interested in identifying financial statement fraud, especially when considered in conjunction with other factors associated with fraud risk.     

Audit Strategies and Multiple Fraud Opportunities of Misreporting and Defalcation*

We examine how an auditor assesses the risk of fraud and formulates an audit plan when the auditee has the opportunity to commit various types of fraud. Unlike previous studies, the audi‐tee can misappropriate assets (defalcation), misreport financial information (fraudulent financial reporting), or misreport financial information in combination with defalcation. Our results identify four possible equilibria whose characteristics depend on the auditee's relative rewards and penalties from the various types of fraud, the cost of audit effort, and expectations about the auditee‐firm's performance. When the cost of audit effort is sufficiently small, fraud risk assessment depends on the auditee's rewards and penalties associated with each type of fraud, but not on the auditor's beliefs about firm performance. The auditor develops an audit plan that focuses on the type of fraud the auditee is most motivated to commit, and in turn, the audit plan deters all other types of fraud.     

Decomposition of Fraud‐Risk Assessments and Auditors' Sensitivity to Fraud Cues*

Practitioners and regulators are concerned that when auditors perceive management's attitude or character as indicative of low fraud risk, they are not sufficiently sensitive to high levels of incentive or opportunity risks in their overall fraud‐risk assessments. In this study, we examine whether a fraud‐triangle decomposition of fraud‐risk assessments (that is, separately assessing attitude, opportunity, and incentive risks prior to assessing overall fraud risk) increases auditors' sensitivity to opportunity and incentive cues when perceptions of management's attitude suggest low fraud risk. In an experiment with 52 practicing audit managers, we find that auditors who decompose fraud‐risk assessments are more sensitive to opportunity and incentive cues when making their overall assessments than auditors who simply make an overall fraud‐risk assessment. However, this increased sensitivity to opportunity and incentive cues appears to happen only when those cues suggest low fraud risk. When opportunity and incentive cues suggest high fraud risk, auditors are equally sensitive to those cues whether they use a decomposition or a holistic approach. We discuss and examine potential explanations for this finding.     

The Effectiveness of Alternative Risk Assessment and Program Planning Tools in a Fraud Setting*

This study examines the impact of alternative risk assessment (standard risk checklist versus no checklist) and program development (standard program versus no program) tools on two facets of fraud planning effectiveness: (1) the quality of audit procedures relative to a benchmark validated by a panel of experts, and (2) the propensity to consult fraud experts. A between‐subjects experiment, using an SEC enforcement fraud case, was conducted to examine these relationships. Sixty‐nine auditors made risk assessments and designed an audit program. We found that auditors who used a standard risk checklist, structured by SAS No. 82 risk categories, made lower risk assessments than those without a checklist. This suggests that the use of the checklist was associated with a less effective diagnosis of the fraud. We also found that auditors with a standard audit program designed a relatively less effective fraud program than those without this tool but were not more willing to seek consultation with fraud experts. This suggests that standard programs may impair auditors' ability to respond to fraud risk. Finally, our results show that fraud risk assessment (FRASK) was not associated with the planning of more effective fraud procedures but was directly associated with the desire to consult with fraud specialists. This suggests that one benefit of improved FRASK is its relation with consultation. Overall, the findings call into question the effectiveness of standard audit tools in a fraud setting and highlight the need for a more strategic reasoning approach in an elevated risk situation.     

Dividend Policy at Firms Accused of Accounting Fraud

Recent studies and some policy experts have posited that dividends indicate higher‐quality earnings. In this study, we test this conjecture by comparing the dividend policies of firms accused of accounting fraud to those of firms not accused of accounting fraud. Specifically, we examine whether alleged fraud firms are as likely to be dividend payers as non‐fraud firms, and whether managers of dividend‐paying fraud firms increase dividends at the same rate as managers of non‐fraud firms. Our data reveal that dividend paying status is negatively associated with the probability of committing accounting fraud. In addition, we also find that, during the alleged fraud period, the earnings–dividends relation is weaker for the alleged fraud firms relative to firms not accused of fraud. Finally, using propensity score match tests, the data provide evidence that managers of alleged fraud firms increase dividends less often than managers of firms not accused of fraud, consistent with the alleged fraud firms not being able to match the dividend policies of firms not accused of fraud. Overall, our results suggest that dividends, especially dividend increases, are associated with higher earnings quality.     

Fraud Firms' Non-Implicated CFOs: An Investigation of Reputational Contagion and Subsequent Employment Outcomes*

We investigate labor market consequences for CFOs employed by fraud firms, focusing on reputational contagion for those who are not implicated. These individuals provide an opportunity to understand reputational contagion and the nuanced meaning of “guilt” because the labor market may suspect complicity or infer negligence regardless of whether that is truly the case. We compare these CFOs to a matched sample of non-fraud CFOs and track both turnover and subsequent employment positions. Non-implicated CFOs are more likely to experience turnover compared to non-fraud CFOs, driven in particular by the public revelation of fraud to the labor market. We further find that non-implicated CFOs are more likely to obtain comparable subsequent employment than non-fraud CFOs before the fraud is publicly revealed, but not after. In supplementary analyses, we find that turnover rates are highest for non-implicated CFOs who started their employment with the firm before the fraud began as compared to non-implicated CFOs who started their employment after the fraud began. These results highlight the labor market significance of the public revelation of fraud and imply that the labor market does not fully distinguish between fraud firm association and general firm performance when making executive hiring decisions.     

高管团队稳定性与上市公司违规行为关系研究

以中国上市公司为研究对象,考察了高管团队稳定性对上市公司违规行为的影响机理。研究发现：（1）高管团队稳定性对公司违规行为有显著负向影响;（2）高管团队稳定性提高信息披露,进而影响公司违规行为;（3）媒体关注度对高管团队稳定性与公司违规行为关系具有正向调节作用;（4）当违规行为已成既定事实时,高管团队稳定性不利于违规稽查。相关结论对提升我国上市公司治理规范性、推动资本市场健康发展具有重要意义。     

浅析金融危机下我国出口企业对信用证欺诈的防范

金融危机下进口商的信用和支付能力普遍下降,信用证对出口商收汇安全的优越性凸显出来。但任何一种结算方式都不能完全防止欺诈的发生。如何防范信用证欺诈,充分发挥信用证的优越性已成为众多出口企业和银行关注的话题。本文介绍了我国出口贸易中常见的信用证欺诈方式,提出了一些防范信用证欺诈的有效措施。     

Information and communications technologies in the two Koreas: Contrasts,commonalities, challenges

The purpose of this study is to review the relationship of electoral system and democracy in the Philippines, Thailand and Indonesia. The study looks at the transformation process of the electoral system in each country, and performs a comparative study on post‐democratization electoral reforms using the concepts of competitiveness and fairness. It is found that electoral systems displayed low levels of competitiveness and fairness before democratization, but that their reforms have led to an increase in competitiveness and an improvement in fairness in all three countries. Also, while the post‐democratization electoral reforms have facilitated the above‐mentioned democratic virtues, there have been significant country differences in the details of their progress. The Philippines promoted the competitiveness of the electoral system by adopting a party list system and guest candidate system. Although Thailand and Indonesia showed competitiveness in their electoral systems, they prohibited the participation of non‐partisan candidates in elections for the sake of stability of party politics. The differences are reflections of their particular political histories and contexts.     

上市公司财务舞弊手段及其审计研究

越来越多的上市公司选择利用财务舞弊手段来谋求利润.研究发现,常见的上市公司财务舞弊手段主要有虚增资产、隐瞒负债、虚增收入、利用关联方交易舞弊4种,而目前中国的审查制度还不够完善,对于复杂的舞弊手段往往不能监察到位.为了经济市场的稳定运行,结合超华科技的具体案例进行分析,从公司内部、政府机关和中介机构3个角度总结出针对中国上市公司财务舞弊手段的防范对策.     

基于数据挖掘的上市公司财务舞弊识别研究

国内上市公司财务舞弊呈恶性发展之势,要推进证券市场的预警与监管,对上市公司财务舞弊行为的识别就变得意义重大。以148个财务舞弊上市公司和配对的非舞弊上市公司为样本,运用神经网络建立了上市公司财务舞弊识别模型。此模型对训练样本和测试样本的识别正确率分别达到74.58%和70%,能有效的识别出上市公司财务舞弊与否。结果表明,该模型可以用于上市公司财务舞弊行为识别,对有舞弊动机的上市公司起到威慑作用。     

Auditor Fees and Fraud Firms

The issue of whether auditor fees affect auditor independence has been extensively debated by regulators, investors, investment professionals, auditors, and researchers. The revised Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) requirements that resulted from the implementation of the Sarbanes‐Oxley Act (2002) limit nonaudit services (NAS) and mandate NAS fee disclosure. The SEC's requirements are based on the argument that auditor independence could be impaired—and hence audit quality may be reduced—when auditors become economically dependent on their clients or audit their own work. Economic bonding leads to reduced independence, which can lead to reduced audit quality. We study a sample of firms sanctioned by the SEC for fraudulent financial reporting in Accounting and Auditing Enforcement Releases (SEC‐sanctioned fraud firms) and examine whether there is a relationship between auditor fee variables and the likelihood of being sanctioned by the SEC for fraud. We use SEC sanction as a measure of audit quality that has not previously been used in the auditor fee literature and is more precise than some of the other proxies used for flawed financial/auditor reporting. We find, in univariate tests, that fraud firms paid significantly higher (total, audit, and NAS) fees. However, in multivariate tests, when controlling for other fraud determinants and endogeneity among the fraud, NAS, and audit fee variables, we find that while NAS fees and total fees are positively and significantly related to the likelihood of being sanctioned by the SEC for fraud, audit fees are not. These findings suggest that higher NAS fees may cause economic bonding, thereby leading to reduced audit quality. Our findings of significantly higher NAS fees and total fees in fraud firms hold after controlling for latent size effects and other rigorous testing. These results contribute to the literature that examines the SEC's concerns regarding NAS and can be used by policy makers for additional consideration.     

上市公司管理层会计舞弊的防范

管理层会计舞弊是指公司管理当局为满足自身利益需要而采取的蓄意的会计造假行为.文章从诱发管理层会计舞弊的内外环境因素,以及进行舞弊的成本与收益对比方面剖析了上市公司管理层会计舞弊的产生,并着重从内部和外部两个方面提出了相应的防范措施.     

中国人的发明创造切不可走火入魔——造假——假,玷污人的心灵、腐蚀民族的素质、损害国家的尊严

假话;食品药品物品造假;GDP统计数字造假;媒体造假;建筑物造假;选举招标造假;学者学校造假;公仆造假;从字缝里看出来的假、忽悠……其产生的原因是：封建专制造成了人性的扭曲;社会转型期价值取向的扭曲;以不要过多报道负面信息为由;一把手挟集体造假;造假者与监管者串通;执法者与违法者合谋;造假成本太低;《实话实说》说不下去;百姓无奈说假;有能力打假者不打,想打假者无能力。如何进行打假？要像＂抓阶级斗争＂一样惩治假话;让造假者倾家荡产;让渎职的监管者下岗入狱;对上＂负责＂应转变为对下负责;重视媒体在打假中的作用;严厉打击一把手造假;各级政府部门要自律,以身作则从自身开始打假;让百姓成为打假的主力军;加强诚信教育;加强独立监管。     

管理舞弊与风险导向审计模式

管理舞弊引发的审计失败对传统风险导向审计模式提出了严重挑战,危及到审计职业的生存与发展。审计界虽然通过修订审计准则对其进行了改良,但改良后的风险导向审计模式仍然存在不可忽视的缺陷。为此,本文提出,风险导向审计应当继续更新审计理念,即引入舞弊推定和心证,以切实提高审计师揭露管理舞弊的能力。     

当前电信诈骗犯罪证据体系构建研究

近年来，随着社会经济、信息技术的发展，电信诈骗犯罪作为一种新型诈骗犯罪形式手法不断翻新，涉案金额逐年递升。尽管有关部门对电信诈骗犯罪给予了高度重视，采取了各种防控措施，但是并没有取得很好的效果。电信诈骗犯罪取证难、证据体系脆弱已经成为电信诈骗犯罪打击难的主要原因。因此，电信诈骗犯罪证据体系的构建成为我国打击该类犯罪亟需解决的重要课题。     

The Interaction between Internal Control Assessment and Substantive Testing in Audits for Fraud*

We examine the interaction between internal control assessments and substantive testing in a model of fraud detection. The purpose of our study is to examine a two‐stage model of the auditor‐manager interaction in which the auditor assesses the “likelihood” or possibility of fraud in the first stage and conducts substantive tests in the second stage. We examine the allocation of audit resources across these two distinct facets of the audit. We find that, regardless of the auditor's allocation, the probability of undetected fraud remains the same, but the allocation of some audit resources to internal control assessment may provide cost savings for the auditor.     

The Ties that Bind: The Decision to Co‐Offend in Fraud

It is frequently observed that fraud has a greater economic impact on society than any other category of crime. Arguing that both research and practitioner frameworks in auditing and forensic accounting have tended to adopt an individualizing perspective predicated primarily on solo offending, this article adopts an inductive approach to consider why individuals co‐offend in fraud. It reports the results of a set of interviews with 37 individuals convicted of a range of frauds including financial statement fraud, insider trading, credit card fraud, money laundering, and asset misappropriation. In each instance, the fraud was perpetrated by a group of two or more co‐offenders. Based on inductive, exploratory case coding, we find that reasons for co‐offending vary according to the type of bond that exists between co‐offenders. Two dimensions of fraudulent co‐offending are identified—the primary beneficiary of the fraud and the nature of group attachment—to derive three distinct archetypes of bonds between co‐offenders: (1) individual‐serving functional bonds, (2) organization‐serving functional bonds, and (3) affective bonds. Key elements of each archetype as well as their impact on the decision to co‐offend are examined. Our findings suggest that the social nature of fraud is not merely an incidental feature of the crime but is instead a potential key to understanding its etiology and some of its distinctive features. They also support the need for diagnostic tools to move beyond individualistic analyses of fraud toward a broader, group‐sensitive assessment of fraud risk.     

Post-crisis China impact on trade integration and manufacturing competitiveness between Argentina and Brazil

Considering the short-term and long-term global financial crisis effects on industrial and trade policies implemented in China, Argentina, and Brazil, this article empirically analyzes China’s impact on trade integration and manufacturing competitiveness between Argentina and Brazil during the post-crisis period. Under a trilateral trade framework, this paper conducts both standard and modified Constant Market Share analyses, using trade data disaggregated at HS 6-digit level between the 2009–2014 period provided by BACI database. The quantitative estimation of relative gains and losses of Argentina and Brazil facing China’s evolving import demand and export supply provides evidence for three main findings. First, it shows the persistence of China’s asymmetric trade pattern with Argentina and Brazil, but a decline in China’s weight in explaining the decreasing bilateral trade intensity between Argentina and Brazil; second, the divergent export performance between Argentina and Brazil to China, mainly attributed to the competitiveness shift in the soybean sector; and finally the enlargement of a competitiveness gap between Mercosur countries and China in the upstream of manufacturing supply chain.