This study investigates whether a relationship exists between fraudulent financial reporting and a variety of corporate governance attributes. Numerous high profile accounting scandals perpetuated over recent years have brought prominence to the corporate governance structure employed by US public companies. Many of these scandals involved manipulation of the financial reporting process by high level managers. It is therefore thought that a lack of effective oversight provided by the governing bodies engaged to monitor the actions of management may be at the heart of the problem. A review of prior research is used to identify the attributes of corporate governance relevant for inclusion in this study and to provide support for the posing of twenty directional hypotheses. The selected corporate governance attributes are classified into four broad categories depicting Audit Committee Functionality, Board of Director Composition, Ownership Structure, and External Auditor Factors. A matched pair research design is utilised to determine whether significant differences exist between the corporate governance attributes employed by fraud and non-fraud companies. A sample of 76 fraud companies, identified through an examination of Accounting and Auditing Enforcement Releases issued by the Securities Exchange Commission and drawn from a total of 223 companies examined, are tested along with an industry-size matched sample of non-fraud companies. The results of univariate paired t-tests and a conditional logistic regression equation find that statistically significant relationships do exist between a number of corporate governance attributes and fraudulent financial reporting. Specifically, the study finds that the percentage of independent directors on a company's board, the existence of a nominating committee, and the engaging of a Big6 auditor are negatively related to the incidence of fraud. Whereas, the average number of directorships held by audit committee members, the duality of the CEO and Chairman of the Board positions, and the percentage of company ownership held by outside blockholders are positively related to the incidence of fraudulent financial reporting.

Managerial and regulatory focus in the financial industryhas been intensified due to a number of extremely costly and highly publicized events. Whenfraudulent activities or any improper business practices are revealed it may damage the bank’sreputation. In the end this can have a big impact on anyone who is any kind of stakeholder.Reputational risk and by what mechanism reputational risk is adversely affecting stock pricesis therefore of great importance for stakeholders. This study aims at providing insights and abetter understanding of reputational risk. We examine the reputational damage in banksresulting from operational losses and analyze the stock market reaction across the bankingindustry. Research question: What is the effect of operational loss announcements from internalfraudulent activities on competitors in the banking industry? The results show a positive cross-bank reaction during the observed period oftime. Furthermore, the cross-bank reaction is stronger when a reputational damage isrecognized in the bank where the loss occurred. The results show a positive cross-bankreaction during the observed period of time. Furthermore, the cross-bank reaction is strongerwhen a reputational damage is recognized in the bank where the loss occurred.

This thesis is dealing with problems of creative accounting, with the access to its identification and utilization from the management position. The theoretical part defines the term of creative accounting. Moreover, it introduces possible readers into the fraudulent accounting and techniques of creative accounting. Furthermore, this thesis deals with circumstances that lead to the origin creativity. To add to this, this work addresses the psychological and behavioural point of view on the creativity. The main aim of the practical part is to answer the question of following hypothesis: The management of chosen accounting unit obligingly reacts on motivation which minimizes corporate income tax.

This presented thesis entitled Fraud Issues Focusing on Fraudulent Financial Reporting deals fraudulent accounting in the Czech Republic and the world. The first part aims to introduce the reader to the cornerstone of accounting, specifically basic accounting principles and regulation. An important starting point of this thesis is also an internal control system and an internal directives. These consist of a set of interconnected controls contributing to the protection of entity's property. After that follows a general description of fraudulent conduct with a partition of misappropriation asset handling, corruption and misstatement of financial statements. The last part consists of an analysis of fraudulent behaviour and selected accounting cases. Specifically, these are the frauds of insurance company M. P. a. s. (which continues to work despite these issues), the Tesco scandal with effects on shares and the case of Skanska

Dissertation tries to put near auditor's reaction to realized frauds during audit of final accounts. Beginning is focused on sence of audit, history and present. Frauds of accounting entity from point of view of international standards on auditing (ISA) are specified in next part of thesis. Main part is focus on concrete reaction of auditor, not only on accounting frauds, but also on possible legalization of earnings from criminal activity. Conclusion deal with actual progres of ISA and forensic investigation.

The dissertation deals with the issue of creative accounting of small and micro companies in the Czech Republic. Creative accounting is a phenomenon that gained importance in the 21st century after publicizing of a number of accounting scandals. In the context of economic crisis and budget deficit, the phenomenon of creative accounting, in particular the prevention and detection of financial manipulation, is a topical issue which draws attention of experts specialized in economics as well as of entire countries including the Czech Republic. The research focus on small and micro companies stems from the undeniable importance of this segment for the performance of the economy of the entire country. This dissertation provides a comprehensive view of the issue of creative accounting in terms of theoretical approaches as well as its practical application. Primary research is based on an analysis of the phenomenological paradigm, i.e. it focuses on the understanding of human behaviour on the basis of a reference framework of research participants. The main aim of primary research is to discover the motives, techniques, perception of risk and consequences of creative accounting in the Czech Republic. The main research method used in the research is a case study based on a comparison of four business entities. The consequences of creative accounting are illustrated on a critical case. The main limitation of the dissertation rests in the impossibility of examining a large sample. The research revealed some findings that are contributive in particular to practice in the area of prevention and detection of creative accounting. The research provides findings usable by supervisory bodies to improve detection of creative accounting, and thus to increase the perceived risks. Another contribution of the dissertation is a suggestion of several possible alterations of legislation which will help reduce existing opportunities of creative accounting in relation to the motives to carry out creative accounting. Assistance in directing further research into the issue of creative accounting may also be considered important, in particular for the theory.

[pt] Os modelos matemáticos comumente usados na identificação de irregularidades na medição se baseiam na análise da redução percentual do consumo do mês (normalmente de 20% a 30%) em relação aos meses anteriores. Este método tem gerado resultados imprecisos uma vez que considera o valor do consumo como um valor rígido e, portanto, não incorpora o efeito da sazonalidade na tipologia das cargas das unidades consumidoras. Este trabalho tem o intuito de melhorar a identificação de clientes fraudulentos utilizando métodos de inteligência artificial, tais como Redes Neurais e Lógica Fuzzy, implementados a um banco de dados de cadastro da Distribuidora de Energia ELEKTRO e a uma Pesquisa de Posses e Hábitos de Consumo (PPH) feita nesta mesma empresa. Nesta dissertação, o objetivo foi classificar um grupo de consumidores como normal (adimplente), inadimplente e fraudulento. Para tanto, foi feita inicialmente uma clusterização utilizando uma Rede Neural, mais especificamente uma Rede de Kohonen, para o banco de dados de cadastro disponibilizado pela distribuidora. Tomando os grupos desta classificação prévia feita pela Rede identificaram-se quais e quantos destes tiveram PPH´s realizadas. Para se ter a classificação de um grupo quanto a incidência de consumidores normais, inadimplentes e fraudulentos utilizou-se um processo de Análise Fuzzy, o qual identifica os clusters com os consumidores de cada um dos segmentos. É feita uma análise de desempenho do modelo proposto com dados reais fornecidos pela empresa, na qual os resultados apontaram para uma robustez do método. / [en] Mathematical models commonly used to identify irregularities in measurement are based on percentile reduction analysis of the monthly consumption (normally from 20% to 30%) in relation to the previous months. This method tends to generate imprecise results, since it considers the value of the consumption as a rigid value and, therefore, it does not incorporate the seasonal effect in the loads topology of the consumer units. This work has intention to improve the identification of fraudulent customers using artificial intelligence methods, such as Neural Networks and Fuzzy Logic, implemented to a database of consumers of ELEKTRO a distributing utility of São Paulo State, Brazil. It also uses information on appliances ownership obtained via market research in ELEKTRO area, named PPH (Portuguese for this particular type of market research). In this dissertation, the main objective was to classify a group of consumers as solvent, insolvent and fraudulent. In order to achieve this task, a clustering was initially made using a Neural Network framework, more specifically a Kohonen Network, for the database available. It was then checked which of the groups had a minimum number of clients interviewed in the PPH. In order to have the classification of the clients in the three categories it was used Fuzzy Analysis. Selected data is also presented, considering the available database of the Company as well as the research environment, which had been taken from the PPH. Finally, it was checked the performance of the method against real data obtained from the utility and the results were very satisfactory.

由於財務報表舞弊往往足以震撼投資大眾，造成資本市場重大損失，各國監管單位無不盡力降低此事件之爆發，以維護資本市場秩序、保障投資人，是以本研究欲瞭解影響中國大陸上市公司舞弊之因素為何，以及如何建立舞弊預測模型提供財務報表使用者作為參考之用。本文利用2007年至2014年受懲罰之上市公司為研究對象，採Logistic迴歸進行實證分析，結果顯示裁決性收入與Z"-Score對於財務報表舞弊無顯著相關，相反的獨立董事比例、是否具ST壓力、存貨週轉率、應收帳款週轉率、主營業務利潤率與財務報表舞弊具顯著關係，另外利用迴歸結果中顯著變數建立財務報表舞弊模型，發現整體正確率為53.31％。 / Due to the severe impacts caused by fraudulent financial reporting, securities regulatory commissions in most countries put much emphasis on maintaining the order of the capital markets and protecting the investors’ interests. In order to realize the factors of financial statement fraud, especially for China listed companies, and build the detecting model for the financial statements users, I select some listed companies punished by the government during the period 2007-2014 as the samples in this dissertation. Then, I use logistic regression model to test which variables are significant to fraudulent financial reporting, and the results show that the discretionary revenue and Z"-Score do not have impact on it. On the contrary, the percentage of independent directors, pressure from avoiding being “ST”, inventory turnover, accounts receivable turnover, and percentage of income from main operation are significantly relevant to fraudulent financial reporting. Moreover, when including these significant variables in the detecting model, the accuracy of the model can up to 53.31 percent.

Thesis (MBA (Business Management))--University of Stellenbosch, 2010. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The mobile phone has not only changed the way the world works today, but also changed the direction the world is moving toward. The mobile phone changed the face of communication and enabled more people to reach more other people than ever before. The big four banks in South Africa represent 83.5 per cent of the total asset value of all banks in South Africa. Traditionally, banking customers (or potential customers) could be reached through the current 2 786 branches, 19 451 ATMs and potentially 4.59 million internet users. There are 47.9 million mobile phone subscribers in South Africa – increasing the number of potential contact points by order of magnitude. The possibilities for banks utilising the mobile phone are endless, however online banking and offering banking services through a mobile phone is increasingly more subject to fraud attacks. Online banking and credit card fraud is still on the increase. Today, SMS is used to alert customer of movements on their bank account. This keeps the customer informed and enables them to notify their banks and prevent subsequent fraudulent transactions. SMS can be sent from one mobile phone to another (P2P) or from a computer system to a mobile phone (A2P). In 2007, 2 trillion SMS's were sent worldwide and was responsible for 75 to 80 per cent of all mobile phone revenues. South Africa sent 34 billion A2P SMS in 2009 of which 29 per cent were sent as transactional SMS by the top three banks in South Africa. SMS-based transactional alerts are SMS sent each time a change occurs in a bank account, for example, when your credit card is used then you will get an SMS on your mobile phone. Each bank makes different functionalities available. Absa reported 2 million customers receiving SMS alerts in 2008. FNB reported 67 million transactional SMS per month in 2009. The core advantages for using transactional SMS are the cost, reliability and ubiquity. Research was conducted among five of the six largest banks. Data revealed that banks send between 16 million and 69.4 million SMS per month and have approximately between 4.5 and 5.1 million customers using this service. The impact was tested through personal interviews. The two common factors were fraud reduction and customer retention. The two key challenges the banks identified are: i) Capacity/throughput with the mobile network operators; and ii) Getting internal systems and processes defined and working together for the alerts. The advantages identified are competitive positioning, customer interaction, empowerment of people and revenue. Key findings of the research were: SMS-based transactional alerts offer strategic importance; Any system is as good as it is being utilised; Security controls are extremely complex; SMS capacity is a common challenge and big risk; Internal processes cause the most complexity; Return on investment is not adequately measured; Transactional alerts is a potential revenue stream; There is no interaction between the bank and the customer; SMS in South Africa create high dependencies; SMS-based transactional alerts are successful.

La tesi ha ad oggetto lo studio dei rapporti tra il trust e il nucleo di principi inderogabili in materia di crisi dell’impresa esercitata in forma societaria e delle sue soluzioni “negoziali” (: piani attestati, accordi di ristrutturazione, concordato preventivo) tanto in termini di compatibilità sistematico-astratta, quanto con riguardo alle funzioni concrete che detto istituto può svolgere in tali contesti. Il primo capitolo analizza le problematiche connesse alla fattispecie, diffusa nella prassi, del c.d. trust liquidatorio “extra-concorsuale”, anche alla luce delle regole che, in common law, disciplinano le interferenze tra «trust» e «insolvenza», sia del settlor sia del trustee, giungendo a negarne la legittimità. Il capitolo secondo prosegue con l’analisi comparatistica degli ulteriori istituti e contesti, propri del diritto statunitense e inglese, nei quali il trust viene utilizzato, a vari scopi, nell’ambito delle soluzioni non fallimentari della crisi d’impresa. Il terzo capitolo è dedicato all’esame delle fattispecie – diverse da quelle considerate nel capitolo primo – di trust nell’ambito delle tecniche di regolazione della crisi d’impresa, alternative al fallimento, nell’ordinamento italiano (: piani attestati, accordi di ristrutturazione e concordato preventivo): da una parte, sulla scorta degli esiti dell’analisi, svolta nel capitolo secondo, quanto agli utilizzi del trust nella crisi d’impresa societaria tipici dei sistemi statunitense e inglese; dall’altra, tenendo ferme le risultanze, emerse nel capitolo primo, in ordine al rapporto tra fenomeno fiduciario anglosassone e diritto fallimentare. / My dissertation deals with the compatibility of the «trust» – as a “foreign” institution – with the basic principles of corporate debt restructuring and/or reorganization in Italian bankruptcy law. More specifically, it draws extensively on the evidences from the common law experiences, with regard both to the general relationship between trusts and bankruptcy law [i.e. the treatment of the trust (rectius: the rights of the parties involved as well as their creditors) in the subsequent bankruptcy respectively of the trustee or the settlor] and to how and to which purposes are trusts used specifically in the corporate distress framework. The first chapter analyzes and criticizes a line of Italian cases dealing with the use of the trust as a form of private regulation of the corporate crisis. The second chapter further explores the functions played by trusts in the corporate bankruptcy – and their limits – in North-American and English law. The third chapter draws the consequences for Italian regulation on corporate restructuring, developing a new model on the use of trusts within said scope.