The purpose of this essay was to examine whether small businesses can avoid ac-counting crimes with a well-conducted internal control system. The questions we asked ourselves was, whether and if so, companies can prevent this from happening by using a internal control. In this essay we used a qualitative approach. Essential information was given to us from four different interviewees. We also worked from an inductive approach which means that we interviewed people without any earlier research to build on. The method also had a hermeneutical approach, which means that we made different interpretations based on the reference framework and the empirics. After the study had been carried out, we concluded that all evidence from this essay suggested that even small businesses need an internal control to protect their business. Therefore, we cannot see any reason for smaller companies not to have an internal control, as we understand that control is of paramount importance to protect their businesses against economic crimes of all kinds. We also believe that economic crime will increase and that it will find new ways, which means that this type of control system will become even more important in the future. Another support system for companies to detect inaccuracies has been the investigative accountant, but when the duty now will vanish for smaller businesses, we believe that internal control will become even more important to prevent economic crime. / Syftet med den uppsatsen var att undersöka om mindre företag kan undvika bokföringsbrott med en bra intern kontroll. Frågorna vi ställde oss är med andra ord om, och i så fall hur, företag kan undvika att en anställd begår ekonomisk brottslighet genom att ha en in-tern kontroll. Vi använde oss av en kvalitativ metod i den här uppsatsen och har därmed samlat in väsentlig information från olika intervjupersoner. Vi har även arbetat utifrån en induktiv ansats som innebär att vi har intervjuat personer utan att ha någon egentlig forskning att utgå från. Metoden utgörs även av ett hermeneutiskt tolkande perspektiv vilket innebär att vi gör olika tolkningar utifrån referensramen och empirin. Efter genomförd studie kom vi fram till att allt tyder på att även mindre företag behöver en intern kontroll för att kunna skydda sin verksamhet. Vi kan inte se att det finns någon anledning för mindre företag att inte ha en intern kontroll då vi förstått att kontrollen är av oerhörd stor vikt för att skydda sitt företag mot ekobrott av alla dess slag. Då vi även tror att den ekonomiska brottsligheten kommer att öka och att den kommer finna nya vägar så blir kontrollerna ännu viktigare i framtiden. En annan hjälp för företagen att upptäcka felaktigheter har varit revisorns granskande men då revisorplikten nu kommer att försvinna för mindre företag så tror vi att den interna kontrollen kommer få ännu större betydelse för att gardera sig mot felaktigheter.

Magister Legum - LLM / Contrary to Common perception, corruption is not all that ails Africa. It is only a component of the multifaceted economic criminality that leads to illicit capital flight from developing states and those undergoing political transition. The siphoning away of economic resources has a devastating impact on such countries, both economically and socially. This leads to an erosion of public confidence in government departments and in the administration of justice generally. The clandestine nature of economic criminality makes it particularly hard to prosecute. There has thus been an international consensus that asset recovery would be the most apt mode of deterrence and reparation. Having its genesis in the 1989 Vienna convention, asset recovery has now become a useful tool with which developing countries can recoup some of the assets plundered by criminals. The United Nations Convention against corruption has also made it possible for states to recover stolen assets by way of non--‐criminal or non--‐conviction—based procedures. The main challenge for developing states is to make international treaties part of their national law. The democratization of former dictatorial states, especially those in Africa, also means that whatever international norms are domesticated in national legislation, should be in line with the tenets of their respective democratic constitutions, thus making them legally irreproachable. This paper evaluates Zambia’s Forfeiture of proceeds of crime Act. It discusses Zambia’s asset recovery provisions against the backdrop of international benchmarks and the laws of a few other countries that also have asset recovery laws. The paper concludes with a set of recommendations.

Den ekonomiska brottsligheten är ett samhällsproblem då det inte endast drabbar enskilda individer utan hela samhället och kostar dessutom staten stora summor pengar varje år. Problemet med ekonomiska brott är att de ofta begås i näringsverksamheter. Ett behov av en revisor har därför växt fram för att en person ska ha tillgång till de miljöer där brotten begås, samt för att samhällets kontrollsystem mot ekonomisk brottslighet är bristfällig. Ekobrottsmyndigheten och Skatteverket är två aktörer inom samhället som arbetar med att förebygga ekonomisk brottslighet och de använder granskade rapporter i sitt arbete. En förklaring till varför eller på vilket sätt myndigheterna har behov av revision framgår inte i tidigare studier. Revisorns förmåga att upptäcka och anmäla brott har dessutom ifrågasatts. Syftet med studien är därför att undersöka myndigheternas upplevda behov av revision i det förebyggande arbetet mot ekonomisk brottslighet samt vilka förväntningar som ställs på revisorn utifrån ett myndighetsperspektiv. Genom åtta kvalitativa intervjuer med respondenter av olika befattningar från respektive myndighet kunde en rättvisande bild av deras upplevda behov tolkas. Från intervjuerna framkommer det att myndigheterna upplever ett indirekt direkt behov av revision. Myndigheterna upplever ett behov av en person nära företaget som kan upptäcka sådant som de själva inte har möjlighet till, vilket innebär att revisorn har en preventiv effekt mot ekonomisk brottslighet. Vidare finns ett behov av ett korrekt underlag för beskattning vilket en revisor upplevs kunna försäkra genom sin oberoende granskning. Dessutom upplever respondenterna att ett korrekt underlag i sin tur bidrar till att kvaliteten på de finansiella rapporterna stärks. Utifrån myndigheternas perspektiv finns vissa förväntningar på att revisorn ska ha en mer omfattande roll, men samtidigt har myndigheterna en förståelse för revisionens begränsningar. / Economic crime is a problem for society as it affects not the individual, but the society as a whole, which also cost the government a large sum of money each year. The problem with economic crime is that it often occurs in business environments. Therefore, a need for audit has been developed, which gives access to environments where these crimes are committed and the society’s control systems are weak. The Swedish Economic Crime Authority and the Swedish Tax Agency are two actors in society that are working to prevent economic crime and they are using audited reports in their work. However, previous studies are lacking an explanation to why, and in what way authorities are in need of audited reports. Furthermore the auditor’s ability to detect and report crime has also been questioned in previous studies. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to investigate the authorities' perceived need for audit in the preventive work against economic crime, and to investigate what expectations are being placed on the auditor based on an authority perspective. Through eight qualitative interviews with people with different job descriptions from the two authorities, an interpretation of their perceived needs could be made. Based on these interviews, it appears that there is no direct need for auditing, but the authorities experience an indirect need for audited reports. The authorities are experiencing the need for a person near the company to discover what the authorities do not have the ability to find, which mean that the auditor has a preventive effect on economic crime. Furthermore, there is a need for correct information, which the auditor is able to provide through an independent audit. In addition, the respondents are experiencing that correct information helps strengthen the quality of the financial statements. From the authorities perspective, there are some expectations on the auditor to have a more extensive role. But at the same time, the authorities have an understanding for the limitations of the audit.

The personal character of economic crime offender Economic crime is one of serious and frequently latent offences. Taking into account the character of offenders, the exposition of this crime is difficult and time-consuming. The range of causes, on which economic crime is based, is wide. From the global viewpoint, what is important is the change of population mentality towards consumerism, the increase of unemployment, economic crisis and a grest number of other causes that affect this situation. These crimes with a grave social appeal are in many cases caused by a well-situated and university educated upper class citizens with a good grasp of the relevant economical and judicial matters, i.e. Citizens that are not be expected to behave in this anti-social way. The aim of my diploma thesis is to create an overview, to describe, clarify and formulate in a certain way the character of economic crime offender. Closely connected to this topic are the definitions of several conceptions from these points of issue. This diploma thesis is divided into a theoretical part (with a partial overview of the development of criminal law No. 140/1961 Coll.) focused on the field of criminal law. The practical part studies the assessment and evaluation of the questionnaire method and the creation of result based on these facts. The aim of this work is to provide the reader or any person interested in this topic with the basics of economic crime and with a list of related books for additional information. Resulting from aims of this work and from the study of professional literature and statistical data, the following hypothesis was established: {\clqq}Economic crime offender is a well-situated citizen`` and {\clqq}Higher level of education results in higher ingenuity of the offence and, consequently, in higher damage caused by the offence.`` A conclusion based on questionnaire evaluation was reached and the resulting facts claim that in most cases is economic crime connected with offender´s business or working activities. Although it was partially confirmed that these offenders are usually intelligent and they tend to have at least higher education, at the same time it seems evident that economic crime is not only a field for this kind of offender. A substantial part of thes offenders has acquired its education through formal economic qualification while doing business and, at the same time, it has become evident that great losses can be caused by offenders with a lower level of education.

BAKGRUND: Sedan revisionsplikten avskaffades 2010 har inte fastställts hur den ekonomiska brottsligheten påverkats av att små svenska aktiebolag inte längre revideras. Trots att Ekobrottsmyndigheten varnat för att avsaknaden av revisor kan vara en riskfaktor för ökad ekonomisk brottslighet pågår en utredning om att utöka gränsvärdena för revisionsplikten för svenska aktiebolag. SYFTE: Studien syftar till att förklara sambandet mellan revision och förekomsten av ekonomisk brottslighet i små svenska aktiebolag. METOD: Denna kvantitativa studie har ett deduktivt angreppssätt. Utifrån agentteori, resursberoendeteori och beslutsteori har en hypotes formulerats. En tvär-snittsdesign har använts och sekundärdata, främst bestående av räkenskaps-information, har analyserats med Chi2-test och logistisk regression. SLUTSATS: Studiens analys visar på ett svagt negativt samband mellan revisor och ekonomisk brottslighet, vilket innebär att resultatet indikerar att ekonomisk brottslighet är mer förekommande i bolag som väljer bort revisorn. Vidare minskar revisorn risken för att ekonomisk brottslighet förekommer inom små aktiebolag med 10,35 procentenheter. / INTRODUCTION: Since voluntary audit was introduced in 2010, it has not been established how the economic crime in Swedish SMEs has been affected by no longer being revised. Although the Swedish Economic Crime Authority has warned that the absence of an auditor may affect the risk of increased economic crime, a debate about whether to increase the limit of voluntary audit has arisen. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study is to explain the relationship between audit and economic crime in Swedish SMEs. METHOD: This quantitative study is based on a deductive approach. Based on agency theory, resource dependence theory and decision theory a hypothesis has been developed. A cross-sectional design has been used and secondary data, mainly from financial statements, has been analysed using Chi2-test and logistic regression. CONCLUSION: In the analysis, a weak negative correlation between auditor and economic crime is presented. I.e. the results indicate that the risk of economic crime is more prevalent in companies without an auditor. Further, the auditor reduces the risk of economic crime in Swedish SMEs with 10,35 percentage points.

Problemformulering Hela 80 % av nystartade småbolag utan revisionsplikt väljer bort revision sedan år 2010. Detta har medfört att kvaliteten på årsredovisningarna sjunkit markant. Kontrollen har tagits från revisorerna utan att ersättas av någon annan. Antalet anmälningar av ekobrott har under de senaste åren ökat, men samtidigt har antalet aktiebolag ökat. Det är en pågående debatt kring hur Ekobrottsmyndighetens rapport från år 2016, om revisionspliktens avskaffande och ekobrott, ska tolkas och många är oense. Syfte Syftet med studien är att beskriva hur Ekobrottsmyndigheten, Skatteverket, revisorer och redovisningskonsulter ser på ett eventuellt samband mellan avskaffandet av revisionsplikten och ekobrott. Metod Detta är en kvalitativ studie utifrån ett deduktivt synsätt. Den empiriska datan grundar sig på primärdata som samlats in genom semistrukturerade intervjuer. Slutsats Studien resulterar i att Ekobrottsmyndigheten ser ett samband mellan oavsiktliga ekobrott och revisionspliktens avskaffande, men inte gällande avsiktliga ekobrott. Skatteverket och revisorer ser ett klart samband mellan avskaffandet av revisionsplikten och ekobrott. Redovisningskonsulterna ser däremot inget samband. / Thesis problem It is 80 % of newly established small companies without auditing obligation who discontinue audits since year 2010. As a result, the quality of annual reports has fallen significant. The control has been taken from the auditors without being replaced by another. The number of notifications of economic crime has increased in the recent years, but at the same time the companies have increased. There is an ongoing debate about how the Swedish National Economic Crimes Bureaus report from year 2016, about the abolition of the audit obligation and economic crime, should be interpreted and many disagree. Purpose The purpose is to describe how the Swedish National Economic Crimes Bureau, the Swedish Tax Agency, auditor and accounting consultants look at a possible link between abolition of the audit obligation and economic crime. Method This is a qualitative study based on a deductive approach. The empirical data is based on primary data collected through semi-structured interviews. Conclusion The study concludes that The Swedish National Economic Crimes Bureau see a link between accidental economic crime and the abolition of the auditing obligation, but not intentional economic crime. The Swedish Tax Agency and the auditors is seeing a clear link between the abolition of the audit obligation and economic crime. On the other hand the accounting consultants does not see a link.

The thesis describes the internal control system of a company in relation to internal audit. It also describes various types of fraudulent acts and analyzes several research papers focused on this topic. Furthermore, the thesis shows relations of these issues to white-collar crime, employment law, criminology and the psychology of offenders.

No description available.

Fraud, corruption, and related taxation consequences from a financial and a moral perspective were investigated in this study. A literature review of tax ethics, tax morality, tax conduct, tax planning, tax avoidance, tax evasion, tax fraud, white-collar crime, fraud, money laundering, corruption and corporate governance are presented. The research methodology and empirical investigation followed, the research results achieved, and the conclusions and recommendations made, are also presented. The most import conclusions from this study are that economic crime (such as fraud and corruption) has an impact on taxation in South Africa, that economic crime offences ignore any possible taxation consequences and that the type of the economic crime being perpetrated is a function of the opportunities available to a potential offender. The majority of the respondents (both economic crime offenders and role-players in the field of the prevention, detection and prosecution of fraud, corruption and tax related offences) indicated that law enforcement, prosecution and sentencing practices are not adequate in South Africa. However, the majority of both groups of respondents also indicated that current laws and regulations are adequate to address economic crime in South Africa. This could be interpreted as a vote of confidence in current laws and regulations but an indication that it should be applied more effectively in the fight against economic crime. Within the legal framework of the criminal justice system and the various taxation laws and regulations in South Africa, there are always opportunities for people to come into conflict with the law. This study was also undertaken to investigate an economic crime offender’s perceptions of fraud, corruption and tax-related offences. In total 82 economic crime offenders, serving a prison term for their offences, completed a questionnaire and were personally interviewed in a semi-structured interview comprising pre-set questions. The study demonstrated that there is a correlation between an economic crime offender’s level of education and the monetary extent of the perpetrated offence. In perpetrating an economic crime, the offender is only concerned about the immediate financial reward, disregarding any possible consequences such as taxation or prosecution. To prevent fraud, corruption and tax-related offences, the motivation to commit such crimes should be eliminated or reduced. Fraudsters weigh up the individual risks and rewards of their criminal behaviour, and for that reason, their future conduct can be modified with appropriate rehabilitation and anti-economic crime education programs. Consequently, this study has vital implications for reformulating appropriate rehabilitation programmes for economic crime offenders. Economic crime offenders should be subject to an anti-economic crime education program in which the consequences of perpetrating economic crime in general on the economy and tax revenue could be conveyed to such offenders. Rehabilitation programs designed and developed specifically for economic crime offenders should be implemented at correctional institutions. / PhD (Tax), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2013

Fraud, corruption, and related taxation consequences from a financial and a moral perspective were investigated in this study. A literature review of tax ethics, tax morality, tax conduct, tax planning, tax avoidance, tax evasion, tax fraud, white-collar crime, fraud, money laundering, corruption and corporate governance are presented. The research methodology and empirical investigation followed, the research results achieved, and the conclusions and recommendations made, are also presented. The most import conclusions from this study are that economic crime (such as fraud and corruption) has an impact on taxation in South Africa, that economic crime offences ignore any possible taxation consequences and that the type of the economic crime being perpetrated is a function of the opportunities available to a potential offender. The majority of the respondents (both economic crime offenders and role-players in the field of the prevention, detection and prosecution of fraud, corruption and tax related offences) indicated that law enforcement, prosecution and sentencing practices are not adequate in South Africa. However, the majority of both groups of respondents also indicated that current laws and regulations are adequate to address economic crime in South Africa. This could be interpreted as a vote of confidence in current laws and regulations but an indication that it should be applied more effectively in the fight against economic crime. Within the legal framework of the criminal justice system and the various taxation laws and regulations in South Africa, there are always opportunities for people to come into conflict with the law. This study was also undertaken to investigate an economic crime offender’s perceptions of fraud, corruption and tax-related offences. In total 82 economic crime offenders, serving a prison term for their offences, completed a questionnaire and were personally interviewed in a semi-structured interview comprising pre-set questions. The study demonstrated that there is a correlation between an economic crime offender’s level of education and the monetary extent of the perpetrated offence. In perpetrating an economic crime, the offender is only concerned about the immediate financial reward, disregarding any possible consequences such as taxation or prosecution. To prevent fraud, corruption and tax-related offences, the motivation to commit such crimes should be eliminated or reduced. Fraudsters weigh up the individual risks and rewards of their criminal behaviour, and for that reason, their future conduct can be modified with appropriate rehabilitation and anti-economic crime education programs. Consequently, this study has vital implications for reformulating appropriate rehabilitation programmes for economic crime offenders. Economic crime offenders should be subject to an anti-economic crime education program in which the consequences of perpetrating economic crime in general on the economy and tax revenue could be conveyed to such offenders. Rehabilitation programs designed and developed specifically for economic crime offenders should be implemented at correctional institutions. / PhD (Tax), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2013